acrossthepond

Obviously I'm over the moon, you contrary cunt, but I'd rather be the one expecting a hiding away to Arsenal and being pleasantly surprised than the idiot who tells us Mike Ashley is 'as good as it gets' and that we're off to Europe after every win. Look at you trying to get one up on posters on here who show even the slightest reluctance to dance a happy jig at every throw-in we get. I think this club is on the up. I think we have fully recovered from the terminal decline we began after losing to Partizan in '03 that ended in our relegation, and I think we are taking the first steps on the long road back to being a respectable, competitive Premier League club that can finish in the top half every season and challenge for European qualification and cups. But it is a long road and we are only beginning it, and we have had more false dawns than I can count (as you should remember), so forgive me if I'm trying to stay realistic.

It seems topical to talk about class so I can't help commenting how classless Fabregas was today - nasty, whinging and diving all day. Did anyone notice his off the ball "collision" with Barton just before the swing at Carroll that as mentioned should have seen the twat walk? Not to mention that he was utterly gash. Arsenal are only classy when they're winning. When it's squeaky bum time they're as nasty as any other side.

Got the goal our performance has deserved. Let's hope we keep it together in the second half, I imagine we'll be seeing van Persie...

Spain is in South America now, did you hear? Not sure how they managed to win the Euros then...

3-0 to them. Not bothered. This fixture will always be a write-off for me.

Top 17 will do me. What are you expecting to qualify for like? Expecting Europa league but Champions league isn't impossible, City and Tottenham are nothing special. Crikey!

I think I got taken in by his occasional bouts of the spectacular, but on balance he really wasn't very good. His attributes (pace, strength, powerful shot) might lead you to think he was an "unpredictable threat" or some such, but after watching him miscontrol or just lose the ball, run laterally, blast shots out into the stratosphere, miss easy chances you begin to see that he's more of an athlete than a footballer. Oh yes, and a stroppy mercenary. Wouldn't touch him and would honestly rather have Shola at this point.

This "story" was the main story on Soccernet about an hour ago but has now already been pulled from the front page. Horseshit.

Has he? They got their first point there this month! I'd say he's dying to get outta there.. Doing well with the Faroes means not getting utterly thrashed every time you play. On that criteria he's done a great job. games before the point. 1–5 0-5 Like I said, every time.

As a regular reader of Soccernet, I can tell you that anything written by Harry Harris is 98% likely to be pure made-up horseshit. I'll believe it when I see something other than "sources close to Shepherd."

Has he? They got their first point there this month! I'd say he's dying to get outta there.. Doing well with the Faroes means not getting utterly thrashed every time you play. On that criteria he's done a great job.

Time to give him a new contract I'd say. We've had some good performances, the vaunted "team spirit" is definitely there I'd say, got in some good players (and dropped a clanger in Perch but nobody can get every one right) and I think he's the man to keep us in the PL and to build on this for next season. And if we do go down, I think he'd be the best candidate to lead us back up and have another go at it in 2 years time. He's definitely made questionable decisions both in tactics and team selection and I don't think he's the second coming of Joe Harvey, but I think we could do with a bit of stability at the club and giving him a new long-term contract will show the club is prepared to back him and build on what he's accomplished. Ashley probably thinks the threat of possibly losing his job at the end of the season is a "motivator" for Hughton, as are the rumours of Jol, Pardew, Kinnear ffs but he's done enough now that he can walk away from SJP at the end of the season and get another job easily, and then we'd be back to square one. So I think we should give him a 3 year contract immediately. Get on that, Mike.

Couldn't get any better (well maybe if they hadn't scored) but that was fantastic. Too bad Carroll didn't get one, you could see he was dying for it. Next week Andy lad!

This is it, then. Who's bricking it? I'm bricking it. COME ON LADS! :razz:

Honestly. Are you from Singapore la?

Poor performance in the second half and very questionable team selection by Hughton. Arsenal selected a strong team, he didn't, that should've dictated the tone of today's game and he should've realised that and left Carroll and Jonas on the bench. At any rate, time to write this one off and focus on Sunday. I would've lost 8-0 today if we can win 1-0 against the mackems.

If they were going to play they should've been on from the start. We don't suddenly decide we want to play when we're already 2 down.

Both players offside, Bentner obviously fouling Williamson there, absolute load of shit.

I really didn't think it was coming and I thought we were coping decently with them. That was just a punch in the gut though. Krul needs to sort himself out, he can't be coming that far out for every cross.

They're getting past our back four with ease in the early stages although we also had a good chance with Vuckic.

Arsenal's squad better than Chelsea's or something? TicTacWoe got it. Squad, yes, I'd say. First XI, no. And I did say the same about Chelsea. I don't see the point in getting my hopes up. I'd much rather save my deluded optimism for the mackems game.

Utter, utter patronising wanker.

Their second string could muller our first team, so I'm holding out absolutely zero hope on this one. Would love it but I see nothing but 0-3 here.