Arsenal-v-FC Porto 09/03/2010 (K.O. 7.45pm)
A nod to Joss Whedon in the title today, and handily we won by five goals so it's all good...
We started the match like someone had lit a fire under our arse, and (thankfully!) continued in that vein for much of the game. After taking some serious flak over the weekend (a lot of it from me), Bendtner redeemed himself after ten minutes by putting one in the net, then getting a second just before the half hour mark. To the crowd: NOW you can sing 'Super Nick' - he's earned it.
Nasri slotted away a beauty in the second half, and was followed within a couple of minutes by Eboue. 4-0 and it was pretty safe to say we'd won, even with 25 minutes still to play.
Your erstwhile reporter missed the last ten minutes of the game because she'd left to return to her sick bed. After feeling as though I was going to pass out for much of the game I thought it best to retire early and make sure I got home safely. However, I was to miss a fifth and final goal as Bendtner put away a penalty during added time and managed to bag himself a hat-trick in the process. To Bendtner: now THAT is what you need to keep doing if you want to be a top striker.
Final score: Arsenal 5 - 0 FC Porto (6-2 aggregate)
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Saturday, 6 March 2010
What a screamer!
Arsenal-v-Burnley 06/03/2010 (K.O. 3pm)
The title of this post is, sadly, in reference to the lady sat next to Stuart today, rather than to the match itself. As a quick aside, one of the regulars had sold his seat to a woman who had a rather, er, piercing squeal whenever things got vaguely exciting. I feared Stuart might be deaf by the end of the match, or that he'd have beaten her to death with the free inflatable noise-making wotsit he'd been given...
...But enough of that. Back to the game itself...
We were playing Burnley, not bleedin' Barcelona, but my gods we made hard work of it. I have to say that the boys looked ok, they didn't seem to be holding back from tackles in the wake of last weekend's unfortunate incident, but there was the indecisiveness which has become a trend over the past season. When players are within spitting distance of the goal and have a chance at a shot, they should take a punt, not automatically cross it to someone else, or dither until they lose possession. Just SHOOT!
Cesc did, half an hour into the first half, but I missed the actual goal (thanks to Stuart, who was particularly talkative today...) - looked good when they replayed it on the big screen, but I'd like another look on MotD later. Unfortunately Cesc had to go off not long after, and fingers crossed he'll be fit for our upcoming match against Porto on Tuesday.
Going back to my rant... Of course, when players do decide to try for a goal it would be good if they employed some degree of accuracy. Bendtner, I'm looking at you. Yes, the man who says he wants "to be top scorer in the Premier League, top scorer at the World Cup and...among the best strikers in the world" just couldn't score today, despite having ample opportunity. I lost count of his botched attempts, but if he hadn't cocked them up we'd have been four or five up by the end of the game.
Burnley equalised just after half time, due to some frankly piss poor defending on our part. Our spirits sank a bit - as you can imagine. Finally, an hour in, little Theo finally found the back of the net after trying valiantly throughout the game so far. Cheers, applause, and Stuart loses a little more of the hearing in his left ear as the strange woman squeals like a stuck pig.
Bendtner finally went off to be replaced by Eduardo. Huge sigh of relief from me, because he'd just been having one of those day when he couldn't score for toffee and I was quite frankly pleased to see the back of him.
The game pootled on, and Arshavin settled the matter in the last minute of added time bringing the score to 3-1, which scoreline is very satisfactory.
Final score: Arsenal 3 - 1 Burnley
The title of this post is, sadly, in reference to the lady sat next to Stuart today, rather than to the match itself. As a quick aside, one of the regulars had sold his seat to a woman who had a rather, er, piercing squeal whenever things got vaguely exciting. I feared Stuart might be deaf by the end of the match, or that he'd have beaten her to death with the free inflatable noise-making wotsit he'd been given...
...But enough of that. Back to the game itself...
We were playing Burnley, not bleedin' Barcelona, but my gods we made hard work of it. I have to say that the boys looked ok, they didn't seem to be holding back from tackles in the wake of last weekend's unfortunate incident, but there was the indecisiveness which has become a trend over the past season. When players are within spitting distance of the goal and have a chance at a shot, they should take a punt, not automatically cross it to someone else, or dither until they lose possession. Just SHOOT!
Cesc did, half an hour into the first half, but I missed the actual goal (thanks to Stuart, who was particularly talkative today...) - looked good when they replayed it on the big screen, but I'd like another look on MotD later. Unfortunately Cesc had to go off not long after, and fingers crossed he'll be fit for our upcoming match against Porto on Tuesday.
Going back to my rant... Of course, when players do decide to try for a goal it would be good if they employed some degree of accuracy. Bendtner, I'm looking at you. Yes, the man who says he wants "to be top scorer in the Premier League, top scorer at the World Cup and...among the best strikers in the world" just couldn't score today, despite having ample opportunity. I lost count of his botched attempts, but if he hadn't cocked them up we'd have been four or five up by the end of the game.
Burnley equalised just after half time, due to some frankly piss poor defending on our part. Our spirits sank a bit - as you can imagine. Finally, an hour in, little Theo finally found the back of the net after trying valiantly throughout the game so far. Cheers, applause, and Stuart loses a little more of the hearing in his left ear as the strange woman squeals like a stuck pig.
Bendtner finally went off to be replaced by Eduardo. Huge sigh of relief from me, because he'd just been having one of those day when he couldn't score for toffee and I was quite frankly pleased to see the back of him.
The game pootled on, and Arshavin settled the matter in the last minute of added time bringing the score to 3-1, which scoreline is very satisfactory.
Final score: Arsenal 3 - 1 Burnley
Who's the b*stard in the black?
That would be our lovely Allie then! A hearty welcome to the most stylish referee around... and I think we need a photo of you in your kit ;)
Monday, 1 March 2010
League Cup Final
Aston Villa-v-Manchester United, 28/02/10, K.O. 3pm
And so, to the first trophy of the season. And, within five minutes, to a refereeing controversy. Nemanja Vidic indulged in a bit of shirt-pulling in the box, Agbonlahor went down, and ref Phil Dowd awarded a penalty. All nice and straightforward so far - but should Vidic have been sent off? He was, after all, the last defender. But was Vidic denying Agbonlahor a clear goalscoring opportunity? Was it a professional foul? He'd already got in front of Agbonlahor, so it wasn't as if it was a malicious tackle from behind. And it was the fourth minute of a cup final. Personally, I think Phil Dowd made the right decision. Graham Poll said after the match that a referee in that situation will be looking for any excuse not to send the player off. Villa got their penalty and they got their goal - I don't think there was any need to send Vidic off as well. I was surprised that he didn't get a yellow card, mind you.
Apart from that, it was a good game - very open, very evenly matched, and United won it through a couple of moments of brilliance. You could say that the equaliser came about thanks to some poor defending from Villa, but Michael Owen was in exactly the right place at the right time to pounce and ping a shot past Friedel. It's a shame (although not entirely surprising given his track record) that Owen limped off with a hamstring problem, but fingers crossed he'll be fit again soon. And then there was Rooney. Apparently suffering from (depending on who you talk to) either flu symptoms, a sore knee or a bit of a stomach bug, it didn't matter - once he came on he was strong, he was all over the pitch and he scored yet another header - his ninth so far this season - to win the game for United. He's got to be the best player in the Premier League with the form he's in at the moment - I'm just praying nothing untoward happens before the World Cup!
Honourable mentions also go to Dimitar Berbatov (helping out in defence? Contributing vital crosses? Working hard? Seriously?) and Valencia, who deservedly got the Man of the Match award. Dishonourable mentions go to Mark Lawrenson, who once again spent 90 minutes talking a load of complete rubbish ('And that's a free kick for intent...' - no, Lawro, it isn't) and - bless him - the linesman who got his reds and whites mixed up in the second half and flagged for offside when Villa weren't anywhere near it. Although he did make me feel better - I'm running the line at a cup semi-final in a few weeks' time, and it's nice to know that even Level 1 referees make silly mistakes!
Final score: Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester United
And so, to the first trophy of the season. And, within five minutes, to a refereeing controversy. Nemanja Vidic indulged in a bit of shirt-pulling in the box, Agbonlahor went down, and ref Phil Dowd awarded a penalty. All nice and straightforward so far - but should Vidic have been sent off? He was, after all, the last defender. But was Vidic denying Agbonlahor a clear goalscoring opportunity? Was it a professional foul? He'd already got in front of Agbonlahor, so it wasn't as if it was a malicious tackle from behind. And it was the fourth minute of a cup final. Personally, I think Phil Dowd made the right decision. Graham Poll said after the match that a referee in that situation will be looking for any excuse not to send the player off. Villa got their penalty and they got their goal - I don't think there was any need to send Vidic off as well. I was surprised that he didn't get a yellow card, mind you.
Apart from that, it was a good game - very open, very evenly matched, and United won it through a couple of moments of brilliance. You could say that the equaliser came about thanks to some poor defending from Villa, but Michael Owen was in exactly the right place at the right time to pounce and ping a shot past Friedel. It's a shame (although not entirely surprising given his track record) that Owen limped off with a hamstring problem, but fingers crossed he'll be fit again soon. And then there was Rooney. Apparently suffering from (depending on who you talk to) either flu symptoms, a sore knee or a bit of a stomach bug, it didn't matter - once he came on he was strong, he was all over the pitch and he scored yet another header - his ninth so far this season - to win the game for United. He's got to be the best player in the Premier League with the form he's in at the moment - I'm just praying nothing untoward happens before the World Cup!
Honourable mentions also go to Dimitar Berbatov (helping out in defence? Contributing vital crosses? Working hard? Seriously?) and Valencia, who deservedly got the Man of the Match award. Dishonourable mentions go to Mark Lawrenson, who once again spent 90 minutes talking a load of complete rubbish ('And that's a free kick for intent...' - no, Lawro, it isn't) and - bless him - the linesman who got his reds and whites mixed up in the second half and flagged for offside when Villa weren't anywhere near it. Although he did make me feel better - I'm running the line at a cup semi-final in a few weeks' time, and it's nice to know that even Level 1 referees make silly mistakes!
Final score: Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester United
Introducing myself!
Hello! Hedgie very kindly asked if I'd like to contribute to Brew from the Terraces, and I agreed, so here I am!
First things first - I'm a Manchester United fan. So you can all take bets on how long it'll be before we have our first disagreement! I'm also a qualified Level 7 referee, in my first season as a ref, so I'll be trying to comment on refereeing matters (and ranting whenever commentators get it wrong).
First things first - I'm a Manchester United fan. So you can all take bets on how long it'll be before we have our first disagreement! I'm also a qualified Level 7 referee, in my first season as a ref, so I'll be trying to comment on refereeing matters (and ranting whenever commentators get it wrong).
Sunday, 28 February 2010
Back after the break
Ok, ok, that is a DREADFUL pun, but I couldn't think of anything else. *hangs head in shame*
Stoke-v-Arsenal 27/02/2010 (K.O. 5.30pm)
What can I say? I was watching the match at home, but (as is my habit) doing other things at the same time. As such I missed THAT tackle during the live game. Hearsay immediately afterwards wasn't good, and the reactions of the other players spoke volumes about the severity of the injury. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see it though (I've never been able to watch the Eduardo incident), and wondered how much I could trust the reports given by others.
In the end though I watched it on MotD, saw the tackle for myself, and having heard Wenger's reaction post-match (and seen some of the comments made by other Gooners on message boards) I'm wondering if I was watching the same thing as they were. The Boss has said it was a horrendous tackle, but from what I saw it was just really, really unfortunate. Shawcross didn't go in studs up, he didn't just try and scythe Ramsey down, he was going for the ball. It was a little clumsy, but I really don't believe there was any malice there. We've seen nasty, vicious tackles before - this wasn't one of them.
I'm actually really disappointed with Wenger's comments. It's a real b*stard shame that we've had three similar injuries now in the space of five years, but he should have held his tongue until he had a chance to watch a replay of the incident. If he still thinks it's a 'horrendous' tackle after watching it again then I'd be surprised.
Final score: Stoke 1 - 3 Arsenal
The latest update on Ramsey is that he's sustained fractures to the tibia and fibula in his right leg. He's undergone surgery to reduce the fractures, and although he'll be out of action for some considerable time he should make a full recovery.
Stoke-v-Arsenal 27/02/2010 (K.O. 5.30pm)
What can I say? I was watching the match at home, but (as is my habit) doing other things at the same time. As such I missed THAT tackle during the live game. Hearsay immediately afterwards wasn't good, and the reactions of the other players spoke volumes about the severity of the injury. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see it though (I've never been able to watch the Eduardo incident), and wondered how much I could trust the reports given by others.
In the end though I watched it on MotD, saw the tackle for myself, and having heard Wenger's reaction post-match (and seen some of the comments made by other Gooners on message boards) I'm wondering if I was watching the same thing as they were. The Boss has said it was a horrendous tackle, but from what I saw it was just really, really unfortunate. Shawcross didn't go in studs up, he didn't just try and scythe Ramsey down, he was going for the ball. It was a little clumsy, but I really don't believe there was any malice there. We've seen nasty, vicious tackles before - this wasn't one of them.
I'm actually really disappointed with Wenger's comments. It's a real b*stard shame that we've had three similar injuries now in the space of five years, but he should have held his tongue until he had a chance to watch a replay of the incident. If he still thinks it's a 'horrendous' tackle after watching it again then I'd be surprised.
Final score: Stoke 1 - 3 Arsenal
The latest update on Ramsey is that he's sustained fractures to the tibia and fibula in his right leg. He's undergone surgery to reduce the fractures, and although he'll be out of action for some considerable time he should make a full recovery.
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Sun is in the sky...
...oh why oh why would I want to be anywhere else?
Welcome back to my footie blog, which I have shamefully neglected for far too long, and which I'm hoping to revive with some help from co-bloggers. Ok, it's almost the end of the season - but better late than never (in football as in life)!
Arsenal-v-Middlesbrough 26/04/2009 (KO: 1.30pm)
Anyone watching this match on the television could be forgiven for thinking that it was a gloriously sunny day in north London; and in fact the BBC sports page used the phrase "sun-bathed Emirates stadium" in their post-match report. It was sunny on the pitch, but half the ground was sitting in the shade and my gods it was cold. Seriously, my mate Pete (who sits to my left, and who I will be inviting to join this blog) bemoaned the fact that my hair wasn't slightly longer so he could use it as a shawl.
So, what happened in the game itself? Cesc had a corker, scoring both our goals, and our hobbit (er, Arshavin - he's teeny and makes Theo look tall!) had a bit of a WTF moment.
That has to be the briefest match report ever, but sadly I've remembered that I need to catch up on work e-mails before the morning so that's all for now folks!
Final score: Arsenal 2 - 0 Middlesbrough
Welcome back to my footie blog, which I have shamefully neglected for far too long, and which I'm hoping to revive with some help from co-bloggers. Ok, it's almost the end of the season - but better late than never (in football as in life)!
Arsenal-v-Middlesbrough 26/04/2009 (KO: 1.30pm)
Anyone watching this match on the television could be forgiven for thinking that it was a gloriously sunny day in north London; and in fact the BBC sports page used the phrase "sun-bathed Emirates stadium" in their post-match report. It was sunny on the pitch, but half the ground was sitting in the shade and my gods it was cold. Seriously, my mate Pete (who sits to my left, and who I will be inviting to join this blog) bemoaned the fact that my hair wasn't slightly longer so he could use it as a shawl.
So, what happened in the game itself? Cesc had a corker, scoring both our goals, and our hobbit (er, Arshavin - he's teeny and makes Theo look tall!) had a bit of a WTF moment.
That has to be the briefest match report ever, but sadly I've remembered that I need to catch up on work e-mails before the morning so that's all for now folks!
Final score: Arsenal 2 - 0 Middlesbrough
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