Football

[RoddieJ]

And in the meantime….

 

[justinafrika]

 

A bit of farcical cringe.  Clever and heartwarming bit about someone who has the intelligence of a speed bump.  I’ve always thought that 'arry would be the frontrunner for any live action casting for a Beavis and Butthead movie.

Edited August 13, 2023 by justinafrika

[Gnarly]

On 8/11/2023 at 12:54 PM, Gnarly said:

They having a ding dong in the transfer market as well. Geepers can't believe FSG laid out that amount of money for one player, wait can't believe FSG paid that amount of money full stop. . But will defiantly take it. 

Well this is awkward... 

[RoddieJ]

2 minutes ago, Gnarly said:

Well this is awkward... 

Seems strange that neither club were willing to spend that amount on Jude Bellingham…

[Gnarly]

2 minutes ago, RoddieJ said:

Seems strange that neither club were willing to spend that amount on Jude Bellingham…

Maybe he didn't want to go to either? 

[IceCreamMan]

Wolves been impressive. Think they will do well this season. 

[IceCreamMan]

ENGLAND!!!!!!!!! Gooooooooooooooooo

[IceCreamMan]

It’s coming home 

[IceCreamMan]

On 8/14/2023 at 8:44 PM, IceCreamMan said:

Wolves been impressive. Think they will do well this season. 

That aged well 😂

Brighton the pearl of the south these days. 
 

hoping Moyes does one tomorrow. Wanna see Lampard sad sack face in the bridge dugout again. 
 

[IceCreamMan]

We need Lampard back. 
 

what a disma showing from a bunch of expensive over rated clowns. 

[RoddieJ]

3 hours ago, IceCreamMan said:

We need Lampard back. 
 

what a disma showing from a bunch of expensive over rated clowns. 

Peter Drury: “At this point, even if they wer sponsored by Microsoft, Chelsea still won’t excel.”

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[IceCreamMan]

So, getting a match ticket for the gooners proved unobtanium so arranged a stadium tour with lunch for us. Your is led by an ex player in our case Perry Groves. Well worth it. Excellent and great anecdotes. Went to dressing rooms as well and learnt all the nuances on the stadium. 

Edited August 25, 2023 by IceCreamMan

[RoddieJ]

1 hour ago, IceCreamMan said:

So, getting a match ticket for the gooners proved unobtanium so arranged a stadium tour with lunch for us. Your is led by an ex player in our case Perry Groves. Well worth it. Excellent and great anecdotes. Went to dressing rooms as well and learnt all the nuances on the stadium. 

Of all the fantastic stadia in North London… 🤔

[IceCreamMan]

1 hour ago, RoddieJ said:

Of all the fantastic stadia in North London… 🤔

Forgot to add, Wenger was a genius. He initiated A lot of very clever stuff in the stadium. Speaks 7 languages fluently etc etc. 

[justinafrika]

1 hour ago, IceCreamMan said:

Forgot to add, Wenger was a genius. He initiated A lot of very clever stuff in the stadium. Speaks 7 languages fluently etc etc. 

Wouldn’t in the least mind reading more about your observations.

[IceCreamMan]

14 minutes ago, justinafrika said:

Wouldn’t in the least mind reading more about your observations.

Wenger was well ahead of his time. When the new stadium was designed he had many inputs into it including the following:

1. the layout of the pitch itself. Prior to the building of the stadium the stadium would be built and then the pitch, new arsenal stadium is different in that the pitch is laid first to determine sun and shadows etc. football stadiums are now built following this approach. 
2. the away section of the stadium can be altered. If the away side do not use all their ticket allocation instead of the seats being left empty the away side section is made smaller and more tickets can be sold to gooners. 
3. There is a small gym in the arsenal dressing room, so players can allay nerves doing a bit of cardio etc. this was Weingers idea, was never done before. The away dressing room of course does not have this. 😂

4. The layout of the dressing room is a U shape so players face each other and are encouraged to interact. The away dressing room has a a cupboard block between the players on either side so they can’t see each other across the dressing room. 
5. the home side sub bench has special heating for the players feet so when they go on their feet ain’t frozen for the first few minutes. The away team bench of course does not have this feature. 😂

6. Can’t remember all the others but there were numerous innovations Wenger brought into the game adn the building of the stadium. 
7. Wenger and his team determined that if a player at half time sat on a hard surface like the dressing room benches their heart rate would drop and they were prone to injuries as they cooled down. He implemented cushions for the players to sit on which prevent heart rate from falling as much. You guessed it, the away dressing room got no such cushions. 
7. the home side floor is made with a special substance so players won’t slip or slide while wearing boots. Unfortunately the floor is so expensive the club did not have enough cash to do the away dressing room. 
7. Wenger introduced strict diets into English football. 
8. in the inner sanctum of the stadium is a small room where the manager can chill, chat to the referees and the opposing manager. There is a small fridge etc. a kid of private lounge. Mourinho is the only manager in the world who is not permitted in this lounge. During Wenger time Mourinho criticised him so much that Wenger forbade him to ever set foot in it. This rule remains even after Wenger left. 
9. Wenger was very aware of the finances and believed the club should be run prudently. This was before FFP , arsenal own their stadium. One of the few teams that do I reckon. 

Was a fascinating tour and if ever the opportunity comes up do the legends tour, not the self walk around one. I was expecting a 45 minute tour and off you go. The tour carried on for 2 hours. It was absolutely worth every penny. Lots of funny anecdotes and real stories. I certainly came away with a new found respect for Wenger. 

I enjoy football, I go to many games around but I realised I don’t quite grasp the depth that football holds in many minds. Bill shankly once remarked “ football is not a matter of life and death, it’s more important than that”. Today I got a glimpse of what he meant. After the tour went into the Arsenal museum, rich with history and honouring their previous heroes. 
 

Good day out, bought the ole man a shirt and some odds and ends. He loved it. Job done.