Comments on: The worst stadium in Europe

By: anup

anup — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:28:04 +0000

i think,,,not by construction or beauty(and placement and crowd and supporters,arrangements)….but purely bcoz of how unlucky it is for its team……its emirates!!!!!!!! since we moved from highbury we haven’t won trophies + we always have half our team injured…that too at the same time…..ridiculous….just ridiculous..its the most unlucky stadium i suppose in europe…sorry gooners…. i can’t think of any other reason why we dropped title previous to previous season…dropped defenders in last season that too at the crucial point of time….i can’t we are just plain unlucky…

By: Tony Attwood

Tony Attwood — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:11:30 +0000

Story about Robin continues in new post on Sunday 15th…

By: walter

walter — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:10:54 +0000

Just coming home from a nice gig and heard the news from my son.
And yes, the news is that he has torn the ligaments of his ankle.
If I had to use the words that go trough my head I could be banned for live.
He would be out for 2 or 3 months. So disgusted….

By: Waleed

Waleed — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:37:24 +0000

From the BBC:

2212: Now then, I cannot confirm this, repeat, cannot confirm this but according to MFBorman on Twitter, Dutch TV are reporting that Robin van Persie will be out for two to three months with torn ankle ligaments.

Looks like he’ll be out for a while. I can’t put into words how disappointing this is.

By: t00farg0ne

t00farg0ne — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:20:31 +0000

Update on Tony’s comment, RvP was stretchered off and flown to hospital in Holland for scans. Not looking good. Might have to rely a lot on Eduardo with Bendtner out.

By: walter

walter — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:35:39 +0000

Well Pete I’ve changed my moustache a few years ago but as my wife didn’t like my face so naked (am I that ugly ?? ) a grew a little beard round my mouth.
As a saying is over here: “a kiss without a beard is like potatoes without salt”.
But yes now I think of it, a lot of men have moustaches over here.. but not as many as a few years back.

By: Tony Attwood

Tony Attwood — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:07:49 +0000

Latest news this saturday evening before I venture out to hear/see/witness an evening celebrating Syd Barrett (yes I don’t know what it is going to be like, but one can but venture out).

Anyway, no reports of the inevitable crippling of our players as yet. But a really brillo performance by Ramsey who singlehandedly beat Scotland, N Ireland, England, Ireland, Luxembourg, Holland, and the Customs and Excise Reserve XI. (That makes no sense, but he was great). No wonder the Lord Wenger keeps playing him. He will do anything to make his stay.

So imagine we had all fit all at one time…

Denilson, Song, Diaby, Cesc, Ramsey, Nasri, Rosicky.

who do you play in the middle 3. We started with Denilson, Song, Cesc, before Denilson got his injury.

Meanwhile Russia won and I heard Arshavin got his name taken. Ireland play sometime around now I think.

Oh and I wonder how much England bribed the ref in that game against Brazil? The England keeper shouldn’t just have been sent off, he should have been put in a time machine and sent back to the 8th century.

Well, maybe that’s harsh. 12th century?

Have a good saturday night.

By: Pete the First

Pete the First — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:06:43 +0000

Good shout Walter. Glad to hear the shared experience of the football fan.

A question: Is the moustache still a fixture of Belgian life?

PS: Agree with Tony. The Grove (ahem) is a great stadium!

By: walter

walter — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:17:18 +0000

I remember a game long ago, in the rain, on that stand with the little roof and the fans started singing on the old ’singing in the rain-tune” : We’re sitting in the rain, we’er sitting in the rain, we’re singing and sitting in the rain ….’

By: walter

walter — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:13:06 +0000

Before I get surrounded by grimm looking Antwerp fans, in fact I know one who is also an Arsenal fan and who moved a few years ago to London just to be closer to the Arsenal (that is what one could call a real fan), just these few facts to give them some credit as well.
Antwerp is the last team from Belgium to have played an european cup final and it was played at the old Wembley and they lost 1-3 to Parma. How rotten they can behave in our country, the behaved like the best fans in the world on that day. They sang for 90 minutes altough they didn’t have a chance to win during the game but kept on supporting their players and team and did them proud.
When my local team went bust and the players didn’t get payed for some half season but still kept on playing and even became champions they played a friendly in the Bosuil at the end of that season and we won 1-5. The home fans after game first booed their players in and then turned to our players who where enjoying this win for their own fans and then had to go to the dressing room and pass the the Antwerp fans who gave a standing ovation to my local team that played 2 divisions lower at that time.
So credit to the real fans of Antwerp but you still have the ugliest stadium in the Benelux.

By: Tony Attwood

Tony Attwood — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:32:12 +0000

This story reminds me of my first visit to Crystal Palace – it was when I was a teenager and I think they were playing Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic.

I lived in Poole as a teenager, having moved out of London, and my local league team was “Boscombe” as they were then known (they are now AFC Bournemouth, top of the 4th division and about to go bust).

In those days we had “football specials” – trains that just took the supporters from their home town to the match – and sometimes I went on one of those. So this might have been about 1962 – and the Crystal Palace ground had mud and grass slopes at the four corners of the ground. No concrete, no terracing, just a slope. For fun the kids used to run to the top and slide down again. No health and safety in those days.

Incidentally, in our last discussion one writer wrote in and said the Ems was the worst ground that Arsenal had played in! I really disagree – I sit in the upper tier to the right of the goal and the noise is good, the banter is funny, and about four rows in front of us is a man who brings a football rattle of the old type to the game and uses it when we score – it is all good fun.

To our right is the disabled area – and I have to say the facilities are excellent. A few weeks ago a friend took his young son to a game, and his son got a little distressed at the noise after one of the goals. Immediately a steward came along, offered assistance, and took father and son to a space in the disabled area where they could sit with more room, and ease of exit, as the young lad calmed down.

Now that is what I call a stadium.