tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197110602025-09-28T16:08:13.781+01:00Gooner's Diary - who knows until it's written, albeit obviously with just a FEW Arsenal related undertonesBernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.comBlogger584125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-10399327791376647732019-12-03T11:35:00.000+00:002019-12-03T12:15:44.521+00:00

Desolate expanses of the Clock End on Thursday night signal Emery's death knell             Sadly I've grown so enfeebled in recent times and awaydays have become such a debilitating ordeal that I'm forced to be somewhat discriminating about which outings I can and can't manage.             Following the almost

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-10351336157955148572019-12-01T07:04:00.000+00:002019-12-01T07:14:24.564+00:00

Not worth reading if you've already seen the edited version in the Examiner, but I thought I might as well post the original UTA Bernard ________________________________             Standing shooting the breeze at half-time last night, in a humiliatingly half-empty stadium, the like of which we’d not seen since the inauguration of the Gunners new

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-52173019120766189782019-11-24T12:20:00.000+00:002019-11-24T13:32:30.174+00:00

Premier League fans rate the season so far. Part one: Arsenal to Liverpool Fans assess the best and worst of the opening stages – top performers, biggest mistakes and the funniest moments • Part two: Manchester City to Wolves Last modified on Sat 23 Nov 2019 18.30 GShares  Too soon? Arsenal’s ‘hapless’ manager is under fire. Photograph: Harriet

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-71172954898666236872019-04-22T12:16:00.002+01:002019-04-22T12:16:58.030+01:00

One of Manuel's weaker menus           I’ve done my utmost to avoid reaching any definitive conclusions on Unai Emery’s management before now, preferring to allow him as much time as possible to put his imprint on our squad and to ensure that I’m not party to the premature rush to judgement of those irritating, customarily fickle, usual Gooner suspects.    

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-26245032533787131142019-03-18T13:07:00.000+00:002019-03-18T13:08:26.292+00:00

North London Is Red If ever we needed a reminder of quite what a fickle mistress football can be and the gossamer thin divide between unbridled ecstasy and abject despair, we Gooners have enjoyed a stark demonstration, in both encounters this past week, of the confidence boosting benefits afforded to the club that’s graced with Lady Luck’s capricious favours. Considering quite how often

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-80276605614417580952019-03-11T11:02:00.000+00:002019-03-11T11:18:17.075+00:00

"Miss this one mate & you ain't getting out of here alive"           While most Gooners would’ve bitten your hand off for a draw in advance of last Saturday’s North London Derby, there was no escaping the sense of disappointment, coming away from Wembley having failed to capitalise on such a prime opportunity to silence our increasingly noisy neighbours.  

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-25890542935434846592019-01-01T10:00:00.000+00:002019-01-01T10:55:50.688+00:00

The Gunners' defence, or just a divot? After venting my frustration bashing out a column for the Irish Examiner  (unedited version of my missive copied below), I've not been able to bring myself to watch Saturday's depressing calamity again. With a full-strength team, I would've quite fancied that an in-form Arsenal side might've given Liverpool far more of a run for their money.

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-84183516244779155372018-12-05T08:07:00.000+00:002018-12-05T08:07:46.251+00:00

Still basking in the warm afterglow of an ecstatically triumphant derby and the deafening silence emanating from our noisy neighbours, ever since Sunday's supremely dominant display restored the North London status quo and quelled all that irritating crowing coming from the cockerels, it suddenly occurred to me that I'd better post Sunday's Terrace Talk missive for the Irish Examiner, before it's

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-30137420733949857212018-11-13T09:24:00.004+00:002018-11-13T10:49:11.366+00:00

            Exiting the Emirates on Saturday night, frustrated at having fallen a further two points behind a Spurs side that continues to notch up wins, despite struggling for any real form, I was flabbergasted to hear it revealed on the radio that the Arsenal are in the company of Cardiff City, as the only two Premiership sides yet to have led a single game at

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-65111066354687268812018-11-06T01:48:00.000+00:002018-11-06T02:53:26.580+00:00

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/soccer/terrace-talk-arsenal--happily-settling-for-a-welcome-glimpse-of-some-cojones-883195.html             With football’s powers that be seemingly so intent on garroting their golden goose, with increasingly relentless, wall-to-wall live TV coverage, its somewhat of a relief that unlike our&

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-64557371245696352452018-08-16T09:30:00.000+01:002018-08-16T09:35:43.055+01:00

In response to unprecedented demand (in truth, one kind soul on Twitter who was doubtless curious to know if I was still breathing :-) it was about time I pulled my finger out and posted a diary missive. Albeit, I must admit that after waffling on for the past decade or more, desperately seeking original means to whinge on about the same old woes, whilst trying to avoid sounding like a

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-46840927564858911752018-05-10T05:24:00.001+01:002018-05-10T05:24:25.242+01:00

            Sunday afternoon started with the travelling Burnley fans teasing us “you’re only here for the t-shirts”. Although a rare full house crowd and abnormally long queues for the souvenir programme all felt somewhat false, from the perspective of the past few seasons of a growing “time for a change” clamour, ultimately the curtain fell on Arsène Wenger’s

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-71043444225614648532018-04-21T19:56:00.000+01:002018-04-21T20:02:44.806+01:00

            So it would appear that swathes of empty seats and the prospect of the financial pain of a desolate prawn circle, after the installation of more Club Level seats this summer, has finally forced a response to the interminable outcry for change at the Arsenal, signalling the end of a glorious era.             There

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-13779929945583102012018-04-07T11:00:00.000+01:002018-04-07T11:00:20.400+01:00

(or in Wenger's best Kenneth Williams "infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me")  I'm fully aware that all right-thinking, reasonably civilised footie fans should've been suitably appalled by events at Anfield prior to the Champions League encounter in midweek, when pissed up Scousers went above and beyond the pale, in their efforts to intimidate the opposition, by bombarding the

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-47806940231173000702018-01-14T16:39:00.000+00:002018-01-14T16:39:05.276+00:00

Who knew that after witnessing the Ox adding injury at Anfield, to this afternoon's (vitality lacking!) insult at Dean Court, this morning's post would end up looking quite so prescient? Seemingly no responsibility shirking for the Scousers! _________________________________________________ After the humiliating debacle against Forest, there wasn't much cause for optimism at Stamford

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-46949575024072109632018-01-14T08:41:00.000+00:002018-01-14T08:41:24.739+00:00

After the humiliating debacle against Forest, there wasn't much cause for optimism at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, especially after discovering the decidedly underwhelming starting XI that Wenger had selected to take to the field against a full strength Chelsea side. As a result, I imagine that much like me, there were many of us who spent the majority of the 90 minutes on Wednesday,

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-51249255100287253282017-12-05T10:57:00.000+00:002017-12-06T23:17:48.350+00:00

            There was I, convincing myself over the last couple of weeks that the switch of Koscielny and Mustafi for our magnificent Derby day triumph was going to prove to be a seminal moment in this season's campaign, akin to the significant impact of Conte dispensing with a back four, after Chelsea's humbling at our place last season and that as a result we were

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-19489129692975479702017-09-25T09:33:00.000+01:002017-09-25T09:33:13.314+01:00

With the Gooner fanzine going the same lamentable way of virtually all printed media, with the exponential and seemingly infinite expansion of the internet, I feel privileged to be able to provide my own humble contribution to an edition, in sadly the last season that our arrival at the Arsenal on a matchday will be welcomed by that familiar invocation to "get ya Gooner!" While I am all

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-24285136949451018292017-09-19T11:22:00.000+01:002017-09-19T11:57:08.355+01:00

Coming soon from a tank near you So far this season I've started three customarily long-winded diary missives, which haven't been posted because they remain unfinished and they instead sit there, in draft form on my Blogger dashboard, nagging at me every time I open the page. You never know, the Gunners might eventually win something slightly more impressive than the FA Cup and the

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-78413620203956070012017-05-30T19:16:00.000+01:002017-05-30T19:16:26.719+01:00

          News of Wenger’s contract renewal hardly came as a shock. Would it have been any different if he’d not just become the most successful manager in FA Cup history, I doubt it because the club simply doesn’t have the structure in place to cope with a smooth accession.             No new manager is going to come to the Arsenal

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-48533973797424689012017-05-30T19:09:00.000+01:002017-05-30T19:16:03.533+01:00

            It felt like one of those slow-motion car-crash moments when Koscielny recklessly clattered into Valencia during last Sunday’s climax to our league campaign. Doubtless I might feel somewhat differently next season, when forced to schlep to some far-flung East European wilderness in the Europa Cup on a Thurs night, but at the time I was more

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-89274384424059045882017-05-08T11:00:00.000+01:002017-05-08T11:00:16.172+01:00

Prior to yesterday’s match I met up with a mate who’d flown over from Dublin to bring Joel, his youngster to his first ever Arsenal game. If one was planning such an outing, you would’ve thought that with the momentous history between the two sides and with so little love lost between Wenger and Mourihno, a high-profile, end of season clash between Arsenal and Man Utd should prove a guaranteed

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-69267539961272612512017-04-29T16:53:00.000+01:002017-04-29T16:53:14.906+01:00

5p for a programme...those were the days! Can anyone identify any of the autographs?             It was previously rumoured that the reason Spurs hadn't announced any plans to acknowledge the demise of their dilapidated old ground was because they hadn't quite given up hope of playing there next season. However Friday's confirmation that their home games will be

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-23476833034109257442017-04-22T19:19:00.000+01:002017-04-22T19:19:41.723+01:00

            So just how excited are we all at the prospect of Sunday's Wembley semi-final outing? Perhaps it's the erosion of any last vestige of youthful exuberance that accompanies my advancing years (or merely a result of my increasingly decrepit memory), but personally I struggle to recall facing this familiar, end of season odyssey around the North Circular,

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19711060.post-51403883645285268712017-04-13T07:12:00.000+01:002017-04-13T08:11:55.624+01:00

            I intentionally avoided joining the chorus of condemnation resulting from Monday night's capitulation at Selhurst Park, but after watching some of the contrastingly competent displays in the Champions League these past couple of nights, I've been left struggling to hold my tongue.             There was me mistakenly

Bernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12319986956030399380noreply@blogger.com0