A point won or two lost? That seems to be the narrative of the press and many a fan. Well, what about the bigger picture?! Arteta and his players are sometimes victims of their own success. It’s outrageous how far this young team has come. 73 points with still eight to play, 23 wins out of 30 games, just three losses.
Man City should and probably will win the league. The fact that we are still within a shout of the title and competing with Citeh is a pure wonder. Arteta is building something special and he is so bloody good at it that this team is well ahead of its growth trajectory.
We came to Anfield with this young, exciting team. We played them off the pitch and silenced the crowd so much you could hear individuals swearing as only Scousers can. When was Anfield ever that quiet?!
We went two nil up and just were awesome. A little lack of concentration in defence and a bit of Scousers’ luck brought them back in the game. This can happen in football. Nothing to do with Granit’s yellow card but it will not stop old hate bubbling up… A group of scary looking youths walk past and half a minute later I break my foot through slipping. That’s of course the youths’ fault; I hate them, I always did… A lot of bad things happen in the world because of these sorts of mental wrongdoings.
We gave away a winning position and I understand that many are disappointed in that. I am too and so is the manager and so are the players. But the much. MUCH bigger picture is that we stood the Anfield test, we overcame Klopp’s Gnashers and properly led that team with (mostly in the beginning) scintillating football for 88 minutes. Keep your scorn from individual players or the manager; don’t hurt but support. Become a co-builder rather than a wracker, a supporter rather than a fan.
it’s not about two points lost or one point won; it’s about the team’s and manager’s progress to overcome the Anfield cauldron and not lose there, to flourish and not wilt, to hang in there and play at the top of our youthful and continuously growing abilities. That’s my Arsenal and I love it.
By TotalArsenal
Bergkampesque 
And that’s why I love Ian Wright. He always gets it right. Watch till the end:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/65228801
Can’t watch BBC stuff down here, Total, but I can imagine Wrighty’s words.
Don’t know if this came thru in the last post, but it came to me just after Bobby F equalised for ‘pool.
I am again saying this you cannot be an exp player and yet keep making the same non footballing mistake again and again. There is no need to take the center stage when it’s the brilliance of the youngster football should take the center stage. You have let down the manager and the team. Pls look at Artetas statement.
Utter nonsense, Madhu. Granit has been brilliant for us and he just got a yellow card. Nothing to worry about and all the players love him. Move on mate, it really is not worth it.
Indeed we need shades, Stu. The progress is blinding…
This was Liverpool, at Anfield. One year ago, the same team, coached by the same manager, were regarded as an unplayable wild bunch. The game was reffed by a guy who, for the sake of the most basic honesty, should have worn a red shirt – even though, when you think of it, a skyblue one was appropriate as well.
But at some point in the first half, I thought to myself we were givin’ ‘em the City-on-a-great-day treatment. So this was by far the best away game our club’s first team has played in aeons.
They’re so young, our lads, and after all, for all his self-confidence, they’re coached by a manager who’s still a rookie too – compared to Guardiola, Klopp, ten Hag, even Howe, he certainly is. The players, the manager, couldn’t keep under control the mesmerizing story they had been writing for 40 minutes, I can agree with that. But what I’m left with this morning are wonderful images, soon to become cherished memories, of one of these games which rekindle my mad love for this sport, and I cannot thank them enough for it.
Provided the PGMO don’t turn up with one gunpowder plot to bring down what this club has been building lately, we will brush aside both Hammers and Saints, so that April 26th will be a genuine Cup Final, ain’t that a thrill?
Yesterday morning, should GN have asked for our predictions, I would have get this one down as an away win for the sake of wishful thinking. I’ll do it when the day comes, but as a believer now.
COYG
Xhaka has been outstanding this season but there is some truth that a footballer is only as good as his last game.
Liverpool was out of the game until Xhaka reacted to Trent Arnold – it woke the Anfield crowd and gave Liverpool the push they needed.
Given that Liverpool had beaten the likes of City and United and their home form is much stronger than their away form, you could be forgiven in saying that a point there is a good result.
It is a good point but if Xhaka hadn’t been so stupid we would have probably got three points with the way the game was going before Xhaka reacted.
Even with his form this season I still think there is some doubt over Xhaka, and I understand why Arsenal are looking at the likes of Rice and Savic.
I think there are much better options for central midfield out there for Arsenal.
I don’t get how this result can be put down solely on Xhaka’s indiscretion of getting a yellow card, like it is the first yellow he’s had (and we have still gone on to win the game), or like the Anfield crowd was going to stay cowed all game. I complained about the circumstances which resulted in the card as being uncalled for, but never thought this led to their first goal or the end result. Not for one moment. I recall same blame game last season, when Arteta had a spat with Klopp on the sidelines, with the game at 0-0 and we in control; they went on to win 4-0 and I saw the narrative that Arteta’s behaviour riled up the fans and evoked the 12th man spirit in the players.
Anfield is always a loud place, incident or not (agreed our 2-0 lead silenced them a bit), so the time was always going to come when something gets the fans going. You could already hear them swearing and cursing anyway. As experienced as Real Madrid are, Liverpool got their players (and play) so uncharacteristically uncoordinated and could have been 4 or 5 goals up in the first 30 minutes, just a few weeks ago. Our young team has gone there to play a composed first 35 minutes! While I rue the fact we didn’t take it to them and ensure the win, I can only be proud that the team did not collapse and held on for the draw; thanks to the missed penalty and Ramsdale’s heroics. No journey to the title comes without stories as this one.
Keep the faith! This one is still on, if we can put this behind and get the 3 points at West ham and vs S’pton.
May I add…… there was a time our fans lampooned our players for being such softies. So, are we now complaining when one of our players stood up for himself? The reason for the shared yellow cards was the coming together of both players, not Xhaka’s foul.
So, a kid like TAA would shove Xhaka and we would be happier if he just stood there like a Lamb, because we worry about getting the crowd up? Would we feel the same way had that been Spurs? Sorry, I’d rather he held his own because that is another aspect of the psychological battle which goes on.
Footballing wise we are superior team and we should have just concentrated on that rather than anything else. Only our football should talk and show our superiority. We are good enough for 18 teams in the Pl. The other one we have shown can go toe to toe. We should cut all other nonsense.
Well ‘Me’ it’s just conjecture, nothing more. Two things happen and you link them up. They are unrelated.
The idea that a player is only as good as their last game is preposterous. A true supporter would never say that. Support my friend.
It’s not a computer game, Madhu.
All makes sense, Eris. Glad to read a fellow sense of reasonableness. 🙂
Gents, I was lucky enough to see Arsenal play at Anfield on two occasions. Hearing it on TV is one thing but being there watching the game is surreal it is a cauldron of fervent emotion. The vile abuse the visiting players get along the touch lines is both disgusting and somewhat scary – especially for the younger players.
To come out of that fire pit with only a few superficial burns and a point is a testament to how far they have come.
Unbelievably with only eight games remaining it’s still in our hands to become the Premier League Champions.
West Ham A
Southampton H
Manchester C A
Chelsea H
Newcastle A
Brighton H
Nottingham A
Wolverhampton H
It’s obviously a lot to ask but it’s still a possibility.
At the start of the season it may not have seemed possible that at this stage we would have a good shot at the title.
Your usual uplifting post Total thank you.
To know that we will be competing against the best teams in Europe next season is just wonderful and the manager and team should hold their heads up high – and so should the supporters.
Lots of hope there.
We have the players who were exceptional yesterday.
Anfield can be hell for the opposition, and we did well to get a point.
Manchester City will be difficult but no more difficult than Liverpool and without the fervent support there was at Anfield.
Newcastle will also be a challenge but one we can win, and the other games are perfectly within our capability to win.
Things are looking very much on the up and up !
I am with my brother Eris a 100%. On matchdays I’m regularly visiting a stream collection page – of which I’m not advertising here – and usually pick the stream that is with English commentary, looks the most crisp on my 1440p monitor, and if there are multiple candidates I go with the one that starts first (shows the game at already 4:37 while the next stream is at still 3:12; giving me the option to watch the situation from a different perspective or view, or maybe if I just missed a scene). So I have no preference of the channel whatsoever, hence I end up with Sky Sports, BEIN sport, ESPN, Astro Supersport, BT Sport 1-2, etc.
Probably it has nothing to do with the entertainment factor, but maybe some commentators just more prepared or more professional than others. I have no idea what I’ve been watching yesterday, but I can only imagine that the Xhaka-blaming narrative is coming from a live commentator or from a post-game analysis pundit, because – like why Chewbacca, an 8-foot-tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of 2-foot-tall Ewoks – it just doesn’t make sense – especially coming from multiple mates from the Bergkampesque community.
If Xhaka was sent off, then there would have been a clear connection between the incident and Liverpool’s resurrection of the game, but that’s not the case. I would even dispute stating that an experienced player cannot behave that way. He made a late challenge – probably not worthy of a card, but you never know with Paul Tierney – and reacting angrily when you were deliberately pushed from the back is quite the professional response to move the referee to penalize the perpetrator no matter how soft that push was. That happened, both of them received a yellow card – which probably wouldn’t have happened without Xhaka’s reaction, and that’s the end of the story. Granit is not in danger of a 2-games ban as it was only his 5th card this PL-season (and when we talk about Xhaka, there is no sarcasm in ‘only’), and if you ask me if I would “approve” a double yellow card involving a box-to-box midfielder from Arsenal and a full back – defending Martinelli – from the opponent, I would approve that any day in the week.
There is no sense in blow this out of proportion, as Xhaka did nothing that we would disapprove if that happened to him or anybody else in a different game, and most of all as there are no links to the change in dynamics. Firstly we did not dominate the game beforehand. Liverpool was attacking already, jut in the toothless way, and we were more determined and precise in the few counterattacks we made. In fact our first goal should be attributed to lady luck, as Martinelli needed that deflection big time. Even implying that without the Xhaka-TAA incident we would have won the game by 5:0 (which is bloody implied by anybody who believes that the remaining 55 minutes of the game would have mimicked the first 40) showed little understanding of Premier League football.
Dynamics change, luck – just like $hit – just happen, tides turn, and with some time I can come up with more clichés. The Liverpool players have been riling up the fans well before the 41st minute. And we shouldn’t forget that we are talking about Anfield and Liverpool, who defeated top teams like Napoli and Manchester City there and destroyed average teams like Bournemouth (9:0) and Manchester United (7:0). Even when they didn’t win the reds had major excuses and mitigating factors like huge defensive blunders from Allison (Wolves 2:2, Real Madrid 2:5), terrible mistakes from VvD/Gomez (Brighton 3:3, Leeds 1:2), or having a player sent off (Crystal Palace 1:1). We should be proud of both taking a point from there and for being disappointed about it.
PB just to let you know when I watch a match I turn down the commentary beacuse I am.suck and tired of the same biases that they sprout. So it’s not that I am spouting what the commentators say or I am not watching any end of the match analysis to state my views. It’s indeed sad to note that any analysis that I did about Xhaka should involve an attack on my understanding of the league or the football. Just as your views I have mine and iam proud of it and will state it. If this is problematic then I will stay away from this blog.
Thanks everyone.
Dear Madhu,
When you come in strong with opinions you have to expect to get challenged. But you are a polite and passionate blogger and it would be a shame to see you go. 🙂
Balanced comment, GN5 ⚽
Madhu, I know that Total will always welcome you my friend, as I do.
We do not have to agree with one and other, just continue to be respectful of different viewpoints – which you do.
If you happen to disagree then you can always keep it to yourself – which is what I choose to do. However if you find something or somebody particularly upsetting then let Total know – he will tactfully take care of it.
By the way I personally do not find any BQ blogger to be upsetting – in fact it’s quite the contrary – I enjoy reading all of the different viewpoints – I find it to be very balancing.
I stopped blogging on other sites because of people attacking one and other from behind the keyboard.
Oops I must have been tying my comment as Total made his comment.
The run-in has traditionally been difficult for us but this year Arteta and the boys are showing excellent resilience and passion which should help us get over the line. Here are my worries from now until the last game:
1) The PIGMOB, awaiting their orders, might begin to swing our games in favour of our opponents. That is very easily done. A poor VAR decision(s), a red card here, a penalty there, a devastating tackle ignored, etc.
2) Injuries can haunt us and while we have formidable reserves and our bench is very viable, the loss of a few key players from suspensions or serious injuries could still derail us. This year I am less preoccupied by this possibility.
3) Loss of form.
4) Loss of faith in each other and the subsequent loss of team unity and chemistry…Arteta is an absolutely fabulous man manager and I’m not too worried about that.
5) Collusion between the $$ teams and their opponents where a few points are given to Citeh.
6) The FA inventing some supposed infringements by the Arsenal…but this is a double-edged sword and could easily motivate AFC to join ranks and fight like demons.
7) As always, the media pundits and outlets mounting an ever-present and continued campaign to diss and diminish us, but again a two-edged sword.
8) Our fans losing faith and reverting to stereotypical whining, but so far they are doing just the opposite and they are certainly our 12th player home and away!
Here are last weekends results:-
For the week:-
1st Le Gall & Eris with 3/6 plus 1 correct score and a share of most correct predictions = 6 points
3rd Madhu & Kev with 3/6 plus a share of most correct predictions = 4 points
5th OX10 & Stuart with 2/6 – 2 points
7th Total with 1/6 = 1 points
8th GN5 with 0
“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
Season to date:-
1st Kev – 122.80
2nd Eris – 113.13
3rd Madhu – 110.80
4th OX10 – 107.13
5th Stuart – 103.33
6th GN5 – 87.33
7th Le Gall – 85.80
8th Total – 82.66
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
It’s going to be very close with the 100+ group – lots of points still to be won in the final 8 games.
Here are next weekends selections:-
Aston Villa v Newcastle United *
Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion
Everton v Fulham
Wolverhampton Wanderer v Brentford *
West Ham United v Arsenal
VfL Wolfsburg v Bayer 04 Leverkusen *
Madhu, it won’t be the same without your passionate posts. It is all about sharing opinions and we rest things there.
Gee, I wasn’t expecting that, GN5. I only knew I had one score prediction correct. Nice going LeGall. Kev looks like he will take some catching too.
Just got back to Nigeria from your neck of the woods, GN5. I had Wifi on board and was able to check the internet and follow stuff in-flight. Normally, I prefer to use those hours taking in movies I would never have time for, otherwise, or just sleeping and feeding. 😁
You are in fine form, GN5.
Wow another lowest score for me. Well, as Stuart knows all about, the last will be the first. 🙂
Really want exciting at the top.
That’s a lot of worry, OMG! 😁
Aston Villa 2 Newcastle United 1
Chelsea Brighton & Hove Albion D
Everton Fulham H
Wolverhampton Wanderer 1 Brentford 2
West Ham United Arsenal (you’re jokin’, GN my friend, right?) AAWWAAYY
VfL Wolfsburg 2 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2
Aston Villa 1 Newcastle United 1
Chelsea Brighton & Hove Albion D
Everton Fulham D
Wolverhampton Wanderer 1 Brentford 1
West Ham United Arsenal “AAWWAAYY” (as they say in France)
VfL Wolfsburg 1 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1
Madhu: ಮಧು
ನಾನು ಈ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಅನ್ನು ಆನಂದಿಸಲು ನೀವು ಒಂದು ಕಾರಣ. ಇರು, ನನ್ನ ಸಹೋದರ.
Here are my predictions for next weekend’s selections:
Aston Villa v Newcastle United * D (1-1)
Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion D
Everton v Fulham H
Wolverhampton Wanderer v Brentford * D 2-2)
West Ham United v Arsenal A
VfL Wolfsburg v Bayer 04 Leverkusen * A (1-2)
ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ ಮಧು. ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ಗೆ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಇನ್ಪುಟ್ ಅನ್ನು ನಾನು ತುಂಬಾ ಆನಂದಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಬರುತ್ತಿರಿ ಗೆಳೆಯ.
Namaskāra madhu. Blāgge nim’ma inpuṭ annu nānu tumbā ānandisuttēne. Baruttiri geḷeya.
Morning dear Gooners. I won’t go anywhere so easily :). I won’t mind challenging on points and reasons. I never accuse anyone of lack of knowledge. Hell who am I to accuse anyone and I expect the same respect.
We love diversity beacuse that brings in different view points. At the end of teh day it’s just a game and I know we are all passionate about it and should have different view points.
Aston Villa v Newcastle United * 1-2
Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion A
Everton v Fulham H
Wolverhampton Wanderer v Brentford * 1-1
West Ham United v Arsenal A
VfL Wolfsburg v Bayer 04 Leverkusen * 2-1
Hear, hear Madhu. 🙏😍
Aston Villa v Newcastle United * 1-1
Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion H
Everton v Fulham A
Wolverhampton Wanderer v Brentford * 1-2
West Ham United v Arsenal A
VfL Wolfsburg v Bayer 04 Leverkusen * 1-2
Stu sent you a message earlier, Madhu. I have only just released it from Spam…
O wow Stu thats very impressive. Thanks so much Stu and TA. I can understand why it went to Spam 😜.
Basically Stu has sent me a message in my mother tongue which is called Kannada one of the many languages spoken in India.
Hello, people. 🙂
I will agree with everything from TA’s post except for this part:
“Man City should and probably will win the league.”
I don’t disagree with the “should” part – they have the best team in Europe, their attacking versatility is incredible and their ability to win tight title races are second to none. They have won six league titles since the Arabian money started pouring in and four of those six were won with combined margin of four points (2011-12 goal-difference, 2013-14 two points, 2018-19 a single point ahead of Liverpool team that picked 97 points and lost just one game, 2021-22 a single point ahead of Liverpool team that picked 92 points and lost just two games). Their manager is arguably the best in the world in the last 15 years, with his special quality being league campaigns (he has won 10 out of 13 league campaigns with Barcelona, Bayern and Man City respectively, losing out only to Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid in 2011-12, Antonio Conte’s Chelsea in 2016-17 and Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool in 2019-20).
However…
If we have our best players available for the clash on 26th April, I wouldn’t write us off at all. We have played them twice and, yes, lost both games this season but we didn’t play with our best team in either game and yet, we needed just a little bit to win either game. A few wrong choices in the final third and a two big defensive lapses cost us a league win during the worst period for our form. We were close to beating City while playing without White, Partey and Jesus.
Now, for Xhaka’s antics… Well, I have never been his biggest fan BUT Liverpool’s come-back had nothing to do with Xhaka. We had enough chances to kill the game off.
Also, we played against Liverpool away. Liverpool at Anfield are easily Top 4 team this season. They have beaten Newcastle 2-1, Man C 1-0, Man U 7-0. They have lost just two games at Anfield this season – Leeds United and Real Madrid.
If we beat West Ham and Southampton in the next two respective games, we will be at least nine points ahead of City before our trip to Etihad. They will have two games in hand, true, but -9 should put a lot of pressure on them.
After all, it’s the Arsenal way of winning titles – 1971, 1989, 1998, 2002, 2004. We go Against the odds straight to the lion’s den to get the crown.
Amen, Admir. Great stuff, mate.
Aston Villa v Newcastle United * 1-1
Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion D
Everton v Fulham D
Wolverhampton Wanderer v Brentford * 1-2
West Ham United v Arsenal A
VfL Wolfsburg v Bayer 04 Leverkusen * 1-1
Madhu, I wasn’t aiming my critique specifically towards you by any means.
It wasn’t even a Xhaka-related point I was trying to make.
But I will stand by that: when a club leads by 2:0 at the 30th minute it is really very rare that the game will end with a 6:0 result. Dynamics change, trailing teams try something desperate (see our come back against Bournemouth when they were leading by 0:2), and even though we were the more calm and more focused team against Liverpool up to the 40th minute they already had more ball possession, attacks and shots. We were lucky to have a 2 goals lead (for not conceding, for the VvD-Martinelli ricochet, for not marking Jesus close enough, etc.), and attributing our decrease in luck to a single player’s – not even infrequent or excessive – behavior is superstitious to say the least.
Admir, I like your chain of thoughts, but no matter how I wish to believe it, I don’t think Man City players will be intimidated or pressured by that – hypothetical – 9 points.
They are professional footballers. They can’t carry a tune, they don’t know how to shoot a basketball, their handwriting is barely legible, but they will understand that from the aspects of lost points they are ahead of us. The gap mostly affects the supporters and the pundits, but they will have the psychological edge for beating us twice this season. All we will likely have on them is some access motivation (but not too much, as they were and are already motivated enough), and a bit less miles in the legs.
Hi Stuart you I have two versions for your predictions – one at 20.27 on the tenth and the second at 11.06 on the eleventh. Which one should I use?
Admir, that’s the spirit. 🙂
Stuart, you are a man of many parts and appear to know a bit of quite a few countries’ cultures, languages, history and now….writing! That’s so impressive.
Nothing like touching a man’s heart through his Mother tongue. 👌😜
GN5, use the one which ends up being closest to the correct scores… 😁.
The second edition if you insist that I should play fair.
Thanks Eris, I enjoyed some really happy years in India, but I have leaned into google translate for my message to our Madhu. Kannada is almost as tricky as Malayalam to learn.
Hmmmm. Still, impressive.
In other news, City have steam rolled Bayern tonight and look a shoe in for the UCL final. They are also likely to be in the FA Cup final.. Surely, if we can win every other game (bar vs City), they should suffer fatigue at some point, against one of their opponents in the EPL. Surely.
And, Sven Mislintat…remember him? He has signed up as football Director of Ajax FC until 2026. Let’s see if Ol’ Diamond eye still got it.
Stuart, I didn’t know that you lived in India for sometime. Which part of india did you live in. I always find it hard to learn languages so kudos to you. The other thing about Indian languages is that they all have their own script and grammar. That makes it even harder. Thanks for a nice touch Stuart.
Hello Madhu. I spent a few months in each of the years 1987 to 1991 based in Andhra Pradesh working predominantly in the southern states, Kerala, Madras and Tamil Nadu. The churches I represented sponsored the building of schools and hospitals. I helped with those projects and did some teaching. I most certainly learned more than I taught in all my time in your magnificent country.
Eris, I watched the City game this morning. Bernardo Silva incredibly completed four nutmegs on opponents in a seven second spell of absolute Messiesque magic. Keen to watch Napoli tomorrow but I am taking a young fellow out for an early morning fish.
Hi Stuart that’s very nice. That was a post globalised India. 90s were the golden years in India. Glad you liked the experience.
A. Villa vs Newcastle……..Home (2-1)
Chelsea vs Brighton………Away
Everton vsFulham…….…..Home
Wolves v Brentford………..Draw (2-2)
West Ham vs Arsenal…….Away
Wolfsburg vs Bayer 04….Draw (2-2)
Eris, I don’t usually watch other teams on TV these days but I checked in yesterday evening and watched Man City play Bayern. Watching City is usually tedious as the squeeze the life out of games but against Bayern they had to come out and play. I thought Bayern were unlucky (you don’t say that very often about them) they opened up City a few times but defensively they were a car crash (I tuned in for the 2nd half). My overriding feeling was how glad I was that Arsenal never signed Upamencano, his indecision was final. Obviously I was hoping for a few City injuries but Guardiola has put together a squad of players who rarely miss games through injury and maybe that’s an avenue that Arteta must go down as he gradually improves the Arsenal squad, anyway 3-0 looks enough for the Abu Dhabi Boys as I can’t see them conceding 4 goals in Munchen and are likely to score a couple themselves.
(And I’m still keeping an eye on you. 😉)
Stuart/Madhu, from time to time I watch those guys who do YouTube travelling videos and one guy did quite an extensive tour of India, that’s about as close as I’m ever likely to get but you can see why the British were so captivated by the Sub-Continent, it is a country where there seems a surprise around every corner and if you can speak some of the lingo they love you.
I was chatting to young Indian guy in my cab on Easter Monday who originally came from the Punjab although he wasn’t a Sikh. A very agreeable chap who met his Indian wife at University in the U.K. and she was born in the States. Imagine having all that choice as to where to hang your hat one day? Interestingly he told me that the education system in India is more based around an American model especially the newer Universities although there are still some older British styled ones – you learn something every day in my job.
Kev , the education system in India is largely private and for my son who is in 10th grade I pay about 2000 GBp annually with no tax benefits. The school system is based on British system while the universities kind of mimic the US education though the standards are no way close to either system. My son had the privilege of studding in Us and Canada. Our education system is more geared toward rote based learning. It’s usually individuals who will have to excel the system doesn’t facilitate much. Hense the influx of Indian students across US and British univs. Our system has a long way to go in terms of modern education but there are some institution like IITs and IIMs which are ranked in the top univs of the world
Aston Villa v Newcastle United * H (2-1)
Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion H
Everton v Fulham H
Wolverhampton Wanderer v Brentford * H (2-0)
West Ham United v Arsenal A
VfL Wolfsburg v Bayer 04 Leverkusen * H (2-1)
Morning OX10, I just missing your predictions – then we are good to go.
GN5, here are my predictions
Aston Villa v Newcastle United * D 2-2
Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion A
Everton v Fulham. H
Wolverhampton Wanderer v Brentford * A 1-2
West Ham United v Arsenal. A
VfL Wolfsburg v Bayer 04 Leverkusen * A 1-3
Imagine if we had been told at the beginning of the season that on 12th April we would be sitting five points clear at the top of the PL and had just come away from Anfield with a point. I suspect we would have been very happy with that and many of us may have been a little sceptical too. The reality is that most of us were hoping for a top-four finish and a cup trophy (especially the Europa League) would have been the icing on the top. The fact that we are in contention for the PL title at this stage is the measure of how much progress we have made. It’s a youthful team, being progressively strengthened in an intelligent way and led by a manager who is still learning. The future looks bright whatever happens over the remaining matches this season. As TA says, “That’s my Arsenal and I love it.”
Madhu, my Indian passenger did mention a kind of MIT university in Bangalore, he told me that the competition in India universities is hard-core (my words) and that it’s work, work, work with no time for boozing and parties like in the U.K.
He told me that the older, kind of traditional universities are more British style but the country is obviously going through a rapid modernisation process.
I asked him if there is a good or bad feeling in general towards the British and he said most young people don’t care as it’s ancient history but he said British people are treated well when visiting the jewel in the crown, we did have some laughs.
Madhu, I didn’t know that schools are mostly private, the best schools in the U.K. are also private but the fees are eye watering. I see that the Russians are working on a new transport route via Azerbaijan and Iran, crossing the Caspian Sea in order to bypass their current trading routes, everyone seems to be looking into new markets as the world will be a very different place after the special military operation in Ukraine
Kev, the new generation is really not bothered about history. You would be surprised that we have adopted a lot from British. The railways, bureaucracy, English education, foreign services and many more. Education in India is skewed towards the rich and we’ll to do families. The poor depend on govt schools which are very poor in terms of infrastructure and quality. Higher education is completely private and now the govt has allowed foreign universities to setup in India. This will make it even more costlier and our of reach of many poor. There are some reserved seats for poorer section of society as affirmative actions but they are not.enough. so the avenues for upward mobility of poor are limited. The system is morphed to self perpetuate large sections to poverty. The liberalisation of economy did help many to get out of poverty but that was more due to cheap labor work in infrastructure than due to quality of free Govt education. India is not a welfare state and its becoming more a country for elites.
Another thing my Indian passenger said was that the largest obstacle to development and growth is the Indian Civil Service, I told him that’s the fault of the British who set it up to run such a huge country and then exported it across the Empire usually executed by Indian civil servants. I told him that the Civil Service in Britain is basically a ‘jobs for the boys’ network that seems to exist for its own benefit.
Total, check the inbox
Cheers Kev, very little time at the moment. But it is out…
New Post 🙂