Moving Ship

All posts can now be found at The Morning Pint

Stand up and be counted

Arsenal fans worst fear was confirmed earlier today.

Wilshere has officially been Vermaelen’ed. Who was in turn Rosicky’d last season. The cycle goes on and it could be endless if we tried to remember all of the residents of the Arsenal med room.

Jack will have surgery on Monday effectively ruling him out until at least January if we are realistic. Let’s not kid ourselves; this injury leaves a gaping hole in about the L1 to L3 area of the spine of this team. Not something that this team can cope with while Vermaelen is out.

It is abundantly clear that The Verminator is the rock at the back and the stabilizing force. The defense has only looked stable when he has been in, saving the day and performing admirably.

Arsenal can’t succeed without Vermaelen, not with the current squad. Life without Jack? That’s tough, but before Jack there was another promising British midfielder making his mark at the club. Front and center Aaron, your time has come.
On deadline day we had plenty of action, but only one of those late signings was of the caliber to merit an unquestionable starting place, and that signing was Mikel Arteta. Everyone was previewing their new strongest XI and nearly none included Aaron Ramsey. It was his spot in the midfield that had been usurped. In his absence, Aaron had been leapfrogged by Jack as the bright new hope. Wilshere’s great season made people forget the hype as Aaron sat on the sidelines.

Here is your chance Aaron, grab it. I see Ramsey as a box to box midfielder with a great engine. The only player I could compare him to is Stevie G, all the skill yet he can speak English too! But the surging runs forward finding that incisive pass impress me more than his linguistic skills.

The boy has something about him. He is a leader.

The youngest ever captain of Wales at the age of 20, a lot of pressure for such a young man. Aaron appears to have some of those intangibles, leadership qualities one doesn’t usually see at such a young age and Arsene and Gary Speed seem to agree. His progress was stunted by the horrible injury sustained at Stoke, but he has come back and shown some of what he is capable of.

Scoring the winner against United was huge for him last season. It was the icing on the cake, the announcement of his return.

Aaron is still a young player, and young players lack consistency. No one likes to criticize the golden boy, Jack, but he had subpar games last season and that is normal for young players. Developing consistency takes time, but the time is now for Aaron and he needs to seize this chance; establishing himself as a permanent member of the first XI should be his priority.

We have all seen what Aaron is capable of, and he looks like he can be a world beater. It is time to grab your chance, prove turning down United was the right decision. Stand up Aaron and show the Premier League who they are dealing with.
This means no good halves, we need talismanic displays. No going anonymous when the going gets tough, I believe Aaron has it in him. His place was taken; this is his chance to reclaim it. Remind the fans why we were so devastated when Shawcross scythed him down, and realize the potential we know he has. He has had his niggles, as is typical coming back from injury, but we don’t want him to be a Diaby (Who?) and miss a month after every match played.

The opportunity is there, go seize it.

The fate of the Arsenal season depends on it.

The Best? Act Like it.

Floyd.

I am sorry.

You will never be the greatest.

Not a chance.

I watched the fight Saturday night and I was shocked.

Shame on me.

I should have known better. You are Floyd Motherfuckin' Money Mayweather. Burnin' hundos and making it rain with fake bills in the club.

You call out eighty year old announcers because they ask you tough questions. Questions like why did you cheap shot Ortiz when you were clearly winning?

Classy bub.

These actions cement your place in the Hall of Fame of Most Talented Douchebags in sport.

You should be proud, would make your daddy proud that's for sure. Not that you care, berating him on national television.

Would Muhammed Ali ever pull that shit? Hell no. Would Magic kick Larry to get an edge? Don't think so. Would Julio Cesar Chavez ever pull that move in the ring? Not a fucking chance.

There are some athletes that go down in history revered for their skill, talent, and class as the greatest of all time. Never will those words be spoken about Floyd Mayweather. He embraces the villain role, I know. Nothing wrong with that. but there is something vile about a peak athlete trying to get an advantage through bullshit means.

Floyd if you are so good why must you sucker punch opponents you are clearly better than? The best ever would have fought Pacquiao long ago because their hunger to be the best would be evident to all. The best don't duck opponents and come up with excuses for everything.

For the same reason I still hold disdain for Cristiano Ronaldo. If you are the best, why should you have to cheat to succeed? Everyone knows Cristiano is the (2nd)best player in the world, why must he continue to dive and act petulant. I don't see Messi pulling those cards, why should you? I know he has become better with that but it is unacceptable to me for these players to resort to cheap tactics when it is evident that the player's skill exceeds that of his peers.

No Ronnie they don't hate you because you are rich and beautiful. They hate you because you flop and dive like you belong in London next summer, and cry like a petulant bitch when you don't get calls.

You shouldn't need to cheat to win. I am looking at you Barca. The Clasicos last season were the worst advertisement for football because the most talented teams were diving and cheating all over the pitch. Never can I remember an uglier sequence of matches where the beautiful standard of football was sullied as so.

Those who go down in history as the greatest are those who are noble in battle, in and out of ring, on and off the pitch. There are lessons to be learned, unfortunately in some cases falling on deaf ears.

Floyd go on and keep ducking the Pac Man because you don't deserve the hundred million you would make off that fight. I am sure you have plenty of excuses.

Real champions show their mettle.

Pretenders talk about theirs.

I would like to make a toast to the true champions of the world, you are few and far between, and don't deserve your names sullied by such company.

To the true legends of sport!

Not like Cris...

Forward Arsenal: A New Beginning

It has been a little over a week since the transfer window closed and the weekend marks a return to club football and a fresh start for Arsenal Football Club. The beginning of the season was tumultuous, just like the rest of the summer, and I found it impossible to set realistic expectations for the season until all transfers had been made.

On deadline day, once the dust had settled, I felt that Arsenal had done a decent bit of business. We did not get the splash signing all had hoped for, but we addressed the biggest problem in the squad, which was depth. Many had said our starting XI was up to par, but not strong enough through the squad, a valid concern. There were question marks all over the squad with a couple yet to depart and the picture still fuzzy as to what we would be left with. In the end, Arsenal signed 8 first team players: Carl Jenkinson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gervinho, Chu (Ju) Young Park, Yossi Benayoun, Per Mertesacker, Mikel Arteta, and Andre Santos. Not to mention the 2 from Barcelona, Bellerin and Toral that joined our youth ranks. To bring depth in, turn a profit on transfers, and trim a sizeable chunk of wages being spent on fringe players, it looks a pretty good summer.

But wait, we lost one of the best midfield talents in the game, and a greedy bastard who was pretty good himself. I really believe the signing of Gervinho offsets Nasri’s departure, but losing Cesc would hurt any team, there is no like for like replacement, and we probably couldn’t afford him if there was. So people will say that it was a disappointment that we didn’t sign a world class replacement, but we really only get one shot at this. There is no oil money. Our club is run responsibly and if the plan is to blow our wad on one superstar then it had better be the right man to lead us to glory. Had we signed Kaka for £35m I would have considered that poorly spent money while others rejoiced. People have said we bid £35m for Mario Götze, and France Football reported that we bid over €30m for Lille's Eden Hazard. I would like to think of these bids as statements of intent. Both of those players fit the profile of the type of signing I would like to see. I’d rather come back to those targets in January than settle for a lower tier recruit, and that’s what makes the signings of Benayoun and Arteta smart deals. Neither one stifles the youth, as Wenger always states is his fear, adds the creativity we’ve been lacking, and leaves room for a big money signing in the next two windows.

If it weren’t for the injuries to Wilshere and Vermaelen, I’d feel great going in to the match against Swansea. Injury ravaged is how this squad lives, and they have to learn to cope. The one thing we can say is that the team has added strength and leadership, and we can now boast six players who captain their national sides. What more do you want? We now have a squad full of players who want to be at Arsenal and are willing to give it their all. That’s all I ask. To a new beginning, our season starts now.

EXCLUSIVE: This just in from Barcelona

We at the Pint have a breaking exclusive coming to you from Spain. Our sources have gotten their hands on Xavi's top secret journal, and let me tell you, its disturbing.

The content is a bit explicit, so this may not be for the meek. What we have found seem to be love poems written about his Spain teammate, Cesc Fabregas. They appear to be limericks. Take a look for yourself.






Whether he is trying to publish this compilation of poetry we are unsure. Clearly this man has an infatuation, it doesn't seem healthy. Stay tuned for more updates should our people get their hands on more material.

Social Media: A Double-Edged Sword

Ahhhhh, the dichotomy of Twitter.

This beautiful beast brings out the best and the balmiest banter between bloggers and blokes alike.

A captivating captain cultivates classy comments and commands cunts to cling to cowardice.

Whereas dismal displays demonstrate diabolical deviance from "devoted" detractors determined to deal out draining diatribes detrimental to the decency of discourse.

Every entity is entitled to express emotions, entertaining and eloquent. Eagerly enticing eyes and ears to eat up everything expelled to effect.

Far too many flounder in the fuckfest of foulmouthed football fans flagrantly defiling the foundations for which we fight.

Good guys grapple with greed, gazing at Glazers and Guardiolas longingly, a gleam of hope heaping expectations high, asking for hazardous amounts of hard cash for an influx of influential and inspiring signings, although infantile expectations out of jealousy for oil-flush jokers jeopardizes the financial well-being of a club.

Kicking each other, keyboard warriors keen to linger on lessons lost that should have been learned, many forget the luster this lovely, luminous game manifests in every match. We must muster more than mediocrity and maintain meaningful morals with the masses and our fellow man.

No more nonsense. Open minds offer opinions others only dream of owning. People owe it to each other to prevail over these pervasive presumptions of proper protocol and quit queuing up with rhetoric lacking rhyme or reason.

Rational thinking realizes every story has another side, so should something shift sans logic, trust that the truth shall be told in due time. Undermining each other ultimately vexes even the most vociferous vegan and wilts the will of proven winners who will want away from dealing with the Xenophobes about. Exits of the younger generations of fans and players alike will lead to the remaining yearning for their team of yesteryear.

The circus may be in town with silly season about, yet it need not be a zoo. With the right attitude one may be able to find their place of Zen.

Argentine Sputtering

So that's what £150 million's worth of striking talent gets you. Not one measly goal out of the lot. Simply amazing that I can only think of one moment where Argentina should have scored.

The same can not be said about Colombia who were dangerous for much more of the match and squandered opportunities in a Bendtner-esque fashion. The best striker on the pitch was Falcao. On the night, Radamel was more dangerous and threatening than any of his Argentinean counterparts, as every run or shot seemed to put someone to the test. It will be very interesting to watch if he actually makes a move to the Premier League,I believe he could be quite the asset to any top club. That said, could I have been more wrong? That result cost me one bland tasting hat and made nearly everything I wrote prior to the match irrelevant.

The funny thing is that I was still entertained. It's been a long time since I could say that about a match, and yes I am including the Gold Cup. Other than the final between USA and Mexico the tournament lacked nearly any excitement. One could not say that the ARG-COL match was horrible to watch, it was no Chelsea v Liverpool. The profligacy in front of goal demonstrated by several of the Colombians leads me to believe they probably wont win the tournament but damn do they have a decent squad. It has been quite a while since I've been able to say that about the Colombians, good to see them rebounding. It was good to see a match of this magnitude, things being about football for once instead of transfer rumors.

Argentina was a team of individuals on the pitch, no one seeming to have any ideas. They did not cover themselves with glory in that performance and if I were Batista I'd be thinking really hard about how to turn the ship around because I'm sure the axe will be dropped immediately if they don't qualify as the host nation.

The Copa America looks a wide open competition at the moment, with no team asserting themselves as legitimate favorites. Friday should be a good evening of matches, Chile - Uruguay being the highlight, and no I will not stake any claim as to how it will go as I have learned my lesson. We can only hope for entertaining football and i believe we will get a hotly contested affair.

La Copaaaaaaa...ehhh

Tonight I will take in my first match from this Copa America.

I've spent the last week busy with work, then vacation, away from television and all you crazy bastards on Twitter.

Ok I couldn't completely leave it alone but i was only voyeuristically checking twitter hoping for signings and alas, jack shit happened. Unless you count Liverpool signing some mediocre players to ensure they, as one of their fans stated, secure a 13th place finish.

Apparently I haven't missed much. All but one match ending in draws? If I wanted to see that shit I'd watch any match between Chelsea and Liverpool. Nil nil's don't fill seats. Goals do. Let alone in America where many people can't be bothered by a great match.

I am looking forward to watching Argentina tonight and I am sure this tournament will come to life soon. I predict at least 3 goals in this match and if I'm wrong I'll eat my hat. Or maybe drink it, let me find my beer helmet just in case. But seriously they should thrash Columbia and the pressure is there following an opening round draw. With the talent at their disposal Argentina have no excuses. I expect Messi to deliver.

How absolutely batshit crazy is it that Argentina sit three world class strikers every match?!?!? I believe they will be playing with Lavezzi, Messi, and Tevez. That leaves Kun, Higuain, and Milito on the bench. Mind boggling. I bet they wish the wealth of riches could be spread to other areas of the squad, but the rest aren't exactly chumps. The embarrassment of talent in the striker position is enviable to say the least. Can't one jump ship and come to the USA? Figure out some kind of deal so we can take their talent like how Portugal poach Brazilians that want to play international football.

I expect this to heat up starting tonight! I have more to say but the match starts soon and I would like to eat first. Enjoy some real football tonight.

Mes que un Cule

A guest post from Jaymin @allinthepass

And the miasma Barcelona and its faithful media acolytes have huffed around our humble club returns, right on schedule, flying in the face of the false expectation we may have entertained that this summer would be different. All in order, then. I would have preferred my first ever football blog to be about something else, anything, but I will march to the beat of the zeitgeist, because I fear the noxious smoke will be choking us for the next several weeks, at least.

That is of course provided Barcelona don’t meet our (ahem, and...pretty much the whole football world’s http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/default/marktwerte/basics.html) valuation. And I think we all feel the same way about how likely that is to happen. They pass so well and play so prettily, but their conduct in this affair has been and continues to be disreputable. One has to conclude given the constant tapping up, public exhortations, and I’m pretty sure the stated desire of their head coach, that Barcelona do indeed really, really want Cesc to play for them.

But then why the frankly insulting bid, and more to the point, why the even more preposterous bid in 2010, when he had just had a 20 goal 20 assist season, and was a favorite to land a World Cup winners’ medal? Surely then, if any midfield player in the world merited a 50 million GBP transfer fee, it was the young Fabregas. So 35 GBP felt like they were making a point with us, which they are driving home further with a reduced 27 million GBP after a disappointing campaign for us and from our captain.

They want to embarrass us. They desire to stand above us, like an older executive who has just outmaneuvered a young upstart in a boardroom dispute. To put us, ahem, “in our place.” Only we’re the ones who seem to routinely outmaneuver them. Just from the top of my head mind: : ripping them off with Petit and Overmars, uh, taking Cesc for peanuts in the first place, and then, after they had decried this “theft” and presumably established safeguards against its repeat, snatching Merida/Miquel/Torral/Bellerin etc. The fact that we took Torral and Bellerin in the midst of this current public courting of Fabregas suggests that as an institution we’re as annoyed with them as our fanbase is. And that maybe we want to show them if they can be cheeky, we likewise can cheek it with the best of them.

It’s a fascinating relationship between the two clubs, hardly able to be classified as normal. We aspire to play with the style they reinvented from Cruyff’s Ajax and they now call their own. Outwardly we admire them. We both have a somewhat pariah type perception within our leagues, them for their perceived separatist attitude, us for not being Liverpool or Manchester United. Our fanbases seemed, until recently, very simpatico.

Plainly not replicated at the business level. These are just my random musings after a very busy and productive day, mind. I will explore this subject more deeply in a subsequent post.

Comments, thoughts? Below,or @morningpint & @allinthepass

The Match That Must Be

Finally watched the USA match from the weekend. They looked better, but not great. Jamaica didn't quite come roaring out of the gates and it is hard to judge the performance against some of the opposition in this tournament.

Tonight's matches will provide sterner tests for the Juggernauts of CONCACAF, with Panama and Honduras looking to upset the perennial dominant forces. I don't know that the Gold Cup organizers would like an upset too much considering the revenue they dream about from a USA Mexico final in Los Angeles. They need that final. We need that final. It is the only match in this tournament that anyone really cares about.

The American team has looked like shit. Let's not dress up a turd, it is what it is. We all know the team can play better. We have seen nearly the same squad play much better in the World Cup only a year ago. They will need to step there game up if they are to even get a shot against Mexico. Panama will not lie down. Mexico has easily looked the best team in the tournament. Considering the opposition that may not be saying much, but its more than the Americans have been able to do. Unless we see an utterly convincing display from the Americans today I'd still say Mexico is playing better at the moment, and are probably the better team.

The Americans have dominated Mexico in recent years, but this seems to be a different team. With Chicharito they have an emerging superstar with the ability to get a goal out of nothing, something the USA lack and that could give them the edge. The thing is that the Americans seem to hold a psychological advantage over Mexico, with my friends and I suspecting the pressure mounted on the Mexican players so immense by comparison to the Americans it affects their play. Can you say LeChoke?

I was watching Sportscenter an hour ago and they decided to give the matches tonight a quick minute breakdown. How sweet of them. turn on the Spanish language channels and that's all they are talking about. There is much national pride at stake and they don't fail to let the team know that. Its ok for USA to lose, not many here will really care or remember after a day or two. For Mexico it looms over them for 4 years until their next chance at redemption. Should the two teams get there i believe we will be in for one hell of a match.

We intend to be at the Rose Bowl for the match and I want to see some passion. Not to berate the other teams but the build up and preparation will be something special should we get the match the nation wants.

I want to see 90s Aerostars littering the fairways of Brookside in Pasadena with the smell of carne asada and Tecate in the air. I want to hear a tambarazo playing and the colors of El Tri flying high. I want to party with The American Outlaws and all the other American supporters that give USA soccer a good name. There should be bandanas and beer pong, burgers and brats, Buds and burning weather!



Deeply entrenched in silly season people everywhere can hope for a match that will ignite some passion and cause for real interest to spell us from the doldrums of football summer.

Who remembers this?



All that's left is for the football teams to take care of business tonight to give the fans what they deserve. Don't fuck this up.

The Pint and Verminator Rise From the Ashes

Back from an all too long barren spell that rivals that of our trophy cupboard, I've been motivated by @Chilangooner's new blog. That and the fact I actually felt like writing something.

Arsenal's fans know all too much about the team's late season collapse. Whether it was bad luck, injuries, or bad timing this has happened all to often to be coincidence. The team has blown it, time and time again. Many point to match against Newcastle where Arsenal went four nil up and... nevermind.

Injuries are always a problem of The Arsenal of recent years and the squad suffered quite a few injury blows throughout the season as is customary. The funny thing was that when they blew the season, nearly all of the squad were fit. More so than any other recent season if my memory serves me. So if the injuries weren't the problem, the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the players, and rightly so.

The English media like to say that Arsenal lack that "English Spine" that would give them the toughness they need, lacking since the departure of Tony Adams. One could argue that "The Invincibles" team of 2004 wasn't very English, with only two major contributors, Sol and Cashley. But the idea that The Arsenal need a Scottie Parker and Gary Cahill is a bit far fetched. Yes, they need steel, but who cares if its English?

Vermaelen was easily the standout new performer in 09/10 and brought an intensity and vigor to the team unlike many of late. The Belgian's hard tackling, great pace, and nose for goal led to a meteoric rise of his stock in the eyes of Arsenal fans. His steely demeanor and cold assassin eyes struck fear into the opponents. Many were saying just months into his first season that he was a future captain of The Arsenal.

Injuries struck the best striker, midfielder, defender, and all the GK's throughout the year. I would have argued before the season that the one player that had to be fit in order for Arsenal to succeed was Thomas Vermaelen. The cornerstone of the defense. The senior partner of the CB pairing following the departure of Gallas. His loss was immeasurable. Many think of what could have been were he fit, but no use crying over spilled milk. What is important is to move forward and progress as a team.

So as the journo's speculate as to who is the solution to the problem I say look no further than Thomas Vermaelen. He has that drive, the desire to win. Look into his eyes and tell me this man isn't determined. Belgian steel is as good as English to me, just imagine Fellaini in the midfield... I'm getting carried away. The point is that this team has fight, especially in certain players and they can help lift their teammates to that level. Doesn't matter where they come from should the attitude be right.

People have been speculating about changing his position should some anticipated transfers occur. It looks likely that Clichy has played his last match in the red and white and some want to see the Verminator playing left back. No thank you.

The man is the best CB. Plain and simple. An integral part of the spine of the team and needs to play through the middle. If ANYTHING,and only if the right personnel were brought into the defense, he could thrive as a defensive midfielder as an alternative to Song. Alex has done a job there the past 2 seasons and can continue but it seems Thomas offers some qualities that may not be in Song's repertoire. Vermaelen's ability to shoot from range and make those bursting runs through the middle would make him a viable threat to all opposition. The man's commitment and effort is unquestioned and should the adequate signings come in to bolster the defense I'd like to see it tampered with. That being said I don't see it likely, but it wouldn't surprise me if he experimented with one of the current CB's in that role in pre-season. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

It is time to put up or shut up for this squad and if there is any year for it to happen, this has to be the season. It seems that most understand this and Wenger seems to be active early in the window. Should Nasri be only posturing in contract negotiations when asking for ambitious signings or really asking for a sign of intent, Arsenal fans may be thanking him if it helps move Wenger's hand. Pay the man, keep the best players, make this the year.

Check out Luis' new blog and thanks to The Beautiful Groan for inspiring this post in our conversation earlier on twitter.

In case you have forgotten.