A) With the assist coming from Atlanta's current head coach, no less. B) Can't believe the dude's only 50. I'm close the that myself yet it feels he was half a generation older than I.
A) I'd be lying if I said I thought FDB was going to be an asset for you. But maybe that's just a NYRB fan talking, someone who's had a similar fall from the graces of last year B) I also couldn't believe he was 50, but I had the opposite reason... I thought that sounded too old for him. I'm in my 50's and I always thought of him as quite a bit younger than me. Apparently YMMV.
What. A. Comeback. 😅🗓 #OnThisDay in 2014, we won 3-2 against Hull City in the #FACupFinal pic.twitter.com/R29SzYbE24— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 17, 2019 That Cazorla free kick will be forever underrated. And the refereeing that day was a horror show. We got absolutely hosed and still won.
Here's a bit of eye-candy from this season: https://www.arsenal.com/news/vote-your-201819-goal-season For me it's between the 2 team goals, and in the end Ramsey's @ Fulham just pips Auba's vs Leicester. But I could watch those over and over forever.
And here's a challenge for y'all. Regarding this iconic image, which I believe begat the famous statue at the Grove: Here's what I know: It looks like one hell of an aerial trap. Lee Bowyer Andy O'Brien(?) looks like a deer in headlights. It was Newcastle-vs-Arsenal, supposedly 9 Feb 2003. And if so, it did NOT lead to a DB10 goal. The match ended 1-1 with goals from Henry & Robert. Here's what I've been searching for: A video of this moment. And for the life of me, and with quite a few minutes Googling it, I cannot find any video, neither for this moment or the match in total. If any of you, with with better search skills than me (or a willingness to commit more time than me) can find this, I'll be forever at your service.
This was posted this week on Arsenal.com, as it's the 30th anniversary. If you want a good smile as we build up to our big cup final tomorrow, I suggest this wonderful 12 minutes: https://www.arsenal.com/news/anfield-89-drama-passion-glory
Word is Bouldie is going down to our academy, while Freddie is being brought up to replace him. I am looking forward to this. Bould was a disappointing coach for me. Ljungberg Will bring more pizzazz, if not other good qualities. And see? Swap deals aren't so uncommon after all. [emoji6]
Spurs v Arse in the House of Commons :roflmao: https://en.onefootball.com/spurs-fan-trolls-speaker-john-bercow-in-the-house-of-commons/amp/
I'm also somewhat excited about Freddie's promotion as the consensus seems to be that he's done well with the kids. But what's your reasoning for finding Bould disappointing? I honestly have no idea as to his exact role or how much influence he does or doesn't have, ie., I have no idea whether I should be disappointed or not.
Yeah that's a big part of it. He's been coaching at Arsenal for a few decades, and how many notable positive data points can you come up with, other than a few titles when he was academy coach 10 yrs ago? Whereas Freddie's been coaching with us for only a couple of years and already you & I have good feelings and good things to say about him. Also, Bould as a player was kind of a force. But as a coach he seems more like a wallflower. Even the couple of times he's had to step in for our suspended manager, his interviews were awfully timid. I supposed he could be a terrific coach behind the scenes, but if that was the case why don't we hear more tributes to him from current or ex-players? Then there's the implication that a guy who as a player was part of our much heralded Back-4 from the late 80's & 90's, then as a coach presided over our defense for the last 7 years, the vast majority of the time there has been general criticism about our defensive prowess. Obviously none of this is direct observational evidence of his coaching, as (a) I'm not privy to our training sessions, and (b) I'm not qualified to judge them. But as diligent fan, the above impressions of Steve Bould are what stick with me.
Yeah, many people seem to share this sentiment. But I'm more in line with Andrew's thinking on this topic, which he wrote about today in his blog:
I don't think the two views are mutually exclusive, i.e. there's not just one target for blame. I think all 3 of the coaches mentioned (Wenger, Bould & Emery) have not done a good job of improving our defense, and that doesn't just mean the back line either.
Andrew is positing that Bould had no say given the two managers he's worked for. I'd say that's pretty much not blaming him.
I got that, but I personally would like to see someone with more spine. If Bouldy was satisfied with our defensive level over the last 7 years, then we don't want him. If OTOH he thought we should do something different but couldn't/wouldn't stand up to the manager, and therefore didn't impose his views, then we don't want him. I get it that there might be a challenging battle for authority, but I have the impression that Freddie has more spine and might push back against the manager. Not saying Freddie has/had the same defensive acumen as Bouldy, but that he might have a stronger personality, and be more inclined to impose his will, about something he knows about, or feels strongly about. So that's where I give some blame to Steve Bould. If he was a loyal soldier or a yes-man or just too passive, just collecting his check, that doesn't serve the club well. There's been a lot written/said about how the Arsenal culture is a little soft, from management to players. If he's a legacy example of that, I'm more than fine with moving on. p.s. Obviously Emery is not thrilled with Bould, or visa versa. Otherwise he wouldn't have just be moved down to the academy. Assuming that's even a true fact!
I understand your point. Mine is that Andrew doesn't blame Bould, so he would say his and your views are mutually exclusive. Why else would he call it a "trope" that needs to be "put to bed" ?
Heads up for the few if you who get GolTV channel... They're showing ArsenalTV's Season Review show in 2-3 parts over the next 2-3 weeks. Part 1 is showing multiple times this week. OTOH given the paltry season, with major deflation at the end, maybe this is worth skipping?
Wenger out to get revenge on Mike Riley: Arsène Wenger has agreed to become FIFA’s technical head, though an official title with the organisation has not been finalised, while an announcement could be made in the next few days. [New York Times] #afc pic.twitter.com/osc5fvZswt— afcstuff (@afcstuff) September 11, 2019
Arsene Wenger, told BeIN Sports 9 days ago: "Overall I must say I always wanted to go to the World Cup because I felt it is the job of a manager to be where the best football players in the world play football. Hopefully, you will see me, touch wood in Qatar in three years’ time."