Ashley Cole & Dennis Bergkamp

Are you serious

After watching the match yesterday, I have to say that I have no idea why there is such a firestorm of controversy about the red card. The fact is that Bergkamp had a player open down the right wing, and had he made the pass that he initially attempted, it would have resulted in a dangerous opportunity for a good cross, at the least. He attempted to play the ball about a foot to the right of Robert; if Robert had not stuck his leg out, the play would have continued, end of story.

Cole may be a diver, and Bergkamp certainly has had his share of physical incidents in the past, but Bergkamp's conduct on the day was perfectly normal.

Especially coming from a supporter of Craig Bellamy, the sense that one should be ashamed to have a fabulous player on the team because he sometimes loses his cool is a bit...odd.

That said, it was a good game yesterday, and would have been better if it stayed 11 mean all. The real crime, IMO, is that the ref gave a very soft first yellow to Robert, putting himself in a position where he had to send him off.

 

Ridiculous ...

Laurent Robert has no one to blame but himself.

Not to mention his awful challenge ...

Now let's not make it seem like Robert was just standing there and Bergkamp kicked the ball at him. Let's look back at it accurately. Bergkamp went to take the kick, Robert stuck his leg out, Bergkamp didn't kick it because Robert was in the way, so Bergkamp went to take the kick again, AND ROBERT STUCK HIS LEG OUT AGAIN TO GET IN THE WAY OF THE KICK AGAIN, this time Bergkamp kicked the ball and since Robert STUCK HIS LEG OUT for a SECOND TIME to block the kick he got hit with the ball. It's plain and simple.

 

The previous post was right. Robert was acting like a big baby. He had ample opportunity to get out of the way. It's called a FREE kick, right? Arsenal often do a quick free kick like that following a foul. That is not illegal. Robert was in the way. That is a foul. That was his second yellow. Red card. Goodbye.

Lest we forget that Shearer was pulling and diving all game long and Bellamy was attempting to provoke Bergkamp and Viera. It was a tough match all around.

I wish he had not been sent off. Had he stayed in, then Newcastle may have attacked more instead of getting everyone behind the ball, and Arsenal probably would have scored again.

There is little question but that Arsenal are the far superior side. Newcastle was lucky to get a point.

 

Stop Your Whining Robson

I don't understand how Robson can maintain such a strong conviction that Bergkamp was in the wrong. I saw the match yesterday and after seeing the incident replayed on Sky Sports last night, I don't understand how Robson can justify his argument that Bergkamp had acted unsportingly to get Robert sent off. Clearly he has been blinded by his own ambition to somehow sneak into the title race. I have summarized the incident briefly below:

1) Newcastle Foul - Gunner Free-kick

2) Bergkamp sets up to take it quickly

3) Laurent Robert wraps his left arm around Bergkamp and begins to walk back very slowly

4) Bergkamp pulls his right foot back and withdraws, due to Robert sticking his left foot out

5) Bergkamp pulls his right foot back again and slightly stutters because Robert is still in the way

6) Bergkamp hits the ball and Robert blocks it and kicks it right into Lauren

Why did Robert have to interfere with Bergkamp to begin with? It is not as if they were trapped together in a confined space. Robert is the one that was guilty of gamesmanship. He made a blatent attempt to buy time to allow his team to get into position. Time was off the essence. Bergkamp had every right to get the ball off quickly. Robert should have backed-off when Arsenal was awarded the free-kick.

We Miss you Freddie,
bergkamp10

 

That was a bad decision by Robert, not an unsporting attempt to get rid of him by Bergkamp. He should've known better than to stick his leg out like that.

I will agree that Robert should not have been sent off, but it's because he didn't really deserve the first yellow. Eleven up for both sides would have made for a much more exciting match. Frankly, I was disappointed in Arsenal's performance in the 2nd half-- perhaps having eleven men against them would have lit a fire under their asses and gotten them to try and set up better scoring attempts.

As for Cole, I like him; he's nice and quick on the defense, and has made some great saves and blocks when Seaman wasn't on the ball. He did take one or two pretty ridiculous dives yesterday, but I also seem to remember good old Alan Shearer yanking shirts and whining for penalty shots, so I'd say they cancel each other out.

 

You're kidding, right?

I agree with everything my fellow Gooners have said. If Dennis had just taken the kick immediately, that's one thing. The fact that he stopped and gave Robert a chance to move tells me that he was willing to give him the chance to avoid his second yellow. The fact that Robert stuck his leg out, knowing that that's a yellow, tells me he wasn't thinking. This isn't a kick from just outside the box where you have to give the opponent time to set up a wall. DB10 could've taken it at his leisure and chose to go with a quick restart. It's Robert's responsibility to get out of the way, not Dennis' to wait for him to move.

 

Waah waah waah. If I were a Newcastle fan I would honestly be ashamed to have a player in my squad who acts like a dumbass after he's already seen yellow.

 

I watched the match here in America and it was a tough match both ways. But when you have a yellow you can't do dumb stuff like that. Good luck to Newcastle when they play Manchester United and Chelsea.

 

Don't throw stones in glass houses

Far be it for me to defend Roy Keane (and I'm not), but if I recall correctly, wasn't it Alan Shearer who had Keano sent off earlier this season at the end of a match, when he threw the ball at him while out of bounds, provoking Keano's (predictable) response? I'm sure it will be remembered in the next match.

 

I wont defend Cole diving at times and even Begkamps blatant elbows to the face but to blame him for the Robert red is just stupid. There was no string attatched to Roberts foot that Dennis had to pull and in order to block the ball Robert certianly had to block its path not Dennis kicking the ball into it.

 

I agree. Robert had already been booked, therefore should have known better than to interfere with a free kick. He deserved the red.

 

I thought the yellow was for kicking the ball into Lauren. I thought the ref was just going to ask him to move back, but Laurent then kick the ball right at Lauren, for which I think he got the yellow for.

I am upset about Arsenal defense on Robert's goal. Patrick Vieira went in with a weak tackle from Robert's right and got nothing but air, Lauren comes in and over ran the ball from the left which gives Robert a perfect chance to switch to his left foot. You would think Keown would close Robert down when he saw him switching to his left, but he just took one step forward and then gave him plenty of room to shot BY MOVING OUT OF ROBERT’S WAY.

 

I'll ignore the remarks about "cockneys", particularly when it comes from "northern monkeys", and ask one question. Why haven't the media interviewed Robert, and asked him why he did not retreat the full 10 yards as required in the laws of the game, and "concentrate" on "the old man's rantings and ravings"?

 

It has been widely said that this post has no merit, Robert deserved his red card.

I have two further points to make.

1. If you troll the Arsenal board what do you expect?

2. I find calling me an "ape-like cockney W@nker" is laughable. No argument, so abuse is pricey's only resort.

 

Oh, please...

I beg an answer to this question: Am I (and kygunner AND Rick, AND the other ArseAm folks) also "ape-like cockney w@nkers?" Please. If you have a problem with the way we play football, take it up with fellow supporters of your team, make up bad jokes about it, fume and build up your anger about us, but PLEASE don't talk to us about your opinion. We really couldn't care less about what you think about DB10 (or AC3 for that matter), unless you have a real and valid thing to say, pleasse stop wasting our time. We're here for intelligent discussion about football. If you can raise your issues in said manner (intelligent!!!), then we'll talk. Or as soon as your team has a Quad Double under their belt, whichever comes first. And you crack me up with your little PS. Very sportsman-like, lest we think you're as base as us... And we're not true fans, are we, gentlemen, and ladies, (got you covered EDPooh & Goonerette ).

Vive le AFC!

OPArsenal

PS- I wonder how he would've responded if I would've put something in there about being a "worthless moron coal-digger?"

 

because he can't speak English

 

I'm not suprised to hear you moaning, I spent 90 mins listening to your fans, whining over every decision during the game,your wives must spend a lot of time in the pub trying to get away from your moaning.

 

Personally i thought both yellow card decisions on Robert were harsh, and i thought Bergkamps conduct at times was a bit dodgy. I thought he was gonna pretend to burst into tears once the ref got involved. But anyway it was good because it showed the Arse still couldn't beat even a 10 man team that contained a lot of quality.

Watching Ashley Cole repeatedly flounder under all the whistling was also quite amusing.

Well done to Newcastle anyway, if it weren't for soppy play acting, they could have won.

 

It's amazing how the player haters come at you when you hold the trophies. First, the guy who started this thread is a troll. His first BS post is a slam at another team. A poor, misguided slam at that.

Then RvN comes in to take shots at us. Seems he's forgotten that his team managed exactly one point against the lesser Man City at home last week.

I have full respect for the accomplishments of ManU, so I'm not going to get into a slagging match with that guy, but the Newcastle fan needs to pipe down. They've won exactly *************** all that I know of in recent years.

I honestly don't check the other team boards on bigsoccer, do Gooners go to the Spurs, 'Pool and Chelsea boards and run smack? God, I hope not.

 

I posted a bit-o'-smack on the ManUre boards, but only because I was defending a fellow Gunner. I've said nice things to RvN in the past (we exchanged some PM's) 'round about the last time the Arse and ManUre played, but I never went on to post my opinions about the conduct of the other team's players during a match. I said something about Roy Keane retiring from International ball (fookin' traitor...), but I try to keep stuff like that to a minimum.

Vive le AFC!

OPArsenal

 

I have no problem with Robert receiving the second yellow. I just wish referees would show inconsistency with gamesmanship. This happens in every game and every team does it.
A couple of yellows and maybe an oscar or two are also in line for Cole.

 

Hey, Teddie, what do you think about Keane-o?

Vive le AFC!

OPArse

 

As an Irish man, I allegiances to Manchester United severly dropped this week. Most people think Keane is a hard man. Maybe he is on the field but as a person, he is quite weak. How can he tell Brian Kerr (the Irish manager) one day he wants to return to play for Ireland and the next day bows to Fergie's wishes and changes his mind. Forget this story of injuries because that is a load of BS. If it was so essential to limit him to just playing important games, why has he played Worthington cup games since he has come back from injury. Plus I'm sure we'll see him playing in meaningless friendlies here in the Summer. I have supported United since the mid-70's and this whole thing has left me a little bewildered. I have been to Old Trafford 3 times plus I also saw them at Upton Park one but I really don't know if I will go to the game at Giants Stadium this Summer.
Really at the end of the day, they're a bunch of weak, dishonest, selfish hypocrites.

 

Your last sentence is going in my sig line if I'm ever a Premium Member. Very well put. You don't have to go to their matches anymore, but please feel more than free to go to Highbury with the Arsenal America folks on our next trip across the pond (cough, cough, HINT!!!, cough, cough, RICK!!! ). We'd be more than happy to have another warm body. Besides, red and white looks so much better than red and black, doesn't it?

Vive le AFC!

OPArse