It was as if Stoke City had studied the disgraceful tactics of Birmingham City and seen them as a blueprint rather than a dire warning.
And in one way they were right. After all, if you can cut out a player totally for a year or maybe more, and just risk a 3 match ban – well, why not? It is a simple tactic. Share it around between the other disgraceful anti-football clubs and they can all help each other. Take out the footballing club, return football to the thugs.
Diaby, Eduardo, Ramsey… how much longer do we have to take this?
The answer is, as long as the EPL and UEFA rule the way football is run in Europe. No matter how evil the attack on a talented player the worst you get is three games out.
All we have to do is look at what Birmingham did. They took the three games out for their player, refused even a simpering apology, and then brought him back into football continuing their evil approach.
What made it so much worse was the referee. It wasn’t that he was the only bent ref we have seen, but that he was so naff at being bent, just shrugging off blatant penalties and fouls throughout the game.
Sky were part of it too. Expressing surprise when the evil maniac who carried out the attack was sent off. “And its a red…” they screeched as if it could have been something else. They might have said, “And all he will get is three matches out, while Arsenal once again lose a player for a season.”
Stoke should be removed from football – as should Birmingham have been. The owners and players who have conspired to act in this way should be removed from football.
Football should be a game in which players with skill can celebrate their skill and revel in their ability. We should appreciate that skill no matter what.
What Stoke do, what Birmingham did, is not football, any more than the hopeless rotational fouling of so many lower clubs is not football.
But meanwhile all the EPL do is remove corrupt Portsmouth from the EPL while leaving the courts to work out what to do with the Redknapp and his ex-pals.
Football could be great again, but not with the owners, players and supporters of Stoke around who cheered and cheered while Ramsey was taken away.
Stoke City FC, its players and supporters are an utter disgrace.
(c) Tony Attwood 2010.
I am so frustrated…. Tony can we protest to the FA? How about Stoke?
I actually dont know on what channel I was watching game as I was changing it often as commentators were annoying me, but before Aron injury on which ever channel I was, they were “prizing” strength of Stoke and teams who learn to outmuscule Arsenal showing them what real man are look alike.
What to hell we are watching last years on TV, or (if you are born under lucky star) on stadium, gladiators whose only idea is to stop player, what ever way is possible. And pundits have only words of prize for that. Since when being Bully is something what is appreciated and being wise silent kid is something what is bad and worthless.
I see nothing than gladiators on the pitch playing against us, but arent gladiators part of ancient Rome and did human kind made any further step from enjoying in watching people slaughtering eachother.
But tonight we showed we have balls, you can beat Arsenal, but you cant win.
PROUD TO BE GOONER
It is a f$cking disgrace. They are f$cking heathens. I feel like throwing up.
F$ck you, Stoke. F$ck you, FA. F$ck you, you biased and racist English media.
A team filled with thugs like Stoke City shouldn’t be allowed to play in Premier League.
In fact, they shouldn’t be allowed to play any football at all.
If you wish to voice a complaint here is that club’s info.
Media & Communications
Telephone: (01782) 592123
E-mail: media@stokecityfc.com
Tony and everyone who has contacts even the D&Grs need to mass e-mail this irrational behavior!
Does anyone have FA contact info?
I am e-mailing Stoke now!
PS we need a calm collective voice of dis-content! No vulgarity!
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_4454712,00.html
Shawcross and Stoke have previous. And we PREVIOUSLY complained. Enough.
So Shawcross is now in the England squad now?
I think that says it all. English football is beyond repair.
Goodnight gentlemen.
To Whom it May Concern,
I would like to voice my discontent about Mr. Shawcross’ blatant tackle on young Aaron Ramsay. This type of tackle no matter if pre-meditated or not does not belong in Football. I also wish to voice discontent of documented pre-meditated physical play against Arsenal. It is apparent that your Manager teaches and accepts cheating via illegal tackles and rough play when competing against Arsenal. As a result Arsenal are without Aaron Ramsay indefinately and so are the Wales national team. For that I expect a full apology to me as a Fan and Arsenal as a club by Stoke City FC, Mr. Shawcross, and your Manager. Anything less in my eyes would be unforgivable.
Respectfully,
Chris Geczy
Gentlemen,
We can’t blame Stoke or Shawcross for this type of play. I blame the FA. This type of tackle is now so common in English football and it has become a norm. I don’t think Shawcross meant to hurt Ramsey because this is what he is instructed to do. Yes the Tackle was bad but this is what English football have become. All brawn and no substance. Well Arsenal loses another player for a year and hopefully our Lads can stay strong and follow through with the title.
From Cesc remarks I think he will leave English very soon because of the physical style of play. It’s not that he does not love Arsenal, but why stay and endure this kind of rough play?
Im deeply upset for our Aaron but i also feel very sorry for young ryan shawcross you CANNOT say he went out to ruin Aarons season or maybe career its not fair the poor boy was clearly upset Aaron was traveling at pace ant Ryan went for the ball just a horrible accident but i do Agree with that genius we have called fabregas we just aint protected enough at all the fa and eufa need to sit down and address this. Im as angry as any other Arsenal fan but dont be to quick to judge ryan i really do feel for the lad!
OK Otariq you complain I will voice my concern!
Once again, Mr. Shawcross, the thug emerges. Whilst not the most endearing of players, it was Adebayor that he injured by slamming into him and injuring him , putting him out of the game in 2008, and at the time the ball, and Adebayor, were out of play, over the touch line. Was that the act of someone so distraught that he was tearful as he left the pitch, or the sudden realisation that he is not going to go to the World cup, will be out of the next three games ?
Perhaps he should be banned for as long as Ramsey is out of the game, and if that should be the end of Ramseys career, then so it should be Shawcross’s
If he Shawcross thinks he is such a hardman, hero and not a coward, join up and go to Afghanistan, your type are what drags the standard of football down.
You just wait until the same thing happens to Wayne Rooney or another high profile English International and you will see a completely different reaction. there wont be any of this he’s an honest player and a nice guy bullchit eh.
Wayne Rooney with a shattered leg in a world cup year and SKY would be leading the cavalry charge for massive ban and sanctions against the club.
Makes me sick. The commentary on RTE in Ireland already stated that it wasn’t a red card and the ref got it wrong. Sound familiar anyone? No doubt the same crap will be echoed on the BBC.
What the situation requires is a multimillion pound civil action that costa the offending club ereal money and makes them think twice about using the same tactics in the future.
I despair of the the treatment we get sometimes.
I also don’t think that Shawcrofts intension was to injure Ramsey.
However, while managers of less tallented teams prime & encourage their players to play this way…
…while the ‘physical’ aspect of the game is applauded by pundits who themselves last kicked a ball when every kind of challenge known to man was deemed acceptable…
…& while the FA do FA to bring it under control by reviewing the ridiculous 3 match ban ruling…it’s going to continue.
My wife had a novel solution…ie that the player who committed the
tackle be banned from playing for as long as it took the injured player to return to fitness!!!!!
Great article Tony. I agree with you and have written my own version and some more on the ref and the rest of the lot that all stand on the sideline and applaud when the Arsenal players are kicked.
DISGUSTING!!!!
Itwas a bad tackle I agree,I don’t think Shawcross should be vilified .This kind of thing happens 1 in every 1000 tackles perhaps more it seems to happen to our players more(joy of being a gooner).
Oh for god’s sake, stop embarrassing yourselves. I’m an Arsenal fan, but I don’t believe for one minute that Shawcross deliberately set out to hurt Ramsey. Yes it’s absolutely sickening to see another one of our hugely promising players injured in this way, but let’s not get carried away by saying absolutely ridiculously juvenile things such as ‘Stoke City FC, its players and supporters are an utter disgrace.’
I would bet all I had that Stoke’s supporters were as sickened by the injury as any Arsenal fan was, and the applause for Ramsey from all sections of the ground as he was stretchered off would appear to confirm this.
Come back soon Aaron.
The useless ref also missed a blatant pen for Ramsey.
Poor kid,i’m so angry.
Michael Bollocks should also be banned for the season with his coward tackle on Tevez.
Get well soon Ramsey!
I hear all the outrage, anger, sadness, sorrow and disgust at what happened this day. Football is a less innocent pastime from what we saw today. Spoken by someone who saw a stadium ripped to pieces as a 10 year old…..and didn’t attend another game for 20 years as a result……
All I say to you all is this: make your protests, complaints, expressions of concern, when you make them, from a place of icy calm, not from rage and hatred.
And I also say this to you all: take many, many deep breaths, take long walks, go running, hit a boxing ball, do anything in the next 36 hours to take your minds off this in the way which works best for you.
And when Monday comes, think about what you wish to do. It will not be less cogent, less potent or less meaningful as a result. It can still come from the heart and the soul.
Feelings. Wishes. Firm requests. Sanctions for lack of response.
But don’t descend into hatred.
Blatent bullshit.I have not commented on this website for a while but today i have too. As much as shawcross is a prick the referee was blatentlty setting that game up. Watch the second half and you will see there was a point where almunia was trying to throw the ball out to sagna and i think it was sidibe who held almunia back. The referee was watching and he didnt blow his whistle and didnt even say f all then tried to pretend that he was waving play on but almunia was thrown to the ground and the play was slowed down. I always said that Arsenal are up against it. They must destroy the PREMIERLEAGUES idealism wih all guns blazing and win this league. No more feeling sorry for our selves time to carry on destroying this league and us as fans need to use this fustrating energy and REAPPLY IT POSITIVELY AND THEN send it to aaron ramsey and the team with love and support because i know this team can do it. From a Mancheter gunner TO ALL GUNNERS ITS WAR. PUT ON YOR FAN WAR BOOTS.WE NEED TO STOP ALL THIS SEGREGATION BULLSHITT AND SUPPORT THE TEAM
Good idea frm your wife Wilsheres dad,stoke are average without the time wasting Delap throws.
The concept of football skill & technic in this country of mine makes me ashamed to be British (in footballing terms) at the moment. I say, let’s redeem ourselves by sacking all the bent Refs, the mediocre managers, the thugish footballers, the dullard iZombies (pundits et al) and the clueless Football authorities.
tony tony , stoke fans did not cheer, but gave a standing ovation to ramsey, i think i respect them for that. but the referee was UTTER SHITE.
I have only been following your site for a short time but thanks to this article I shall not be returning. I’m a huge Arsenal fan. I love Rambo to bits. But to accuse Shawcross and Stoke of conspiring to injure one of our players for a year is absolutely ridiculous. Ramsey put himself in danger by the way he went for the ball. Yes Shawcross went in too hard on him but no player would ever try to do that to a fellow professional (apart from maybe a certain Mr Keane). Shawcross’s reaction when walking off was just further evidence as to whether he meant it or not. I hope you regret writing this article after the emotion of tonight has calmed down. Thanks, LenH.
Stoke fans also sang “he’s only got one leg” to Ramsey as he was carried off.
C*nts.
Can I point out the fact that Eduardo came on the field after that. Credit for him to even dare to step on the field.
Well Stoke fans can sing what they want, but there is a danger they will reap what they sow.
Sadly, this kind of challenge could completely end Ramsey’s career.
There is a sense of deep outrage, but it cuts much deeper than football. Our whole society is apathetic and corrupt to the core.
The same forces that run football run everything.
Anyhow I don’t want to get too political, but its all corrupt folks. Terribly corrupt.
There are lots of victims in this stinking rotten society and Aaron Ramsey is just another one.
The positives –
1. This incident will bring the team together, unlike the Birmingham one which broke everything up.
2. Cesc would have to stay a little longer now cos Ramsey was supposed to be his successor.
I wish Ramsey a full and speady recovery.
The way the match played out was predicted by stonecoldarsenal blog in his match preview today.
I was so disgusted by the tackle and the injury to Ramsey and I wondered how much longer the EPL will allow this to go on! In the last 3 years, Diaby, Eduardo, and now Ramsey. And the British press keep taking about “physical football”, yet wonder why England has not sniffed the world cup since 1966.
I refuse to accept that Shawcross had no evil intent when he came in for the tackle-that is the result you get 9 of 10 times with that lunge! This is sad and ridiculous.
P.S-Otariq- I dont know how you can read Fabregas leaving The Arsenal soon from his statement.
Meditation, It indeed is a war and we are on course to win it.. Lets get behind the team..
Walter, I feel Wenger wanted to prove something and so sent Eduardo on to the field. He is mentally strong and this helped the team up their performance in the final few minutes and score 2 goals. He gave the team belief that its not over yet and the switch to 4-4-2 worked brilliantly at the end.. They are no longer boys but men with steel balls..
Mark, agree with you, and if you sow Chel$ea game today, you could see fans cheering Terry and what he done to Bridge. I mean, on what values we rising our kids and whole society.
And than you see tonight game and see what happens to Aaron…
What are messages?
“We could see the team was shocked but this team is very strong mentally and we will do it for Ramsey as well because he deserves it”. This quote from Wenger was exactly what I was expecting.
Arsene Wenger: “Spare me the articles about how nice Shawcross is, please.”
Well, all the guys talking about “it was not his intention”, dont be so naive– its a fucking 50-50 ball and he comes in thundering fully knowing what might happen if he didnt get the ball, every sliding challenge at this level has malice.. am not saying that players should leave the 50-50 balls alone but there is a way to tackle.. and he goes crying, and the commentators sympathizing with him, what the fuck? nobody gives a rat’s ass if that son of a fucking thug regrets what he did! its a 19 year old kid who could lose his career just because this midtable mediocre filthy bastard will do anything to win a tackle… @ Otariq: What do you mean they are “instructed to do so”? There is something called being rational, ofcourse that cunt of a pulis tells you “be at his feet” do you mean to say that Shawcross is fucking so retarded as to take it literally? Even if your manager DID tell you to kick the players and the players do it, then they are not human beings and hence lose the right to play .. And I have seen games the Refs have been pretty biased against us but never like this mudblood Walton! Booking Song for muscling out the pea-brain GORY DELAP? Even the unimaginably biased commentators were surprised at that… If the English FA cant protect technically gifted players then it’ll be the end of EPL, fuck I might as well watch bull fighting just dunno the channel its telecast on!
Calibre,
They are instructed to get stuck in and let the Arsenal players know they are there. This is how Arsenal is played each and every week. Blame the FA, for if they would have taken action years ago when this happen to Eduardo we will be pass this. Why did this not happen to Wayne Rooney or Frank Lampard? I bet the FA would change how games are called.
It’s the FA fault.
Screw reviews of the match. Neither the match nor the win matters anymore. Even if we go on to win the premier league and dedicate it to ramsey’s injury, what the hell does it matter? The poor chap’s leg is gone. Its a career threatening injury. It wasnt malice on shawcross’ part but what the hell? WHY US? GODDAMNIT WHY US EVERYTIME? Arsene’s damn right this time. I no longer believe in so many coincidences. Everybody wants to screw our quick witty players. This injury is as worse as the eduardo one. At final score, they said FOX sports refused to air replays of the tackle because it was so sickening. Players nearby were either mad with fury or reduced to tears. Shawcross knows he might have destroyed the career of one of the best young talents across the globe. I saw the team-huddle cesc summoned after the match. I am sure they want to deliver the good news to his bedside that they have won the match but it ****** DOESNT MATTER. Is there anything left at all? What’s next? Next week, it will be the same scenario all over again. Some other thug from another thuggish team might as well try shooting us with a shotgun and piss on the dead body. People have been trying such stupid tackles on fabregas all the year round as well. WHAT if CESC went for the ball and this INJURY happened to him? I DONT WANT TO SEE ARSENAL WINNING SILVERWARE. All I want to see is their art form and magical passing on the field without coming across lame crunching tackles. NO, I f***** DONT want Arsenal to play PHYSICAL and show their mettle. Bloody cunts who designed the laws of this game.
I don’t normally write into these but i am sooo annoyed, digusted and upset by this ….. i also won’t put into words what i was saying at the time …..Three very bad injuries in four to five years from absolutely horrendous over the top tackles committed on the same team ARSENAL ….. as an Arsenal fan and football fan this has got to stop. All we keep hearing is get stuck into Arsenal and they will struggle with the physical side, is everyone (media/pundits/opponents) happy now that a great 19 year old talent has suffered a broken leg ….. i agree Arsene this is totally unacceptable and something must be done …..three game ban for this is ridiculous !!!!
What i want to know is why Shawcross committed the tackle…the ball was clearly gone…..there was no danger…..so why did he go in like that? Same for Taylor on Eduardo and Smith on Diaby !!
Was it to rough up Arsenal and get stuck in?
I don’t think Shawcross meant to break his leg but unfortunately he HAS even Pulis said it was a poor challenge
I feel absolutely gutted for Aaron Ramsey, get well soon Aaron you’ll be back very very soon in the red and white and i really do hope the Arsenal boys win the premiership for you !!
Come on Arsenal !!
Basically all teams have concluded that the way to beat arsenal is to be extra hard with them on the tackle. Our players are not very big, except for Bendtner and some of our defenders, so blunt force on them is the best aproach. The opposing manager might not say: go out and hurt them, but they stress hard tackling is a must to disrupt there game flow. And unfortunally when you miss the ball you are going to crush someones bone. I believe if the EPL and the Referees are going to allow this tactics, then they should allow every team to have enforcers like in Hockey. Arsene please get 4 thugs next year, include one in the bench each game, sub him in last 5 minutes to f**k up one of the opposing players. A three match ban for each will assure you will have one available at all times. screw fair play, most clubs in the EPL don’t give a damn about it anyway.
Even if Shawcross didn’t directly think I’ll break his leg with this tackle it was done with an air of wreckless abandon because of the culture set by Pulis and his ilk, endorsed by corrupt referees and excused by a bigotted media.
I’m sure he is sorry for what he’s done and probably does feel terrible about it but it is too easy to be wise or contrite after the event.
Tony, I am beyond furious. Here I am, hours after the game, and I’m still madder than hell. And all the articles about what a nice lad Shawcross is are only stoking my rage.
This is our 3rd player in 5 years to get his leg broken on the field of play for the unforgivable crime of being a better footballer than his opponent. Yet again, the culture of allowing opposition teams kick the skin off our players because we “don’t like it when we get kicked” has paid full dividends. When was the last time a Chelsea, Man Utd, or Liverpool player got his leg broken?
The refs allow opponents kick our players repeatedly, and then produce cards for our first offences. Today, Song got booked when Delap had been pulling him! It is beyond ridiculous, and I have had enough of this fucking bullshit.
i don’t ask for extra protection. i just ask for the referees and the FA to do their jobs, to do what is right, what is fair.
is that so difficult?
Just got back from the game today and I have just seen TV replays of the so called tackle that broke rambo`s leg. It pretty much sums up what I thought at the time, it was a tackle of pure frustration. Frustration because they couldn`t bully us and frustration because it was actually us who were bullying them, they knew they were never going to outplay us and today they knew they were never going to outbattle us. You could could count on the fingers of one hand how many 50/50s we lost today and as a Gooner it`s the proudest I`ve felt walking out a ground for a good few years. The way the team reacted to the Eduardo injury cost us the title a couple of years ago, but the way the boys responded today might just win us it this season. The whole team were fantastic today but I`ve got too give special praise to Eboue and Gael who I thought had his best game in an Arsenal shirt for a good 18 months. Only 3 points off the top now, come on you Gunners.
My e-mail to them:
‘Dear’ Stoke City Football Club,
I have yet to watch yesterday’s match between your ‘good’ selves and Arsenal, so I have not seen the latest destruction of one of our players.
If your team think it is ‘big’, ‘manly’, or whatever to break the legs of other players – possibly destroying their careers in the doing – then you really should reconsider your place in this sport. Yes, sport not battle.
How about your team, or the individual involved, being forced to pay the player’s wages and cost of treatment and rehabilitation as some sort of compensation for what happened?
I doubt there will even be an apology. There was none from Birmingham last time.
Please consider yourself relegated to the SCUM of the EPL. I hope you fester and die there.
Gunners for life.
Peter.
Ive watched that tackle ten times now and all i see that was wrong with it was that shawcross was stupidly slow in trying to kick the ball, rambo got in there incredibly quick and got badly injured for his troubles. It was a nasty accident, i dont blame shawcross.
I still blame Taylor.
Ramsey should be banned for 3 matches for the psychological trauma inflicted upon Shawcross.
Although Ramsey is ‘not that sort of player’ it cannot be a coincidence that this is the third time in 5 years an arsenal player has inflicted emotional distress upon an unsuspecting opponent.
Here is the link to the FA; http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/WhoWeAre/ContactUs.aspx
Also; I know Arsenal will have a way for all of us (fans) to wish Aaron Ramsay well but I sent along my best wishes on the Arsenal.com website I also copied my e-mail I sent to Stoke City website.
Guys,
I have read 8 arsenal blogs today and have 100s of comments. However all this venting serves no purpose unless we can turn it into action.
What can we do …? Lets bombard the FA/UEFA/EPL with emails. Lets get the picture of the tackle publicity. As scary as that picture is … I think its important that people see it to realize what effect this kind of RECKLESS/Persistent Fouling has.
RAMBO .. Here’s wishing you a quick recovery.
oh FCK Shawcross FCK STOKE FCK PULIS .
Thanks for the Stoke link, here’s my email-
To whom it may concern.
I think your Manager is a disgrace, he has the temerity to actively promote anti-football but then, on the other hand, honestly believes he has the high morale ground to insult Arsene Wenger.
Before Saturdays game Fuller is quoted as saying “we will get stuck into them” so what’s all this rubbish about Shawcross “not being that kind of player”? He’s obviously been encouraged to be that kind of player by Pulis.
It sickens me that Football has stooped so low, that young talented mens careers are sacrificed for your clubs ideals.
I hope you get relegated.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Pulis says at half time ‘Break ‘is legs’ and then……….
Pub Football team Stoke ………..Bolllox!!!!!!!!!