Even ahead of Scholes, eh?
Is this Joke Hole’s inarticulate way of saying he thinks DeBruyne is the best midfielder of all time? Yeah, nah you cockney twat.
It’s his way of saying he’s never watched a single game of football beyond the Premier League.
I like Joe Cole, though. He’s an idiot, obviously, but he seems like a likable idiot.
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you take that 20step run-up away and she doesn’t get that distance.
One of the other reason I hate the new turf pitches, is the 5-6 feet from the sideline to the fences they always install. not enough room for a proper run-up. But my throwing arm doesn’t like that motion anymore either.
Bayern Munich show greedy UEFA what Champions League is missing with Arsenal statement
They love a banner at the Allianz Arena… and a flare or three, hence the absence of Bayern Munich fans at the Emirates for the first leg.
And within a few minutes of the first whistle - when the smoke from the latest round of pyrotechnics had almost lifted - the Ultras on the Sudkurve unravelled a canvas that stretched the length of the stand behind David Raya’s goal.
It read: “WE DON’T LIKE YOU EITHER. EXCLUDE UEFA! GET OUT OF OUR STADIUM!”
If the VIPs had finished their dinners, they might have been squirming in their seats. Or they might not have cared. Never mind the rank and file fans, feel the bank balance, listen to the cash tills ringing.
In terms of quality, this was not the most compelling contest, but in terms of edginess, in terms of tension, in terms of win-or-bust, it was what the European Cup should be all about. Let’s face it, this has been another edition of the Champions League that has only sprung into any sort of life at this very late stage, the last-eight stage.
And what are UEFA doing to the competition next season? Making it even more bloated. The jeopardy that was felt in this match from the very first whistle is the sort of jeopardy that should be there from a very early stage.
Instead, the group stages - or the Swiss-model stages next season - are merely cash-making exercises and formalities for the economic powerhouses of the game. And they are there for the family of sponsors to get their money’s worth.
Out of loyalty to their clubs, the supporters still show up and how are they rewarded? Here’s how. Whichever two clubs get to the final, they only get 25,000 tickets per club for a stadium that holds over 86,000 spectators.
Bayern’s fans produced various banners calling out the expensive ticket prices
And whichever two clubs get to the final, there will not be an atmosphere at Wembley that will be anywhere near as febrile as the one created at the Allianz for this occasion. This is a cacophonous place that never fails to raise the neck-hairs, bedlam from kick-off.
For Arsenal’s younger players, this was part of their learning curve, trying to hold their nerve in the most pressurised of environments, in front of 75,000 baying supporters. But that is what European football - the European Cup (its real name), in particular - should be all about.
And that is what it should be all about long before the middle of April. The fans still go through the turnstiles, they still produce nights like this but this loyal fans cannot be taken for granted.
And if UEFA did not already know that, they were told in no uncertain terms by Bayern’s Ultras. Let’s hope they take heed.
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It’s a shame and especially for the smaller clubs that will lose out financially. Changes the traditional ethos of the competition. They will bring in seedings next.
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The smaller clubs would benefit from seedlings.
Maybe if you draw a PL club you get choice of the venue. Many would probably choose away anyhow.
You feel the sportswashing isnt quite going according to plan
I’m torn, which one is more appropriate 
or 
Me neither.
Wow
Fucking wow…
There are no appropriate words
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Posted it elsewhere but who did everyone have.
I had Alan Pardew because he would just be basic enough to have been forgotten about by now.
‘im excited to be a part of the tribe’…holy cow…
anyways, wont comment on the cultural aspect of this, but i wonder who could really be arsed watching small video excerpts of a club being built from the ground up?
whats the point?
i mean, id watch a doco on a clubs history, but what looks like a reality TV show format to building a football club in a league no one cares about…whats the point?
wow. just wow.
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For about 2 years after this goal pretty much every kid in the UK yelled “Josimar” when lining a shot from a hopelessly long distance out.
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ive completed my journey to ‘old cunt’ status…
football was just better then…
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Welcome to the club.
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