Ramsey for DM

122 thoughts on “Ramsey for DM”

• Always been a huge Ramsey fan. The only thing he did incorrectly last match, was in the first half, when he tried one of his treacherous back-heel flicks!!! They do often come off for him, but I found myself yelling at the television that he HAD to stop that. He did, and he did very well in the second half.

  It seems like he starts slowly, but once we can get a foothold in the match, he does very, very well!!! 😀 All we need to do is get him starting well in all of the matches, and he’ll be a TRUE force!!! 😀 This can, and should be accomplished.

• Thanks Umair, good read

  i do agree with you to an extent as wenger is more of a fan of a technical player in that DM role than your typical DM…hence he prefers the like of Arteta in that role.

  trouble with Rambo is that he loves to go forward (much like the problem we have had for many years including our goal keepers, all wanting the ball and going foward to attack).

  if rambo can somehow manage to kill his urges to storm forward then there is a decent holding player in him…

  saying that, i do feel if we manage to keep all 3 of our defenders this summer then i might be inclined to try out either TV or KOC in that role, while buying a top defender.

• Fine post, Umair. 🙂

  I think Ramsey’s best position is CM playing as a box to box midfielder because of his work rate. In this role he can support both the attack and defense. I saw the point of Wenger playing Ramsey on the right wing but I always thought Wenger should be playing Wilshere on the wing. I hate it when he plays as an AM because he is a good passer but does not have a good final ball and hardly scores any goals because he does not have the best finishing. You are right in saying in this current formation Ramsey performs well in the DM role.

• Hi guys,

  Am struggling a bit to get the excel spreadsheet properly inserted into the post at the moment. Apologies.

• Ah that’s better! 😀

• I never heard of a Defensive Midfielder twenty odd years ago, when did the term DM start being in vogue. What you really mean is a crappy player who can’t boss the Midfield, so you stick him in front of the defence and call him a DM. In reality it’s just glamourising the role of an extra defender playing in Midfield.

• Michael, I think the DM role was invented to replace the sweeper role. In modern football teams now play with a DM that sits in front of the defense as opposed to a sweeper that sits behind the defense. They both perform the same role which is to protect the defense.

• Great post Umair, particularly enjoyed the work you put into the analysis! The breakdown by player comparison of each’s effectiveness in the DM role is very useful and the stats are to support your case, well done :). I’m glad you were well balanced in your analysis and state that we should still buy a DM this summer and not depend on Ramsey/Arteta to buy our two starting DMs next year. That would be my biggest fear and yet another mistake on the part of AW in resting on his laurels and us entering another vicious cycle of “transition and mediocrity”.

  I’ve always been a Ramsey hater and nothing will ever persuade me to think differently. However, I will not rip on a player when he is doing his job and Ramsey has done more good than harm for us lately. When I see him play, I think he’s perfect for the utility role as he seems to have a variety of skills, but is the master of none. He’s not outstanding on pace, scoring ability, cutting edge passing, dribbling, tackling, aerially etc., but he’s average to above average in most of those categories.

  It should come as no surprise that his passing completion % is high since he generally makes the easy pass. It’s good and bad at the same time. As a sole DM, it’s exactly what we’re getting from Arteta, which can be construed as good since we’re retaining possession and not creating unnecessary turnovers. However, as a b2b mid, we need more cutting edge in our passing to help break open defences and to transition our team from defence to offence quickly. This is my biggest point of contention with Rambo, as he often lacks the creativity or confidence/skill to make that defence-splitting pass or to beat his man on the dribble. Instead, he passes it backwards or sideways frequently or runs backwards with the ball WAY too often. However, there were signs of improvement against Reading last week of him pushing forward, so we’ll have to just wait and see if that continues.

  What stands out to me the most about Ramsey is his work rate and determination, which are great qualities to have in a squad. These are the types of players I love to see rotated into the starting line-up every so often to give us a change of pace and give, what should be, our typical starters a rest. To me, Rambo is the perfect sub to help close out games and the ideal man to seamlessly rotate in (as discussed above). He’s not good enough as a sole DM to anchor our defense and the b2b role is dying (as you’ll see in a future post I am currently writing).

• HH, I cannot wait to read this article. 🙂

• HH 🙂

  Fine comment and agreed with almost everything. But how can you call yourself a Ramsey ‘hater’? What has he done to you/ our team that makes you hate him? 😕

  Do you mean ‘doubter’ or ‘critic’, perhaps? 🙂

• Haha sorry TA, Ramsey critic is the right categorization!

• TA, I am hoping to send you another post sometime this week and if Podolski does not start again this weekend this will give me the opportunity to write another post, this time on Podolski. That is if no one is? 🙂

• I don’t hate Ramsey, not sure why I said that! I love him as a squad player and a sub, just get uncomfortable at the thought of him being our starting DM for the foreseeable future and AW using that as excuse to not upgrade this summer 🙂

• Yes, TA, it would be a good idea that authors check their ideas for articles with you before writing them so there is no duplication of effort! Good idea AFC :).

  My article will deal with the decline of the b2b mid (my theory) contrasted against AW’s theory on the decline of a traditional DM, hopefully you’ll enjoy it AFC!

• TA, that’s two more posts before next week. Mark my words, I will have written 10 posts in total before the end of the season for Bergkampesque. 😀

• AFC, at that rate, you’ll be passing me very soon as TA’s right hand man 😉

• It is all right, HH. You made a very fine comment that clearly confirmed that you appreciate him as a player, in terms of attitude and professionalism, but are critical about his suitability for a first team position; and especially for the beast of a DM role! 😛

• Cheers AFC,

  You are a post machine! And great to have you on-board! 🙂

• AFC, once you reached five you will get your tab ‘AFC Posts’ at the top of blog! 😛

• Guys, I am really happy with the variety and quality of blog writers on BK. Most blogs have struggled a bit to keep going during the interlull, but the quality on BK has been very high indeed! Please keep up the good work! 🙂

• Cheers, for that TA. 🙂

  TA and HH. On another note Marcus was trying to convince me that Mannone is better than Fabianski. Who do you think is better?

• This is what RedNose had to say about VJ missing chances today:

  Ferguson said: “Robin had a chance from a header, a couple of headers actually. One he really should have scored, but he put it over the bar, but it was disappointing because we are better than that. We didn’t play as well as we should have done in the second half.”

  Do you think the hair-dryer treatment will speed-up the greying of his hair? hahaha 🙂

• Hard to say, AFC. I reckon the age difference shows, and Fabianski has impressed me with his attitude and extrovert/dominant leadership of his area. You can see he is fighting for his career and I have been very impressed with him. I reckon they are similar in terms of technical ability, but I will admit this is not really my area of expertise. 🙂

• @ TA

  Bang on about the quality on here. Every new writer pops in seamlessly and writes top notch posts. This ones another pearler. I’m a big fan of Ramsey but not for the DM position. I think once he develops his attacking side more (before his injury he had a really good shot on him. Not sure what happened to it.) I think our future midfield is Jack up top and Ramsey next to a beast of a DM. Cheers for the great read Umair! Well researched and argued.

  I also found some home footage of GLIC after his red bull escapade! It appears his son has been up to no good in the love shack.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYrENgtcq-0

• ‘Mair, where are my manners! 🙂

  Thank you for a very fine, well-written and researched post. Both your posts have been quality and we are lucky to have you writing for BK.

  I reckon Ramsey is a fine player to have within the squad, and I agree with HH that he is ok at many things but not brilliant in a particular discipline. I don’t think he is a beast of a DM sort of type, but he can do a good defensive job if he is simply asked to sit in-front of the back for, together with Arteta or new DM in the future, and keep things tight and organised. He works hard and is passionate about his football and that goes a long way.

  I was there when his leg was smashed at the home of the surviving Neanderthals and since then I have always felt strong sympathy for him. I really hope he comes good, because he is true professional and he deserves it.

• Ok, TA.

  TA, I’m off now to write my other 6 posts. 😀
  Just kidding, I going to bed. See you TA, HH and everyone else. 🙂

• Night AFC 🙂

• Hahaha Oz, that is a funny video!

  Red bull has made a strong impact on Glic – he seems happier than ever hahaha 🙂

• Fine post Umair.

  I am not a stats man, i tend to judge players after going to games.

  My views on Ramsey are plenty but what i would like to say from the outset is that we are now seeing a player that is just starting to mature and is a different animal to the player of six months ago.

  Quite frankly, until recently the boy was a fish out of water. The groans from the crowd as he dropped into artetas position, almost colliding with him, or negating possesion by going bakward or square and slowing the play down were all to be heard.

  All of a sudden there seems a purpose to his play. no longer waiting to receive the ball in areas he should not be, and more intellegence in his runs and passes.

  Maturity my friends, maturity. Give these young guys a chance to learn and then pass judgement. This is one constant that has remained unchanged in my nearly 40 years of watching.

  He will no doubt keep improving but of course there are concerns about his development.

  He has suffered a horrific injury and now and again his running motion results in the odd hop. Hes also not the biggest or fastest and can lose battles that other stronger players would win. In addition, sometimes his lung power drives his motion faster than his brain, resulting in stretching for balls or misplacing passes.

  His qualities are all there to see. incredible stamina, good technique, and a never say die attitude.

  i have a feeling that the one untapped potential, which could make or break his Arsenal carrer, is the ability to get into the box and score goals. He has this in his locker. Strange to say when you look at his finnishing and goal record, but i have seen signs that he has plenty of goals in him.

  Never say never. Remember…maturity.

• In reply to Michael about the Position of DM well 20 years ago the formation and the role did not exist (or not used much)
  BUT your assumption that it is a role filled with a poor player playing a just a 5th defender in front of the back 4 is totally WRONG. In fact in a proper Role with 4 in the back 1 DM (and not the 2 like Arsenal are playing now) the player MUST be a GREAT player with physical ability good ball skill great short AND long passing ability and spectacular vision and reading of the game in fact it is usually that players role to start off all counter attacks also to be a pivot n the back always ready to receive the ball and then distribute from behind the more forward players. For me one of the Greatest NOW is Yaya Toure also Michael Essien. I great DM does MUCH more then just defend in midfield in fact they are the a driving force in the team. (Why do you thing Song had 11 assists last season)
  another good DM are Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alanso, Javier Mascherano, Schweinstiger, De Rossi, Khedira, Nigel de Jong, Cambiasso, and our own ex DM Alexandre Song.
  NONE of these players are WEAK or Poor players.

• AR is the the guy told you guys he will come good . Gooners for life.

• AFC, it’s very hard to say who’s a better goalie between Mannone or Fabianski. With the way our squad is playing right now, goalkeeping that is JUST good enough will win us games. There seems to be more confidence throughout the squad with Fab, so I’d give the slight edge to him. However, as we all know, he’s just as capable as Mannone or Ches at giving up softies every so often. Manonne’s younger though and goalies generally take longer to mature, so it terms of potential (which is technically impossible to truly gauge), he wins by a decent margin.

• @ THMT

  very well said!

• Yes Terry, very well said! 🙂

• I have mixed thoughts on both keepers. Until recently I always thought Fabianski was a confidence keeper who needed games to truly deliver (horror games first up but then the game against Wolves was brilliant!). The Don has always come in and performed consistently. I think Fab is the better keeper and would be great in a less physical league and with consistent games. He is a great shot stopper

• Thankyou so much for citing Toure and Song as DM, because when he was at Barcelona Toure was deployed as a water carrier because of his limited basic ability, yet over here in England he’s running the show in most games, which just goes to show the different levels of quality in the two respective leagues. As for Song the least said the better he can’t even get into the Barcelona side. Schweinstiger is a CM.

• Agree with this. But I believe we need to give Eisfield a chance, he will be a peach of a player next season.

• Herbert Chapman and then Alf Ramsey perfected the role of defensive midfielder as I recall. Nobby Stiles played it to perfection for Ramsey at the 1966 World Cup. He was inferior technically, but read play to the highest degree, and could complete all the simple manoeuvres and plays. So in a way Michael is correct. But the role was soon given to a more technically able player in Alan Mullery, and from there it has evolved to the point that some of the best technical players play in this role. Xabi Alonso, Pep Guardiola, even Busquets, as well as Benat and others in the Spanish League, have perfected the “pivote” role. That’s not to say that they are “beasts” and fit the typical mould of a defensive midfielder, but there is more than one type of player who can fill this position. I’m not going to go through all of them now…I’m too lazy. You cannot just categorize or label the players who play the position as technically inferior, or simply poor. Having played the position myself (not at a high level) I can say that there are many different aspects of play that one has to master in order to succeed at this position. I was placed at that position mainly due to my anticipatory skills and reading of the play. I was actually a pretty fast runner, but never the biggest. I guess I would be more the rabid dog type defensive midfield player!!! 😀 Hahahahahaha, the player that would drive the opposition crazy because he was always in the way. A combination of Nobby Stiles and Makelele, if you will.

• Good morning! Thank you all for the comments! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the article and it’s led to some fun debate an interesting points!
  When I was writing the article one thing I felt would have added to the analysis was the number of interceptions Ramsey, Arteta and Diaby made in the games analyzed, as I feel that interceptions show good positioning and should be the hallmark of a solid DM. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the stats the said.

  @Milo, true true… one thing that I feel has kind of held him back is him trying too much sometimes rather than just keeping it simple. This ties in with the point that @Terry Mancini Hair Transplant makes about maturity coming with more experience and age.

  @Bond James, thanks! I really hope we keep all three, although the noises coming about TV aren’t all that bright. I feel all three add something to the side. Playing one of them at DM could also be a way to go, it’s been mentioned here and there, but it would be stop-gap I feel, and in the long run we DO need to have a solid first choice DM.

  @AFC, thanks much! I always thought the right wing confused Ramsey… he wasn’t really sure what to do and that possibly led to his making too many mistakes or trying to do complex things. Also, I think you need pace for both wings, and Ramsey would struggle to beat a full back with his pace.

  @Highbury Harmony, thanks mate! I feel one of the best bits about writing and reading blogs is getting the other opinion… and it makes one think for sure. I see your point about his lack of cutting edge, but I think he shouldn’t forget he’s still a young man who needs to play consistently and mature into a good player. I think he’s utility role and his injury have stunted that growth somewhat, and hence if he gets a run in the central role he would be better for it. I agree with you on the fact that currently, he’s a good squad player and not a DM starter. My point though is that given his qualities, he can be developed into a solid DM option.
  And looking forward to that post!

  @Oz Gunner, cheers mate! Glad you enjoyed the read!

  @TotalArsenal, thanks! It’s a pleasure writing here particularly because of the quality of the interactions and the informed opinions. His passion and his determination always make me want him to do well… heaven knows we’ve been lacking the club spirit in a number of our recent by gone players.

  @Terry Mancini Hair Transplant, thanks! Like I mentioned earlier I am in agreement with your comment about him getting more mature with experience and age. For me, the injury took a lot away from him, and he now needs a decent consistent run in a consistent role. Let’s hope he becomes someone we can rely on for the future.

  On the Fab vs Manone debate, I’ve always been nervous with Manone, even when he was keeping clean sheets earlier on in the season. I don’t think we have a complete package with us in the GK role in any of the three we have, and Chez has certainly lost what he had last season. Fab looks more solid since he’s returned, but the jury’s still out on him. I do think we need to get a more dependable solid GK who can help Fab/Chez mature. I think in the longer term Chez definitely may become an Arsenal great.

• Mair,
  Great Post. Welcome to the BK team. Glad to have you. Re Ramsey, I like the way you back up your views with stats..kudos. I agree with you, Rambo has found a more aggressive side where he tends to go in for tackles and challenges opposition players which is good. His defensive side has also been boosted by the fact that he has been played at RB a couple of times this season. I am a bit hesitant when you say that he can hold it down on his own to unshackle Arteta because Rambo’s bite is complemented by his reading of the game. Also, Rambo goes forward, as is his nature and that could prove to be problematic. For now, let them both play their as they have been until the summer when we can acquire a proper DM.

  Re Mannone vs Fabianski, Mannone all day. Fabianski has improved a lot, but let me point out that we have been putting in some very solid defensive displays so he hasn’t really been tested much. He still is very poor when it comes to defending set pieces a trait that has been covered by our back 4 brilliantly. Also he does not command his area at all and would lead to poor communication and ultimately us conceding if our back 4 wasn’t so good at the moment. Another poor trait he has is that he rarely comes out for the ball, like szczesny does, as he stands rooted to his goal line. This ensures that a small defensive lapse on our side is punished as opposition forwards have that little space to have a go at us..All that said, maybe he has turned a corner. Only time will tell.

• Good Morning People, 🙂

  Super Post ‘Mair, a really well presented article which I enjoyed reading.

  The stats are interesting reading, but as always need careful interpretation. The obvious one for me is matching Arteta’s stats with how I see him play.

  Arteta is a neat, tidy player, who through experience is more inclined to play the ‘percentage’ pass, rather than the more risky defence splitting one, and that leads to him making short passes, sideways and backwards to team members less than 5 metres away, and then receiving the ball back again immediately for yet another pass.

  I am not being critical here, Arteta’s play may help other, more skilled, players, like Santi or Jack, to make the more difficult forward passes.This naturally means that Arteta’s successful pass completion will be much higher than the more creative players.

  Also, though we may have seen the last of poor Diaby, he is a very different and more expansive player than either Arteta or Rambo as he has the ability to be extremely creative as well as defensive, but we may not see him get the praise he deserves after all those dreadful injuries.

• G’morning all. Great post Umair. I think Ramsey’s confidence has a lot to do with it. And yes B2B is a better role, agreeing with others there.

  Also Redder’s has a point on interpreting figures – Song’s stats were often marred by his ‘risky pass %age’, but at that time somebody had to try them?

  The only problem of Ramsey in the starting eleven is, where does that leave Coquelin? Use him or lose him?

  Makele, I think was the player that updated the DM role as we now know it? Certainly in the early premiership days and wider TV exposure

  Byee.

• @ Mair

  the pleasure is all ours.

  @ Gerry.

  Alongside Ramsey as the DM. The boy deserves his chance. I think he should be the man to replace Arteta next season. Tell him in the pre-season that it’s his position to lose and to show us what he’s got. He knows the system, knows the players, has never had a decent run, still young, under 21 French international, has endless energy…GIVE HIM A GO ARSENE!

• Morning Phalloween`s 😆

  Superb post Umair. I have always believed that Rambo is going to be an asset, whether it is as a b2b or DM ( and Michael, our dodgy legend Peter Storey was instrumental in us winning our first double in 1971 as a DM ) or other as long as it is not out on the right again !

  Loved that vid Oz baby, it was exactly how I felt ! hahaha. I had never drunk Red Bull before the QPR game and that was only one, but the four on Saturday…..space cadet !…who needs beer !. hahaha

  Beautiful day in the Duchy, so out doing some building work putting some coping stones on a wall, it will take a few hours, but if I get some Red Bull…….10 minutes !. hahaha

• Morning guys 🙂

  Great comments overnight by the looks of it. Will be reading them soon. 🙂

• There are 3 central midfielders forming the 3-man modern midfield:
  (A destroyer, A facilitator, A creator)

  At Arsenal:

  Destroyer: Arteta(deputising role), Coquelin(deputising role)
  – specialising in interceptions, tackling and screening the defence.
  – similar to what Busquets(Barcelona), Javi Martinez(Bayern), de Rossi(Roma), Khedira(Madrid) are doing for their teams.

  Facilitator: Arteta(complete package), Wilshere(able deputy), Diaby(deputising role), Ramsey(deputising role)
  – possesses an accurate range of long and short passes and an extraordinary ability to keep the ball under pressure. Turns defence into offence and vice versa intelligently. The so-titled, “Midfield General” of the team.
  – similar to what Schweinsteiger(Bayern), Xavi(Barcelona), Gundogan(Dortmund), Yaya(City), Modric(Madrid) are doing for their teams.

  Creator: Cazorla(Complete package), Rosicky(able deputy), Ox(in training for the future)
  – bridges the gap between the fluency of the midfield and the penetration of the attack. Usually, the player(s) credited with the most assists for the team and scores goals as well.
  – similar to what Iniesta(Barcelona), Oezil(Madrid), Kroos(Bayern), Hamsik(Napoli), David Silva(City), Mata(Chelsea), Goetze(Dortmund) are doing for their teams.

• Gday peeps. How we doing? 🙂

  Great post Mair. You put your arguement forward very well, however im not yet sold on Ramsey. This is a tricky situation as the boy has talent and needs to play, yet last season i thought he came into the fold too early and in some games it was at the expense of our team. I do believe Arsene knows best when it comes to developing players and where they stand in their journey to stardom but i believe that the youngsters at Arsenal have suffered in the last few years. By that i mean that these youngsters are not all ready like Cesc was or Jack is. Losing our more experienced players has imo set back the development of some of our youngsters. eg Cesc, and Van Judas had Viera and Bergkamp to learn from before they jumped into the deep end.

  Next season if we dont aim for a DM signing and we prefer to promote in house than i believe Le Coq should be given a go before AR at DM. For me he is a more polished and complete footballer.

  On another topic, Nasri has come out and stated that it was Stan Kroenke who wanted to sell Nasri. This confirms my belief that the board have indeed tied Wengers hands. Afterall, it was he who was against the sale of BOTH players (cesc and nasri) and said something along the lines of ‘how can we be considered a big club if we sell our best players’. I also believe or lean towards the notion that the same happened with Van Judas. I believe Stan made the call and told him to pack his bags.

  Dont worry, more of the truth will come out in due time….i believe.
  Damn you Stan! Do you know what this club and our heroes mean to us? The sooner your GONE the better. (falling on deaf ears, did you say?…..I know 😦 )

• Morning All……Fine post Umair.

  Sorry, but I’m not a stats person. They can be misleading, at best, as several have intimated.

  Although Ramsey had a horrendous injury, and I feel soooo sorry for him, the jury is still out for me. I know that may seem harsh, but I am looking at Arsenal/Wenger to go to the next level this Summer, and I don’t see Ramsey making that level, as a top player, unfortunately.

  Good squad player at best.

  I know, I know, I can feel the arrows going into my back. Sorry guys, but sentimentality goes out of the window when you want to be the cream.

  Total, you have post.

• @ GLIC

  haha I hear you. You come across as a bloke that doesn’t lack energy so you on stimulants isn’t good news haha 🙂 . In Bali when i went with about 15 mates they had these ‘sensory pills’ they sold in the 7/11’s. We’d take them before we went out for drinks and holy smokes I thought everyone was going in slow motion. I can’t dance to save my life but i was in stripper cages and sliding across the floor on my knees like Travolta. When I got home after 3 weeks I’d lost 6kgs and found out it was a glorified diet pill that boosted HR and mirrored ecstasy. Hazah

  Hazzah for Bali!

• +1 arrow from me VCC. More coming when i reload!

• Hi Princey, I read that aswell and if true, we can now lay the blame at Stans door for losing both Nasri and RVP. I hope it is true, then maybe Arsene will get an easier ride after taking both barrels for the BOD !.
  Here`s one of many link`s :

  http://metro.co.uk/2013/04/02/samir-nasri-stan-kroenke-sold-me-out-at-arsenal-3578772/

• Hahaha Oz Travolta, That would be a vid worth watching !.

  Now stop keeping me away from my building work, it`s the setting up of the cement mixer and prep which takes all the time, right out I go !.

• UMF league update after all games played this last week end.

  Weekly winner chart =

  Herb ………5
  Oz………….5
  VCC……….5
  PPP……….4
  Red Arse..4
  Henry …….4
  HH………….4
  Alex………..4
  TMHT……..4
  Rocky……..2
  GLiC……….1
  Total……….0
  Gerry………0

  Gerry joins the zero club this week. …. 😦 Total is monopolising zeroes 🙂

  Overall leader board =

  VCC………………87
  Herb………………84
  Henry…………….76
  Oz…………………71
  PPP……………….70
  Red Arse…………69
  High Harmony….68
  Total……………….64
  Rocky……………..58
  Alex…………………58
  TMHT………………56
  GLiC………………..37

  Yellow jersey is being worn out on Vicky’s back. It’s the homeward leg now guys, you all need to make a push…….who is going to come out of the pack?

  Good luck. Ava G8 week, and stay safe, Amigos.

• Glic, truth be told i always suspected the board and Stan in particular were the main cause of all the monkey business behind closed doors yet Arsene always came out in public with a stiff upper lip and never once did he poor shit on his employers or his beloved club. That man is the epitomy of mental strength. Put Mourinho in his shoes and he would have put our club into disrepute. Some might applaud that behaviour,but not me. Through all his faults id have Wengers’ class any day of the week.

  When Van Judas retires, i expect a similar story to come out of his mouth.
  Stan is not fit to polish Arsenes shoes and those famous words ‘ I could write a book about it’ (Arsene on that infamous transfer window) will echo in my mind till he retires and the truth comes out. Just my opinion remember, so you can all save your arrows for VCC 😉

• VCC, that single ‘0 points’ weekend i had certainly did the damage 🙄

• UMF League,

  5th isnt too bad at the minute. Im experienced in this sort of position. My run-in is easier than OZ and Henry. Plus i just got my crystal ball repaired 🙂

  4th place is a trophy. hahahahaa

• Oz gunner………you’ve got it all wrong about GLiC………he doesn’t do energy.

  He has plenty of lethargy running through his veins. In fact his body dictionary has plenty of expletives, such as, ……..comatose…..idle……..ugly…….lazy…….useless….ineffective…..in fact, he is a WOS (waste of space) 😉

• PPP, I don’t know about “O” doing the damage. According to Oz you were well damaged before the UMF days. 😉

• Thanks all! Great comments!
  Fair point on Le Coq… but then as JM also touched on, none of these players are the complete package as far as the midfield destroyer role is concerned. Someone like a Makalele or a Viera. Arteta I’ve always viewed as more of a Gilberty, and Ramsey may also develop similarly. Le Coq is the closest to a natural destroyer DM. Question is, do we go for broke next season with a new beast of a DM, a tried and tested complete package (I believe we should), or do we again throw in Le Coq into the mix and hope that the ‘future’ delivers.
  On the debate on how well stats describe a player’s capabilities, I guess at the end of the day they are directional… more diagnostic than definitive. Still, makes me wonder if a bad player would have good stats… (smells like a possible future post!)

  On the Nasri comments, if they are indeed true, and I don’t see why he’d lie now, that would create an interesting dynamic between Arsene and Stan now that this particular situation is out in the open.

• Cheers VCC, you too. I still think the smart money is on me to mount a comeback!

• @ VCC 10.46

  I’ll go on record and say yes…yes he was!

  @ PPP

  it is funny when the one week i try and screw you over by doing your tips wrong, you come on change them and get less than what i would have gotten you haha

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• oz gunner………it’s easily done my friend, 16 points over eight week ends……just don’t listen to GLiC.

  By the way, regarding your last post…….whose back are you going to come on?

• oooops, sorry oz, did I miss read that ? 😉

• PPP and Oz Gunner were a couple of drinking buddies who worked as Aircraft mechanics in Melbourne.

  One day the airport was fogged in and they were stuck in the hangar with nothing to do.

  PPP said, ‘Man, I wish we had something to drink!’
  Oz G says, ‘Me too. Y’know, I’ve heard you can drink jet fuel and get a buzz.

  You wanna try it?’
  So they pour themselves a couple of glasses of high octane booze and get completely smashed.
  The next morning PPP wakes up and is surprised at how good he feels.

  In fact he feels GREAT! NO hangover! NO bad side effects.
  Nothing!

  Then the phone rings. It’s Oz G, Oz says, ‘Hey, how do you feel this morning?’

  PPP says, ‘I feel great, how about you?’
  Pz G says, ‘I feel great, too. You don’t have a hangover?’
  PPP says, ‘No that jet fuel is great stuff — no hangover, nothing. We ought to do this more often.’

  ‘ Yeah, well there’s just one thing.’
  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Have you farted yet?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Well, DON’T, ‘ cause I’m in New Zealand

• VCC 😆 😆 😆

  Oz, i know. I told you i was an unlucky bastard. I think i mentioned that i was once put in a barrel full of nipples, and i came out sucking my thumb. haha Thank Dennis i have that laid back Aussie attitude where the main thing is to ‘have a go, you mug’ 🙂

• This is the sad story of events on GLiC’s 70th Birthday recently.

  The family wheeled GLiC out on the lawn, in his wheelchair, where the activities for his 70th birthday were taking place.

  GLiC couldn’t speak very well, but he would write notes when he needed to communicate.

  After a short time out on the lawn, GLiC started leaning off to the right, so some family members grabbed him, straightened him up, and stuffed pillows on his right.

  A short time later, he started leaning off to his left, so again the family grabbed him and stuffed pillows on his left.

  Soon he started leaning forward, so the family members again grabbed him, and then tied a pillowcase around his waist to hold him up.

  A nephew who arrived late came up to GLiC and said, ‘Hi, GLiC, you’re looking good ! How are they treating you?’

  GLiC took out his little notepad and slowly wrote a note to the nephew…… .
  .
  .
  .

  ‘Bastards won’t let me fart.’

• That’s funny VCC, your on fire today mate. Back later

• VCC,

  😀 😀

• I’ll leave my true story for fear of upsetting our Ozzie readers then? Any Kiwi’s on board?

• I’ve been a Ramsey fan. And I see him as a permanent fixture in ARSENAL squad for years to come. Yes he is not the top top quality that we expected to sign when Cesc departed. But hez no shit either. A little lack of finesse is overcome by his hard work, determination and attitude.

  In Artetas place I see Frimpong. I dont know why? But him, Wilshere and Ramsey just sounds the right combo to me.

  And as for LeCoq, Well…I dont like his attitude. He is a fine player. A year ago (I guess), there were reports of him wanting to look around if not given a chance here.

• @ VCC + PPP

  hahaha great stuff 🙂

  @ Gerry

  offend away. water off a ducks back. Look forward to the story.

  @ Nutcase

  I’d love to see Frimpong given a go. He also knows the system, would die for Arsenal and is very underrated in my opinion. I just think Le Coq has more tools in his repertoire. If we went with a 4-1-2-3 I think he’s our man. If it’s 4-2-1-3 then Le Coq and Ramsey are your men. Blood from the inside I say. I think LeCoq has a good attitude in expressing his desire to play, he had waited and is chomping at the bit. I’d be more worried if he didn’t and merrily sat back collecting pay cheque after pay cheque like other members in our squad.

• Gerry, you cant offend a true blue Aussie. He might hook you to the chin, but i guarantee he buys you a beer afterwards 🙂

• Oz,
  Maybe its wrong to be talking ‘next season’ when we have so many cup finals to come, but i believe that if Le Coq isnt given a decent amount of game time, he might look for pastures new, or clubs will be looking to snap him up along with Frimmers.

  Imo, he is too good not to play at the moment. Maybe an extra 5-10kg of muscle in pre-season may sway Arsene to persist as he has with others. I really hope we dont lose him, because i rate him highly and guarantee that he will be one that does come back to bite us

• @ PPP

  reminds me of Danny Green’s autobiography. This bloke at his old work didn’t like him so they went to a park around the corner to sort out there differences. Green belted him after the guy kicked him while he was done. Instead of leaving him there he put him in the front seat of his ute and drove him to the hospital. Before he got there he drove to his mates house to show him what he’d done just in case he didn’t believe him haha. After all that they had mutual respect for each other and they got on at work.

• PPP, Coquelin and Frimpong will both leave if they do not get game time, just like Pogba left United for Juventus and Wenger will soon have to make a decision on whether he let’s them go.

• @ PPP

  I know what you mean, i too share those fears. If we bring in another defensive minded midfielder surely he’ll take off. I just think it’d be a waste of money personally. I don’t think he needs size (don’t want him to lose his speed) he just needs to work on his core strength and power (worked wonders for Kozzer after he was bullied in his first season). The Flamini type of DM that buzzes around all game long and is a great tackler…that is Coquelin! it’s what we need but Coquelin is more refined skill wise. Not to mention he can play LB and RB, that sort of versatility is worth it’s weight in gold.

• AFC,
  I think that is what i was trying to say to OZ. Sorry my English isnt too great.

  OZ,
  Its the gentlemanly(?) thing to do. hahaha. Love the bit about driving to a mates house first. I dont mind Danny Green although the title fight against that Croatian dude was a bit suspect. How long ago did his autobiagraphy come out?

• Oz,
  All agreed on Le Coq although i wouldnt mind the extra 5kg muscle. I dont think that he would lose any agility or speed. Maybe just a little upper body work. Same applies for Kozzer. He has come in leaps and bounds but i wouldnt mind seeing him bulk up, especially when i think back to the make-out session with Dzeko.
  Back to Le Coq and the formation, if he isnt ready to play the ‘1’ in the 4-1-2-3 because of a lack of positional awareness, then i would stick with the 4-2-1-3 and bleed him in whilst Arteta is still motoring. The worst thing that could happen is if Arteta broke down, neither Ramsey nor Le Coq would have that someone to learn the finer details from

• PPP, Coquelin will never be able to play as the sole DM, but Frimpong will be able to. Frimpong is an absolute beast and is the closest thing to Viera we have had in years.

• AFC,
  If you were in Arsenes’ shoes would you cut your losses with Le Coq and Frimpong, if they were not satisfied with the amount of game time.?

• AFC, they said the same about Flamini. There was a shit load of humble pie that season 😉

• PPP, If I was in Wenger’s shoes I would let them go if we were getting replacements. I personally would buy a new DM and allow Frimpong and Coquelin to have game time by playing them in matches. If we get a bigger squad for next season I would rotate the squad every match. Ferguson is the best at doing this although he has a huge squad but if we add players in the summer we can do this.

• AFC, i recognise the need for a holding midfielder, enforcer, but to let both go would be a big waste of money time and effort spent on these players. Le Coq will be a full international (mark my words). On another note, if we dont make the CL qualifications we will have a much smaller squad next season. Stan will make sure of that

• OZ&PPP – Story in a minute. But regards Frimpong. He is out of contract come this June, as Arsenal did not offer him one before they sent him on loan to Fulham. Now Fulham are in a win win situation. They can offer him a contract, pay Arsenal a miserly fee for ‘developing’ him, and if it doesn’t work out out they would still get more than that development fee?

  However, Frimpers does want to play for the Gunners, but the emphasis is on PLAY. So if they do counter (any) offer that might come for him, he would more than likely sign. But he has now got an international place to play for, and be fair, Fulham are playing him …?

  Coquelin is that one rung up. He plays occasionally, but he still spends far too much time on the bench. Despite the length of the contract he signed, he may also prefer to drop a level(from a top 4 club), or even try his luck in another league? Let’s face it, he could be a big hit somewhere?
  Hence my statement earlier – Use him or lose him?

  Te fly in that scenario is of course the younger Yennaris? The only difference between the two is that Nico hasn’t had the experience in the first team, and he can head better that Le Coq.
  Skillwise I don’t think there is a gnat’s whisker between them? Yennaris in the Next Gen has been what Jack is to the first team.

  This is where it is going to be tough for the youngsters looking to get the next contract. As was highlighted in our previous post on finance’s and our wage bill. Well over £30k a week goes to supporting these juniors, so if we are going to extend our top end pay level, a lot of these promising youngsters may well be looking out for new clubs, or even careers, come this summer. The same people who clamour for the ‘big signings’ will also be pointing a finger saying we let so-and-so go far too early in a couple of years time?

  It is a difficult one to be sure?

• PPP, if I was manager of Arsenal this is what I would to. I would rebuild the whole squad although this could take a few years to do.

  Starting with GKs, sell Mannone and Fab but an experienced GK around the age of 28 or old pro like Cesar and buy a cheap young keeper around the age of 17. The new 28 year old keeper/old pro is our no.1, Szec is our no.2 and comes in when there are lots of matches, for instance when you have a game every 3 days. The 17 year old keeper will be put out on loan till he reaches the level required.

  Keep the fullbacks. The only problem is the age of Sagna and he can be replaced next season.

  By a top quality CB, or turn Sagna to CB nad buy a new Monreal type RB so we have 4 CBs, with 2 CB pairings in Verm with Sagna/new CB and Mert with Kos.

  Buy a top quality striker under the age of 28, no washed out strikers like Villa. The wings are pretty much covered with Ox, Gerv, Pod and Theo but I might buy a new winger so Theo or Pod can also be a striker although this is not necessary.

  Buy a new DM and turn Jack to an AM with Santi. Keep the likes our Frimpong, Ryo, Coq etc. But sell our deadwood, problem solved.

• *without the mistakes

  PPP, if I was manager of Arsenal this is what I would to. I would rebuild the whole squad although this could take a few years to do.

  Starting with GKs, sell Mannone and Fab buy an experienced GK around the age of 28 or old pro like Cesar and buy a cheap young keeper around the age of 17. The new 28 year old keeper/old pro is our no.1, Szec is our no.2 and comes in when there are lots of matches, for instance when you have a game every 3 days. The 17 year old keeper will be put out on loan till he reaches the level required.

  Keep the fullbacks. The only problem is the age of Sagna and he can be replaced the season after next season.

  Buy a top quality CB, or turn Sagna to CB nad buy a new Monreal type RB so we have 4 CBs, with 2 CB pairings in Verm with Sagna/new CB and Mert with Kos.

  Buy a top quality striker under the age of 28, no washed out strikers like Villa. The wings are pretty much covered with Ox, Gerv, Pod and Theo but I might buy a new winger so Theo or Pod can also be a striker although this is not necessary.

  Buy a new DM and turn Jack to an AM with Santi. Keep the likes our Frimpong, Ryo, Coq etc. But sell or release our deadwood, problem solved.

  Players I would buy are Cesar and a young keeper around the age of 17 (not sure of who yet, defender from Bilbao on a free or a new RB (not sure of who yet) turning Sagna to CB, DM probably Capoue or any other quality DM, ST probably Jovetic or Benzema, winger could be Isco with Santi moving to the wing and Isco playing as an AM or a quality winger.

  Let me know what you think.

• Okay, here’s two for the price of one ….

  Years ago when I was a telephone operator, our Exchange handled international calls for the area. Being on night staff we might get a little bored and try one out. Mine one was nothing great, but back in the day Mohammed Ali was still Cassius Clay, he was over in Maylaysia fighting George Foreman(?) -the ‘rumble in the jungle’ – … So I dialed a random Sydney number to see if they knew the result (no internet in those days!) …

  ‘Are you for real? Why would you be ringing a Sydney housewife to find out about a fight in Kuala LUMPUR???’

  She did not know the result.

  However a colleague did have a very funny one (allowing for political sensibilities of the day?), and did it with the full aussie accent, or ‘aksint’, as a Kiwi might say – slight digression , but a young lady told me how to tell the difference between an Aussie and a Kiwi from the way they say things. She said in describing their habit of shortening vowels like this … Kiwi’ are so uptight the can’t even say ‘Six’ properly …. She was of course an Aussie – back to the phone call.

  ‘Hello? Is that the Flying Doctor Service?

  ‘Yep’

  Well I’m miles from anywhere, and me Abo’s gone down with a broken leg. What can I do?’

  ‘Shoot the b*stard’ and slammed the phone down .. Doctors , eh?

  Have a g’day …

• TA,
  You’ve got mail.. (:))

• I have become concerned about our more ‘senior’ bloggers, like Glic, Terry and VCC all of whom are on the wrong side of 50.

  Cardiovascular activity is really important to you guys, so please be careful to start with, but I can help you with a well practised but

  energetic regime.

  Be careful!!

  First, scroll down the page;
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  And now scroll up — and that will do for today!! Tomorrow –repeat – carefully!!

• Thanks Redders, that gave my winkle a good work out !. I will repeat carefully tomorrow. When I say carefully, I mean, again in the toilets at Tesco`s and not in the check out queue !. hahaha

• hahahaha, Redders, christ that was exhausting. i feel so good after that, tomorrow i might try to do it twice. hahahaha

• Redders, it seems that Glic and Terry did that exersise with ease and in record time. I think VCC is still going down. hahaha

• Dont run before you can walk Stretch, take it gentle at first and build it up, otherwise you might pull something !. Once I`ve built up my stamina, I shall try and pull the girl at the checkout at Tesco`s, but for now I shall practice in the toilets and pass over my sticky points saver card with a smile on my face !. hahaha

• Hahaha Prince, the trouble with Vic`s going down is he cant get back up on his zimmer frame while his carer is on a tea break !.

• arrrgghhhhhh, spoke to soon, my colleague has had to call a bloody ambulance.Quick, some bastard give me a viagra tab to get started it again. arrrrrhgghhhhh

• VCC told me this story.

  VCC, who, as we all know relies on his Zimmer frame was going up to bed, when his wife told him that he’d left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. VCC opened the back door to go turn off the light, but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things.

  He phoned the police, who asked “Is someone in your house?”

  He said “No, but some people are breaking into my garden shed and stealing from me”.

  Then the police dispatcher said “All patrols are busy. You should lock your doors and an officer will be along when one is available.”

  VCC said, “Okay”. and hung up the phone and counted to 30.

  Quickly he phoned the police again.

  “Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago, because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well you don’t have to worry about them now because I just shot them.” and he hung up.

  Within five minutes, Six Police Cars, a SWAT Team, a Helicopter, two Fire Trucks, a Paramedic, and an Ambulance showed up at his house, and caught the burglars red-handed.

  One of the Policemen said to VCC, “I thought you said that you’d shot them!”

  VCC said, “I thought you said there was nobody available!”

  Damned clever that VCC, so no taking the micky out of him, or you will be in big trouble.
  (Could one of you tell him he still has a bit of green eel stuck in his front teeth — I think it’s eel anyway!) 😀

• Let me put you straight Redders, as I dont want Stretch sending Domingo around to you. Stretch is the wrong side of 40. I`m the wrong side of 50, but look the just over the wrong side of 30 and Vic`s is the wrong side of BC. Noah has still got a…. man over board AWOL out on Vic`s after Vic`s slipped off the Ark !. hahaha

• They cant be his teeth Redders, he must have nicked them from Stretch, as I have his real teeth here !. I use them for a BJ when the wifes out whilst I`m watching porn !. hahaha

• Darned Terry, he is getting sexier by the minute, Glicster, and growing younger even faster!! 😀

• Redders.
  I have found the secret to staying young and can actually prove it !.
  When my second daughter was born, I was 28. So I was 28 times older than her. I`m now 56 and now only twice as old as her !.

• hahaha, ime too old to be sexy Redders. Come to think about it, to ugly as well.

  Luckily for me, i know many places were the women are blind as bats, even older, and uglier than me. In fact, some of them arnt even real women. hahaha

• Terry/Glic 😀

• Actually, you two, there has been no sign of VCC today. What have you done with him?
  You did not tie him to a Zimmer Frame tied to a lamp-post somewhere did you?

  That would be cruel — imagine what those pee-ing dogs are doing to him!! 🙂

• Evening all 🙂

  Next post will come out around 10.30 tonight and we are going to talk about an anagram of ‘sick room stay’ 🙂

  Catch you later.

• Hope this works, do you mean this guy Totes !

  

• How about your old best friend ! hahaha

  

• Hi Red Arse…….I was around this morning……….I got told off by Total and Banned for 4 hours.

  You wait till I see him next, I’m going to burn one of his clogs……see how he likes it…. 😉

• Hahaha so if I’m to take his comments seriously, is Na$ri pining for a move back to Arsenal because his situation at $hitty has become unbearable? He says he doesn’t regret the move but that he was forced to leave and that AW is the best coach he’s ever worked with…but earlier in the year, he was quoted saying that he left Arsenal because we had no desire to win championships and we were holding him back?

  …what a clown, I hope he rots at $hitty

• You know what I`m like when I`ve got a new toy !. hahaha

  

• EDIT to my post above, he’s not pining for a move back but he does unhappy. Guess the allure of money only lasts for so long ;).

• I’d like to wish David Beckham all the best tonight. He starts against Barca.

• The clunge is a multi-millionaire, does he really need wishing all the best ?, wish me some of that instead !. hahaha

• Great analysis, ‘Mair! 🙂 Welcome to Bergkampesque, hopefully much more to come from you!

  I think Wenger should put Ramsey in central forward role as Aaron has proved that he has killer instinct. 😀

  Joking apart, Ramsey has had a really turbulent season, one of those that either make a better player out of someone or destroy his self-confidence and serious career. He has played on both wings and in the middle of the pitch as central midfielder and defensive midfielder. It’s something that doesn’t help his consistency no matter how intelligent and versatile I believe Aaron is.

  There was one thing that left me frustrated with him and it is slowness he has showed when our attacks have been started by him. I know he has killer-pass (OK, I’ll stop with “Aaron the Killer”-jokes!) and has shown that in 2011-12 in at least three occasions. Against Fulham (away), he gave a perfect pass to Koscielny who scored a header to gave us 1:0 lead (Ramsey was awarded with 3 bonus points on Fantasy Premier League for his performance). Against Chavs, it was Ramsey who clipped the ball over Chelsea defense for another “villain” Gervinho before Grey-Haired scored an equalizer in our 5:3 victory. Against Stoke he did the same combination with Gervinho in our home 3:1 victory. (Ramsey and Gervinho apparently have very decent understanding which is interesting given that their status among fans and Piers Morgan is similar. Anyway, I will write a text for Bergkampesque regarding understanding in our team in a few days. 😉 )

  Ramsey is an intelligent player and I hope he will break all mental blocks he might have and provide plenty of beautiful passes. Take a look at his move against Southampton before Gervinho (again two of them!) scored his second goal of the game in 6:1 victory – it was something that I don’t believe anyone from our current squad would think of.

• I know it`s not, but an anagram of David Beckham should be …. ” Young, Good Looking, F**king Loaded, but have a skeleton in my bed every night and not in the closet ! “

• Vics, how old is Becks now?

  Barca could have their own mardi-gras float with those jerseys

• Shes a whisper away from been a medical students fantasy Cornwall

  Would still do her though. hahaha

• Glic 😀

• Me too Terry, i would even offer her a meal.

• CL matches just ending…Funny stuff in Paris. With Messi hurt the 5 refs gift PSG and Ibra an equalizer waaay offside but then Cesc and the diviest diver of all the divers (Alexis Sanchez) combine for a pen. Cesc with the perfectly weighted back-pass doesn’t even get a mention. And now Matuidi makes it 2-2!! WOW…Wasn’t he on our radar as the solution to our DM problems? (And Victor Valdes is gonna be our keeper? Hmmmm…..)

  So that gets me on topic (kind of)…. An eye for the game and a single powerful foot is the trick in the DM position, I think. It also helps if you can shield the ball and ideally turn it out of trouble or, better yet, into attack. I think Diaby was always AWs guy, but that ship may have sailed away and nowadays Xabi Alonso seems well rooted back in Spain.

  For me, Ramsey is an engine stuck in 3rd gear; a runner who doesn’t know how to run. (Don’t we have coaches? You gotta cut your stride down, son, otherwise you look like you’re running in quicksand….) Frankly, he would be ideal as the focal point for a mid-table team, esp. as the season goes on and there’s less to play for. Lucky for us, the teams we need to beat right now are just those kinds of teams, and we’ve got AR….

  Ramsey’s engine has always been his strength and it would be (is) wasted in a position where his teammates need to count on him to be….you know, in position…. All that running around (oftentimes to compensate for those extra right footed touches he requires) leaves him AWOL far too often. I think we’ve got substantial issues with this run-in already, but god forbid if Arteta gets hurt. Between Ramsey’s unsuitability as a DM and Le Coq relying on the refs, our boy Fabianski will have to block a LOT of shots or we’ll have to outscore everybody if our (current, on-pitch) Captain were to go down….

  So, I don’t want to be too rough on those who want to construct arguments for a guy who has done a lot under very difficult conditions and always kept his head up. Management has asked too much of young Aaron and he’s taken the brunt. Right here, right now, he may be able to get us to the barn, but, like many others, longer term, I see him as a classic utility player. First 11 against tougher teams, if you’re being honest with yourself, Ramsey on the team sheet gets the bum squeaking before a ball has been kicked…..

• 17HT, fine comment and all agreed! 🙂

• New Post – New Post! 🙂

  AFC would like us to think about Tomas Rosicky and whether he still has a future at the club. And if so, whether that will be as a fringe or a major player?!