Do you really think you can start doing stuff like this and it's not going to go to the managers head and create a superiority complex. What a joke

Anyway amid all the farcical bias against us from northern refs envious of our southern ways (they're only human) perfectly placed to see a player falling over but not the kick that preceded it, it falls upon me to try and restore a touch of levity by pointing out that Notts County have a right-back endearingly named Tootles. It made me laugh a lot especially as he was their Number 2. My son didn't think it was as funny as I did and kept saying "oh shut up, dad" whenever I shouted "played Tootles!". He can be disappointingly dour and disapproving at times - I get enough of that on here.

Looking forward to the game this afternoon - it's tempting to support the underdogs but FA cup wins are just so last season - I'll be cheering for Forest.

Tootles for now!

i saw a sign at Stoke that said 'Hughes Out'. Copy and paste that to any club he's managed since Blackburn. I notice (and I suspect it was always like this) there are several managers, British for the most part who basically play musical chairs in and out of the EPL and Championship more or less. I don't have the full listing but a few off the top of my head

Hughes
(fat Sam) Allardyce...yes, I will always refer to him as such
Pardew
(Chris) Coleman
Steve Bruce
Moyes
Pulis
Redknapp

Regarding Hoy's point about no refs coming from London, whiich I accept looks odd, I'd say this regarding his idea this may go against Arsenal's best interests.

I'd have thought the two sets of supporters most anti-Arsenal were Tottenham and Chelsea fans. Not having any referees from London surely decreases the chances of getting Tottenham or Chelsea fans refereeing Arsenal games. I'd have thought anyway. In the long distant days when we used to compete for the title with Manchester United or Liverpool, I wouldn't have wanted fans of those clubs refereeing our games. But with those past exceptions, I'd much rather fans of north-east and yorkshire clubs, or north west teams at the moment taking charge of Arsenal's matches than Tottenham or Chelsea supporters.

Perhaps Tootles could join my fledgling Drugs XI - so far I've only signed Bong from Brighton.

I used to sit near Halsey's brother in the Clock End at Highbury. Apparently Mark Halsey is a Chelsea fan. Heard that he was anxious NOT to appear biased which is understandable.

The odious Mike Dean is merseyside based - like you I would have thought he might be as prejudiced - if not more - against Manchester clubs but my overwhelming suspicion is that he is the kind of preening *%^@ who would give red cards and penalties against anybody. The evidence does suggest he hates us but I'm not sure that's a London thing.

Charlie Austin must have a place?

Don’t refs have to declare their allegiance and then not ref any of their games?
Wasn’t there an issue when Leicester won the title that a Leicester supporting ref reffed a spurs game late in the season and people complained that he had an interest in spurs losing.
I don’t think refs go in to games deciding who they will or won’t give decisions to, but I do think certain situations influence refs.

Forgetting penalties, how often have we been bullied at home, bad tackles, roughed up and then had wenger complain about it after? Very rare. Compare it to how often that happened or was let to happen away from home. Games against Man U, Bolton and stoke are a prime example

Stashley Cole? Kaspar Smackal?

Gary Speed obvious choice as player/manager

Yes I've no doubt referees would want to appear unbiased. Indeed, that could make the fan of a specific club be harsher than normal on it when or if he takes their games.

Smackal would have to fight for a place with Rob Green. Stashley and Charlie Austin are in and I can confirm I've tempted the ex Celtic player Rafael 'good' Scheidt out of retirement.

You're kidding right? Wenger complains if other teams dare to set up defensively against us.

Wanka...........

Benzo Davies

Is that the drug that makes you incapable of seeing what you are looking straight at?

In. Plus former West Ham star Ade Cokehead.

Surprised the old man left out the star player, Diego Marajuana.

When it comes to football in England we all know through our own supporter exerience most people north of Watford can't abide Arsenal. For most of living memory we were the biggest and most successful London team and were seen as part of the rich establishment. This got on a lot of northern and midland folks' tits, and still does. We all know this is true by the zeal with which any victory over us is celebrated, or the half-hearted congratulations we get when victorious. Like Australia beating England at cricket, beating Arsenal is much more significant than a sports result. Envy; big time v small time; local pride; tripe and onions v pie and mash or whatever. You can understand why it happens. As time goes by and Chelsea continue to succeed they will probably inherit our role and we will drop back more into the "We beat Tottenham or West Ham, so what?" category. Until then don't be surprised over doubtful decisions by officials who cannot avoid carrying their regional biases into games.

I would like to know why there are no officials from London and the south-east.

David McCracken - a Scot - made two appearances for Brentford!

The fuhrer is clearly a little bitter ....

Unlike any other manager?

Ospina
Debuchy, per, holding
Nelson, Willicombe, elneny, amn
Walcott, iwobi
Welbeck

Chambers plus youth on the bench

Kieran Trippy-er.

That'll make the new boy feel welcome

Charlie Nicotine for an extra bit of potency up front.

Nigel Reo Coker.

Surely Danny Morphine is the better option?

What I like most about this piece of insightful analysis is the way you resist any temptations to import your own biases and assumptions into it. Just hard evidence-based reasoning - chapeau, Hoy!

One teeny question, how long does it take this envy transfer to take place? Because by my reckoning Chelsea have won the PL five times since we last did and the ECL once. Is it just that the midlands and the northern folks are a bit slow and therefore late to cotton on to the shift in power relations?

Pass to Debuchy on the right hand side.

So presumably it's musical youth on the bench with Chambers.

Hubble-bubble Chris can run the fan club.

Grassana Diarra.

Completely evidence-based. Any Arsenal man who has travelled into the shit-holes of the north and midlands to support our guys will confirm the strength of the hatred of The Arsenal amongst the locals. It is undeniable.

On envy transfer, yes for the supporters of northern and midland teams, Chelsea are probably already the most despised London team due to their success and wealth. Arsenal are still well hated though, not so much these days for envy of their onfield abilities, but mostly due to the ridiculous squealing of a vocal minority of their more entitled, fragile fans. Even the self-pitying Scousers find us absurd in that respect.

On the biases of officials from the provinces it will take a bit longer for them to replace Arsenal with Chelsea simply because they are usually in their 30s/40s before they get to ref in the Premier League. When the current batch were growing up as United, Liverpool, etc. fans Chelsea were but a smallish, unthreatening team who occasionally won a cup. Arsenal were the London team to despise. If the same cock-eyed structure with most officials coming from outside London and the south-east continues unreformed then I reckon by 2030s the bias against Chelsea will become more obvious as the young northern and midland boys of the turn of the millenium reach the age to become Premiership refs.

Got it. Colour me totally convinced. I think in years to come this piece of social anthropology will take its place alongside Oscar Lewis's "Five Families" and Wilmott and Young's "Family and Kinship in East London".

So you don't believe Mike Dean to be biased against us, despite a massive statistical disparity over an 18 years sample size (the largest in several decades) that suggest we not only get less preferential decisions from us on average than every other top flight team, but that also we are proportionally over a 3rd less likely with him in charge?

I think about 1/3rd are pretty good on balance, most are just poor at their jobs compared to their predecessors and that Mike Dean and former refs Dowd and Riley were significantly biased to our detriment, as evidenced by statistical outcomes that are widely divergent from the mean.

Re the Chelsea game, I'm not sure I think Taylor is biased, just very inconsistent, and like most humans would in his situation, is guilty of applying the laws with the path of least resistance. ie is influenced by the hostility of the crowd, and the team and particularly the player involved. The same applies more broadly of course, with the media picking up on Puncheon's BAD tackle on De Bruyne and totally declining to mention worse unpunished tackles from Kane & Alli against the same opponents. (Ironically Kane should have been suspended for the last 2 matches in which he got hat-tricks! - and Alli is a nasty cheating piece of work who dives with remarkable success and only gets bookings for leg breakers - usual shtick though - England Team golden boy, all brushed under the carpet. Bit like why Scholes' international and european disciplinary record was so much worse than domesitcally).

The game is on ESPN2 in Aus.

Yeah he probably doesn't like us much as I've said elsewhere - my point was simply that he is also a total *%^@ in general. And bad decisions like WBA do happen to all clubs from one ref or another. There is no general bias or conspiracy against Arsenal though.

Your last para is a bit of a stream of consciousness.

There's statistical evidence that we get worse results with Dean reffing, not that we get worse results because of poor decisions from Dean. Enormous difference if you want to venture into the realm of statistics.

That's my biggest problem with fans making these sort of arguments (and fans from ALL clubs make them); it's too much conspiracy theory rhetoric and too many bold claims being made without proper support. It reminds me of how truthers look for anything that's even remotely peculiar and then try to cram a completely developed (and made up) theory into that tiny hole.

Basically, if you want to claim that it's strange how we get noticably worse results with Dean that's fair enough. If you then want to claim this is evidence of bias you're making a huge leap from the factual to the made-up. That claim needs further and much more specific evidence.