ARSENAL SUPPORTERS BEHIND THE SCENES

Morning all,

Now things have quietened down somewhat, and before Arsene starts to buy i thought i would just like to write about some of my Arsenal supporter friends, these friends are just the same as some of you, they have supported our fine club for ever, through the good years and the lean spells that we are experiencing at the moment, but whether winning or losing they are the mainstay of what you look for in a supporter, if of course you were looking. I have a friend who i shall just call Slim, Slim is about six foot four, built like a brick built shithouse, and he is Arsenal crazy, slim has been lucky in life as far as wealth goes, he worked in a family business and when the family decided they had had enough sold up and split the rewards up and were left very comfortable. Slim is loud and proud, his a guy that would help anybody out, and has to my knowledge many times, a lovely guy but Arsenal mad, he goes to as many games as he can, which is difficult as he lives here and abroad, but will fly over when certain games come up that he particularly wants to see. Facebook and twitter Linkedin get hammered by him before a big game and i must admit he takes defeat badly, just like the rest of us. In his company you will very rarely go to long before Arsenal comes up in the conversation, and his knowledge is quite staggering, an Arsenal man through and through.

Then there's my old school mate, we met at five years old at primary school, and have stayed close mates ever since, i will call him the Gudge he and his son have been season ticket holders for ever The Gudge even brought a brick in The arsenal wall and a bond holder as well, they very rarely miss home games and often travel away as well, The Gudge's son i'll call him Paul, Arsenal mad Probably picked it up from his Dad, I was in Paul's company just recently where he astonished me by admitting that he now, at the moment goes to the match with his Dad but leaves his Dad to watch the game on his own as he has taken to watching in a local pub because he gets so wound up watching us at the moment, and reckons that watching in the pub with other supporters, the atmosphere is much better than in the stadium, it also helps that the beer flows all the time, Paul has stressed that as soon as its not so frustrating he will resume his seat in the stadium, he said before i become an alcoholic i hope. But these two, definite Arsenal nutter's, The Gudge's wife and daughter are just the same Nutter's.

Then there's another good friend i'll call him Buckers he has four seats at the Ems, again all his family are Arsenal mad, now and again if one of the family is on holiday or sick i may even get an invite to watch with them, Buckers makes sure you have a good time He even feeds you at half time a proper Arsenal fan, he seems to take defeat better than the rest of us but i reckon when his on his own he kicks walls. but Arsenal through and through.

Now we come to Kev, kev is a gentleman never have i seen him lose it, calm and collective but i have sat with him when we lose and he must be gutted like me but very seldom will you see it, another man that has two or three seats at the ground and an Arsenal Family, Kev is calm but he hates to lose a golf ball he can spend more time looking for a ball than it takes to play a cup final, but he too, Arsenal through and through.

I have many more friends who are Arsenal through to the core, and also many who support other clubs with the same passion as us well almost. I often look at all my mates and when we play against their teams all the badgering that occurs before during and after the games, but we keep it friendly and stay good friends as we all have the same things in common, pity the rest of the world the ones that are fighting and killing one another couldn't sit down and watch a game and try and get on with one another, ah well funny old world Ah.

Then there's me Arsenal till I die, my Mrs reckons she's Arsenal, but moans when its on the tele, three daughters all Spuds what have i done to deserve this, as I said funny old world.

Now who have we signed Arsene another Arsenal Nutter

Written by Steve Palmer 

MORE CHANCE OF A CURE FOR CANCER THAN ARSENAL BUYING TOP PLAYERS

Morning Gooners,

My post today may upset one or two of you so I will apologise before you read it. I have watched Arsene Wenger since he joined us and have been one of his greatest admirers. Yes over the years I have called for his head, and could either be singing his praises or calling for his head again at the end of next season. Yes at the moment he frustrates me, no news is not good. A nineteen year old defender is not ringing my bells at the moment. Arsenal also frustrate me, less news from them than Wenger, in many ways Arsenal remind me of Charities, and one in particular comes to mind, Cancer Research, now i don't know anybody that has not lost somebody to this terrible illness, just in the last month I have lost two friends. Maybe I am a bit bitter but I can remember as a kid putting penny's in a cancer box, and later the name changed to Cancer Research. I was saying to my Mrs the other day, I said, I don't think they will ever get a cure for this terrible affliction you know, and she answered me with Whys that, I said, Because charities are a business, every Pound they receive a penny goes to the actual cause the rest of the money is paid out in wages and administration, just imagine the amount of people they employ, if a cure were found tomorrow, think of how many would be out of work. Cancer research I am sure, will keep paying some money in, working for a cure, but in all honesty if you were in charge of this multi million Business wouldn't you fend off a cure as well, well that's my view and i am sorry if i have offended you.

Arsenal as I said seem to be the same, I have Arsenal slippers Arsenal shirts Arsenal socks a tax disc an Arsenal Charm round my neck just to name a few, Many of you probably as mad as me, but that is just like Charity, they make these things for almost nothing and sell them to mugs like me and make fortunes, and because i was born a Gooner i have to have them, what do they give me back, cheap buys, empty promises, Arsene's vision for the future, I am sorry I believe I may be a victim of that deadly disease before Arsenal invest the money that's needed to make a difference, just like Cancer Research they take in plenty but give out little. Maybe I'm touchy because of my loss, but I get the feeling we are banging our heads against a wall, but hopefully in the near future, if there is a God up, then get your fffing finger out.

Now before all you do gooders out there have a go at me I know that Arsenal Football club do Charity work and try and encourage the players to put back a little into the community, and very commendable it is too, i only hope that more of the raised funds go to the cause. We have many corporate seats at the Emirates I wonder just how many of those seats are actually Arsenal supporters, I also wonder how many young kids are out there wearing their Arsenal kits, who's Fathers can't afford to buy them tickets to watch their team of choice, maybe something for the Board to think about, unless Arsenal are just like Charities and you know what they say about Charity, it starts at home.

I have worked all my life and paid my taxes and my National insurance, This Government should stop their Million pounds bombings of third world countries and use the money you and I have paid in to find the cures to help humanity, Arsenal take heed.

Written by Steve Palmer 

APPRENTICES TO SUPERSTARS

Morning all.

With all the media and the blog world going crazy at the moment, its amazing how supporters are getting more and more frustrated with the lack of news coming through from the club. I can sense the urgency coming from supporters, many I am sure are season ticket holders who are waiting for news of who they will be watching before paying their fee's. Well to all those that are waiting for that to happen, you will probably be wasting your time. Where the likes of the big money spenders The Manc Outfits and Chelsea and poor old Harry's outfit trying not to be left out, will be wheeling and dealing, our old Frenchmen will be taking his time, he won't rush as he never has done before, and i expect him to be exactly the same this time. He has disappeared to South America on a scouting Mission, while all the early running is being taken up by the wealthy owners.

As we all know there are only a relatively few players that are up for grabs and normally its smaller clubs selling some of their stars, so as to finance their coming season. Teams like West Ham have done this for years and will be involved again this year, bigger clubs will be buying and also thinning out their own squads to allow room for new hopefully better replacements. Now with new rules coming in, with fair play rules, teams will have to watch their spending, also try and reduce wages as well as this will eat up what money these clubs can use in the future, although these rules are not in yet, clubs are aware that the wages they are paying are exorbitant and will be detrimental to their future. Why i am explaining this to you is that Wenger has never been one of the managers that have had an owner that has unlimited wealth he has to run on a budget, and although this grates with supporters he has done extremely well, most though would disagree. 

Wenger has in my mind been a fantastic Manager yes some of you have heard me slate the man off on more than one occasion, and I am sure it won't be to long before I am at it again, but he has been frugal and disciplined in his actions, he knows that it won't be too long before the clubs debts are paid off, and with the new rules coming in the near future he realises that we will all be on the same level, well at least closer. If clubs cannot afford the likes of £50 million players, they are never going to be on the same level, so its as plain as the nose on your face that the chances of you competing goes down. Wenger has kept us competing, granted we have not won anything for a few years, but we were a lot closer last year than we have been for quite some time, was it Wenger's fault, I said yes because he never brought in the winter window I believed that was the difference to us winning or losing, but he didn't buy and we never won, but in all fairness, had the players kept up the momentum, we still could have captured something. The players run out of steam, Wenger lost his composure, and we got the hump.

In all fairness to Wenger he has not ever brought fantastic players he has moulded fantastic players. The likes of Henry  Pat Jack and Fab and a string of others tells me he is a man with forward thinking, he very rarely pays enormous amounts for players and I don't see that way changing, this year may prove me wrong, but I would be very surprised, he has a vision, and although it is not falling into place just yet, it will without question. Arsenal football club will be back in their rightful position very soon, and Wenger will again be hailed as a fantastic Manager. I know your frustrated as I am as well, but good times are just round the corner and as Wenger says, have faith and patience, and we will get what we deserve.

Wenger has acknowledged that we have a problem in the defence, why it has taken this long I don't know, but he has stated that he will buy to sort this problem out, at the moment he has signed two teenagers who play in these positions, I would expect another experienced defender to also be included, for the two youngsters to learn from, time will tell. We have young players either loaned in the past or playing reserve football who are ready for a move forward, and I expect this to happen, but what we have to take in, is that if we buy big name players, they would want to play every game, so our youth would stand about twiddling their thumbs and eventually move on. We have to stick with the plan and bring these players forward, and hope we have instilled in them what Arsenal football club expects from them, I also have faith in this way of doing things and expect returns very soon. We have many youngsters and they in my opinion are our future, learning their trade at one of the best clubs in the world starting on small wages building up through their training and eventually making them well paid superstars, isn't that how we all see apprenticeships  turning out.

Written by Steve Palmer   

ARSENALS PROBLEMS UP FRONT

I have been looking through recordings of some of our games this season, hoping to find reasons why were not scoring more goals than we are. We create plenty of chances but when it comes to actual scored goals, we don't score half as many as we should.
I know that the statisticians' out there, will throw figures at me to show that we are up there with the top teams, well that's not my concern. I believe the chances we create should produce many more goals.
Now I don't claim to be a tactician, I don't consider myself an expert but having played local football for over thirty years and watching Arsenal for fifty odd, has given me the right to criticise a little.
I love our club and I want us to win everything and I may be a bit touchy after a bad result. At times I want a new Manager and players but most of the time I just want to see more goals, spectacular goals, tap ins, headers, I don't care how they go in!
Watching us play for ninety minutes then a 0-0 result does my head in, especially when I've watched chance after chance result in misses.
No doubt like all fans, I believe we could so easily have a winning team if we lose a few players that have not really made the grade and replace them with players with the skills we need. I am not talking major changes, just in the areas that we all know we are weak in but that's getting away from my point about goals.
I think you would mostly agree that we move the ball reasonably well from the back through to the attacking midfielders, albeit with less pace than I would prefer. Up to this point our possession stats suggest that we are doing ok but I think it's at this stage we begin to stutter, through no fault of our midfield.
We all know we have good attacking midfield unit in Cesc, Nasri, Song, Jack, Rambo AA and Theo must come in there as well. That little group of players is quite formidable, so why can't they move the ball forward to the forwards to allow them to score?
Well for a start, the forward players do not work very hard in finding space for themselves, making it difficult to slip a pass in to them.
More often than not they are not in the positions they should be in to receive the ball and quite often they can be found on the wings or in midfield positions.  Hardly the positions to score goals from is it?
Our forwards should be in a position which allows them to clear their defensive marker and be free to collect a pass from our midfield players. When an attack is in motion our forwards do not get in the box quick enough and very seldom do we have more than one player in the box which again limits the option for our midfielders.
If players want to be called forwards then why are they not adopting the correct position?
If we use three forwards, then that three should be ready to go as soon as we break - so often play has to be held back owing to a lack of forward options and this should not be the case.
Whether this is the managers choice or not I am not sure but a goal scorer out of position is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
We are in need of at least two instinctive strikers, strikers that are both footed can shoot on sight and be accurate. Far too many shots end up being closer to the corner flag than on goal. A true goal scorer would rectify our problems and put us in more positive positions.
To hear a commentator say, it fell to his wrong side is not an excuse for a miss, if a striker cannot kick instinctively with either foot then he should not be used. Now this statement may enrage some supporters as their favourite striker is being criticised but look back on some of the games this season and look at the misses we have had, it may make you think differently.
Just a footnote:
Theo Walcott is a striker, a pacey one at that and he can use both feet. My view is we are wasting his talent shoving him out on the wing. I don't know where his preferred position is, he's possibly happy playing anywhere but, should he be seeking a striker role in order to fulfill his needs, will we see him playing there for someone else other than Arsenal?
I hope not.....
Written by Steve Palmer.

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MOST IMPORTANT TIME OF THE YEAR THE CLOSED SEASON

Morning all,
 Everything has been discussed and debated, so i dont intend to bore you with what you have heard before, i just wanted to share with you some of the things i have come up against in the last month or so, maybe you have had similar, it seems  that anything Arsenal seems to bring a smile on any one's face who is not an Arsenal fan, i have had txts, calls, e-mails, and even shouts from across the streets, from people i have not seen for years, ridiculing, so i have decided that this season is over as far as i am concerned, a daft thing to say when it is still mathamaticaly possible to win the most prestigious competition in our calender The Premier League so that i could then thumb my nose to them But with what i have seen of our team this year, i have convinced myself we are out of the equasion. So i have decided to write about what i consider the most important part of the year, the closed season.

I beleive that decisions in the closed season may well be the difference for us winning some thing next year. Decisions on whether Wenger will continue as Arsenals Manager, decisions on the sale of present players, future players, styles of play, whether we stick with the same backroom staff, bring in a defensive coach, as you can understand the closed season is a time for all involved to reflect on the previous season. Was it succesfull,did the squad live upto expectations, did the manager make the right calls, did his right hand man do his job with good advice. All these points must be discussed and debated over. The shareholders will want to know if their investments will be a sound bet for the coming year, And how much money the Board will put aside for investment in new players. So up untill now, we know that a lot of chat and Board meetings will take place, and finally the decisions they have jointly  come up with.

After all, Arsenal football club is a business, and judgeing by the profits, a very successful business, there must be VIPS who strive for bigger profits, more success and the thought of  new supporters takeing Arsenal as their chosen club to support for the rest of their lives. VIPs are aware, as are we, that new young supporters choosing a team to follow,  like to pick a winning team, and once chosen they pay to follow them for ever. Bums on seats and all that. So to be successful is of paramount importance, so the right decisions have to be made.

As supporters we hope these people know what they have voted for, and their decisions are put in motion. We hope that these ideas will bring more succes than the previous season. As supporters we know that some of these decisions are made before the close season starts, owing to the rise in season ticket prices being announced allready, maybe a sign of future investment. After all nothing can happen at all without the supporters paying their way. Writeing about the closed season has lifted my spirits some what, and i am starting to feel better already, the thought of new signings and a clear out off the old, a new season almost beckening and the glint of silverware on the horizon, supporters will again unite on the terraces with hope in their hearts and a song on their tongues, but wait just a minute, the last six closed seasons were also discussed by these same individuals, and i dont remember much success, but you never know do you.

Written by Steve Palmer

RESPECT, DONT MAKE ME LAUGH

Morning all.
Now that The Carling Cup and The Champions League are behind us we focus on The FA Cup, now before i proceed i would just like to add that although those competitions are behind us i don't believe we should just dismiss them just like that, i believe we should ponder on these losses for a moment, and reflect. The Carling Cup, we can blame ourselves for a mistake at the end of a competitive game and we allowed Birmingham in for a well earned victory no complaints, but The Champions league, now this is a different kettle of fish, i wont bore you with the intricate details as i an sure we have not heard the last of this game not by a long way, which brings me to the Word Respect, now the word Respect is emblazoned on everybody's shirt its an easy word to say an easy word to read, but what does the word mean, the reason the word was included on football shirts, was to show the world and the players, that Respect between the cultures of our world is paramount, it represents Black White Red and Yellow people, from the four corners of the world, so that they can play against one another without hate or malice, compete for the name of the sport they are in as equals.

Hopefully the days of bananas being thrown onto the playing surface and the songs about players mothers are behind us, many laughed and cheered but i hope a lot of it was banter but still hurtful. England has come a long way, allowing Mosques to be built, allowing foreigners to take over every corner shop in the country, every garage, and nearly all the restaurants, whilst not many CofE churches are being built in their parent countries. We have bent over backwards for different cultures and people, to play in our football leagues, the numbers are probably in excess of English players in the Premier League, so i believe we have tried our best to spread the word Respect. The football authorities have made it a campaign, to make the word Respect apparent in everybody's mind, by evicting people that show the lack of it from grounds all over the world.

So tell me, why were Arsenal FC  shown no respect  by the Officials and the Authorities over the abysmal decisions they incurred in their Champions League defeat in Spain. Arsene Wenger asked the referee about his judgement and subsequently receives charges from Eufa and possibly penalties, where is that word Respect now. Probably time to move on to the FA Cup, Saturday see's us at Old Trafford against old rivals Manchester United, i am expecting a very hard fought match, both teams have received losses of late but i wouldn't expect that to stand in the way of the battle, home advantage for Utd, which i never doubted, but our tails are up, and without any interference from the referee, hopefully a fair and Respectful match.

Written by Steve Palmer

THEY CAN CHEAT US BUT WE'LL BE BACK

Morning all,
Its beginning to look a little like last year, get knocked out of one tournament, and another follows. I am not going to talk about, how players react prior to the game starting, there has been suggestion that some of our players, showed a little to much affection for Barcelona's players hugging and kissing even smiling and grinning, well maybe they did, but in my eyes that means nothing. A soldier in a war can one minute be handing out food packages, but in the next shooting the same people, i see this the same way. I would rather talk about the injustice that television has brought to the publics attention, blatant cheating in one of the most watched games this century, the game was watched by a hundred and twenty odd countries, beamed to all the four corners of the planet, and they watched a debacle, they watched as a footballing authority allowed, in front of all those people, a referee  send a player off for absolutely nothing, Well it wasn't for nothing it was to make sure the right team won.

Every supporter will complain about why their team lost, i accept that, they even complain about a decision, maybe a tackle, some may complain about a kiss or a hug, but the fact remains the same, their team has lost, and nothing can be done about it. I was astonished by this referees decision i played it back over and over again what did he do wrong. Well the referee has said that Van persie Kicked the ball away after he had blown for an offside, Van Persie had picked up an earlier yellow card for an incident which could have been overlooked, but owing to the player throwing himself to the ground the Referee felt A hundred thousand fans must be right. But to get back to the sending off, Van Persie receives the through ball turns and shoots, in his rush to shoot it goes astray and robin is dismayed,he turns to go back to his position when the referee brandishes his second yellow and Van Persie is ordered to walk. The timing was recorded for all those that like stats, from the moment the whistle blew to when Van Persie shot was one second, yes one second. it took thirty seconds for a Barcelona substitution in the dying minutes of the game,and that was walking off, but that was acceptable, according to the referee.

We have to accept that the referee was right for his actions, to say he was wrong will bring the game into disrepute, touchline bans and fines have been issued to those that have, and so it must be accepted. I for one am disgusted at the media, after the game, television pundits Graham Souness Jamie Rednapp and Gerald Houlier talked after the game Souness said, At the end of the day the best team won, Barcelona was the best team on the night and in my opinion even without the sending off Barcelona would have continued and won, Rednapp and Houlier agreed in so many words. Well nobody will ever Know, yes Barcelona at that stage of the game had seventy percent of the play, they had been attacking for most of the game, but don't they do that with every team they play, and they don't win them all. They had the same amount of possession at the Emirates but we beat them.

I have now watched the game three times, i replayed certain parts may times, and i have deduced from that, that the referee was instructed by EUFA to make sure that this game went to Barcelona, we were constantly fouled obstructed with hardly any decisions going our way Van Persie said and i know he was embittered but he said, This referee is a joke, he has been all night. Van persie will no doubt be reprimanded for that comment, but he was right, the referee was a joke a sick joke, he shouldn't be allowed to ref kids games but in my eyes ,i can see he did his job and followed his instructions from EUFA so the right team won to the letter, in my eyes this man is a disgrace to the game, a cheat , and a fixer, the manager will not say it but we know, and they know we know.

We were 1.1 when Van Persie was sent off, we were leading the tie, a crucial decision and in my view the wrong decision, many Arsenal fans Talk about the George Graham Defence how strong and resolute it was, well tonight proved that this current  Wenger defence is as resolute, Barcelona had trouble penetrating it and needed the hand of God to reduce us to ten men before they could get in front. our boys worked their socks off defended with passion they fought to the last second, despite of what an ex Tottenham player Liverpool manager and liverpool player said we were cheated and that should not be allowed i am disgusted with the football ruling bodies and worse of all, so called Pundits. The football world is corrupt, it will always be corrupt and we will keep on knocking on that door and they will cheat us every year but they wont break us. Well done those Brave Cheated Players for i am extremely proud of you. Decisions will stop us winning but we will always be there.

Written by Steve Palmer

HAVE THE GUNNERS GOT THE BOTTLE

Morning Gooners,
I would like to start this post off with a congratulations to the Arsenal team, a great result after our abysmal performance at Wembley. A five nil win against Leyton Orient was very emphatic and well deserved, the players were very focused and passed the ball about very effectively, a good one touch goal from a Rosiski fine run, and well executed cut back pass which found Maroanne Chamakh and his one touch, and that was our first goal. I felt relief as that goal went in and i believe the players did as well. It seemed to me that the game was set up for us to win. I couldn't understand Orients tactics for the evening starting from the back and trying to play in the same manner as is our style, which in all honesty was playing straight into our hands, it appeared to me that this was a different set up than from the first game, perhaps i shouldn't question a win, but at the end of the day we made another three million for this replay, when i say we i mean the club not the supporters as they were the ones paying the money, perhaps i am just a bit touchy after the loss at Wembley, but football is a business after all.

That win puts us in the quarter final and we are matched with Manchester United, it appears to me that we will keep on being matched with United in every competition we stay in, so what are our chances against them. Most people would give us a good chance seeing how Ferguson's men haven't been firering on all cylinders, my opinion, we don't stand a chance. Now don't stop reading until i explain why. Against Orient we passed all night and they gave us plenty of space and time to make our passes, and that's what we did all night, our passing must have been close to Barcelona's figures when we hosted them. but when you look at the game again like i have, you see that we very seldom make a tackle, when i say tackle i mean going in with commitment, every tackle which is fifty fifty our players pull out of, i understand that they do not want to be injured but i have noticed this trend more and more. The same thing with heading, very seldom will we win a header, the players jump but only to try and put the defender off, never an intentional effort to win the ball, so what i am saying in so many words is that we are running scared of physical contact.

Dennilson, Diaby,Rosiski, Nasri Eboue Walcott Arshaven, are some of the worst offenders, i have noticed that it is spreading right through the team, Diaby pulled out of several tackles against Orient, that brought him to my attention, now when your defensive midfielder start pulling out you know your in trouble. Wenger said after our last game at Orient, that young Miquel would be left out till he was stronger to go into tackles with intent, i think he should be looking at many more.
Now against a side like Leyton Orient, who dwell in about eleventh place in the league below us, they are starstruck playing against Premier competition, the difference between the teams are massive, and thats why we scored five goals with our so called worst strikers, and fielding what is now called our second string team. Chances of there being an upset were almost zero. Many of the teams in the Premier league are of the same standard as Leyton, and some of them will be playing against them next season, so the point i am making is the opposition last night is not a good example of our might, it was a forgone conclusion we would win.

Now i come back to my statement about us not winning against Manchester United. Now this is a physical side, they are on you, as soon as you receive the ball, especially Vidic Evra Fletcher Carrick They never pull out of any challenge fully committed with one intention to get the ball or player, their forward players will all battle for everything, they jump and win most of the balls in the air, they have a very sound goalkeeper that is very experienced, his nearing retirement but is still one of the best if not the best in the league, what i am saying is that you have to fight power with power as Chelsea did in their latest encounter, and our boys have not got this in them, so when matched with a physical side we normally come unstuck. When our players are rushed they give the ball away, they are frightened of the physical side of the game, i believe we lost the Carling Final because of it, i'm afraid our team are chokers in important games,  their tackling to. Until their bottle is sorted out, i believe we will gradually get knocked out of all competitions we are left in. But maybe, with other teams making mistakes, we may stand a chance in the League.
Have you noticed this trend, or am i just still annoyed at losing a final.

Written by Steve Palmer

GOVERMENT TO GET INVOLVED TO SORT FA SHADY DEALING

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Morning all,
Well what a tangled web they weave, that's the FA i'm refering to, again they show their one sided  and biased decisions to the football world. They don't even try and cover it up, in the instance that i am talking about, Wayne Rooney, plants a forearm smash across a fellow professional in  retaliation, well after the ball had gone, James Mc Carthy floored and  spread-eagled on the ground Ref Clattenburg, claimed he didn't see the incident but still awarded a free kick but no sending off and no booking. Manchester United had looked as if they had got away with an assault on a fellow professional, and Rooney yet again slinks off with a slight grin. The video was shown many times after the game and the footballing world went up in arms, how can a professional footballer get away with what amounts to assault, so an enquirery was launched only for the referees' committee to ask Clattenburg to look at the video and see if he had misinterpreted the incident, Clattenburg viewed and was adamant that nothing was amiss, didn't we not know that was going to be the outcome. The football world was up in arms television and radio programmes have spent days discussing it, but Clattenburg, the Referees Committee, and of course Manchester United, are saying the fuss will all die down in a couple of weeks.

Why do Manchester United  always seem to get away with these kind of incidents, Eric Cantanna, after being abused by a fan launched himself into the crowd with a two footed drop kick, and connected with the fan, Cantanna although banned for several months was allowed to come back and resume his career, a life's ban was the only punishment he could have received but again Manchester United got away with it. Rio Ferdinand was told before his training session he was going to be drug tested after his training, but decided to leave for home after his training claiming he had forgotten. He did receive a ban but he too was allowed to carry on his career.

Manchester United are famous for the amount of penalties they receive, i don't know the official number but it must be a record, i would hazard a guess that they hold the record for free kicks awarded on the edge of the box as well. I have had my doubts with the FA and their officials for many years, and i am pretty sure that every Manager of the football league feels the same way, what i want to ask everybody and anybody is how can they blatantly get away with it, i hate to say it but is there money involved, after all, for years and years Manchester United have been the wealthiest club in England, and is it any wonder the most successful, perhaps there is a bit of truth in the old saying that Manchester United play with twelve men. This week has convinced me that the FA are not playing by the rules, and are definitely using a different set of rules for dealing with anything to do with Manchester United.

At the moment i understand that the Government have launched an enquirery into the Ways the FA are handling the football leagues in this country, the referees have been under the spotlight  as many complaints have not been dealt with to every bodies satisfaction. i would urge the Government to include the Premier League in their inquirery as well as they have pulled away from the rest of the leagues to run themselves, apparently they do not like the money the Premier League is earning to go anywhere but to them.

Football in England has never been more profitable, but in the hands of the wrong people it can quite easily become corrupt, i imagine that the Government have become aware of that, and hopefully get the important people, in the right positions, and get back to the honest and fair for all polices of the past.
We need to get back to discipline where footballers cannot hit one another and get away with it, Players that do not take guns into training with them , players who will not get away with launching attacks on the supporters. We need new people with principles, new people with the guts to see a problem and deal with it immediately, and run a fair and square Football Association, a strict Association which is respected by one and all. Prime Minister Cameron, keeps talking about fairness on the television, i want him and his enquirers, to dig out the dead wood in the FA, and leave it in the hands of people that can run it as an English Football Association should be run, Fair and Honest.

I must admit Arsenal football club have been on the end of some refferee decisions that have only been seen one way, the Diaby incident where he retaliated and subsiquently got sent off and a three match ban, Gail clichey while defending in his penalty box slips and falls while he fights to get up his hand planted on the ground taking his weight the attacking player kicks the ball at his hand and the refferee awards a penalty, the reffereeing standards are getting incresingly worse, at our cup final a clear cut foul by our goalkeeper was blatently missed and a wrong decision was interpreted by the ref, how can these decisions be so bad, when we have extra officials, obviously the refferees are not to the standard they should be who's at fault The FA again. I am ashamed that the Goverment have to step in to put this right, but the FA are incompetant to do it themselves. It appears to me that this goverment want to run the world, i cannot see that happening but i do hope they can sort the FA out because they are without doubt an embarresment.

Written by Steve Palmer

SIX YEARS IS NOT THAT LONG

Morning all
 The disappointment of our loss at Wembley may take some time to wear off, and our next game is fast approaching, one competition down and the next is on top of us in an eye blink, will we progress to the final or will our season nosedive, a good question, i predict nosedive. Many of you will condemn me for making that statement but, i'm sorry this team and this manager are not a winning combination. The tactics we use may be pleasing on the eye but is proving to be a losing strategy. We have good business people in charge, people that can earn the club money and year after year produce profit, unlike the football team and the footballing squad that have won absolutely nothing bar The Emirates cup, which we put on for ourselves. These business people make their profits by strangling the managers options to buy quality players, they give him enough to buy players from God knows where that will do a job but not good enough to win trophies. we will have to wait a very long time to even think about challenging the United's of this world and why, because football is a business every home game earns us in the region of 3 million pounds, our sponsors give us money because they know that sixty thousand people will see their logos week in and week out, success is not really a problem, the Emirates stadium will be filled every time we have a home game, i would call that taking money by false pretences, fans turn up hoping that we will go on to be successful, but our businessmen, know that were successful without winning major prises by our profits.

Teams like Chelsea went forty years without silverware, until a money man came in and invested, we all bemoaned this ploy as buying success but it worked and within a very short time they had the silverware Abramovich wanted, Manchester City's investors have also seen how it can be done and are following the same route, i predict many trophies over the next few years for these teams, while their investors keep spending success will keep coming for them. These teams are doing no different to the great Manchester Utd, they built their stadium many many years ago and have over the years added to it to the highest capacity club stadium in the country, they have probably the most supporters in the world so their stadium has earned them money for years and that money and the money of various benefactors have enabled them to buy the best players around and keep them at the top level for years, but now that multi billionaires are not afraid to throw million after million and can afford to lose that money, has started to slow Utd progress and will stifle them as well.

Arsene Wenger, i still believe him to be a manager before his time, and had the billionaires invested their money in our club instead of the ones they did, with Wengers ideas and his philosophies he could have been the the most successful manager of all time and our club up there at the top. Wenger whether you love him or loathe him has done extremely well with the resources he has had, forget the crap that directors have said about money being there if he feels he needs it, that statement made me laugh out loud, how many managers do you remember have said i don't need money, right, none. so in my book Wenger has done fantastic to even have us challenging for the top honors let alone winning them. Now if you are honest with yourselves ,have we got a fantastic squad that should win major trophies, go through the team and look at every individual in that team and tell me how many of them would you put into a team to beat the world, an honest answer now, none of them, so Wenger has actually over achieved sounds daft but he has, and he has done all that on a shoe string, he has enabled players to demand high wages do they deserve it, in my eyes no, for the simple reason all of the players that have moved on have not bettered themselves because they were only good at Arsenal and that has to be put down to the manager.

So my prediction back up the page, i stand by i honestly hope i am wrong but i don't believe i am, we'll carry on playing and being the nearly men, and we may just win the odd thing but our profits will always be good and the stadium will always be full and the supporters will still carry belief, but we may at this stage think six years is a long time to go without a trophy, but i believe it could go on for considerably longer, i wonder whether i will ever see one again that's how long i'm talking, but what do i know i could be wrong. I hope and pray i am.

Written by Steve Palmer

RUBBISH RULES FOR A GREAT GAME

Morning all, Can you believe some of the refereeing decisions that we see week in and week out, i for one cannot. I was led to believe that football is run on a set of rules, where offside is offside, handball is handball and so on. But those rules have been tampered with, so that a simple rule, has now put two different meanings to them, and that the officials have now got the power to interpret them any way they wish. Take for instance the offside rule, a simple rule, which stated that any player standing in an offside position when the ball is kicked is deemed to be offside and a free kick to the defending team, would be awarded from where the player stood. Now that is so simple that everybody can understand it. But the football federations have seen fit to change that simple rule. Now the offside rule is. You are offside, if when receiving the ball you are in an offside position,but anybody else is not deemed offside unless interfering with play. Now that has caused many controversial arguments, and has put the deciding decision in the hands of the officials. So from changing a simple rule to a complicated rule has thrown everything up in the air. My view on this is, match fixing, yes match fixing, any rule that can be interpreted two ways is open to abuse, and i have absolutely no doubt in my mind, that the rule was changed to fix the result of the game. The handball rule is another controversial subject, when is handball handball, the rule states from the shoulder down is deemed handball, unless its accidental, who determines if it was intentional or not, yes the officials, another way for the officials to fix results, another rule that can be interpreted two ways. how can we have a rule that is not clear cut, if a ball hits the arm from shoulder down it must be classed as handball whether accidental or not, it should never be left up to the officials,if it is the same for all, it must be fair. When looking at the offside rule, we need to be aware that the defending back line is trying to keep the line straight, and playing encroaching players into an offside position, they are doing this deliberately, so you can understand that when encroaching players who are in an offside position are deemed not offside is totally against what defenders are trying to achieve, this rule has to be changed back to the simple explanation, so that it takes it out of the hands of officials. The Professional foul, When a player is through to a scoring position, (which we all know is between the goalkeeper and the striker), and is taken out of the game before he has a chance to shoot, is in my eyes a professional foul, and punishment for that offence is a red card. but the rule interpreted by officials is, the last defender takes a player out of the game where classed by the official as a scoring opportunity, and the defender should take a red card. The trouble with that interpretation is this may happen on the halfway line, this is not a scoring chance so a red card should not be given. this rule needs to be defined so everybody knows at a glance what the ruling should be Today the game of football is orchestrated by the officials, they determine who wins by the decisions they make, the football federations are in charge of the officials they appoint them to whatever games they want. . Officials should be rotated so they are not in charge of more games than any other officials. We have in the Premier league to often, the same officials for the same clashes which i find unacceptable. At the end of the day we only want the best team to come out on top, fairness has to be the main aim with no bias, rules need to be simplified, so even the new supporter can understand the rules of the game. It is in everyone's interest to make the game of football interesting and fair. With technology we can make the game even fairer by eliminating mistakes, the onus is not on officials. As in Tennis Cricket and Rugby where seeing is believing, this makes for better relations between fans and players alike, but above all the right result at the end of the game. Many rules are changed for other reasons, either to give the supporter more excitement with more goals, or as a way of speeding up the game. Some of these changes may have achieved this but at what expense. has the pass back to a goalkeeper actually speeded up the game, maybe for making the keeper kick it straight back out, but when he receives the ball from the opponent, he can run all round his area with the ball and then drop the ball at his feet and dribble it before he kicks it out. put these two together and i don't believe that overall this has speeded up the game much at all. The rules of football was introduced when the game became competitive, and those rules survived for many years without the interference from anybody, since the changes we have had controversy from every corner and also many strange decisions, you may think the game has changed so the rules have to be updated but i believe if we make changes they should be for the better of the game, but with the emphasis on fair play and not for orchestrated games dictated by the governing bodies I personally' like the old ways of play, but what's your views, and can we improve a very old game. Written by Steve Palmer an ex player that played the old way.

SEXISM, IF IT AINT BROKE DONT FIX IT

Morning all. With all the latest news about sexism in sport i.e. Andy Grey and Richard Keys being sacked by Sky sports for derogatory comments on lineswoman Sian Massey. Has made me take a long look at sport in general and any competitive event involving both sexes. Now we know that men and women have always tried to get one over one another for all-time, that's nothing new, and its well known that men will usually make lewd comments when there's attractive women about. and vice versa. Now i am not a supporter of either Grey or Keys in fact i didn't like the way they run the program anyway, i found they were very biased against certain clubs and in favour of others, so in my eyes good riddance.But lets take a closer look. Football was supposedly invented by men, for men, that's why the old term (its a mans game) came in, having said that, men must have realised that women wouldn't let that be the case for ever. Now we know that it wouldn't be fair letting women play with men in the same team and against one another for the obvious reasons which is why there are men's leagues and women's leagues. I believe it is better that way in all honesty. I also believe it is better to have men officiating men's games and women in their games. My reasons for that statement. For a start, the first time a woman officiates a mans game, two men lose their jobs, that will now be in the history books for ever. But consider this, Men and women in offices working together, must have caused many many divorces over the years and must be taken into consideration. Why i can hear you say, young women running the lines and refereeing,in men's games will without doubt cause problems.22 young healthy wealthy men, must be a young woman's dream, and as soon as she has found her young wealthy mate, compromises her next game involving said mate. After all its bad enough now with doubtful officials, without bringing love into the equation. It is well known that in times of the Olympics, the Olympic village is a hive for sexual activities, a wealth of healthy athletes having the ride of their lives we do not need this in football. even in TV competitions such as strictly come dancing, contestants have affairs with their dancing professionals. Karen Brady the West Ham Director, who was also on the end of Andy Greys acid tongue, couldn't stop herself from falling for one of Birmingham's players, while she was there. I have watched over the years all of the football programs, and noticed that all of those programs which was always presented by men, has now introduced women, i must say at this time very attractive women dressed very sexily but i believe they would be better pushing the ladies leagues, rather than try and take over the men’s game, after all every woman employed means another mans job down the swanny, its my belief that women do not want equality, they want overall control. They are a rolling machine and wont stop till they have it. Margaret Thatcher, was another good example, in her 17 years in power, as Prime Minister, she did everything in her power, to put as many working men as she could out of work, from coal miners to ship builders. she tried her hardest to break as many unions as she could and in all honesty broke a lot of hard working men’s hearts. Things have never been the same since Emily chained herself to the railings, many would say she did it for all the right reasons, but had she been a man she would probably still be there. In my eyes certain things have improved with women's intervention, but other things haven't. A man who wanted a quiet pint with his mates, where they could sit and chat F and blind without offending anyone, in a Men’s only bar, Women hated that, not many Men only bars now is there. Only the other morning, i was watching the box, when two presenters man and woman were discussing something, and the woman said to the man ( i don't suppose your little brain can handle that, can it) although tongue in cheek, no reprimand there, sexism has to work both ways. It reminds me a little of, the days when this was a predominantly a white country, when a white man would call a black man a name and the black man would take it to the Race discrimination board, i don't ever remember a case where the black man called a white man a name and it went any further. Now the country is full of every race, all talking their own language, and that’s supposedly better. Remember Eve Handed the apple to Adam and the fool took it, its not time to make the same mistake again. Remember this, Sian Massey was pulled out of her game the other night to protect her, who’s going to protect her when she’s in the middle officiating, my view is don't mend it if it aint broke, I'm frightened to ask what's your view ? Written by an honest Steve Palmer

WENGERS SO CALLED BEAUTIFULL GAME

The beautiful game has been Arsene Wengers dream way of playing for many years, slick quick passing, team mates moving like a well oiled gearbox, synchronised meshing, often making lesser teams seem as if they are running around like headless chickens.  Media, Pundits, Managers and players all agree that when Arsenal play like this its beautiful to watch. Playing this way takes tremendous amounts of training and practice but if you have a sticky gear it can upset the smooth running.
This way of playing has its for's and against, I will start with the for's:
When we are in possession, the quick passes that we play seldom gives the opposing team a chance, they run from player to player and just as they are about to tackle the ball is gone. Large amounts of possession is accumulated, making the game look one-sided, our players gain confidence and try trick passes which often work and can split any defence but if they don't, we hand the ball to the opposition.
The against:
We play the beautiful game but we play it slow.  Most of the time we bring the ball out from our keeper, sometimes we have five or six passes before we cross the halfway line, the same on the other half.  But what we have achieved with all these passes is to allow the opposition time to form their defensive lines, we spread the passing from one side of the ground to the other but there are so many played back, we appear to be knocking on the door but are not allowed in.
This was apparent in our game with City, a team who visited with no demands but with the belief that they could earn a result and with their dogged defending did it very well, albeit only a point but an away point against one of their rivals in the top four of the league. They set their stall up not to lose and that's exactly what happened.
They had a tactical plan and apart from one, maybe two shots on target from us it was a resilient defending night from City, I know some would say we hit the post three times and stranded their impressive goalkeeper Joe Hart but I count that as a shot not on target but a miss, Hart at no stage looked under pressure.
How can we work this out so that we retain possession and score goals and turn these frustrating draws into happy wins. Wenger appears to struggle with this scenario, we appear to play the same whoever we play and the rest of the league know it too. Most of the other teams are using the same ploy against us and all who use it often get results. We ought to learn a lesson from games like these and watch how other teams perform given the same circumstances.
Look no further than Manchester United, I understand a lot of readers will find this distasteful but if it helps us to pull our head out of the sand it has to be done.
Now Manchester Utd  play a similar game to us but faster, they are more direct and push forward extremely quickly defences hate this pressure.  Forwards race into the box awaiting a quick cross which often produces the wanted goal, they catch the defenders before they have formed their back line everybody is running at sixes and sevens.
Tottenham have also adopted this ploy this season to good effect, with Gareth Bale a spurting run direct with forwards running for all their worth to get in the box has attributed to their goal tally as was shown against us, Chelsea, although not at their best this season, are also past masters of this ploy and with eager forwards have reaped the rewards in passed seasons.
Perhaps its time to swallow our pride and attempt a new approach as of our rivals as we have become a team who are becoming predictable and easy to play against. We need to mix our play up so that opposing teams do not know what is coming.
If we carry on as we are the beautiful game we play could also end up being our downfall.
Time to look and learn from others?
It's no weakness, it's the way forward......
Written by Steve Palmer

ONE MANS DREAM AT NAZEING AND HOW I SAW IT

Nazeing Golf Club is situated in Nazeing in the county of Essex, it was the brainchild of a local farmer, this man owned several acres of land, and as i understand, at the time farming was not going to good, now all the dates and years i give are not necessarily the right ones, as precise dates is not my thing, having said that this all started about 20 years ago, the man in questioned had a membership at one of the local golf courses, quite prestigious, and his dream was to build his own course and make it as prestigious, apparently he only had enough land to build  half a course, so he enquired around the local land owners, and found one who would throw in with him to build the course.

Subsequently the course was started, and a golf course designer by the name of David Gillett was put in charge of the design, in all honesty he did a fair job, The course took a few years to finnish and eventually opened about four or five years later, that's when i first heard about its opening, i was a member at another course and my playing partner had heard that Nazeing had just opened and that we should go there and black our noses, and that's exactly what we did, there was a long drive from the gates of the course to the car park and the road meandered through much of the course, i must say at that time the road in, was not much more than a dirt road but the course looked in pristine condition. Once into the car park my first thought was wheres the club house,i looked round and there were two porta cabins one of which was the makeshift Pro shop and the other a snack bar and toilets and that was it,

We entered the cabin with the pro shop sign on its door and met the resident Pro, we informed him we were looking for a round of golf and  possibly membership, he was very informative told us lots about the course and the future plans of the owners to make this course one of the best around and that now was the time to join as this course will take off and how it would be harder to join later. we paid for our round and started, after 2 or 3 holes we realised that it was in very good condition for a new course and continued. We saw the pro as we finished nine holes and he asked us what we thought, as we stood chatting he said why don't we have a cup of tea in the snack bar before we continued so we did, once inside we were introduced to one of the owners who was running the  snack bar at the time, and he was telling us about their plans to build a club house, and how he had plans of what the clubhouse was going to look like on the wall. We carried on, and walking down the 10th fairway and looking at the way it was cut in a criss cross style it looked superb and we realised that we could easily be convinced to join.

As i stated before we were members at another club, and i had just paid my green fee of £500 for the year but my pal hadn't paid his yet, and he was saying he wanted to join Nazeing instead and how i could take him to my course as a guest and him me at Nazeing, the only stumbling block was Nazeings Joining fee  at that time was £1750 plus £700 green fees but he thought with all of the spill we had heard from the Pro and the Owner that now was the time to move, so he joined. We continued playing both courses but Nazeing was a much better layout, and pretty close to where we both lived, and the hype around the course soon convinced me to join  about a couple months after.

Building works started about 2 years later for the clubhouse, and after work every night we would meet up and play then walk around the build site and see how it was progressing, and in all honesty it didn't take that long, we enjoyed going into the building and watching the bars being fitted in, and the changing rooms as they were being fitted, it was as if you was having it built for yourself. Within a year or so it was complete, and adverts was being placed for staff, and not long after that we started to use our own club house.

I suppose its now time to explain the ownership, of what i will now call the club, the man, who's idea was put in motion sadly died while the course was being built, but he had two sons who between them took over the running of the club, there was still a part of the farmland still being used as a mushroom growing business which by all accounts wasn't doing to bad, so one of the brothers concentrated on the farm and the other on the club,he became the man in charge of course management cutting of the fairways and the greens and the workings of the clubhouse, so he was always busy, the other owner that put in with his land at the start of the project was involved with the clubhouse as well, but as time went on i don't think that all the parties were that happy with their lot, and the two brothers decided to buy the other partner out, and that was what happened.

We had quite a small membership and it was hard to find members as times were tight so the owners were not exactly raking in the funds to plough back into the business so staff were at a minimum, the course staff were also thin on the ground and every time i visited i was to see the owner working bloody long hours on the tractor. It wasn't very long after this that something had happened in the family and the brothers decided to change roles and we started to see the other brother on the tractor also working long hours, members can only be thankful of these two brothers hard work that the club is still  here today.

A couple of years ago the club was in danger of closing the climate wasn't that good membership was on the decline and all the signs was bad, i imagined that all  of the hard work around the course for not much return, must have been very demoralising and i was afraid that that was it. Then all of a sudden which was a big break for all concerned, a company came in with an offer to take control of the club on a lease basis and try and build the club up, i imagine that the two brothers would have grabbed that offer with both hands and the club changed hands but i am sure that all of the members were very grateful to the family for all of the hard work over the years, that they had put in, and i only hope they did alright out of it, they certainly deserved to.

Well the new Management took over and it must be said a very professional outfit they are turning out to be , work on the course has bettered the course, and new idea's and more staff has turned the club around, inside the clubhouse has also changed with good staff and social events, and a restaurant on weekends where the public can also use the facilities. At the moment we have increased our membership and everything is moving towards what the man with the idea at the start, and hopefully accomplishing his dream.

As in all clubs, be it social or sports, they depend on the support of the members, Nazeing is no different, for a smooth running club a lot of effort has to be put in by volunteers, Social secretary, Handicap secretary and so on, but the most prestigious position, is the club Captain he has to volunteer a lot of his time throughout his year in office, people are not always aware of the commitment that the Captain has taken on, he needs to be there for all of the club meetings, all the club competitions, to present the trophies and prizes, all of the speeches he has to make, and to back up, with his time all of the social events i like to think it is appreciated by the members. And to the ladies Captain Ditto. The club professional also has a big responsibility, he sells the products that members need, he gives tuition to the members, he is involved in all the workings in the club score boards society bookings and tee bookings, plus lots more that i wont bore you with, we are very lucky to have a very active pro.

Members, makes me smile, when i think of our members at Nazeing, we have people from all walks of life Firemen Builders Solicitors businesses of all sorts, if you need a Chippy Sparks Plumber Tiler Painter anything, you could build a house with all the trades, so a very handy place to be, It takes all sorts of personalities in a golf club, and at Nazeing we have a very good mix, every body gets on well with every body, and new members or members guests are welcomed, plus if you are competitive this is the place for you, although most golfers like to see good golf being played, they also absolutely love it when you play bad as well, so if your thinking of joining a golf club you wouldn't go far wrong with Nazeing.

DOES GRASS ROOTS FOOTBALL HELP THE PROFFESIONAL GAME

If your one for statistics, or Arsenal memory reminders, then this post is probably not for you but if you have sport in your blood and anything football rings your bell, this could just be up your street. I’ll start off with how this idea came to me and try not to bore you to much.
After reading the daily posts and commenting on one or two points, an idea struck home and I started thinking back to the time I played in our local football side  and it made me wonder if what we played, was anything like the real thing.

Arsenal in those days was always one of the best teams in what was then termed as division one, they usually held their league position from midway up to the top.
I of course, was Arsenal through and through, so when I played local football, I always imagined myself as our latest center forward and having Tottenham’s training ground just round the corner from where I lived, gave me the benefit of seeing how professionals trained. I must admit our local team was miles away from it. (Yep, even from Spurs )
On our match days we would meet in the pub, have a couple of pints, then make our way to the ground. Some of the guys used to arrive late because they couldn’t leave the pub but we normally managed to start with eleven. Sometimes the groundsman never turned up, and we would have to change on the touch-line, leaving our clothes there until the game ended, hoping it wouldn’t rain. More often than not though, it did and the facilities were so poor back then, we’d have to change back into our damp clothes….
As years went by we got a sink  but even then you had to wait your turn, I often wondered what the professional clubs facilities were like, bet they didn’t have one sink to share!!

Poor old Steve.......

We had to take our turn in washing the kit, funny thing was, we played in Arsenal colours but by the end of the season, with all the boys taking turns to wash the kit, we ended up playing in pink, we got a lot of funny looks from other clubs though. We all paid about a pound a week subs, that helped to pay for a match ball and a new strip for the next season, the referee needed paying as did the rent on the ground we played, we even had to pay for our place in the league.
Some, like me, had two lots of fees as we played in the Sunday league as well.

Then we had the cup games, once we’d been knocked out of these we’d all go off to Highbury and watch Arsenal. I used to watch the players come out and get that thrill, something I still get at the Emirates today as the fans start to cheer the lads on.  As we watched the team in what looked like a brand new pristine strip, swaggering around, we looked at all the boots they had on, hoping we would some day be able to afford them.
One of the games I watched, someone got injured and stretchered off, another had to be carried carried off. It made me think back to the week before, when one of the other side that we were playing, broke his leg, and the game was stopped, until the Ambulance came and they took him away, close on an hour we waited and then the game resumed, a win for us as they never had a reserve.

Injury happened in our games as well, I don’t believe we were anywhere near the fitness of teams like the Arsenal, funny really I played local football for almost thirty years but I cant remember the term metatarsal ever! We had sprained ankles and broken legs ,concussions and the odd hamstring injury but the posh ones of today, never.
I suffered a hamstring injury once and the pain was unbelievable, so I know how Cesc must have felt, with mine though, despite it hurting like f**k,  never stopped me working! Maybe i was lucky…..
As I drew towards the end of my playing days, my cartilage went. Twelve months I waited to have treatment, I was in much pain during all that time but I had to carry on. When it was done, I was in plaster for a fortnight, then back playing about two months after, needless to say my playing days were really over after that.

Players come and go in the Arsenal team, some turn out to be legends in the game - that’s usually a player that left a legacy of outstanding play in the minds of the fanatical supporters, players of skill and long service to the club or players who are idolised and sorely missed when they leave. But life goes on and a new player steps up to the plate and it starts all over again.
We, that is the guys I played with, often heard there was a scout out watching certain players in games played on our communal grounds, that’s when we all tried their hardest hoping to make an impression. In one of those so called games I scored five goals, got the headlines on the back page of the local rag but, like thousands more, I was never judged to be good enough.
So the difference between local and professional football was massive.

I often think back to those days and believe that at least we had a chance to become big stars but just wasn’t good enough. Right now I worry that with all the foreign players that are being brought in, the grass roots of football is a thing of the past. I am not against foreign players as they posses amazing talent but are British players are being passed over in preference to foreign?
I must admit, I was shocked when Arsenal was the first English club to field a complete foreign side, I felt we had let our country down but I suppose in this multicultural country we live in today, we have to accept change. This is happening throughout, be it religion football or politics. Foreign players playing for foreign owners in what seems a foreign country, I suppose the British will just have to try harder.
The trouble is, you cant make a silk purse, out of a pigs ear, so I don’t expect change.

Does grass roots football help the professional game, or is it over?
Written by Steve Palmer