I't's all a matter of perspective .

Check out the daily routine ....... opening the cat food , then don the coat and scarf for a leisurely walk to buy the paper .

Home again via the canal to admire the ducks going about their business among the old car tyres , shopping trolleys , plastic bags and McDonalds wrappers .

11 am ..... in between verses of "Goodnight Irene " while knocking up a dozen jars of chutney from vegies her brother gave them "Waste not want not " is the golden rule in the Hoy household , Mrs Hoy announces 'I've made a cuppa "

Now it's major decision time ; to do the Easy Sudoku now while sipping his tea or leave it till later ...

Hmmmm that's a tough one .... but wisely he decides on the tea , two digestives and heads out to the garden shed to do battle with that recalcitrant rake handle , it's only taken two weeks so far but it will be a job well done when finished and a great source of pride .

Best leave the Sudoku for this evening .

In the afternoon in front of the fire he opens "Trustee from the Tool Room" .... he was delighted to find two Neville Shute novels he hadn't read at the last church bazaar . Three pages in he is sound asleep . Mrs Hoy enters and lovingly removes his glasses and adjusts his blanket .

Excitement levels race off the scale when one of his mates [ the one who spent the last week in hospital having his stomach pumped after Hoy's culinary efforts ] .....the famous paella , frittata , risotto or whatever the hell it was minus the rice

....and breathlessly announces Frank Worthington has come out of retirement and has signed for the Darts .

They are still mates by the way , he is of the same ilk as Hoy you don't break off a friendship over a trifling matter like a near death experience .

Arsenal lose to Bayern Munich 1 - 5 ..." okay well that's football life goes on ".

Arsenal beat arch rivals Chelsea , silverware for us stop them doing the double ...Halleluhah treats himself to to two small sherries .

Now you tell me who has it right .........Old Man ............ or Claude , TJ , Mo and all the other moaning doodles giving themselves an ulcer over affairs in which they have very little control ...?

That was great Kiwi. I'm looking forward to reading your next project: A day in the life of Daz.

:emoticon_mClapp:



Kiwi you made my week. I bet even Hoy laughed. Especially, most probably.

Arsenal will pay $56m for Lacazette
4 yr contract

I'd like to see us make a serious offer to Schalke for Goretzka. A talented midfielder who isn't a midget.

Goretzka is a great shout, I hope we have a serious interest in him. Reminds me a little of Vieira. Also, whilst I hope we get Lacazette, I'm not sure I want Giroud to leave. Lacazette might get in behind with his pace and score those types of goals which is great. But if Giroud leaves then our aerial threat and plan b is gone. We'll lose an asset that has often been underrated especially against packed defences when pace can't always be used. Set piece threat too.

Goretzka is a great shout, I hope we have a serious interest in him. Reminds me a little of Vieira. Also, whilst I hope we get Lacazette, I'm not sure I want Giroud to leave. Lacazette might get in behind with his pace and score those types of goals which is great. But if Giroud leaves then our aerial threat and plan b is gone. We'll lose an asset that has often been underrated especially against packed defences when pace can't always be used. Set piece threat too.

You must have missed the news, Arsene signed a new contract. Thinking we will have a "plan B" is just naive.

Giroud has scored a huge amount of headed goals since he arrived. I've forgotten if he's first or second highest in the headed goals record over the last five years but it's an aspect we severely lacked on before his arrival. And don't forget how useful he has been as a sub. It's a great option to have. Between Lacazette if he signs and if Theo and Alexis stay, not much height there. Wellbeck is decent in the air but misses so much football.

I'm not Giroud's biggest fan and wouldn't be that upset if he left but we would be losing a certain type of threat.

An Alexis/Aguero sway being touted.

Can't see it myself. At his age, why would Aguero want to swap City for a team not in the CL? Unless he wants to live in London.

You've got the symbol for dollars. Do you mean dollars, or euros or pounds? If it's £56m, that seems very expensive. But $56m seems moderately reasonable at approaching £44m. €56m, which is £49m, is obviously around mid-way between the other two prices.

An Alexis/Aguero sway being touted.

Can't see it myself. At his age, why would Aguero want to swap City for a team not in the CL? Unless he wants to live in London.

He knows that Wenger is as soft as putty and won't criticise him. He has a few medals already and will move into semi retirement.

I like Giroud...for what he is. I think he gets slated for being something he never was. I think he maximized his skills with us. He was not a big name, he was one of Wenger's roll of a dice. Giroud got the fans ire initially for not being RvP. That's Wenger's fault. Giroud was never going to be able to replace or come anywhere close to being a replacement for RvP. He did the best he could with what God gave him. He was never known for his pace but gets slated for it. I think he turns difficult chances in to goals and as Sabir says as added headed goals to our 'arsenal' of threats. You get him the ball in the 6 yard box on the ground or air and he converts them at a more than decent rate. I would trust Giroud in the box more than any other Arsenal player save Sanchez.

I hope he stays BUT not at the expense of us not buying a top, top striker. We need adequate back up.The fact that Wenger has gone this long without buying a top striker is the real problem and a lot of fans are taking it out on Giroud unfairly.

ZZZZ

An Alexis/Aguero sway being touted.

Can't see it myself. At his age, why would Aguero want to swap City for a team not in the CL? Unless he wants to live in London.

Can’t say I’ve watched Lacazette play much, but he’s averaged 28 goals per season the last four years, and he just turned 26. I for one would be excited to see if he can take the next step at a bigger club in a better league. He’s certainly quick, which is a requirement for us. Giroud is a much better striker than Welbeck, but in my opinion we’re a better team with Welbeck playing up front simply because we need someone with that pace and movement.

Also, rumours from Spain that Mbappes family does not want him to join Real Madrid (yet, one would presume). Still a long shot obviously, but I like that we’re at least still in the race.

It's hard to see Mbappe not going to Madrid. If he turns them down now he might not get the chance again. A loan back to Monaco might be how it works out.

You alright Hoy. Perhaps fell asleep at the keyboard and your nose hit the z button. Its a bugger getting old isn't it?

The alternative is worse? Anyway, liven yourself up with your posts. Bit more variety. Im watching you!

Palace appoint Frank De Boer............................

Question for the older forum members.

I can't get my head round this DUP deal the tories have done. Is there a historical precedence of doing something similar in the past?

I mean the financial element to it not a coalition

if the cuts are to be eased in Northern Ireland, what about other parts of the country? Why is the deal being talked about like it's a high profile football transfer

While there may not have been anything quite as openly stated as the current DUP deal, various UK governments since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 have been ready to spend public money in Northern Ireland to keep things sweet. The spend of public money per capita figures for UK regions and countries for 2011/12-2015/16 were published in a House of Commons Briefing Note last November, and they show Northern Ireland consistently as the largest beneficiary. http://researchbriefings.files.parliame ... N04033.pdf

Ironically Theresa May's perilous political position has meant there is now a greater degree of transparency about what has been quietly going on for years.

While there may not have been anything quite as openly stated as the current DUP deal, various UK governments since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 have been ready to spend public money in Northern Ireland to keep things sweet. The spend of public money per capita figures for UK regions and countries for 2011/12-2015/16 were published in a House of Commons Briefing Note last November, and they show Northern Ireland consistently as the largest beneficiary. http://researchbriefings.files.parliame ... N04033.pdf

Ironically Theresa May's perilous political position has meant there is now a greater degree of transparency about what has been quietly going on for years.

Lots of buzz about a bunch of French players this summer. Thomas Lemar of Monaco is popping up a lot on twitter now. Wasn't there someone on here who used to follow the French league?

This is supposedly our third kit for the season.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DCx4H62XcAAdyLa.jpg:large