Agree. He's done a fantastic job there.

While not football related I want to mention 25 years since the death of the person I personally regard as the greatest sportsman of my era - Ayrton Senna RIP.

https://www.facebook.com/Formula1/video ... 061661809/

I also have to agree on spurs but also Liverpool

Whilst we procrastinated and complained about financial fair play, refs, politics and what not for years they rebuilt impressively.

What both teams seem to get is that they are working to a budget and prepared to blood young players in certain Areas of the pitch like full back but then spend big in core areas like centre half and goalkeeper.

Look at Klopp s first team he picked and think what changes have to be made to get them where they are now.

Liverpool’s starting XI v Spurs: Mignolet, Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno, Leiva, Can, Milner, Lallana (replaced by Allen), Coutinho (replaced by Ibe), Origi
Subs: Toure, Allen, Ibe, Bogdan, Sinclair, Vilaca Teixeira, Randall

Also it helps when you have a manager and scouting team that can pick up bargains and Salah, Mane, Firmino and Son Heung Min all be signed for around 30 million are absolute bargains. This summer aside I can’t think of the last medium priced player we signed that turned out to be a real hit probably going back to Cazorla and Monreal which was some time ago.

Funnily enough, I posted on Twitter that I thought Emery wasn't the right guy after Sunday's shitshow. A scouser mate of mine said it took Klopp three years to get close and we should be patient. Whilst I agree with that sentiment, I have this nagging sense that we won't get close to the title with Emery. I think as Bernard and a couple of others suggested, his remit is one of transitioning us back into the CL places.

I agree Emery won’t get 3 years. I fully expect him to complete next season then the club deciding against taking up the option for year 3 in his contract.

Some of our fans are behaving like Chelsea supporters now moaning about all and sundry and it’s evident he won’t get the time. You can only scream about showing passion so much but passion can only get you so far if you don’t have the technicians in the team.

I think it’s not possible for him to be here for a long time. For a few reasons but mostly that bar 5 players he needs to move on his entire squad of playing personnel and replace it on a minimal budget.

Then consider that we don’t have a director of football, no Gazidis, no Mislintat. It’s an equation that doesn’t add up in the timescales required.

At the end of the next season it might be best for the club to recruit an ex player like Henry or Vieira who would get far more patience and understanding from the supporters and media than Emery has because of their status as legends.

I think this is part of it, Emery doesn’t feel very ”arsenal” to us right now so it’s easier to be more critical when things are going badly.

And the same goes for the players. Provided he selects them, they, not the manager, are on the pitch, and must take responsibility. Emery made a poor call in selection against Palace, but his players have since had opportunities to rectify that mistake, without much suggestion they have it in them to take the club where it needs to be. Even when Arsene's lesser teams had a bad run I always felt they would get a result when needed. I am not too confident of it happening now, but live in hope.

In cricket now a blow to the head results in an immediate stoppage in play and an examination of the player. Useful for us dodgy-bladdered old-timers as it gives a chance to go for a slash and not miss any action. Mind you, the way Surrey played yesterday, may as well have stayed in the toilet.

Since we last won the league, bar the marvellous Leicester City, it has only been won by the massively rich clubs with their deep squads. Even the giant Liverpool has been looking through the window for nearly two decades, although they might finally win it this time. Until Arsenal can spend like City, United and Chelsea, a top four place is our realistic high point. When our previous manager said as much, it was considered sacrilege, but truth is he was speaking what virtually all non-Arsenal fans knew was the truth. If you don't have the right manager or squad of players even the Europa place is not guaranteed.

https://arseblog.news/2019/05/ornstein- ... b6WE3VDMf8

Ramsey has played his last game.
Ah well.

Our poor form coincides with his absence. May be more difficult to replace than we thought.

Sanchez didn't turn out too bad for us.

I suppose Sanchez too, he was 32 million.

He scored 1 in 2 games and we had his best years. Aside from those 3 players there’s not many you could suggest we’re an unquestionable hit

Understand the debate about head injuries but bloody hell that guy shouldn’t have been allowed back on the pitch. He looked like he’d been hit by a train.

Gross incompetence by spurs you wouldn’t have caught Gary Lewin doing that.

Yeah - Sanchez was a match winner and at his peak form with us would have walked in to whoever won the title in those seasons. His value at his peak and with years left on his contract was definitely £80m+, madness that we turned down £60m from City when he only had 12 months left.

If the new regime is serious about making decisions, new contract/sell, on players when they reach their last 2 years we are going to have a few interesting decisions coming up. Mustafi for example has 2 years left on his deal, what if no-one wants to buy him, do you offer him a new deal to avoid losing him for nothing!? This is what Man U have been doing with players clearly not good enough such as Young and Phil Jones

Liverpool's rebuild has been massively helped by some hugely over inflated sales which has been basically like handing free money to Klopp. The squad above generated £208m in fees alone. Big Klopp sales are:
Coutinho £140m, Sakho £25m, Benteke £30m, Ibe £15m Joe Allen £13m and Ings and Solanke have gone for £19m a piece each. Danny Ward the gk sold for £12m. They even got £5m loan fee for sending Origi out on loan!
If we could sell 8-9 players we don't want for £200m we'd be laughing as well

How did they get such bloody huge fees ?

They sold well where we literally chucked millions down the drain selling players like Gnabry, chesney and Wilshere for absolute peanuts.

It's something that hopefully we would rectify post-Wenger, Dick Law and Gazidis... AOC for 35m was quite good.

If we had only just managed to get fees for Ramsey, Wilshere and Sanchez. Would have made such a massive difference. That would have given us 100 odd million and we could have had another 3 proven players in our side right now. I hope Gazidis chokes on his Gnocchi in Milan

It seems like gross financial negligence.

Wilshere? Ah c'mon lads. We had no chance of getting a big fee for him. He's been crocked for years.

The Coutinho fee was a monster one for Liverpool. They have spent an awful lot though. Allison, Fabinho, Keita and VVD. Worth mentioning too that Klopp hadn't much interest in Salah at all. He didn't particularly rate him. He got very lucky there.

That was shameful. The Tottenham medics should be questioned about that. Looks like medical negligence. Football really needs to grow up when it comes to concussion.

If my memory is correct, Klopp did make his mark on Liverpool playing style pretty much immediately. Can we say the same about Emery?

I'm all for giving him the benefit of the doubt for another season or two. But I think the comparison with Klopp is a bit wishful.

You could have got a fee of 5 to 10 million for him, point wasn’t about him specifically but the host of players walking out the door with no fees

Don’t you remember his first 2 seasons? He finished 8th in his first season

Their defence was all over the place like we are and they were doing the whole “outscoring thing” with their opponents as we do.

It took them a couple of years to get back on track

That isn't the point.

I read somewhere that, statistically, Emery and Sari are right near the top in terms of first seasons in the prem (certainly better than the likes of Ferguson and Klopp, and similar to Maurinho and Pep). However, the point is that with Klopp and Fergusson there was a real buzz about their appointments.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news ... ol-manager

Not sure that was the original point but yes I mean he’s a far better media character and story than Emery.

Speaks great English, is quite funny, his touchline antics are entertaining. He’s a far easier character to get behind. I think Liverpool fans bought into his project because of his character and the way he communicated.

I’m not sure that is the case with Emery who unfortunately isnt fluent in the lingo but critically can’t impart what his objectives are on the fans. A harder character to get behind undoubtably

Barca 1-0 Liverpool. Great goal from Suarez.
And so called world best CB Van Dijk could see suarez’s run right in front of him and didn’t follow him and allowed him the shot at goal.

Obviously VvD is a fantastic defender but if that is mustafi all you would hear is how mustafi has not tracked his runner again. I suppose when you’ve put enough good stuff in the bank you don’t get criticised for those mistakes

Messi's looking electric tonight.

Liverpool look like they carry a threat too good chance missed by Mane. You'd think they need an away goal tonight.

I dunno you just look at the pass from alba. Superb.

One of those inviting passes ahead of the player begging to be smashed in.

It’s not quite the same as Mustafi walking on the pitch with his flies undone from the start then getting his a****** podgered by Zaha with no lube

Barcelona looking more interested in keeping a clean sheet than pressing for the second, Liverpool pressing hard but without troubling Ter Stegen too much, so far at least. Huge last 20 minutes coming up which could determine the outcome of the tie.

And there's the second, Liverpool hit with the sucker punch.

Messi, bloody hell. Absolute peach.

Liverpool picked off 3-0. Given a lesson by Barca. Barca should have put the tie to bed they had 2 3v1’s in added time and couldn’t score the 4th.
Can’t see anyone but Barca winning the champions league this season and for that I am very very glad

This one is done and dusted. No matter what miracles Tottenham perform in the 2nd leg, I can be fairly confident they won't win the ECL.

In a one-off game, as the final will be, anything can happen. Anyway, he hopefully won't if Tottenham do get through but who's to say Messi won't pull his hamstring and miss it? It may be unlikely, but it's certainly not impossible.

Apparently Wenger criticised Van Dyke on TV for the way he lost his man. The person who presided over assembling the worst Arsenal defence that I have ever seen has pure hide to even mention defence critically.

I don't think either of the CL semi's is done and dusted yet. Barca are not always that good away from home as PSG once proved. And Ajax have often played better away in the big CL games. Would be very happy with a Barca Ajax final.

Unlike Bernard I do like Messi and this year some of his goals are just amazing. It is a pleasure to watch him in action. Loved the free kick.

What Wenger said abt VVD's positioning and non-reaction was really mild... he even credited the ball played in as difficult to defend against.

I assume that there was a national w@nkfest as you all say, when Man Utd won the title in '92 after many years ('67 was it?, too bothered to look it up). I assume obviously because I wasn't into football at the time and being the biggest club in the country, I assume as much.

That said, I assume there will be a vomit inducing celebration going on if Liverpool wins it for the first time since '90 (that info I knew already ). Its going to be nauseating.

So, i'm at a quandary. I hate seeing Man City winning again because of their money but Liverpool winning it will be tough to take as well.

If City wins it and they win it over the next season or two, something I feared may happen and that is that the league may look like the SPL to some extent. If that happens and they win 3 or 4 of the trot, lose one then another few years winning it again, it will be one of the worst things for the league. Viewership might drop off somewhat. It might not, but a case can be made that it could hurt the league. If that happens, then its at that time I can see the governing body(bodies) take action limiting the impact of financial doping of clubs.

City simply have the money to last the marathon that a season is. Liverpool has been fortunate with injuries and that is one of the primary reasons they are still in it. City's bench could start for almost any side.

If City dominates the league, I would guess that the league cup will take on bigger importance. I contend that it does already when compared how seriously it was taken when I became a fan.

I’m not sure how anyone can see Messi other than the greatest player of all time.