So Gary Cahill is appealing against the red card awarded for his foul on Marouane Chamakh.
Good. I’m delighted. Bring it on.
By appealing, Cahill leaves open the option of having his three-match ban for a straight red extended by the FA committee that hears his appeal. And make no mistake – he deserves to have the ban extended.
If you’re in any doubt, take another look at the challenge (you can view it on arsenalist.com). Cahill comes in late and from behind on Chamakh, who has just executed a sweet back-heel into the path of Arshavin.
Watching it live (and from high up in the West Stand) I thought the red card was harsh and, at first glance of the replay, you’re tempted to agree. One of the reasons it doesn’t look so bad is that Chamakh just gets up and gets on with things without any histrionics (Eboue, please take note). Chamakh’s not badly hurt – so it should be a yellow card at most, right?
Wrong. Take another look. Cahill dives in with both feet off the ground, which is a definition of recklessness. His left foot takes Chamakh’s left ankle, his right foot takes Chamakh’s right ankle. Neither foot gets within nodding distance of the ball.
By a small miracle of timing both Chamakh’s feet are off the ground at the moment of impact. Now play back the tackle in your mind and imagine what the outcome would have been if either one of our Number 29’s feet had been planted at the moment of impact: with Cahill’s flying, uncontrolled lunge, Chamakh would surely have had ligament damage at the very least and possibly even a broken ankle. We would have lost him for several weeks or several months, at a time when we are also missing Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner.
That he was not seriously injured was a pure fluke. Cahill’s challenge was dangerous and stupid and the instant red card proffered by Stuart Atwell was a rare instance of good refereeing by the ‘up and coming top ref in England’ in a game in which he was generally out of his depth.
He correctly adjudged that he should punish the intent, not the outcome. By doing so he may just save some other professional from having his leg snapped by the likes of Cahill later on in the season.
I don’t need to remind anyone of the horrors our players have faced in recent seasons from wild, uncontrolled challenges by brutish defenders. Cahill’s was a collector’s item of the species and three games on the sidelines is the least he deserves.
Following on from the Joe Cole dismissal in our first game of the season, the Cahill red card gives some hope that referees have discussed how to protect creative players and have agreed among themselves to act quickly and decisively if they see reckless lunges like Cahill’s. Quite how Atwell managed not to dismiss Robinson for his even more dangerous challenge on Abou Diaby a short while afterwards will, however, remain one of the great mysteries of football.
When Cahill gets to stand before the FA, let’s just hope they have the intelligence to study the video properly and the balls to act accordingly.
RockyLives
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
you don’t know anything about football you loser!
Can I just say a ligament injury is usually more debilitating and requires longer rehab than a break!
Glad we cleared that up!
OK “OLI” why don’t you look at the FIFA rules and tell me who doesn’t know anything about football:
FIFA Law 12 — Fouls and Misconduct p.108 interpretations of the laws states that there are three categories of fouls:
“Careless” means that the player has shown a lack of attention or consideration when making a challenge or that he acted without precaution. No further disciplinary sanction is needed if a foul is judged to be careless.
“Reckless” means that the player has acted with complete disregard to the danger to, or consequences for, his opponent. A player who plays in a reckless manner must be cautioned.
“Using excessive force” means that the player has far exceeded the necessary use of force and is in danger of injuring his opponent. A player who uses excessive force must be sent off.”
Your darling of a player with a previously unblemished record, not that kind of player blah blah bla, falls foul on all 3 counts.
A 4 match ban is the least he deserves.
You’re bang on there R Lives.
The worst thing is that Cahill would have needed to go through Chamakh to get to the ball because upon his decision to go in “hard”, the ball is in front of Chamakh. How anyone can say it was a harsh sending off is beyond me. Any tackle from behind like that, especially studs up and two-footed, isn´t part of the game as charybdis1966 rightly points out, and the ref made a good call.
Hopefully the amount of red cards against our opponents shows that refs are starting to take action against foul play, because if these challenges continues to go unpunished, we´ll have 5 or more long-term injuries at the end of the season.
Unbelievable how Arsene Wenger has brainwashed all Arsenal fans into developing this paranoia about ‘brutish defenders’. You mean good defenders right? Cahill and Shawcross are up there with the best defenders in the English game. Like Vidic and Terry they know how to put themselves about so just because your team fails to contain any then that doesn’t mean the English game should change it’s style so you can win something.
Also isn’t it ironic that Wenger inaccurately states that Shawcross was impeding a spurs goalkeeper in a recent game but says nothing about Chamakhs challenge on Reina? One rule for Wenger another for the rest huh?
OLI this is football NOT Taekwando. Maiming your opponent is not the object of the game as you and mindless journos and pundits seem to think. England will never win a major trophy with this rough ’em up mentality.
Steve//
So a tackle from behind isn´t the responsibility of the player responsible, but from the victim of the tackle? Wow you must be thick. And Arsenal fans, unlike fans of “brutish” teams such as yourself, do have a mind of their own, so I suggest you follow your own advise, and stop being brainwashed from supporting Stoke and start living in the real world, where reckless challenges are punished, and good football prevails. And neither Shawcross or Cahill are top class defenders mind you.
“Cahill and Shawcross are up there with the best defenders in the English game.”
Hahahahahahahaha
Lol chamakhs challenge on Reina??? Wat was wrong with that?? Go home. Shit artical aswell, wasn’t a red at all. Stop writing crap. The worst tackle was the one on diaby
@ Steve you are part of the English disease that promotes up ‘n at ’em mentality. How many times have Rio and Vidic broken someones leg? Dangerous play with intent of “let him know you are there” is not football regardless of how long it’s been going on.
Attwell got this one right. But I’m sure it was by accident.
At the end of the day, if we want to stop injuries like those to Ramsey, Zamora or Eduardo, these are the kind of tackles that need to be stamped out, excuse the pun. “He wouldnt hurt a fly” or “he’s a real nice lad really” isnt a valid excuse, Cahill’s challenge was two footed from behind and he had no chance of playing the ball whatsoever without coming straight through the back of Chamakh. Its a clear red card.
For any fans that are saying ‘you’re only moaning coz you’re Arsenal fans’, what until the same thing happens to 2 or 3 of your players and you will start to get pretty f*cked off. Anyone who was listening to talksport at 5pm on Saturday will know that Fulham fans were irate with the brutish tactics that Mick McCarthy’s Wolves dished out on Saturday. It wouldnt have got any attention if Zamora hadnt had his leg unfortunately broken. We’ll see how your fans react when you have one of your golden boys out for 9 months from one of these ‘clumsy’ tackles.
To liken Shawcross (who was once again awful last night) and Cahill to Vidic and Terry is ridiculous. Both JT and Vidic are fine footballers – in Terry’s case, the FIFA World defender of the year 3 times!!
Neither Terry nor Vidic play with the intention of hurting their opponent, they play hard and they play to win. Nothing wrong with that.
Rocky’s fine piece highlights the need to focus on over aggressive play.
Chelsea and MU won at the Emirates by bullying Arsenal without resorting to two footed tackles. As was said at the time, men against boys, and we accepted those defeats, because there was no dangerous intent in that bullying.
Hard but fair. is the way to play.
What’s rong about this article… It is spot on IMO. I guess people want players to start bin theatrical in order to provoke refs “rightly” booking a player for their malicious acts. I dnt want dt… If Chamack had decided to act up like most other players wud have in such scenario… am quite sure most ppl wud change their countenace towards. Just like Charybdis has rightly opinned. Yes Diaby’s tackle was an assault n more criminal,but that takes nothing away from Cahill deserving a red either. INTENT was judiciously punished.
Those who promote the likes of Shawcross are the same people who thought Ricky Hatton would beat Mayweather, and that Bruno would beat Tyson. They’re the ones who go to the local pub to watch the game, and ‘sing their hearts out for the lads’ despite the fact that the tournament’s being played in another country, or in fact, continent. They are in fact – morons.
A few quick responses:
OLI: I see you like a reasoned and nuanced debate. You must be a Professor.
Lannon: “a ligament injury is usually more debilitating and requires longer rehab than a break!” – depends on the ligament, depends on the break.
C: “the worst tackle was the one on Diaby” – I agree (see the penultimate paragraph of the article. Penultimate means second-to-last, by the way). If you’re a Wanderers supporter are you proud that your team managed TWO career-threatening challenges in the game instead of just one?
Steve & Oli, you obviously saw MOTD and not the actual match.
Regrettably due to editorial choice/the sheer number of goals to show MOTD ommited a number of crucial moments in the match – most notably:
The foul from Kevin Davies on Rosicky, which looked horrible live and which even the football first commentators admitted should be a yellow
The second bad foul from KD on wilshire, for which he was booked, inexplicably missed by MOTD’s coverage which was pretty savage and which again, even ‘neutral commentators’ said should be a yellow.
So Bolton are lucky to go in to half time with 11 men.
Then second half we have the cahill foul, not in my view particularly aggressive or nasty (He doesn’t come crashing in at great pace), but definitely a red or the simple technical fact of being a two footed tackle, high and from behind – making contact with both ankles of the player where he cannot see to react. this clearly’ endangers the safety of the opponent’ as outlined in fifa’s 12th law.
And of course Paul robinson’s massacre of diaby which has been widely expunged from websites everywhere, and wasn’t even featured on MOTD! – studs up & over the ball. CLASSY.
Let’s not forget there were also three penalty appeals in this game. Fact is the referee was shocking both ways (Song on Lee anyone?) but Bolton were lucky to have as many players on the pitch for as long as they did.
There is no arsenal brainwash or conspiracy Steve, just a lack of decent refereeing and a mentality in the english game that we don’t talk about foul play – just the beautiful game. Just look at the contrast between the attitude of Wolves & Ebanks-Blake after his conduct of the last two weekends vs that of Nicolas Burdisso over in italy.
Or look at the serious injury statistics that put the Prem miles ahead of Germany, Italy & Spain combined in leg breaks over the last 5 years.
Or just keep living in Pulisland.
As usual Diaby’s even worse tackles on Bolton players in the last 2 seasons are ignored. A crap and uneccessary tackle by Cahill and is what keeps him from being international class. Certainly not anywhere near as terrible as some Arsenal fans are making out.
Arsenal play some fantastic football but what really prickles is that they believe that football should only be played in their own image – football evolves and is played differently, this is what makes it good. In a few years time when Wenger has gone the cycle will start again and Arsenal will play a different brand of football then. Will the fans be so self righteous then?
Ha! So many fouls I forgot Kevin Davis nutting Koscielny in the second half.
Rocky. There were 3 potential red cards not 2.
Davies should have received a second yellow for the aerial assault on Koscielny.
What a shame that Bolton who are supposedly trying to play good football are reduced to thuggery. They were always going to lose, so why not lose with dignity.
Anyone arguing that the sending off changed the game couldn’t have been watching. Had Arshavin been more accurate we would have been 4 up at half-time. Coyle’s anger at the referee would be better used to analyse why he and his players lost discipline
@M1key –
Diaby’s foul on a bolton player two seasons ago was bad and was correctly awarded a red card. All we’d like to see is the same rule for other teams.
You’re right about Cahill – a stupid not malicious foul, but that is why he’s not top drawer.
M!key.
As to the jibe about being self righteous – I agree with you. During the TA/Keown/ Bould/ Vieira days – we didn’t make much noise about aggressive play 🙂
It was a totally unnecessary challenge brought on by frustration, definitely a red card.
Morning,
Thanks for ‘pithy’ article Rocky, good to have a prtoper debate going on – obviously everything you write is correct.
Imagine if Roger Federer was playing against inferior opposition and every once in a while his opponent leapt over the net and smashed his hand with his racket and broke a finger – obviously it wouldn’t be tolerated. Our seasons of late have been littered with ‘broken fingers’ until we simply can’t play our game any more.
Our players must take to the pitch wonedering whose turn will it be today.
Rasp. True but not one of our players shirks a tackle and only you know who writhes on the ground simulating injury
Cahill’s challenge was excessive because he was angry at the injustice as he saw it that Song’s tackle/foul had not been awarded a free kick. The referee must shoulder some of the blame, but Cahill is a professional, he should not have reacted in that way. More importantly he should have had more respect for the wellbeing of a fellow professional footballer. Health and Safety applies in all walks of life, he cleatly meant to take Chamakh out.
Cahill’s tackle can only be viewed as being stupid rather than malicious because as Rocky points out by some amazing piece of luck neither of Chamakh’s feet were planted on the ground. If they were as he also rightly says Chamakh would have more than likely received an Eduardo or a Ramsey type injury and we wouldn’t have been using the word stupid then.
Raddy,
EE was back to his old self (unfortunately) on saturday. What I can never understand with him, is that he is indiscriminate in his timing. He ‘playacts’ when we are a goal down with minutes to go and that can only benefit the opposition.
I’ve grown to love EE, but he is a tart 🙂
Morning London,
I think the red mist descended on Cahill, he would not have gone in with such reckless force had it not been for the ref failing to give the foul against Song. That does not justify the tackle but it does explain why he used excessive force – he was not in control of his emotions.
@london – I disagree, it can still endanger the player and thus earn a red even if it is stupid rather than malicious.
Cahill just couldn’t read the backheel, you can see it on his face afterwards.
I have grown to love tarts but not EE !
M1key its people like you that mourn when England are rubbish at tournaments but say the stokes and bolton of this world are playing the right kind of football.If the way they play is liked anywhere or by anyone but their supporters why dont we see the brazils,spains play like that.MOTD is the reason England is rubbish at tournaments because they do not encourage fair play
Morning Rasp
I wrote in my match report on Sunday that I thought at the time it was only a yellow but having since seen it in slow motion I can see it was a red. sadly this highlights the need for player to roll around, if Chamakh had spend ten minutes on the ground most of the Bolton supporters and neutrals would have bothered looking at the replay more carefully and a sending of offence it is.
Hi Edissimo,
You are correct. Our player’s quick feet mean that they can anticipate a challenge and leave it to the last millisecond to move the ball. This either results in leaving the opposing player behind or (as was the case with Ramsey) a clumsy tackle with the possibilty of injury. If a player continually embarasses an opposition defender, it is generally only a matter of time until that defender resorts to more fundamental means of counteracting his talent – and that’s against the rules.
BR – 🙂
@M1key
Thought this might be interesting from Saturday – would you call this a red card? The ref didn’t even think it worthy of a foul – yet no word of retrospective punishment by the fa… curious
http://www.sportpost.com/video/view/Paul+Robinson+tackle+on+Abou+Diaby
Edissimo
I respect your view but for me two feet off the ground is never stupid it is always malicious. This whole debate today is about nuance, so hey ho.
Futbal.
You are right about MOTD.
Why couldn’t they highlight Cesc’s passing throughout the game, which was close to genius, rather than aggressive play? Cesc’s was as good a midfield passing performance as one will ever see – he was fantastic. But I guess there is no controversy in beautiful, imaginative and intelligent football.
Rasp, totally agree, hence the call from us arsenal fans for players to be protected. you could see the intention written on Kevin Davies Face from the stands as he did Rosicky not long after TR7 had split the bolton defence with that great early ball to Arshavin.
Seems KD has a shorter fuse than most 🙂
Hi,
You are 100% spot on and the Bolton fans disagreeing all show how little they understand of the mechanics of tackling in their disagreement.
I wasn’t far away from the tackle and in real time I though it was a red, I also noticed what you noticed that Chamakh did very well to ease himself out of the way, it was down to this that he avoided a very nasty injury.
Cahill was completely out of control. He went in from behind, off the ground, two straight legs with studs up and was nowhere near the ball.
It was a stonewall red. They tried to excuse it on MOTD by showing a shocking tackle from Newcastle’s Coloccini which was also a red card, what a crap argument.
Good point London. Chamakh does not ‘milk’ fouls on him and neither does AA. I admire those players for their honesty, I guess it is just an individual character trait.
Subliminally, referees must make allowances for certain players based on their perception of the ‘type of player’ they are. “We all know Paul Scholes can’t tackle” so when he fouls, he doesn’t really mean it, etc etc. Or even worse “Gerrard is an England legend, he couldn’t possibly dive”
ps ‘malice’ – by definition going in from behind with two feet in such a dangerous manner is reckless and hence has to be malicious
also to any Bolton fans out there I have to say that I was mightily unimpressed with Cahill, slow, cumbersome, poor positionally, very average player indeed
What Steve @ 08.18 fails to mention that brainwashing probably involves the deletion of Robinsons R-rated lunge on Diaby from anywhere on the internet. If you like a conspiracy theory try and decide who’s the paranoid one by censoring this tackle.
He lost all credibility by saying: “Cahill and Shawcross are up there with the best defenders in the English game. Like Vidic and Terry” – my god, the hilarity of it.
I could only post a comment now as I had to get my sides sewn up after they had split at 08.19 !
I am struggling to understand why opposition fans find Wengerball effete and an insult to their own teams football ethos.
rasp,
you can add
Alan ‘england captain’ shearer
&
John “made himself big – starjump in the box – never a penalty” Terry
Chary. Nasty…… you have to be careful at your age. I would recommend you avoid the THFC blogsites 🙂
M1key-
what on earth is the relevance of a Diaby tackle from ages ago? for which he got a red card!!
if we are going to bring up old bad tackles then we can dredge up far more than you,
there was one game in which we had three players stretchered off thanks to your players’ thuggery
the argument that one of your players did a bad tackle once so I’m going to talk about that rather than our players’ shocking tackles in the recent game is completely ridiculous
1979gooner,
I hate to get stuck in an argument about semantics when we both think the playe should have been sent off but here I go anywhere:
reckless means without concern for the consequences.
Malicious means the desire to do harm.
Thus recklessness does not by definition mean a malicious intent.
@charybdis1966
found it!
see my comment at 9.36
Haha Edissimo,
Alan ‘all elbows’ Shearer was the master of backing in with his head delivering a forearm smash.
I cannot understand how Gary Neville gets away with persistent fouling in every game yet rarely receives a yellow. He seldom produces a tackle worthy of a red but seems to be able to measure the physicality of his challenge to be just within ‘acceptable’ by refs. His standard means of dealing with an opposing player in possession of the ball is to foul him.
Edissimo,
Hi! Briefly- I agree but:
in its nature it was reckless, in fact a two footed tackle like that is so reckless that there has to be an element of malice in it
going through the back of a player that recklessly means there is a desire to do harm in my opinion!
Rasp,
it probably has something to do with playing for Manu
also I think refs in this country are pretty poor at picking out the cynical from the non cynical, it means the wiley old pro can exploit this with the cunning fouls
it makes a good argument for refs to have all played the game for a period at a decent level to give them the insight into what is cynical, what is dangerous etc
BTW 1979 – nice to see you here
Ed – It was noted last night that any video of this tackle had been taken down on the usual websites, presumably you’ve got one that has yet to be deleted(I can’t view videos at the moment).
Radders – if the mood takes me I engage in blog guerrilla warfare on other teams blogs for a larf – I used to be on Vital Chavski a while back goading them about being a Russian gangsters plaything.
Pleasure to be here, very good piece.
Love to see good dismantling of the media.
It’s very strange how they react to differently to incidents like this.
Take the Cole tackle for example on the first weekend.
For me that was not as bad as the Cahill one, but the media generally agreed it was a red but they are being very soft with Cahill when he simply doesn’t deserve this lenience.
I use to like Owen Coyle until I saw him on sunday morning on sky sport1, and he had the nerve to say songs foul was the biggest foul you’ll ever see in football but then said the paul ‘2 footup’robinson one is news to him.Chris Kamarra just hashed the replay and they moved one from it.If it was AW who had said that, we would have heard Pulis and even Mourinho shouting all the way from spain. Its a joke.Why is our beloved team hated so much by pundits.Manure conceded 2 goals in the last 2 minutes at goodison and they say it happens.If it was arsenal it will be how we are weak and kid-like.
Futbal – good point about the media hypocrisy. I only decided to write this piece after I saw that Cahill was appealing and that some of the press were reporting it as if it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do; as if he had been the victim of an injustice. Unbelievable.
“I’m hoping Coyle has finally realised Cahill is crap and this is his way of getting rid of him for an extra game”
Just found this from a wise Bolton fan on one of their fora!!
What is wrong with you people. Football is a man’s game. If that was a red card then we may as well make football a non-contact sport, just for Arsenal. You sad, soft, southern pansies!
I thank you.
Excellent post Rocky, thanks.
On your specific point, you’ve convinced me, Cahill was correctly sent off. I didn’t think so at the time, but your point about it being lucky that Chamakh had neither foot on the ground at the point of contact is right. The fact Cahill’s reaction was to point downfield where Song’s foul on Lee had gone unpunished supports the suggestion that Cahill took out Chamakh out of frustration or in revenge. I still think the referee should have tried to play an advantage, since we were clean through, but I think the rule may be that advantage can’t be played following a red card offence, so that may not have been an option.
Bolton’s decision to challenge the sending off is unwise, the punishment may well be increased given that, at the very least, Attwell’s decision was harsh, i.e. it was within the bounds of reasonableness.
But even if Attwell was right to send off Cahill, one has to ask how the game got to that point. And to my mind, Attwell’s failure to deal with earlier foul play, in particular from Davies, meant he’d lost control and created the foundations for Cahill’s foul on Chamakh.
As for the general point, that there’s too much over physical play and it should be checked, couldn’t agree more. And it’s up to the referees to get a handle on it (hopefully prompted by the FA and even the clubs). It’s not right that the likes of Arsenal, Spurs, Fulham and United are routinely assaulted using tactics that have no place in the modern game, which is just too fast, skilful and unrelenting to allow them. I like old school football in a lot of ways but the game at the top level is beyond it now. These tactics can never deliver a successful team (I think our reluctance to let it go is one of the reasons our national team is failing), they can only be used to negate a differential in ability, so that the less able team can destroy the prospect of any football being played since they don’t have what it takes to deal with that.
The funny thing is Bolton under Coyle are going through a process of change, moving away from their neanderthal Allardyce roots towards a form of football like Fulham, West Brom, Everton, Villa et al play. But Coyle is stuck with much of the incompetent playing stock he inherited (step forward Paul Robinson). And to me, Cahill is a very able player, one who could go on to big things, he was just frustrated when he took out Chamakh. Robinson just can’t cope, hence his challenge on Diaby, and Davies knows no better than to play the way he does.
There is a simmering struggle in English football, with some reluctant to let the 1950s to 1980s blood and guts styles of play go. To my mind, it’s high time the authorities and referees grew a pair and started to enforce the bloody rules of the game, to stop these assaults dressed up as challenges.
1979gooner – fair play
charybdis1966 – yes, saw all the chatter yesterday, just thought it worth reposting for others while it has reappeared.
Long time reader, first time commenter 😉
Good one Ant, so it’s the mark of a man to come in from behind with both feet in the air because you’re upset about not getting a foul a few seconds earlier ?
It’s the mark of a snivelling coward who’s upset like a 12 year old girl about to wet herself.
I thank YOU !
Ant,
bugger off to Afghanistan if you want to see mangled limbs,
it is both a man’s and woman’s game these days if you hadn’t noticed
also there have been these things called rules around for quite some time that make dangerous tackling a la robinson/cahill quite clearly against the rules
funny for a man’s game that so many of your big Bolton lads go to ground after the tiniest of touches, Davies for example, what a man!
what a crap argument
I can not believe that some gooners were asking for us to pay what ever everton and bolton were asking for just to get an english central defender a few months ago.i.e cahill and jagieka.I ll take koscieny every day of the week over those overrated players.I hear our formal alcoholic of a player paul merson saying our defence is rubbish.If i can remember with Tony adams,winterburn,viera and all those manly figures in our team before 2003/2004 we never went beyound the quarter finals.Lee dixon and adams and seaman got turned inside out by ryan giggs in 99 in f.a cup like a bunch of 16 year olds.I remember our so called best defenders getting bullied by 16 y.o wayne rooney to score against us.All i m trying to say is that lets not believe most of what the media say about us being bad at defending because no team is perfect just some are better than others.i think even barca would conceeded more goals than us last year in the CL if it was not for the second leg in the Nou camp
26May1989
completely agree,
I wrote on Attwell losing the game in the first half (http://anotherarsenalblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/loss-of-control-stuart-attwell.html) and it’s something that not many have pointed out.
A good referee can prevent games getting out of control by letting players know that anything beyond a certain line will not be tolerated.
It’s the same for footballers, bringing up children, or training a horse- discipline can only be brought about by the fair consistent application of the rules, and refs don’t often do that.
Sorry i wasn’t ‘PC’ enough for you 1979. This is a man’s (and woman’s) game and not a non-contact sport. If you wanna watch a non-contact sport, go and watch rounders you soft pathetic pansies!!
I’m here all week.
@26May1989 Also agree. Terrible refereeing.
@1979gooner – good piece
Ant, your enlightened thoughts on the robinson tackle then? Lets see how balanced you can be – go on, impress us.
Yes Ant,
and your weak argument misses the clear points made to you,
no one here is saying football should be non contact
one more time for your slow brain
if you go into a tackle in a reckless manner, irrelevant of winning the ball, then you are likely to be shown at least a yellow or red card, this is down to the rules of the game as have been stated above!
if you wish to found your own ultra-manly version of football in which all contact is allowed then fine
if you wish to watch the current game with the current set of rules then you have to appreciate the rules and show them some respect,
if you are here all week I shall be quite happy to keep repeating myself and showing you up for the moron you are,
kind regards
once again for the slower amongst us:
“FIFA Law 12 — Fouls and Misconduct p.108 interpretations of the laws states that there are three categories of fouls:
“Careless” means that the player has shown a lack of attention or consideration when making a challenge or that he acted without precaution. No further disciplinary sanction is needed if a foul is judged to be careless.
“Reckless” means that the player has acted with complete disregard to the danger to, or consequences for, his opponent. A player who plays in a reckless manner must be cautioned.
“Using excessive force” means that the player has far exceeded the necessary use of force and is in danger of injuring his opponent. A player who uses excessive force must be sent off.” “
Biast Arsenal TRIPE
I know the rules, i don’t need or have to read your repetitive drivel, ‘moron’.
Cahill will get his ban overturned, and rightly so, you’ll see.
Well said Matt, sad and pathetic ain’t it!
1979gooner – Blinding them with facts seems hardly fair – irrational diatribe the way forward clearly
nrrr nrr! Wenger bad, nerr, kids, nerrr nerr, english lions, nerr nerr man’s game nyurh!
You see? clearly Arsenal suck and we should all go and support our local team Barnet or move to France. Better yet Europe, who famously have produced such ineffective teams in major international tournaments thanks to their overly soft domestic leagues.
Lucky those spaniards, french, italians and germans can watch the Man’s English premiership each weekend eh Ant, otherwise they’d be in real trouble, not like our great national team.
ant you northern monkey-f**k off back to your shithole clubs oop norf!!wait tilla couple of your players end upwith leg breaks-then we’ll see whose laughing about a mans game then -prick!!
Ant,
If you’re majoring on what is ‘rightly so’, perhaps Robinson will get the 6 match ban his ‘tackle’ deserved. As it is, Cahill’s ban will not be overturned as it contravened the laws of the game and qualified for a red card, of that I am certain
Matt,
would you kindly give your balanced view on this incident from Saturday’s game?
http://www.sportpost.com/video/view/Paul+Robinson+tackle+on+Abou+Diaby
Ant has so far declined to do so though I await his thoughts with much interest as I do yours.
Edissimo – check out king gooner’s contribution and then tell me about irrational diatribe.
And yes, you should all support your local team, that’s what football really is about.
This is amusing.
Matt, assuming you mean “biased” then look at the top of the web page, the name of the team we support is written twice, just for the slower members of the community like you and Ant.
That may reveal why there is a touch of bias – if you want an unbiased view stick to the Daily Telegraph or such like. People like you remind me of vegetarians who go to a butchers and act all surprised when they see all the meat there.
Ant,
I appreciate the fact that you are respecting the ethos of the site ‘healthy debate without resorting to insults’ and your comments have stimulated a lot of reaction. We choose not to police bloggers but hope they will understand.
This is an Arsenal site but we are not afraid to say good things about other teams where merited. The referee and some Bolton players did not do the game of football justice on saturday. Your player Lee was very impressive in the game and didn’t resort to any unfair tactics.
Robinson’s was a red card, i have no argument about that. It was very similar to the Gallas tackle on Mark Davies last season, that was assault and a red card.
Cahill’s was not a red card and will get rescinded. You see, this is balanced opinion, of which none of your Arsenal fans know about, from Wenger right through to every fan.
Matt and Ant,
I am glad you are now happy that your brain cells have found company,
however don’t come here, then throw around insults, having made zero attempt to engage in any kind of reasoned argument,
the fact you haven’t says it all really, you have no argument, you argument is so weak that all you can do is say ‘it’s a man’s game’ and then call anything that shows you up for the idiots you are ‘repetitive drivel’!
‘Biast Arsenal tripe’
yes, another convincing argument that doesn’t even make a single incey wincey bit of effort to address a single sensible point made in the above debate
read the rules and explain how Cahill or Robinson’s tackle wasn’t reckless then you have a point, until then your spluttering away like deranged orks is only humiliating yourselves,
regards again
So Ant – Davies didn’t take his challenge like a man did he?
It’s a man’s game and a fair tackle by Gallas.
You’re crying like a pansy now(and been crying since that game months ago you baby), go and watch rounders!
“Cahill’s was not a red card and will get rescinded.”
Can you say why?
All we’ve heard is that it isn’t, that no justification.
Arguably it was careless, reckless and used excessive force.
The problem with appealing it is that it’s subjective as to whether a tackle is a yellow or red, the ref only has to have been ‘reasonable’.
To argue Cahill’s two footed lunge was not a yellow would be nonsensical given it’s recklessness, thus it is very hard to say the ref was unreasonable.
BTW the gallas tackles was very different, gallas was not out of control, he had a bent leg and was relatively in control, there is a huge difference between the tackles, gallas was a yellow card studs up tackle
and if you claim the gallas one was a red that devalues the cahill argument even more, cahill’s was way worse than gallas!
Typical northern bullies – give it the large one when they lunge/tackle players from behind and cry like babies when they get a little back.
Pathetic.
Ok bye.
Ant,
I have the great fortune of growing up with Arsenal as my closest team, happy days.
Thank you for finally addressing the Robinson tackle, you are quite right to point out that Gallas made a bad tackle last year. However note the difference between the managers response –
Wenger apologises: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/7041770/Arsenal-manager-Arsene-Wenger-sorry-for-William-Gallas-tackle-on-Boltons-Mark-Davies.html
Just as Burdisso apologised unreservedly over the weekend after putting an italian player in hospital.
Coyle on the other hand says that the worst foul not given on the day was the one on Lee.
Besides all this Cahill was already on a yellow, do you also think that not only did he not deserve a red but also not even a second yellow? Or is this all a bit academic?
Did you actually watch the game or did you just see the highlights?
How about Kevin Davies on TR7 & little Jack in the first half?
the point I’m making (and with which the italian football commentary coincidentally agreed) was that bolton were lucky to end that game with 10 men on the field.
We can all think of fouls committed in the past on any team by any team, lets concentrate on this season shall we?
Oh and yes, unfortunately king gooner beat me to it 😉
Absolutely nothing wrong with hard but fair tackles (ie Vidic/Terry). Tackling from behind with two feet off the ground going straight thru the man is not the sign of a ‘World Class Footballer’ im afraid …. anyone who believes that is a DICK !!
Judging from some of the comments here, I wonder why the stoke,bolton and blackburn supporters were offended when AW said they played rugby.If you want full contact sports go and watch mma or ufc.Oh wait, even those sports have rules, and in those sports you are seriously penalised when you break them.If you are man enough to break the rules then you should be man enough to take the punishment.Picture Big sam coaching england at the next WC in brazil, Sepp blatter will have a heart attack at the atrocities he will be encouraging his players to cause, but wait HE IS NEVER GOING TO BE AN ENGLAND MANAGER BECAUSE HE IS SHITE.
Who remembers the fa cup final in 2005, Sir Alex and MOTD crying after the game that we did not come to play football because Man u lost. It was not even that we played like bolton.It was just that we had some key players injured last minute we could not play our typical attacking football.Most of these guys are either biased or ignorant and in both cases, there is no point in arguing with them.
Your pathetic.
Cahill is a top notch Defender and here you are explaining that he should be banned more.
what makes this funny is that arsenal always whinge like little pricks.
grow some balls and understand the standards English football hold.
ps did u see Lee getting fouled before the build up?
explain that you one sided useless sack of crap.
fFoodbwfc:
I would read the above comments and then you will realise the foolishness of what you have just written.
It is irrelevant that Lee was fouled, Cahill’s tackle was violent and reckless.
I’d grow a brain and come back when you have learnt how to engage it.
Foodbwfc,
I’ll allow your comment but don’t overstep the mark any further. Read back, several of us have acknowledged that there was a foul before Cahill got his red – that is not justfication for his actions. The referee was at fault for losing control of the game and some very poor decisions – most of which were in favour of Bolton.
Let’s just for the sake of argument, allow Cahill a yellow card. Davies should have been sent off for two yellows and Robinson should have got a straight red. At most, Bolton should have ended the game with 9 men (8 if Cahill’s was a red) so they can count themselves lucky that they still had 10 men on the pitch.
What a alias Foodbwfc.You are pathetic,the last time i check english football has only been of a high standard since AW came to arsenal.Before that the league was filled with alcoholics and fat northerners like yourself.I bet you support arsenal on the downlow and wish you could support arsenal.Who is whinging.Owen Coyle crying about how arsenal play but begging us for JW.Your team would be relegated if you hadnt had JW last season.Lee dived actually you pathetic soul.
an alias i meant
Another troglodyte(foodbwfc) wakes up from his slumber in the cave it seems.
As for acting being pathetic, I draw your attention to my 11.27 post regarding your reaction to Gallas’ tackle last season – no, hang on, you probably can’t lift your eyes up past your pronounced mono browed lower forehead so I’ll repost it here :
“Typical northern bullies – give it the large one when they lunge/tackle players from behind and cry like babies when they get a little back.
Pathetic.”
You northern monkies are the ones acting like “little pricks”
I like being called a northern monkey, it’s quite funny.
Hey Ant, lets meet and I will how you what soft pansies we are. One slap on your gums will cure you of your “bravery”, I promise.
I second that charybdis1966. It would not bother me if chelski or manure supporters were saying these because at least they dont finish 5th from bottom.these supporters support their thuggish teams and then support barca, spain or brazil at tournaments.Even in the north you play second fiddle to sunderland and newcastle.Ignorant pxxxx
Barca, Spain or Brazil? What are you talking about you strange bloke. I’m an Englishman so therefore support England. Crazy stuff eh?!
Ziggy be quiet please.
Rasp, did your son know the answer to that question about two yellows in one phase of play?
And what about all of us on here.What nationality do you thing we are.Ant most of us love football not leg kicking.Most football loving english men have a second team which happens to be a team which plays beautiful football.England dont do well in tournaments because of ppl like you. If you have a son teach him to control and caress the ball with his feet not hooting the ball 30 yards by watching arsenal.
Hi 26m,
Sorry I forgot to ask him, I’ll get the answer tonight for you.
Ziggy,
That’s not necessary. Just take pride in your/our team and don’t let opposition fans get under your skin.
Ant,
For the record, I don’t like name calling or tough talk on blogs. Last season we may well have had a friendly debate on the quality of Jack Wilshire.
What a load of rubbish… Same old Arsenal… bunch of softies…
You what? I was just defending myself and asking what you were talking about pal. It was you that said ‘these supporters support Barca, Span or Brazil at tournaments’. I didn’t question yours and everyone else’s allegiance.
And no, i don’t have a second team, i find that whole concept very strange. I support my local team, where i was born and brought up, and that’s the only team i will ever support. OWEN COYLE’S BARMY ARMY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ant, glad you decided to wade back in to this debate. Would you kindly address my post of 11:29 am? As I recall we were discussing balanced opinions and I should very much like yours.
*Spain.
You want my honest opinion on Jack having seen him play week in week out for a few months last season?
Cahill yellow card- will no doubt lose on though as there is some grounds for it being a red card, even if most rational unbiased people see it as a clear yellow.
Robinson was a red card.
Davies was a yellow card.
Gibbs should have been sent off for two yellows.
The Robinson tackle was ironically similar to the Gallas tackle last year- and also happened to be on that delightful Mr Legbreaker himself Abou Diaby. As such, I’ve no sympathy for Diaby. Dirty thuggish player. Don’t get me wrong, so is Paul Robinson, and one day he’ll probably get his commuppence. Today it was the turn of the talentless Diaby.
Not really, I’d like you to address the points arising from the potentially dangerous fouls committed in this particular match as I outlined at 11.29. Do keep up.
Hi Danny,
Same old Arsenal – always finishing near the top of the table, representing the Premiership in the Champion’s League with the quality teams of Europe and playing football that delights most neutral fans around the world.
Coyle was wrong in saying the worst foul was on Lee, that was a silly trip. Robinson’s was the worst tackle in that game that went unpunished.
Cahill should’ve got a yellow.
I watched the game on the internet as i couldn’t make it to the game.
Taking all this in to account, we were lucky to end the game with 11 men. I still think Cahill did not deserve a straight red though.
I was hoping after the WC hansen and his chumps will stop their propaganda and encourage young players to play the right way but I guess, things will never change. I just remembered his motives might not be honest because he is scottish and he was never considered world class in his day. I know the reason everyone hates arsenal:-is it because AW has turned down managing england so many times?
unbelievable the only day im late this week and the comments are off the scale.
i’m still reading them b4 i comment further but Diaby is out of action for the next 2 games at least – from the presser!
I detest robinson, davies & the like!
I wasn’t asking you about Wilshere, i was asking Rasp.
DO KEEP UP.
And as for the ridiculous points about dirty football being the reason England do nothing in World Cup’s, go back and watch the WC final, Holland and Spain, two teams who can play great football, but who weren’t afraid to mix it up and hack each other to pieces on the biggest stage in football.
I’d suggest one of the biggest three clubs in England contributing nothing towards the England World Cup squad says more about where our problems lie.
@jaderbyshire – Which of Davies’ was a yellow? The foul on Rosicky that MOTD didn’t show, the foul on Wilshire leading to his yellow or the headbutt on Koscielny?
For what should Gibbs have been given his second yellow?
At the end of the day there have been poor and reckless challenges from every team in football, not just ours. The difference between yellow and red is a fine line and more often than not the wrong call is made by the referee. There were many tackles this weekend that were far worse that received little or no punishment – some in this very game.
No point in getting upset about it. Cahill’s challenge was poor and *could* have resulted in a much worse ending – thankfully it didn’t, but any tackle, however intentioned, can have dire consequences. Ask yourself this…Did Cahill intend to maim or injure him? You may differ on this but I don’t think he did. Did Robinson intend to? I’m less sure!
Geting upset over an ill-timed, ill-advised and poorly executed tackle is plain stupid. Surely better to talk about the great pass and moves that cut Bolton open? Some players make a career of injuring players (R Keane?), Cahill isn’t one of them…Robinson is just plain crap!
@jaderbyshire – Which of Davies’ was a yellow? The foul on Rosicky that MOTD didn’t show, the foul on Wilshire leading to his yellow or the headbutt on Koscielny?
For what should Gibbs have been given his second yellow?
———
For the foul on Wilshere, that he was correctly punished for.
I’m not saying he didn’t walk a fine line with the others, but I don’t think it was cast iron he should have gone either.
Gibbs fouled Davies, from behind, and didn’t get the ball whilst already on a yellow card. That by the letter of the law is a yellow card offence but as you were 4-1 up and it was near the end of the game, Attwell let it slide- weak officiating.
@ant 12.45 very reasoned, thank you.
Whether or not cahill gets his ban receded, shouldn’t we see robinson punished retrospectively by a ban? After all the ref didn’t act on the incident and video footage clearly shows a dangerous challenge. Would you consider that fair and unbiased, or would you be happy to see such fouls being correctly punished as good for the game?
@ant 12.47 And there I thought you were asking the arsenal online community, using the unfamiliar ‘you’.
OK Bolton fans, this is definitive evidence. The link below is to the official Barclays Premier League Fair Play table for last season.
Arsenal finished 1st and Bolton were 18th, so let’s forget this idea that Arsenal are a dirtier side than Bolton.
http://www.premierleague.com/page/FairPlayTable/0,,12306,00.html
Robinson is crap and that’s coming from a Bolton fan. We have Alonso but he’s only 19 and just signed from Real Madrid a few weeks ago, so isn’t quite ready yet.
Nobody said Arsenal are a dirtier side Rasp. I didn’t anyway.
Being a bit picky now aren’t we Ed. I’m bored now, bye.
@jaderbyshire 12.51
Fair enough on Gibbs, I don’t remember the second foul but if it was from behind and he didn’t get the ball most likely he deserved to go, however, compare his first tackle to the one perpetrated by Davies on Rosciky in the 15th minute.
You’re rigt that it’s a tightrope and often these decisions are hard to call, but if you agree with me that Davies’ first challenge is just as bad/dangerous as Gibbs’ first (I thought it worse but there w are) then he wouldn’t be on the pitch to be fouled by Gibbs in the second period.
I appreciate you didn’t say that Ant, but some of your co-supporters were heading in that direction. We all roundly (the manager included) condemned Gallas’ tackle. We don’t like to see that kind of play from any team, but in general, Arsenal try to play football properly and by the sound of it, your aspirations are for Bolton to folow suit.
Bye ant, fun while it lasted.
Not picky, just would like to see less than two subs to injury per game. Anything to make that happen is good for the game.
have a good day.
Some days are ok on here, some days are good but today is brilliant.
Tommystout and London, i’m glad i, a lowly Bolton fan, brightened up your day. It must be pretty dull on here most of the time.
Cheers all.
ant,
on your post that cahill should’ve got just a yellow,
your perfectly entitled to that opinion, it is a subjective deicison after all,
still we didn’t really need all the other nonsense did we?
the worst thing is how shit the FA’s system is
at the end of the day Robinson has got away with a shocking tackle that has probably put Diaby out for 2 weeks absolute minimum, the fact that there is no retrospective ban is a sad indictment of their useless process
well yes that was a bit refreshing 🙂
One point – the FA today can take a stance with what they want from the future of the game. Overturn the red and they are stating that 2 footed, feet off the deck type fouls in to the back of an opponent are deemed acceptable. That will be a dangerous statement to make.
If they back the ref which they have to, then i applaud them it will set the standard for this season.
Whilst they are at it, i think just for boltons stupidity in having the gall to challenge, they should bring robinsons tackle in for examnation.
Please please please 🙂
a week to 10 days for Diaby. that i s’pose is good news.
LOL i arrive and everyone skidddaddles 🙂
OK Bolton fans, this is definitive evidence. The link below is to the official Barclays Premier League Fair Play table for last season.
Arsenal finished 1st and Bolton were 18th, so let’s forget this idea that Arsenal are a dirtier side than Bolton.
—————–
Of course Bolton are much dirtier than Arsenal, but those tables are misleading in that they are often titled as being ‘dirty’ what I-and even Arsene Wenger- would say, is that the tables for instance Kevin Davies being in the top two for the last six years or whatever is somewhat misleading and doesn’t tell the whole story.
A fair amount-more than half- of the fouls Davies commits are in the air when he is deemed to be competing unfairly for the ball- not ‘dirty behaviour’ more ‘committed'(in the words of Wenger)
I always like to think a good barometer of dirtiness would be looking at the sending off’s record, all the dirty players down the years; Michael Brown, Roy Keane, Lee Cattermole etc. have been punished with quite a few red cards.
Cut to Kevin Davies, often the player who commits the most fouls every season- he has been sent off ONCE in his seven year Bolton career.
Either you subscribe to the view he is the most committed player in the Premier League, he is the luckiest player in the Premier League, or he is the most disciplined player in the Premier League when on a yellow. There are have probably been elements of all 3 throughout his career.
The only dirty player in the Bolton team at the moment is Paul Robinson, who throws himself into tackles appaulingly at times(like he did with Diaby). I put it down to short-man syndrome 😛
jaderbyshire,
That is a refreshingly honest admission and appraisal of KD. If I were a Bolton fan, I’d be pleased he was in the team because he is loyal and works hard and is important to the way you play, I’d also be looking to the future in the hope that you may one day bring through great young footballers like Jack Wilshire.
Appeal failed but no further ban other than the usual 3 games. As you were saying 1979, the worst thing is how shit the FA’s system is…
Rasp: Thanks!
jaderbyshire
Sorry but no – Kevin Davies is without doubt one of the dirtiest players to have appeared in the English game in the PL era. The fact only one referee has actually sent him off is testimony to Davies’ intelligence in the extent to which he fouls opponents – usually (though not on Saturday, when he could easily have been yellow carded four times and red carded once or twice), as soon as he’s got a yellow card, he holds back and makes sure he stays on the pitch. All very clever but it doesn’t take away from the fact that he fouls opponents with unparallelled frequency. To claim the title of most prolific fouler and not be a defender takes some doing, but that’s something Davies has managed in more than one season.
You are right that he is not necessarily the most dangerous fouler because most of his work is done in the air (though Gael Clichy has cause to remember that Davies is perfectly able to put in a cynically late and potentially leg-breaking challenge on the ground). But Davies is the undoubted king of the elbows, and while he may not be in much danger of doing a Shawcross or Taylor, elbows can do plenty of damage. I remember a young Robin van Persie being sent off for a Davies-like aerial challenge in a CL game, which underlines the fact that English referees are soft on dirty play. A player like Davies, who has plenty of ability, would never be able to operate if he were marshalled by non-British referees, he’d be sent off all the time if he played international or European football the way he plays in England.
Personally, I always think referees should take players like Davies and get an early yellow card in – after that, they’ll have far less difficulty with them. The mistake is referees allow such players to push and push. If Attwell had got hold of Davies earlier, I very much doubt Cahill would have ended up sent off on Saturday.
Trotters fans may be feeling defensive and anti-southern right now with us dismissing the way some of your players play, but if the Coyle transformation continues, and Bolton become a more sophistocated team, I guarantee in a few years’ time, a lot of you lot will be singing a different tune about the use of physical tactics. It’ll be a bit like our transformation from the Graham years to the age of Wenger.
God you’re bitter. You must suck on lemons every night.
Whatever Ant. Seeya.
pleased to see that common sense prevailed – even if it is the FA
My missis always says ‘whatever’ like that, proper does my head in.
Sounds like a good woman. What’s her number?
Now remind me, who here said that the ban would be overturned ?
Is 1989 the year of your birth? It’s just, she doesn’t date little boys.
Ant
Tomorrow our focus will have changed, we will be talking about the Champions League what will you be talking about?
That would be me mate. In retrospect i have to agree with what tommystout said at 1.18pm.
Not to worry Ant, she’ll be safe in my hands.
And a little bit of history for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_0%E2%80%932_Arsenal_(26_May_1989). I think a couple of weeks earlier, the Trotters had finished mid-table in Division 4.
Good point, London, the Champions League, a competition we’ve been playing in for 10 straight years as a result of the style of play we have.
I wonder if Europe’s elite would be so keen to welcome a team from England who play hoof-ball.
Dunno mate, there’s gotta be some variety in my life though, i can’t talk about football 24/7. Maybe i’ll talk about why eggs are egg shaped or why a peanut is called a peanut when it’s neither a pea, nor a nut.
That was 2 years after i started watching Bolton so i know very well where we were, dicksplash.
When the likes of Bolton stop trying to kick our players goolies into their tonsils,WE MIGHT be able to have a debate on the beauty of the game called football.
For the word HARD fast forward 30 years to DIRTY .
Kelsey. The point is that a team CAN be hard and still play football. It has already become apparent this season that our team is physically stronger and quite prepared for a battle.
Just look at Theo and Denilson, both have bulked up. We have signed CB’s who look very handy in the “trenches”.
AW clearly recognised that we need to fight fire with fire and playing pretty football on it’s own is not going to lead to silverware. To find ball playing hard men like Arshavin, Chamakh, Squish, Kos, Sagna and Song is quite an achievement.
Sadly, at the moment Coyle does not have the luxury of a squad so blessed with footballing skills, but the desire to re-sign JW shows he has leanings towards a passing team. Once the old warhorse Davies has gone perhaps Bolton will have leaders who want to play the passing game as opposed to long ball rubbish.
Fair comment BR, I was harking back to the old days of Harris,Hunter and even our own Storey.
Diaby is out indefinitely,Vermaelen also misses tomorrow but Sagna and Nasri both in the squad
Spirited debate on here today!
One thing I perhaps didn’t make clear in the original post is that I am absolutely happy with the fact that football is a contact sport and believe that the physical side of the game is very important. Body strength is a vital asset of top players. And for defenders and midfielders in particular, being strong in the tackle is also vital.
However there is a difference between a strong, fair tackle and a reckless, illegal tackle. Robinson’s and Cahill’s come into the latter category and if it wasn’t for the fact that Cahill is English and Chamakh is foreign I would put money on his ban being extended when he appeals.
Hi rocky,
I agree, that’s why the ‘soft southerners’ jibe is so lame.
Thanks for submitting a post that stimulated so much cut and thrust – It was like the ‘good ‘ol days’ 😉
Wilshere & Gibbs are the only Soft Southerners in the team. The rest are “spineless foreign poofs”
I thank newsnow.co.uk for directing me to you soft southern pansies 😉
Ant
What do you reckon Wenger’s team will be to face Braga?
I am looking forward to THFC tonight. Sadly the Danes don’t consider them worthy of any air time, we are stuck with FCK and Man Utd ( typical of Canal+, anti-soft southern pansies)
You lot might be soft southern pansies, I’m a dicksplash!
LOL 26,
My first exposure to the word. Is it a Northern term ?
Perhaps you should take it as a compliment
I dunno whether it’s northern or bleedin iranian, i like it tho. I dunno what arsenal’s team will be pal, i’m a Bolton fan so don’t give a rat’s ass what your team will be
Ant mate, you’ve spent most of the day on here so you clearly love us. Go on, give us a speculative team sheet…
Unless you’re an American I think you mean “rat’s arse”. Wouldn’t want to undermine your cherished “I’m a northerner me” identity.
Come on 26may, you’re being a bit pedantic there (note for Ant: pedantic means “giving too much attention to formal rules or small details”, not being a kiddy diddler).
I’m happy that our Northern friend embraces Americanisms in his interesting diatribes. Richness of language is a thing to love.
Diaby, Ramsey, and Eduardo are three leg breaks in three years. That is three too many if you ask me. Arsenal is one of the few finesse teams in the Premier League, and teams try to beat them by playing rough soccer. If the referees does not show authority early, teams get carried away tackling the players. There is a reason Arsenal always has injured players. While I believe the Cahill red card was a little harsh, Paul Robinson should have received red for his tackle on Diaby. I am tired of players getting away with this and hope the league does something to prevent further injuries!
Rocky. Excellent 😀
Frank. Thanks for the comment. I agree with you, but RvP and Theo’s injuries came about as a result of the normal hurly burly of football.
I agree with the sentiment that it is a man’s game and physicality within the rules is an essential part of the Premiership. Sadly, some players take their enthusiasm for contact beyond those rules.
New post …..
Note for Rocky: patronising tit means someone who treats someone as inferior or condescendingly and talks down to, of southern origin.
Note to 26May: arse is sometimes pronounced ass in the north, by those you call northern monkey’s, of which i am proud to be. Richness of language and culture are indeed things to love.
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