Arteta’s Team Plan: How Cedric Soares’ Arrival Could Strengthen Our Midfield

TotalArsenal

This ride on Arteta’s lilactrees-filled road to glory is becoming more and more pleasant. The contours of a strong team that is able to play winning AND attractive football are slowly becoming visible. Of course it is early days and our progress is still fragile, but this feeling of going forward again is giving us all, sticking with our recent blog-theme, a Vic Damone-like extra step…. Oooh the towering feeling.….

Since the arrival of Emery I never believed we could win a game without Torreira playing at least 80 minutes, but Arteta has managed to convince me that we can actually be victorious without the Uruguayan Black Panther. The first half v Bournemouth was so strong and somehow Arteta managed to make Xhaka and Guendouzi work together effectively.

I watched the first half again and still don’t understand how he did it! Of course we work hard to have more (quality) men on the wings than our opponents, so the centre of midfield is not so important, maybe?! On top of that, we had the industrious and athletic Willock supporting the deeper laying midfielders; but still, I cannot get my head round why it worked so well – in the first half especially.

This first half saw us score two fabulous team goals in which Willock had a pivotal role. It was good to see him back in the frame and taking his opportunity with both feet; I have such high hopes for him. I have already eulogised about Saka’s perfect cross – in the Netherlands it is called a Ceulemans, after the Belgium master billiards player – and his superbly taken goal, and Martinelli also had a mature game with an unselfish assist and great and effective presence in the box. So much to be excited about!

Today the TW shuts and it looks like Arteta will add Cedric Soares, the 28 year old Portuguese International who is in the last year of his contract with the Saints. It looks like he is cover for the RB position…. but we already have two players who can play there: Hector and Ainsley. So why get the added, costly cover? Hector is clearly ready to be our nr1 there again and Ainsley really impressed at RB in recent games.

But wait a minute…. Is Arteta perhaps ready to move AMN into the midfield, where he would prefer to play? In my opinion, that is where we need to strengthen but IF Ainsley is ready to move more central in midfield then count me as exceptionally excited! In fact, if you look at the first and second eleven below, would that not make us much stronger and more complete?!

The addition of Soares would give us cover on both RB and LB – the latter only until Tierney and/or Kola return – and free up AMN to play a key role in midfield. Now I don’t expect this to work straightaway, but Ainsley could add a lot there with his calm and composure, athleticism, strength and excellent passing ability. Key is for Arteta to coach him – this is his former Arsenal role after all – and improve his concentration levels and positional awareness, but if there is anybody who has the ability to become a new Vieira over time then it is AMN imo.

See the source image

Let’s see what the expected arrival of Soares really means for both the full back and central midfield positions.

By TotalArsenal.

 

65 thoughts on “Arteta’s Team Plan: How Cedric Soares’ Arrival Could Strengthen Our Midfield”

  • Amen to that!

    It looks that Arsenal is getting a nice squad mix of single-position specialists and “utility” players.
    Besides the goalkeepers who are obviously single-position specialists we have
    – Tierney and Bellerin as full backs (left & right respectively)
    – Holding, Sokratis, Mari and Musti, who operate best as CB-s (Mari on the Left, Musti on the right side) – so will be Saliba
    But we have utility players here:
    – Luiz can play CB and DM, Chambers can cover CB, RB & DM
    – Kolasinac and Soares can be utilized at LB/RB, LWB/RWB and LM/RM respectively
    – we might even mention Saka here, who is primarily LW, but can do LWB and even LB upon request
    – and the most verstaile is Ainsley, as he can play RB, RWB, DM, CM, RM and even RW

    Disregarding Torreira’s short stint at B2B midfielder he first and foremost our DM terrier, and Guendouzi is similarly a specialist of his own trade. On the other hand
    – Xhaka can cover for LB (occasionally as CB as required) besides his core DM role
    – Willock and Ceballos can play B2B (#8) and attacking midfield (#10)

    Among our attacking players most of them are perfect for a single position: Lacazette, Nketiah are finishing strikers, Nelson and Pepe are hardcore wingers (who can swap places during the game, but this is less of a tactical versatility, more like a tool to confuse defenders), and Ozil is still the best as attacking playmaker. The two guys who can truly be deployed in multiple positions are
    – Aubameyang and Martinelli, who can both spearhead the attack alone, yet can be similarly effective on the wings.

    So here are 2 line-ups; one with 11 single-position specialists, and another with 10 utility players (and a keeper):

    —————–Leno—————
    Bellerin-Holding-Mari-Tierney
    —————Torreira————–
    ————-Guendouzi————
    —Pepe——Ozil——Nelson—
    ————–Lacazette————-
    Subs: Sokratis, Mustafi, Elneny, Eddie

    —————Martinez—————
    –Chambers—Luiz—Kolasinac-
    —AMN——-Xhaka——-Saka—
    —————Ceballos—————
    —————-Willock—————-
    —-Aubameyang—–Martinelli—
    Subs: Soares, ESR, Mkhitaryan, John-Jules

  • A positive result at Turf Moor would send us into the mid-season break in great spirits and ready to work and prepare to attack the second half of the season with renewed vigour.

    Arteta’s results haven’t been overly spectacular, but the improvements across the board has been heartening, it’s allowed fans not to get ahead of themselves, no unrealistic expectations, it’s been a slow burner and that’s been a good thing.

    I love the way Arteta is working with our squad, a squad that was quite disfunctional, but he’s gone about his work in a steady, intelligent manner, building up confidence, making tactical changes to close those technical issues and vulnerabilities, getting the maximum he can out of our players, making some of them look safe, secure and capable instead of nervous and error strewn, he’s got the fans back on side, our away fans have to the best around it makes me want to do a few away games again, I do miss that vibe.

    I’ve not felt this positive for years, I can’t wait to see what Mikel says and what he is going to do with Tierney, AMN in midfield, BFS (Big Flippin’ Spaniard), the attacking combinations he’s working towards, Xhaka reborn, Mustafi a folk hero, Mr Versatile Saka, Smith Rowe/John Jules when they come home, he seems to have a plan for everyone and everyone is buying in. Footballers aren’t stupid, they can see and they can sense when something is good, when it seems to be working and they want to be involved, they want a piece of the glory that’s down the road. It’s why I hope we get Aubameyang to sign a new deal, to get him to commit the best years of his career to us as I can see him doing an Ibrahimovitch and playing well into his 30’s and at a top level, I just hope he does it with us.

  • Nice one, PB, and the pint of lager goes to you for making the first comment!

    Love the ‘two teams’ and like the idea of utility players.

  • great comment, Kev, and half a lager goes to you for being the second comment maker!

    Agreed re the away fans’ vibe and Arteta’s man management skills. 🙂

  • The arrival of Mari and Cedric meant that less pressure is on Luiz’s position and Big Sok’s position. AMN is a midfielder, but he can play almost anywhere in midfield. DM, CM, AM, even on the wings. So, we have good cover for all positions and it is good news for us tomorrow.

    I will have the following players in my lineup:
    ————–Leno————–
    Bellerin—Sok—Luiz—Mari
    ——–Tor——–Xhaka——
    Pepe——–Ozil——–Saka
    ————Martinelli———–

  • Been v quiet these last few days. Are loan signings not interesting, are you sad about Brexit, bothered about the Coronavirus, struggling with the end of ‘Dry January’, bored about my writing, worried about your shares’ value, or just very, very busy right now?

    Let’s be having you!

  • Pablo and Cedric’s acquisition suggest to me that Arteta, considering the personnel available to him, wants to emphasize creating from the wide areas. Our chance creation has been very poor (Emery, Frank and Arteta). I feel he is heading towards full throttle wingbacks in Saka/Kola and Bel/Soares. That means a back 3 of say Pablo, Luiz and Sokr. He would hope to rebuild creating from the central areas in the summer.

  • Is it just me (being paranoid), or there is anti-Arsenal bias in Australia now?
    https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/premier-league/epl-deadline-day-january-transfer-window-analysis-done-deals-updates-spurs-manchester-united-liverpool-arsenal/news-story/50097d3202994844d6ec05f025d4d561

    This is a quite comprehensive list of all Premier League winter transactions, and a verbal evaluation & rating (A to F) where there was major movement.
    Feel free to read it, but to sum up my concerns Arsenal got a C, which could be accepted/justified, even though we strengthened the area where we were the most vulnerable (i.e. defense), we didn’t break the bank, and we further brought support to Auba and – the out of form – Laca by reluctantly recalling Nketiah from a less than successful loan. (I’m not even mentioning finding promising loan deals for our promising starlets to get regular minutes…)

    But the C rating is the least of my problem. Maybe the author is maximalist, prefers big name – and/or big money – signings. After all everybody is entitled to his/her own opinion, aren’t they.
    But I feel serious double standards when Liverpool similarly gets a C, where only real signing came from Austria for an attacking position where they not merely possess the strongest front 3 (in the PL, but probably in the whole world), but have quality backups like Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri and Belgium’s Divock Origi. Of course, the signing of the Japanese 25-year-old can easily turn out to be a masterstroke, but that can apply to every winter transfer from Sander Berge to Joao Pedro. But so far I honestly believe that Liverpool’s winter activity is OBJECTIVELY less impressive than Arsenal’s.

    Sorry for the spoiling the ‘OK, but who got an A?’ riddle, but – surprise, surprise – it is Tottenham. The club, that managed to sell the league’s 7th most valuable player for a miserable 18M, failed to buy a striker in the transfer window despite rumors of negotiations with 10+ potential players, loaning out both their back-up fullbacks, because they loaned a promising young midfielder from Portugal. They must be doing right in the field of PR, because in the transfer window they haven’t been convincing…

  • For me, TA, I’ve got my sleep patterns messed up from watching some of that tennis down under in the wee hours, so yesterday felt a bit like a lost one…(Not to mention money, or at least paper value, lost in the markets. More bad news over the weekend on the Coronavirus and Monday could present some, er, buying opportunities, as the optimists might say…)

    Your post actually provoked a couple of thoughts…and I started trying to read (elsewhere…) about the players we’ve gotten in, but I didn’t get too far. I have to say, there just aren’t a lot of observers–not stat(ex)strapolators–for whom I have even less time–whom I trust, who have actually watched Cedric lately (much less Mari). Like everybody else, I know nothing about Mari and only really think of Cedric (the name he wears on his shirt, if I remember correctly) as an industrious player with a nice haircut. Perhaps he’s got the skillset to play a bit more possession-oriented stuff along the touchline, same as Bellerin, I think, can do. (Saka has this ability, in spades, I think, Tierney, I haven’t seen enough of, but I’m not really picturing Kola and AMN at a similar level.)

    It’s early days, but, I believe, this is what Arteta is after. I think Arteta knows that the Arsenal brand requires not being afraid of having the ball (i.e., possession and pushing the opponent back.) However, for less than the very top teams (meaning Pool and City, at the moment), trying to create a lot through the middle of the pitch is dangerous stuff these days. From what I’ve been seeing, almost all PL teams nowadays have a coordinated press when the opponent has the ball near the center of the pitch, with their numbers 9 and/or 10 (and the DMs behind them, most teams use two…) running down both the ball carrier and the closest central targets, which, of course, forces the play either long or wide (or both). This means that fullbacks (and more forward wide players, sometimes) now become long-ball targets and have to run (and run and run) up and down the touchline (all game long). With all the matches we’ve got on the horizon (I think Arteta hopes for deep cup runs, which can include replays in the FA Cup) you just can’t play these guys every three days forever and ever. It’s interesting, however, that he went for a right-footer in Soares, which, in fact, makes me worry that Raul is planning a Bellerin (to Barca?) deal for the summer.

    (There’s something rotten smelling–or maybe Sanhelling?–in the red part of North London, I fear. There was a time–when Wenger was in charge–that Arsenal were a beacon towards a less corrupt world of European club football. Alas, those days are gone, IMO…)

    (Another reason I was maybe too depressed to write anything yesterday was this thing that happened in Washington that felt like the final straw for ANY sort of vision that democracy is sorta/kinda/maybe important in my home country… There’s sad stuff there in England too…but, how can you beat the argument on the other side?–that the sky hasn’t fallen so it all must be OK…. 😦 …)

    Back to the post… I believe we were able to make those goals at Bournemouth (which, indeed, Willock moved forward nicely) because the opponent was backing off so extremely. Once Eddie Howe adjusted his guys (to press the ball–and the nearby central passing targets) we became far less effective and allowed them back into the match. After that we looked our best moving it quickly up the touchline.

    Finally, I wonder about the conclusion that it all means that AMN will be played as a DM. Maybe, (esp. if Xhaka, in addition to Ozil, is off in the summer), but maybe not. (And, I wouldn’t be surprised if he–AMN–gets sold in the summer too…) Only time will tell, but I’d sort of expect him to get lined up on the left (for some of the early EL matches, maybe) if he gets much game time at all. We’ll see who makes the team. We may not see it tomorrow (Cedric, supposedly, is nursing something and won’t be available…), but with nobody leaving, not all our (fit) players will be able to claim even bench spots and be part of Arteta’s rotation, even with all the matches on tap… Those who travel to Dubai (for training over the break) had better work hard in order to impress the new manager, I would think…

  • Watching a little neutral football (as I think about the Arsenal) this morning… Chavs got the first goal but Leicester has put in two and worked the old (but majestically bald) keeper, Cowboy Bill, Fat Frank having Kepa-ed his younger more coiffed (and far more expensive) #1 on the bench…

    But now Rudiger gets a 2nd headed goal from a set-piece… Plenty of time for more goals, too…

  • We’ll see how the sleep patterns go, but I do hope to get up early and do a live blog tomorrow.
    It may be my last one until late March as I head back down to Mexico (when the boys are similarly kicking it in Dubai)… I plan on making a more earnest effort to get some better internet speeds, but nothing moves too quickly down there, I fear…

    It looks like I’m only talking to my echo this morning…so, until then, I guess…

  • pb– good series of comments on the Fox Sports piece. Think you’ve got it about right. Seems we both read a wide array of Arsenal content. While it smacks of disfavoritism coming from me? I am always less inclined to accept opinions of stateside sources.

    As for the grading– there wasn’t a lot to crow about– for anyone. Think Sheffield did a good piece of business bringing over Sander Berge from Genk. Pool with Minamino from Leipzig. United with Bruno Fernandes from Sporting (£68M, the biggest money deal). Newcastle, Villa, and West Ham all improved, if slightly IMO.

    The two clubs whose fortunes always seem to be either intertwined or extremely polar are Arsenal and Sp^rs. The ‘A’ grade given to Totts– comes only because of the dearth of other candidates. Someone in a grading article must get the A. Second best bit of business was locking down a load to perm deal for Lo Celso. Woohoo. He’s not helped their fortunes much to this point. Gedson Fernandes from Benfica? Fine. But Moo-man will find a way to soon enough suck the joy from whatever they may bring to The Massive Toilet Bowl up Seven Sisters. Little was said about the club losing a pair of solid pros in Christian Ericksen and Danny Rose– in part negating part of their lofty grade.

    As for The Arsenal. We got what we needed. And it cost very little. Those were goals turned into accomplishments. If Arteta is satisfied this will help the team? I’m inclined to believe him. Mari’s addition helps in several fashions. An extra CB. Height. Solid defensive positional play. Arteta knows what he’s getting. Less inclined to opine on Soares– but another LB/RB can’t hurt. Might just be a need for a body in training and some insurance (things have been known to go against plans in defense). But the hidden gem– is recalling Eddie Nketiah. We know Eddies scores goals. Anywhere he plays. Whether he bags ’em in the PL or becomes the Cup striker? It takes some of the load from the rest of the attack force. And Eddie comes for free.

    So yeah pb. This opinion comes from stateside too. But it’s not something I had to write to get paid. And– unlike the Fox Sports ‘Staff Writers’ credited with puffing that bit of nonsense on Tottenham’ TW with an ‘A’? Nobody will ever insult me– claiming I’m a Spud fanboy. 😮

    jw1

  • Smith Rowe starts for Huddersfield Town @ Fulham, and,
    John Jules starts for Lincoln City @ Southend United – coached/managed by Sol Campbell.

  • Olayinka not in the Northampton Town squad, surely he isn’t injured?
    That would be so frustrating after his impressive debut in midweek…

  • Fulham 3-0 Huddersfield Town, 3 goals between 10th and 31st minute, Town are struggling, no mentions of Smith Rowe. A stiff learning curve for Emile…

  • John Jules has been involved with Lincoln, winning a few free kicks, playing as an out and out centre forward with 9 on his shirt.

  • Deep breath HT. Nobody is on our clock (over here).

    As for all of the news of yesterday? I spent 12 hours of my day on my feet setting up and then directing the technical aspects of a major seminar– at a large venue– with just one other individual assisting. Putting many miles on my declining physicality is not something I enjoy.

    So I’ve caught up on TA’s pinging us on our TW opinions– by agreeing with pb almost entirely.
    While I’ve been trying to follow Brexit as best I can for the past few years? England is the place of birth of half my lineage– so I’m an interested party. My dad spent 2 years stationed at RAF Grafton Underwood, northeast of Kettering, Northamptonshire– navigating B-17 missions over North Europe in ’42-43. I’ve always carried a measure of ‘for Queen and Country’ in my conscience. I don’t want to weigh in on Brexit– because I haven’t lived it– nor will be affected directly. Just hope for the best for those of you who are.

    As for the sh^tshow here in our capitol yesterday? I’m quite the political animal. But you don’t want me typing all day here– on this. Briefly if you’re interested? The vote yesterday in our Republican-majority Senate (to absurdly not allow witnesses to a trial of this import) was not the end-game Republican’s would like the world to believe. It was wholly expected by Democrats– who, as the majority, run our House of Representatives. This is only a part of the long-game being played by those in charge of the proceedings in the House. To date– I’d describe it as ‘masterful’. The outcome (of this 18-month-long process) is to ensure against the re-election of a president whose actions have been proven to be criminal. Overcoming a corrupt machinery that has its’ hands on almost all of the levers controlling– our government’s institutional checks, the individuals adjudicating on them– long-maintaining a hold on daily news cycles.

    Still, I have faith. This too, shall come to pass. In November’s election.

    Covered many bases TA. And column inches. 😉

    jw1

  • Hey, some peoples… 😀

    Cheers for the TW round-up, J-Dub… I don’t know how much appetite I’ve got for watching neutral football, but I might watch a bit of ManUre if their A signing starts in MF…

    Frankly, I’m not quite sure how people (even “professional football journalists,”–though, how many of them are truly out there these days…) can watch enough to say who will fit in where. When Arteta says, “I’ve been watching him” I feel a good deal more trusting… Tim Stillman wrote a good piece about our guy Mari, but it’s (still just a) contextual analysis… I guess we’ll all be able to judge with our own eyes, assuming he gets to play when I we get/to (or choose to) watch… 😉

    My point is that “received opinion” should be taken for what it is…but maybe we should trust our own eyes… (Apologies to any blind Gooners who might be listening to these comments through some sort of audio translation program… 😀 😀 …)

    Meanwhile… AOC (not the foxy politician…) rolls a shot inside a vacated post to break the nil-nil for Pool vs So’ton… He must’ve learned that “look before you blast” thing since his days at our club…

  • Sorry, J-Dub… Re: the political stuff, but I’m not so optimistic… though I agree that it’s a strong talking point for the dems (in Washington)… For “swing” (and occasional and new) voters, I fear visuals matter more, and those DIW (dems in Washington) will look pretty stupid having to sit through the victory lap…before the worst teleprompter reader (ever?) gets back on script (at the State of the Union)… Longer term, my plan is to be with the murderers and rapists in November…you know, where I’ll feel A LOT safer… (Though, how many will die when–my best guess–even the popular vote goes in favor of fear, belief–over rationalism, and that ace in the hole argument, I mentioned, that the sky hasn’t fallen?…)

    Jordan Henderson doubles the lead for those making better sorts of history…

  • If TA catches up, sorry for the political insertions, I was only explaining why I skipped a day… Plus, you started it… 😉

    How is the taxi driver able to watch all those matches all at the same time?… More winkies, eh…

    Mo Salah (from Henderson…) gets in on the act… 3-nil

  • Elvis Bwomono scores the winner for Southend, gutted for Tyreece, but what a great name, he deserved to score and has left the building…

  • Thanks for the in-game comments, Kev. You really are our champion of the Youths (together with PB of course!). Good to see ESR doing so well in his first game.

  • Cheers PB, I am not too bothered how others rate Arsenal’s transfer business. Lets see how the new boys do before we make a judgement ourselves.

  • Your welcome TA, I’m quite keen to see how Smith Rowe, John Jules and Olayinka do because I feel that they all have the potential to be part of our senior squad next season.

    Finance is an issue for us, for many reasons, so our Youth to me is the thing I’m motivated by and not least for what Arteta can get out of them.

  • Cheers Seventeenho, some fine insights. Re AMN getting possibly sold this summer.. that is a bold statement. I reckon he has impressed Arteta a lot and now wants to use him midfield, but you are good at these sort of predictions (although I totally disagree re Hector.. not going anywhere soon).

  • Last word on this HT (promise TA!)– IMHO? The optics during the SOTU will go a long way to convincing the electorate to vote otherwise. He simply cannot stop– once he goes off-script. He is never wrong– and perpetually the victim. He has the stage, an open mic– with an unlimited amount of free camera time. Nobody will be able to yank it away from him. He’ll go hours.

    If I were an ad campaign strategist? Could not ask for a better pool of info to create campaign ads for the next 10 months.

    I’m actually optimistic. Believe it or not.
    And if not? Mrs jw1 and I are making our second trip down to Playa later this month. She loves the place. Unlike you my friend? We are urban animals. And PdC feels a very interesting little city.

    jw1

  • Stepped out and thus missed the ManU match… Did anybody watch? Did any of their new signings play? OGS seems to have a Moyes-esque leash which might see him all the way to May…when they might hire someone new, maybe a Pochettino type… 😀

    Well, TA… I sure hope I’m wrong about lots of things…including the political scenario for November (I’m more into “low expectations = key to happiness” than I told you sos…), but, for sunny side up J-Dub (until TA shuts us down…), tell me who you think will lead the ticket? (And then you can tell me you told me so… 😉 Also, re: our south of the border talk, it’s quite interesting that you tell me about PdC being a city. The only time I visited, they did have a bus station (and perhaps a street grid of some sort–it was 1985 so the memory is fuzzy) but it was really just a ferry port for the Isla (Cozumel)… Of course, at that time, from the bus station in Tulum you would take a taxi out to the pair of restaurants near the ruins, which were gratis (and unguarded). I remember paying somebody about $2 and trying to sleep in a hammock (I could’ve used mosquito netting…) on the beach directly in front of the ruins, where I stumbled around a bit the next morning before heading further south… Belize got even stranger, of course…(wIth a quick ferry from the “Capitol City” out to Cay Caulker but plenty of fun)… Things change, I guess…

    Indeed, like Arsenal and Burnley–on equal points (30!!) going into Round 25 of the PL season… 😦

    Yes, it would be nice to get the full points but this ^^^ is me trying to lower (those past-based and creeping up under the new manager) expectations… 😀

  • I have a good feeling about this one, 17Ho, but of course keeping your expectations low is key to your happiness and so I am not going to try and convince you otherwise! 🙂

    I watched the MU – Wolves game and it was not very entertaining. MU lack individual quality all over the pitch and look predictable and uniform. Wolves play the better football but lean too much on their defensive shape and tactics. They are a joy to watch when they break out from deep but then lack the numbers to hurt the opponent’s defence. The new signing from Portugal did well btw.

  • One more. Just for HT.
    Biden. Best chance. GOP numbers must confirm this– or he’d not have been targeted 18-months-out for the manufacture of dirt.

    On the ticket too: Castro or Harris or Klobuchar.
    Think much of Warren. But she is more valuable in the Senate. As are Harris and Klobuchar– in order to regain/retain the majority in both congressional houses in November.

    Biden/Julian Castro might help turn Texas purple. It’s closer to the cusp than many think. 38EVs changes the entire calculus.

    Biden/Kamala Harris might be better as AG– but she’d be great as VP too. CA Gov Gavin Newsome (some folks dark-horse VP choice) would appoint another D-Senator– so maybe Biden/Harris?

    Biden/Klobuchar is a result of the Senator’s debate positives. Not sure that MN’s 10 EVs change the dynamic enough. Unless Texas polling (in Apr/May) shows a Castro selection as pointless. Then you go for the those 10 EVs by going Biden/Klobuchar.

    jw1

  • HT– I could best describe PdC now as Boulder CO on the Gulf coast. A city running north-south built strung aside a 30-block long retail-restaurant-small shop-street vendor economy– starting one block west off the beach.

    Definitely all the comforts and entertainment and cuisine one might enjoy in a small city driven by tourism.

    This is PdC now (from the Cozumel ferry looking north):

  • … and then a similar location peering south.

    There have been some moderate issues with sargassum on the beaches (usually in May and Nov). But all-in-all an enjoyable (and safe) place to relax and have fun.

    Thinking I could live there. But I only control half the votes!
    (Oop! Talking about elections again… 😁)

    jw1

  • Wowsa, J-Dub, that is a lot of good/interesting information…re: the North of the border politics… Time will tell…

    Otro Lado, that Caribbean ferry port is a mind-blower. Cheers for the photos… I guess if you’re already on the Gulf (in ‘Uston, as candidates–and potentially viable ones, I think, Bloomberg and Sanders, not to mention the King himself, might say…) you’re sort of half-way there, kinda like I probably feel about the other (Pacific) side. In general, the pace of development is too much for me (and I’ve got big worries about necessary infrastructure issues, see: Norovirus in Saluyita, Nya. for example… though, when you’re in the middle of it, it all seems a LOT slower…and, of course, then you’re a playa (pronounced player…) at the playa, which is it’s own sort of entertainment, I guess…

    I’m hoping to get a lot more information about these sorts of infrastructure things (my boy is doing a Senior project about the water quality/system down there) and the big one: internet. Felipe says agua es vida–when I asked him about the cistern he was putting in at his house–but I routinely tell him that internet es vida…and we need to make some progress there…

    …Especially if Arsenal can grab those points up there in Lancashire…

    Go on then…

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