Mailbox

If you have anything to say on any subject, mail us at theeditor@football365.com

Even This Gooner Thinks He Wenger Moans Too Much
As you know, I am staunch Gunners fan but Arsene Wenger is really starting to grind my gonads. It seems that every time I turn on the TV, pick up a newspaper or power up the PC lately, he is on it - moaning. The way I look at it is that it's always easier to find excuses not to do something than it is to actually do it. The people who do get things done tend to have their minds focused on their goal and then they just get on with it. Those who don't get things done just spend all of their time moaning about it! I hate to say it but Arsene is starting to sound like this.

For example:

He knew what the depth of his squad was at the start of the season and three people left in the summer - either you are happy with the squad you have or dip into the transfer market.

The transfer market is what it is - a Dutch auction in some cases, the prices tend to be market-driven - either pay them or don't but don't moan about it.

The Premier League program - How can a team three months into the season be feeling fatigued?? This are super fit young athletes who train for 4/5 days per week for whatever amount of hours per day and play a match once/twice occasionally three times per week. If they cannot manage 90 minutes find people who can.

The Stoke game - Get over it! Okay maybe the refereeing decisions were not the best but it can't be changed get on with it. The tackles didn't stop 11 Arsenal players watching Rory Delap's throw float over their heads for Stoke to head it in.

The tackles in general - lets be honest - we are no angels. There are a number of Arsenal players who can play the game hard and know how and when to leave the foot in.

I am a firm believer in "if you have nothing good to say, then say nothing". Arsene take some medicine. The media are taking your every word and turning it into a circus story. Let's forget about them and concentrate on us. Think positive thoughts.

Bring on the Mancs on Saturday, fingers crossed we stuff them.
JD (Irish Gooner)


Sometimes You Have To Leave Early
I can only imagine that those correspondents who bemoan Arsenal fans for leaving the Emirates early (such as Michael Reit this morning) have never actually been to the Emirates. If they had, they would probably be leaving early too.

In the old Highbury days, you had 38,000 people all leaving the game and heading for the three main nearby tube stations (Finsbury Park, Arsenal and Highbury & Islington). This was bad, but bearable, especially if the game still hung in the balance with a few minutes to go.

However, those same three tube stations now have to service 60,000 people, and it's simply not good enough. Many people have better things to do at night than queue for two hours just to get home.

Furthermore, the police-enforced queues can often turn into massive bundles, and when you've got a couple of kids in tow it can be quite scary for them sometimes, especially if (as is often the case), one of the three stations is closed for whatever reason.

I myself am based in Essex, and for midweek games have to leave the stadium early in order to catch my last train from Liverpool Street; I know that if I leave after the final whistle, then that will add a good 90-120 minutes to my journey and I will miss my connection.

So Arsenal fans are left with a quandary - do we stay and watch the last few minutes, or get home a good two hours earlier? On a wintry Wednesday night, I know which I'd rather do.

Besides, the early leavers have had it good these past few games, missing Spurs' late comeback and and, oh yes, the 0-0 against Fenerbahce.

I guarantee you, most Arsenal fans would love to stay and see the whole match, they really would. But the transport links out of the ground are just so terrible that, for many people such as myself, that simply isn't possible.

Obviously, these things should have been taken into account when building the new ground. But they weren't, and we're stuck with it.

Thanks for listening,
Ryan Frost


...Michael Reit should maybe actually visit the Emirates before commenting on people leaving early. Whilst I've never left before the final whistle, he has to understand the awful transport service often means a journey back to South London can take three hours. Maybe if he removed himself from his arm chair, he would realise people have jobs and not everyone can be "hardcore". You pay for your ticket, you can leave whenever the hell you want.
London Gooner


You Can't Deliberately Dislocate A Shoulder
I'm suprised no one else has written in to comment about the 'deliberate' injuring of Theo Walcott last Saturday. Before I go ahead I've got nothing personal against the young lad, Wenger or Arsenal, but I think in this case Arsene is talking out of the first two-thirds of his forename. "Walcott stretchered off after foul" - yes he was, but it was a shoulder injury right? I've dislocated my shoulder four times playing football, and it's no joke it's bloody agony (having said that first three times I did it I rang for the ambulance myself on my mobile, fourth time a mate who was a plumber put it back in, you big girl Theo) and twice it was due to fouls comitted on me - but I'm 100% sure neither lad intended injuring me. Now Delap's tackle was a very cynical trip from behind that deserved the yellow it got but I would be staggered if Delap thought, "I know I'll clip his ankles here and that's bound to do his shoulder in". It was a deliberate foul but Walcott's injury was an accident.
Rob Pudsey


Wenger: A Bad Loser But Not Wrong
The fact that Arsene Wenger is a bad loser and a bit of a moaner doesn't make him wrong. If you look at the tackles from Stoke players at the weekend, it's scandalous that Tony Pulis is defending his players, with most of the media and football establishment on his side.

The tackle on Adebayor was arguably the worst there's been this season - Adebayor was standing there, not moving, and the ball was clearly out of play. If sliding studs up into the back of his ankles isn't a deliberate assault with intent to injure, I don't know what is. Should have been a straight red. The tackle on Sagna was extremely cynical - a very clearly deliberate, studs up attempt to catch his ankles after the ball was gone.

The tackle on Walcott was less violent, but equally cynical - a classic professional foul that's so professional that it doesn't even get a red card, because the player knows he's stopping the attack early enough to avoid being sent off. But normally those tackles don't injure players, so to my mind it was less serious than the other two.

These three tackles actually succeeded in inuring players. If Wenger can't complain about that, what can he complain about? Of course Wenger deserves some criticism for the managerial decisions that have left Arsenal short of being a title-challenging side this season - and poor refereeing is not a valid excuse. But if you don't want to be a hypocrite, don't criticise him for pointing out that Stoke behaved revoltingly.
Gus Park, London


Arsenal Lack Bottle And Battle
Everyone seems to be divided about whether or not Stoke were unfair in their tackling and physicality against Arsenal. I think they were a little over the top with some of the tackles, but nowhere near as bad as Wenger would have you believe. The point is though, this isn't a case of Arsenal not being unfairly targeted; it's a case of Arsenal not having the fight in their team to give it back. I'm a Liverpool fan, and we're a team of fighters. Hate us as you will, but the majority of those players will give as good as they get when they're out on that pitch. And if any of them aren't capable of that, you can be sure that their teammates will give it for them.

However much I dislike the other top clubs in the country, you look at some of their players and you see battlers, men up for the fight whose instinctive reaction to foul play is a steely determination to win. Gerrard, Carragher, Mascherano, Terry, Lampard, Essien, Rooney, Tevez, Vidic...even the likes of Torres and Ronaldo, while being more inclined to complain to the referee about the treatment they're receiving, have a winning mentality that only grows stronger when their opponents resort to foul play. Arsenal lack leadership, they lack strength and they lack the ability to impose themselves physically on a game. When teams turn on the aggression, it has a far greater effect on Arsenal than it does on their closest rivals.

For all his brilliance, Arsene Wenger's words are beginning to sound a little hollow. His continued belief that his team are on the brink of becoming world beaters seems laughable now. If he was talking about a couple of years' time then I agree that there is potential there; but to state 'The same people who say we are not good, let them say it in three weeks when we are the best' is surely just asking for trouble.
Joel (Alay is an idiot) Bradley


Arsenal Could Send Stoke Down Yet
With the apparent furore over Arsene Wenger correctly pointing out that Arsenal are the most fouled team in the Premiership (whilst being the perpetrators of the least fouls), a lot of people seem to have forgotten Thomas Sorensen's goading remarks earlier this week. Looking at the fixture list, Stoke travel to the Emirates on the last game of the season. In all likelihood, Arsenal will have nothing to play for (won't be involved in the title race and will have 4th wrapped up) whilst Stoke might just have to win to preserve their Premier League status. (I'd like to think Arsenal would be resting players' for the upcoming CL Final, but then again, I'd also like to think that ITV might have the cahouns to admit Steven Gerrard is a cheat).

Sorensen's words might prove to be most counter productive as Arsenal, van Persie in particular (assuming he isn't injured/suspended/sucked into a black hole) will be wound up enough by his comments to play that little bit harder than they otherwise might and confine Stoke to the drop. A hypothetical scenario maybe, but not an entirely unlikely one. Sorensen may just regret those words come May and if I was Pulis, I would scramble to find a suitable Presidential quote to tell his goalkeeper to keep his trap shut.
Tim 'Fooled Sometimes But Not All The Time' Stillman
P.S. Can I point out that statistically Arsenal actually won more tackles than Stoke did on Saturday?


...In Wenger's post-match interview regarding Arsenal's defeat to Stoke he praised his opponents for their deserved victory as they played to their strengths and his team did not. At the same time Wenger did comment on what merited a yellow or red card these days and possibly having to refer to the rule book; however, that was that!

Then Sorensen spouts out about Arsenal having no spine and basically being a bunch of bottlers (sorry, being carried off the pitch because you've been hacked in the back of your legs doesn't make you a bottler (I'm sure it happened to 'Chopper Harris' once or twice in his day!)). This sparks a response from Wenger defending his team, pointing out the difference between 'bottling it' and being 'taken out' in which he uses examples from the last game as this view has arisen from that very game and been provoked by one of the opposing team's players. It is not a direct attack on Stoke City, it is not bitterness towards defeat (as he has already accepted this). However, the twisting media and the gullible sheep like fans (not just of Stoke, but many other Wenger haters) turn it into an attack on Stoke City, a case of sour grapes etc. etc. and the media have the uproar they wanted...job done.

Hang on, could it get any better? Yes, first the Stoke chairman gets involved and now Pulis is having his say...yeeessssss! Better still, Pulis looks like he's loving the limelight and is not going to back down as he's joined the Wenger slagging bandwagon.

Sorry Stoke, if you start getting a raw deal now it will not be down to Wenger, it will be down to Sorensen, your chairman (whoever he is) and Pulis. Welcome to the Premier League!
Chris Wrightson


What Does Denilson Do?
A question for the Football365 faithful: what does Denilson add to a team?
Toby 'surprisingly missing both Mathieu and Philippe' Bentley


We Shall Pass It On...
Fantastic website, exceptional use of cheese-eating surrender monkey by Philip Cornwall, he should be commended for his topical insight.

That is all,
Stuart, Thinking outside () the Brackets, E14


A Glitch In The Argument
Philip Cornwall makes an interesting point in his latest peice on Wenger. However I think he's got it the wrong way round. His comparison to Bush reveals this - the people who fail are the people who "make their own reality" not the people who carefully study the facts and adopt a scientific approach.

If Arsene were to be scientific he'd watch his experiment (the Stoke match, for example), note why it wasn't working (lack of good players who can tackle, short defenders etc.) and rectify the situation in a dispassionate scientific way. But that's not Wenger, that's Benitez (or even Mourinho). What Wenger does is charge headlong through life believing in his art - his beautiful football.

Wenger may have brought science to the diets, training and lives of his players but his problem with management is quite the opposite - too much art.
Ben, AFC


To John The Scouser...
Big clubs and more trophies equal more fans, from all around the world. Everton's one FA cup win 15 years ago means you are a nothing club and the reason why people from outside Liverpool don't choose to support you. It's also a reason Goodison is never full on a Saturday afternoon and why there are advertisements for half a season ticket in the Echo at xmas. Liverpool's season ticket list is about 13 years long.

Enjoy you bitterness, I certainly do!
P Durcan, Liverpool


...Re - John (Scouser, and not a kopite) saying that 9 out of 10 Liverpool fans are from outside of Liverpool.

Must have been a hell of an influx at John Lennon Airport when we brought the Champions League Trophy home.

By your maths, that means that of the 2 million that lined the streets that day, only 20,000 were from Liverpool and the other 1.8 million were either trekking up the M6 for the day or flying in from Scandanavia.

36,000 Londoners and Norwegians traveling to Anfield for every home game?

Or could it just be that of the 10 people in your special 'home' only one is a Liverpool fan?

Liverpool players AND fans are always called Scousers by those outside the area and just to poke another whole in your smart arse comments...

Liverpool Fan - Kopite

Everton Fan - Toffee (Not Evertonian. An Evertonian is a person from the sub district of Everton, some of which support Liverpool)
Chris (A scouse Kopite from Everton)


...This is my first ever mail to f365 so do break me in gently. I love f365, I think it's a really good site and nothing cheers me up more than the merciless ribbing in the comments under your articles (bleeblee, anyone..!) Usually I read all the Liverpool/scouser bashing and whilst it sometimes goes a bit too far I can see the 'banter' aspect of it and look forward to the next mailbox to see another team/set of fans having the proverbially taken out of them. It's what I would call 'fairy nuff'. However, I feel utterly compelled to write in regarding the typically evertononian and idiotic mail from John (Scouser, and not a kopite), which I found to be annoying, tragic, and hilarious in equal measure.

First things first John, I'm from Liverpool - a scouser if you will - born in Liverpool, brought up in Liverpool, still live in Liverpool, and guess what? I support Liverpool. Even better, I'm a season ticket holder, and - it gets better - in the Kop! Most of my mates are Liverpool fans, all of my family are Liverpool fans, most of my colleagues are Liverpool fans (yes I'm from Liverpool and have a job - shock horror). For those of you who don't know, Evertonians have a reputation in Liverpool for being bitter and deluded (yes, that's even compared to Liverpool fans). So John, what is the basis for your argument? What compelled you to write to f365 spouting such hilariously untrue rubbish? Please, I'm intigued...

Finally, on my last permitted paragraph, having read all the 'Gerrard diver' rants over the last couple of days, I'm wondering where all the mails are about that greasy duckling Ronaldo and his petulant hack on Scott Brown last night? Should have been a straight red card and he wouldn't have been on the pitch to force the equaliser. Tut-tut, they get all the decisions.
Steven (Steven {Steven} Stevens) Stevens


...In response to John (bitter toffee)

The correct term for someone from Liverpool is a Liverpudlian.

Scouser is more a phenomenom of modern culture although it's origins are older than that. No-one from my parents' generation labelled themselves as 'scousers'. It's often used in that irritating, self-conscious, chip on shoulder 'werking class and proud of it' context, normally by bitter toffees, to suggest that they are in some way superior and more authentic Liverpudlians.

Interestingly, your mail didn't actually have anything much to say about football but given that you support Neverton that's no surpise.

Yes, I am from Liverpool, yes I am a Liverpudlian, yes I support Liverpool

Yours with bile
Seb


What We Learned From Celtic v ManYoo
1) Celtic are pathetic. How can a side who consistently perform so woefully away from home, turn into lionhearts in front of their own? Strachan is busy denying that United-Celtic is men v boys and he's using last night's performance as proof. The truth is anyone can get up for it at home. We beat Chelsea at home (2005/06) when they were miles better than us, because we had something to prove and the crowd was bang up for it. Looking back, it's pretty shameful. The sign of real men is to go to a place where everyone hates you, bays for your blood and you still perform. Which brings me nicely on to my next point.

2) Ronaldo is absolutely sensational. Last night he took the fight to Celtic. He demanded the ball, ran at them, got stuck in, headed, shot with both feet and never gave up. Eventually he was rewarded with an assist. There is not a player in the world that can touch him. I know people like to go on about Messi (the same people that went on about Kaka no doubt) but he does not have the variety of Ronaldo. I'd wager to say that he doesn't have Ronnie's sheer determination and drive either. In fact he's on a par with Roy Keane and David Beckham when it comes to his will to win.

3) Darren Fletcher has become a really, really good player. I never thought I'd say that but he looks like a United player. He's strong, skilful with an incredible engine. He looks like a first-team player as opposed to someone making up the numbers.

4) Celtic love scoring great goals against us. That finish was absolutely brilliant. I felt sorry for Foster because you must feel like a total prat getting lobbed like that, but there was nothing he could do.
Ric Blank


Thanks For That Rubbish Second Touch, Dimi...
I stuck £20 on Arsenal And Man U drawing last night,

Thanks Berba...it's going to be a heavy weekend!
Simon Adams