Gooner's Diary

Tottenham Watching Eastenders...So Long As Harry Has Technical Assistance To Turn On His TV!

2012-02-14T00:36:00.004Z

It’s barmy to think that it was only a couple of weeks back that we were contemplating the potentially catastrophic consequences of failing to finish in the top four and the tragi-comic, comedown of bromidic Thursday night football in the Europa League. In the absence of any silverware, Champions League qualification has come to be viewed as scant consolation, as we Gooners have grown accustomed

One Snowfall Does Not St. Moritz Make...But It Put A Smile On This Yeti's Phizog

2012-02-06T12:24:00.006Z

Having created enough chances to have buried the Trotters, during our opening barrage at Bolton, it was depressing to be thawing out, over the course of an arduous return trip from the Reebok, with only a point to show for our goalless efforts (when only three would’ve been good enough!). Perhaps the coach driver was having a laugh at our expense, with his choice of the movie ‘True Grit’ for the

Many A Slip Betwixt FA Cup And Lip

2012-02-01T10:32:00.002Z

Hi folks,I neglected to post this on Monday and it suddenly occurred to me that I'd better get it done before heading off to Bolton, as the thought of having to write that the gap between us and Spurs has been extended to thirteen points would be positively mortifying.Please don't let it be soCOYGBernard___________________________________________________ I don’t think one can over-estimate

Where There's Life, There's Still Hope

2012-01-23T04:46:00.009Z

An elderly uncle passed away on Saturday and following several decades of familial animosity, I really didn’t fancy attending the funeral, for fear of forgetting exactly who it was that we were, or were not speaking to! Nevertheless, after enduring the torture of our humiliation at Old Trafford a few months back, the news of his imminent internment on Sunday actually left me contemplating whether

So Now I Know What Swan-Upping Entails

2012-01-17T03:02:00.000Z

Hi folks,Standing on the balcony outside Starbucks on Sunday afternoon, enjoying my pre-match mix of poisons, caffeine and nicotine, with a picturesque vista spread before me of the spider-like steel stanchions of the modern Liberty Stadium, rising above the tree-lined River Tawe, whilst watching the sun drop out of a clear blue sky, behind the green hills of the Swansea suburbs, this hardly

Sound Economics My Arse!

2012-01-11T16:36:00.002Z

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The Cracks Begin To Show At The Cottage

2012-01-03T07:32:00.004Z

Hopefully the method in Le Prof’s madness will be revealed come May, but in the meantime it’s hard to appreciate the logic of sending Frimpong out on loan to assist Mick McCarthy in rotating 5 players for Wolves second game in 48-hours, while le Gaffer was forced to field 9 of the same fatigued combatants from the Gunners’ gossamer thin squad at Fulham. The craic is always up to 90 at Craven

Finger of blame should've been stuck in a pie!

2011-12-27T19:52:00.002Z

It's just dawned on me that the Gunners lethargy after taking the lead today and our ultimate failure to take all three points, was in fact nothing to do with the lack of full-backs, or a lacklustre display overall.It was all down to my dreadfully insensitive pals at Piebury Corner, for daring to take a break over the festive period that included a home game, thereby leaving all their many

Santa Comes But Once A Year, But He Doesn't Look Anything Like Mick McCarthy

2011-12-27T18:58:00.005Z

Hi folks,Although I'm hardly feeling the festive spirit, after we blatantly blew two points this afternoon, I guess I should take this opportunity to wish everyone the compliments of the seasons and a happy & healthy New Year.Ref Stuart Atwell has definitely joined the ever increasing number of officials who are no longer on my Xmas Card list (if I actually sent any out!) and it will undoubtedly

Wolves game postponement rumour....?

2011-12-21T14:29:00.002Z

I'm on route to Villa Park and there's a rumour on the coach that our Boxing Day match v Wolves has been postponed to the following day (because of the tube strike). I can't find any confirmation of this and bit loathe to post without being certain, but just in case it effects anyone's plans, I thought it worth mentioning the possibilityCOYGBernard

It Always Rains In Manchester (parte deux)

2011-12-20T01:31:00.004Z

Premature Alzheimers strikes again! I completely forgot until seeing something about it on Twitter and I'm gutted I neglected to include it in my diary piece, as it scans quite well with the title, but having sucked on a few fags outside the Middle Eastern on Sunday, to get my nicotine levels up before 90 minute chewing on my fingernails, when I finally entered the Etihad, the customary raucous

It Always Rains In Manchester

2011-12-19T16:44:00.005Z

Obviously feeling more than a little disconsolate as I queued up for a bus back to Picadilly Station after Sunday’s defeat, I took some comfort from ear-wigging the conversations of those City fans who suggested this was the most entertaining match they’d witnessed thus far at the Middle-Eastern. Indeed, as least going 1-0 down to the goal from City’s silky, Rolls Royce of a

2011-12-18T13:48:00.000Z

On the train to Manchester, listening to The Tuesday Club podcast (sitting in the "Quiet" car, doubtless winding folk up with my incessant giggling). Amusing fact of the Day (courtesy of an unnamed podcast devotee): We're only deux points behind the auld enemy, after the Lillywhites best start to a season since 1961 and our worst start in 58 years! Perhaps a little later this season than usual,

Gradually Evolving Gunners Whole Greater Than The Sum Of Its Individual Parts?

2011-12-12T15:55:00.012Z

After experiencing the spontaneous fervour of the Greek fans at Olympiacos in midweek, not to mention a couple of days of welcome respite from the arctic weather, Saturday’s celebrations of the Arsenal’s 125th anniversary felt a little contrived and somewhat anaemic by comparison. A bit like the commemorative matchday programme, which much to my chagrin was completely sold out to all the

Footballer sent off over penis piercing

2011-12-05T11:41:00.003Z

...must be feeling a bit of a prick :-)http://www.offthepost.info/blog/2011/06/video-footballer-sent-off-over-penis-piercing/

Wojciech Is Our Leader

2011-12-05T08:26:00.008Z

Like most car drivers, I much prefer being master of my own destiny, rather than getting drenched in both directions, trudging from Wigan station to the JJB and hanging around, waiting for trains. But it was definitely worth schlepping to the North-West for a soaking on Saturday. What’s more the journey back to London reminded me that there are some advantages to letting the train take the strain

Champions League, We're Having A Larf!

2011-11-30T04:22:00.002Z

There can be no denying that there was a certain delicious irony to being the first (and so far only) Premiership side to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League. Admittedly Dortmund’s playmaker (and supposed Arsenal target), Gotze limped off after only half an hour, but overall I was decidedly underwhelmed by the best the Bundesliga has to offer. By contrast, Borussia’s

Nasri Gets The Bird But Sadly It's City Who Have The Last Laugh

2011-11-29T23:47:00.008Z

According to Radio 5, Chelsea were booed off at the Bridge after getting beat by the Scousers in their Carling Cup quarterfinal last night. Remarkably, in light of the fickle reputation of the Gooner faithful in recent times (or at least our home crowd), there was no such overt expression of disapprobation after our 0-1 defeat to City.Aside from the faint consolation that our early season

l'Equipe Interview with AW translated & Philippe Auclair's comments

2011-11-21T17:36:00.002Z

If interested, you can read a full translation of the interview with l'Equipe (with massive thanks to @mattspiro) here.......And if you can be bothered to get past the guff on Chelsea v Liverpool, Philippe Auclair's opinion of the interview, as expressed on Talksport is available here......Big LoveBernard

Never Mind Being Put Out To Grass Me'thinks Arsène Much Prefers Chowing Down In His Technical Area

2011-11-21T16:01:00.007Z

Hi folks,I just wanted to thank all those who were kind enough to send me birthday greetings last week. I was hoping to let the anniversary of my half-century slide by with as little ado as possible. Fat chance of that in the Facebook and Twitter era! :-)The Irish Examiner were also good enough to give me the weekend off (with no domestic competition and the big story being the Boys In Green's

Is The Sun About To Shine Out Of Our Annus Horribilis?

2011-11-10T05:03:00.003Z

Hi folks, It's likely to be a regular theme from now on, as I delay sending out my weekly missive after writing it on a Monday, due to the unavoidable feeling that I left far more out of my meagre 650 word offering to the Irish Examiner than I've been able to include (when one takes into account my overly loquacious tendencies!). However, as ever, procrastination remains the thief of time

A Load Of Refreshingly New Bull

2011-10-31T17:37:00.003Z

Hi folks,Saturday scintillating encounter was the sort of match that was a complete and utter privilege to attend, for all the reasons I've explained below (and more!). Whether it's likely to prove some sort of watershed, remains to be seen in the weeks ahead.Personally I tend to believe it's just one more step, in the process of rebuilding of this Arsenal side as a force to be reckoned with (

Winds Of Change

2011-10-24T23:56:00.003+01:00

Hi folks,Sincere apologies as I didn't get around to posting out last week's missive. Limiting myself to 650 words for the Irish Examiner is an impossible target, since they've reduced the size of our columns this season; especially when you consider that I've been struggling for a decade or more to confine myself to less than a 1000 words. As a result, I invariably end up feeling that I've left

Pie In The Sky?

2011-10-17T05:55:00.004+01:00

You might think that I'd have quite a lot more to say, after having a week off for the International break and the truth is that I could probably prattle on ad infinitum, if allowed. However with the Irish Examiner having confined our (myself, Man U, Chelsea, and Liverpool fans - guess they are soon going to have to find a City fan!) contribution to a smaller section of the paper, I've had to

Hats (or Helmets) Off To Spurs

2011-10-03T09:55:00.002+01:00

Apologies for pinching a few lines from my previous post, for my piece for the Irish Examiner below (I couldn't resist repeating the image of Arsène as our very own Pol Pot!)I'm not sure if our ability to compete in yesterday's game was due to an improvement compared to our recent lamentable form, or the fact that the home side had an off day. Perhaps it was more a case of Spurs not being able to