RSSThe tackle Lawrenson called “clumsy” and Setanta’s fella branded “unfortunate”
Birmingham 2 Arsenal 2
LET’S look at the facts:
1) Eduardo is out for a very long time.
2) The pictures to the right.
3) Taylor’s own manager admits it was a sending-off.
Can we now have an immediate end to the absurd suggestion that this was some kind of terrible accident?
It was the product of it’s era. An era that has completely overindulged David as he sets about Goliath.
It is an era that failed to heed it’s warning 18 months ago when Stephen Hunt flew in on Petr Cech.
It is an era that tutted, furrowed it’s brow and poured scorn on the Frenchman as he bemoaned the attack dog Lancastrians.
It is an era that went apoplectic when Arjen Robben fell over too easily but all but ignored Michael Ball jumping on Cristiano Ronaldo’s chest.
But most of all it is an era that hides itself behind the crude and utterly irrelevant “that sort of player” judgment. It is a cloak, a shroud, a distraction from the real underlying issue.
Forget Martin Taylor. He probably isn’t that “sort of player”. I don’t doubt he’s a decent fella who is probably genuinely gob-smacked by the damage he has done. The era allowed that kind of tackle. Taylor is it’s fall guy.
But not only is this an era that in the first place created fertile ground for an incident like yesterday’s, it is an era that has done nothing to introduce a worthwhile deterrent.
How often is a player banned for more than three games? What on earth is going on when an atrocious tackle elicits the same punishment as Jeremie Aliadiere’s retaliatory flick of the fingers yesterday?
And how did the aforementioned Ball escape not only with that universal three game ban but with acceptance that some kind of justice had been done?
So in among this lunacy, forgive us fans if we emulate our manager and speak in haste or in exaggerated tones, because hell, there is sod all danger of anyone else doing it.
I’m not going to stand here and say our players are saints. They are not. But just as I’m not going for the jugular with Taylor, this is far more about the climate that has been allowed to develop than any individuals. On which note, before anyone harks on about all our red cards, ask yourself on how many the realistic prospect of injury existed.
But back to the original point and just as the arsonist who kills is punished more harshly than the one who merely burns down a building, Taylor simply must get an increased ban.
Arsene’s lifetime ban call has sadly allowed people to ignore some other very valid points he made:
“It goes with the idea that to stop Arsenal you have to kick Arsenal and that kind of thing was waiting to happen.
“Many people have got away with too many bad tackles. We’ve escaped a few times but it’s just not acceptable. If that is football it’s better to stop it.
“The worst thing you hear after is that ‘he’s not the kind of guy who usually does that’, but you need to only kill one person one time - it’s enough.”
The comments shot towards the Match of the Day studio like a cruise missile. Their silence was deafening.
At least the BBC replayed the incident. SKY refusing to was frankly absurd, even if it’s not all part of an anti-Arsenal conspiracy.
Yes, it was horrible to look at. But in another sense fairly essential viewing too.
A few words on Eduardo, the real victim of this.
Nice player. A scavenger who gave it his all and had enjoyed a very promising first season. A fair few goals - even if they did come in patches - and recently looking far more attuned to the Premiership.
These injuries can, of course, end careers. But even if you do recover, there can be another cruel trick in the tail.
I enjoy laughing at Newcastle’s Alan Smith as much as the next man. And I’ll admit that watching him labour against us last month was fairly funny.
I’d forgotten, though, about his injury and it seems true - he has come back, can still play in the Premiership and yet at just 27, his best days already look behind him.
Let us hope Eduardo gets better luck.
I’m not going to analyse the minutiae of the performances because, frankly, the players can be excused an off day after the shocking early events.
Yes, they are paid enough that we expect them to be made of stern stuff. But I think Cesc can be forgiven if he saw that injury and then saw his entire football life flash before him.
All that money must suddenly seem a little irrelevant.
So yes, Almunia was slow for the free-kick. Yes, our finishing was wayward. Yes, Hleb refused to shoot. And yes, Clichy had a shocker at the end. But on reflection, all of that can be forgiven.
It didn’t help that we were on the end of some pretty shocking decisions. To be honest, the free-kick for the opener could have gone either way.
But late on, Adebayor was blocked for what should have been a penalty, before the guy blatantly pulled his shirt. Two fouls, no penalty.
Then a minute later, Clichy makes a bad mistake and won the ball. Penalty.
A word on Gallas before we finish. His reaction to the penalty was certainly unconventional. And really, he should have stayed up our end.
But it can be summed up in one word: Gallic. These guys do things like kicking fans and passing penalties to each other and such like that we English don’t understand. It’s probably what makes them what they are.
And I imagine it works both ways.
We shudder occasionally at their behaviour and they probably fail to understand how we pick our national team captains from the ranks of jailed drink drivers and those who urinate on bar floors.
But the point is this: Gallas has been superb for us this season. He, quite clearly, takes no shit from his players and we are evidently the better for it. He has led the team and in their captain, the players have a role model who may be mad, but clearly gives a f**k.
Maybe the sight of Gallas crestfallen at the end will inspire United. Fine. But you can be sure that come Saturday and Villa at home, Gallas will be back and the team will be united in their determination to do well.
And in these moments of darkness, it’s a point worth remembering: we’ve had an unbelivable season and if we were to win the title, it would be a minor miracle.
24 February 2008 at 4:20 am
no word to express how disgusted i am on taylor the ‘killer’!
24 February 2008 at 4:35 am
Let us all get behind the team. A great team always triumph rise aove the ashes. The team has done many times better than anyone had xpected at the beginning of the season. They are young and were truly in shock yesterday. The referee did not help. Let us say a prayer for Eduardo and hope this bad day will unite the team further to triumph against the odds.
24 February 2008 at 4:37 am
Well said Goodplaya!
First Diaby. Now Dudu. There have been plenty of broken metatarsals in teh league, but can anyone name other teams who’ve had their players maimed as badly as these two?
and yet, I expect no help from referees, since that’s the English league, innit? gritty, innit?
Between that and dropping two stupid points, I can’t remember the last time I was this angry after watching a game. And not angry at teh team. just angry, in general. eduardo was still young and he didn’t deserve this.
I seriously hope we use this to go out and destroy some poor team, although probably not. Our team is dropping like flies at the moment, and I fear the title is more ManU’s than ours now.
Oh yeah, and fuck Taylor and that little smirk on his face after the tackle.
24 February 2008 at 4:43 am
Agreed on every single word you said Goodplaya. To witness all that on TV was bad enough. Can’t imagine what it’s like for the travelling fans. And the players. And the manager.
I personally put up a lot of sh!t on some sites with people (amazingly still) coming to abuse Arsenal fans saying very terrible things. The very reason why I couldn’t just leave it at that and ignore those idiots was precisely what you said. The very arguments I used to defend Arsene for ‘going overboard’ on his comments on Taylor (which I thought was well justified if it’s intentional, or at least very very understandable and forgiveable if it’s ‘just a terrible accident’) and Gallas for his behaviour at the end of the game.
Like you, I was gutted for the missed chances, Clichy’s defensive mistake, Ade’s failure to pass to Bendtner, etc etc. But none of those is important in view of Eduardo’s tragedy. We’re talking about a good, young, talented man’s health and career. You’d be surprised what some of those Chelsea/Spurs/ManU fans still said heartlessly. It’s not about hurting us. I’m not sad to hear their sh!t. I’m just sad for football and England as a place to be honest. Maybe I haven’t been around Arsenal/football/London long enough to understand this so-called ‘rivalry’ between clubs.
But I’m also glad that quite a few decent fans of other clubs have come to expressed their concern and given Eduardo their best wishes.
You guys please do write a line or two on those online boards e.g. Vital Arsenal, and they’ll send our regards to the club. Thanks everyone.
Let’s really pray for Eduardo. This guy’s made of strong stuff - went from Brazil to Croatia alone at 15, made his name there and came to grace our club. I’m sure with the help of the medical people and our support he’ll recover soon. Keep our faith, we’ll see him put on the red and white shirt again.
24 February 2008 at 4:55 am
Like you, I’m angry and hope that Eduardo will still have a career once his leg is mended. Having said that, though, whilst it was an appalling “tackle”, does it belong in the same grade as the two footed “assault” that broke Diaby’s leg two years back? Or, come to that, Roy Keane’s on Haarland several years back?
How many over the top one-footed tackles that do NOT cause injury are forgotten the following day?
I’m not trying to decry the incident but suspect that we’re all upset and lashing out as a result.
To be quite honest, I think I’m more angry with AdeB, a long time favorite of mine. The Samson comparison, haircut and all, is too appropriate. Obviously the Phillistines blinded him to the fact that Bendtner would have had a tap in. 3-1 and all over so that Clichy’s abberation followed by a Dean abberation would not have mattered a jot.
24 February 2008 at 5:00 am
I sincerely hope Eduardo can recover and resume his career. As for the ref and Tayolor to hell with them I.ve a sneaking feeling the ref doesn’t want Arsenal to win the title.As for Birmingham rest assured they will be relegated and wipe the smile off the criminal’s face.
24 February 2008 at 5:06 am
And Goodplaya, thanks for writing this so late. Bet you, like me, couldn’t sleep too well. I’m still absolutely gutted.
Fellow Gooners warned us not to look at the pictures. I was so sad and angry that I felt compelled to find out for myself. I regretted a little bit seeing it as I felt literally sick and they were so horrible I couldn’t help but shed tears over them. When I read this blog of yours though, I still had to cover the last two photos to keep reading your text. Even looking at it disturbed us so badly, for God’s sake just imagine the pain the guy’s in! But now I don’t regret it a bit (even though I still can’t sleep in a terribly bad mood) - for the reason you pointed out: it’s a matter of justice.
On which, I demand an answer from at least three men:
- Martin Taylor, who reportedly said to his boss that he had ‘no malicious intent’ when making that tackle, to explain (a) How did he time it so badly that he caught Eduardo’s shin, just what were his studs doing high up there? (b) What was his facial expression about when he’s getting up after the tackle, seeing Eduardo in such agony?
- Alex McLeish, to apologise for saying something as irresponsible as “I’ve seen the challenge and, yes, the studs land on Eduardo’s ankle. In slow motion these tackles always look bad but he’s not a malicious player - Eduardo was just too quick for him”
- Steve Bruce, who didn’t even have to get involved but jumped right in to defend Taylor, to see those footage/photos available and also retract his saying of “some might not even think it’s a yellow card”
To be honest, I thought Arsene retracted his comments not to get into trouble, more than actually believing that what he sid was really ‘excessive.’ But he’s big enough to put that away, so not to distract the team any further. I admire him for doing so, but personally think that he might have been too hard on himself. I think if the tackle was intentional, which I suspect it was, he had every right to say Taylor has no place in football for the rest of his life. If Taylor did not put in the challenge with the intent to injury Eduardo, Arsene was just probably going a bit overboard, like he said, ‘in the heat of the moment.’ He’s just human after all. I see absolutely no problem with that. Same goes to Gallas’ behaviour at the end of the game, after what he’s been through. Not an ideal captain’s behaviour, true, but very understandable and forgiveable.
The major problem is that intent is a very difficult thing to prove. And for those Gooners who know the rules better, is there any way for us to get to the bottom of this? I just feel this is hugely unfair for a talented young man like Eduardo. But what can we do?
24 February 2008 at 5:10 am
Well said goodplayer. Very well said. Almost all of it spot on.
I really really feel for Eduardo. He was probably really looking forward to the European Championships with Croatia. This is so sad and frustrating and tragic.
I hope the players respond positively and stay focussed. This is a perfect excuse to throw in the towel if ever they needed one.
Also, so much for the “special relationship’ with Birmingham. I’d be very disappointed to see any of our promising youth going on loan to St. Andrews in the near future. Or Wigan. Steve Bruce should have kept his counsel, but he always was a bit thick. If Birmingham are going to defend their club’s interests rather than taking up the only ethically correct position on this then let them hang.
24 February 2008 at 5:20 am
Icky, speaking of Birmingham, you’re darn right, no more loan deals. We won’t send any of our youngsters to learn any of those ‘tricks’ in football.
And another Gooner on Vital Arsenal told us something even more awful. The home fans actually chanted ‘We broke your leg!’ after the injury. That made me terribly and physically SICK when I heard that one. We really owe them a big bashing next time we go there! But too bad, it’d probably have to be a cup draw because they’re darn well sure to be relegated.
You know why I can’t sleep now? This is disgusting and so so sad on so many levels.
24 February 2008 at 5:36 am
Loiusa, if that’s true, English football is really SICK.
McLeish is just a coward to give excuse. Doubt if would say the same if that happens to his player.
24 February 2008 at 5:38 am
While a life ban for Taylor may be harsh, and not a realistic proposition, I think its worth remembering something Arsene said after the Diaby-Sunderland incident: a simple 1 or 3 match ban isn’t good enough. The offending player should be banned from the game for as long as the fouled/maimed player is out of the game. So if it’s 6-12 months on the sidelines for Eduardo, then Taylor needs to spend the next 6-12 months sitting in the stands, watching his team from afar and reading the papers everyday to get some sense as to how Eduardo is doing and when he might back in action so that he, too, could do the same. This is the ONLY way such players will be forced to think twice about their actions and end this ridiculous era…
24 February 2008 at 5:48 am
Gunnerfan, a fellow Gooner said this:
“brum were singing we broke his leg, nice what we get in return for giving them EPL status isn’t it.. I hope they go down, small time *****ers and we never loan players to them again. I’m absolutely heartbroken for Eduardo..anyone but him.”
hazzagooner
Click on my name and go to that article to see that comment in context.
24 February 2008 at 6:13 am
That was a thorough piece. I wholeheartedly support Gallas actions. He is a True Leader who cares and wants to win.
24 February 2008 at 6:27 am
Whole heartedly agrre with your post. What is most supprising is amnagers whos come out to defen their players after such ahorror tackle is beyond comprehension. In my opinion, They set out ntheir game plan to hurt our boys………NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. these criminals should be hounded out of the game. I hope our home fans boo the temas that set their plan to hurt, to me thats the only way to teach them that suc criminal tactics are not acceptable in our civilised world.
24 February 2008 at 6:37 am
I absolutely agree that the offender should be banned as long as the victim of the tackle is out injured. This will definitely make people think twice about making ‘x-rated career ending’ tackles.
My thoughts are with you, Mr. Eduardo da Silva.
24 February 2008 at 6:41 am
Many fellow Gooners have signed on the e-card to Eduardo on Vital Arsenal. Please leave a few words to encourage the nice talented young man. Even fans of other clubs have put down their best wishes for him. You have to register with Vital to leave a comment, but it’s worth it. Or you can at least click on my name to see the Gooners’ messages there. Some of them even brought tears to my eyes. You can see he’s such a loved young man. I still don’t understand WHY, WHY?!
24 February 2008 at 6:41 am
I hate to ask this question but I wonder what we would have been saying had Nic Bendtner broken Andy Johnson’s leg when sent off against Everton?
I’ve been trying to find Taylor’s red card record (which bearing in mind he was ex-Blackburn shouldn’t have been difficult) but can’t find anything. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong places. Anyone know?
24 February 2008 at 6:49 am
Sorry, should have added red card record in the premier AND championship.
Here’s his Premier record: 4 yellows, 0 reds until yesterday.
http://premiersoccerstats.com/PlayerHome.cfm?PlayerId=TAYLORM6&TeamName=Birmingham%20C
24 February 2008 at 6:55 am
I’m gutted for Eduardo. This was supposed to be just a game of football yet the repercussions go well beyond the game. It’s questionable at this stage if he’ll ever play football to the level we know he can. Just wondering if the hint of a smirk on Taylor’s face after the tackle was indication of retribution for Eduardo’s part in keeping England out out Euro’08. It’s kinda hard to understand how a ‘professional’ could have got it so wrong in just the 3rd minute of a game!
Let’s give Taylor the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he really did not intend any malice but he needs to be responsible for his action. A 3 -game ban would be a cruel joke. I agree with Omer in that the offending player should be out of the game for as long as Eduardo is out. I was about to suggest that he should also feel the pain but then let’s not wish this upon a fellow human being. Taking revenge will not make it right, it is more important that we learn from this and to stamp this out of the beautiful game with punishments befitting the crime. Let’s wish Edu all the very best and a speedy recovery.
24 February 2008 at 6:55 am
Gooner for 60 years, I think we would have said something along the lines of, sell that cunt.
24 February 2008 at 7:00 am
Gooner for 60 years, as far as I’ve seen, many fellow Gooners would still have condemned Bendtner’s behaviour had that happened. Even when he didn’t injury AJ, many of us still did see it as an alarm that he has to learn the trade and not put people in danger. But some of us would still have said ‘it’s a striker’s tackle’ and sh!t like that, which is only true to an extent.
On red card records, I’ve only located the Premier League ones, not sure about the cups. By season, then by type (choose red card in the drop-down menu), you’ll see the players who got red cards in that season, ranked in descending order. But Birmingham’s not in the Prem all these years. And I read from some articles today that he’s kind of been in and out of the first team of Birmingham and Blackburn before that. I didn’t even know about him until today. So he probably didn’t get a lot of appearances in the first place. e.g. this year he got 2 app so far only (even if it’s not updated, adding today, it’s just 3), while loanee Djourou played 13 league games for Birmingham. So I’m afraid it’s hard to get what you’re looking for.
If you want the Prem stats, click on my name.
24 February 2008 at 7:05 am
Oh Gooner for 60 yrs, you beat me to that. But does it prove anything about the player’s integrity? Arsene’s right in saying that “It only takes once to kill someone.” And that even if it’s not malicious, the level of danger in his behaviour is enough to warrant some severe punishment, as some Gooners have pointed out. So I personally don’t care about his record. He has to be punished - as long as Eduardo’s out, that’d be effective to curb that part of the “English game.”
24 February 2008 at 7:41 am
Louisa…4 yellows only, in a not distinguished premier career admittedly, is not the hallmark of a deliberately dirty player.
To reiterate my earlier comments:
Having said that, though, whilst it was an appalling “tackle”, does it belong in the same grade as the two footed “assault” that broke Diaby’s leg two years back? Or, come to that, Roy Keane’s on Haarland several years back?
How many over the top one-footed tackles that do NOT cause injury are forgotten the following day?
I’m not trying to decry the incident but suspect that we’re all upset and lashing out as a result.
24 February 2008 at 7:41 am
english fans love tackles. ‘get in son’, ‘have it’, ‘get stuck in’. 3 minutes in, who wants 2 be a hero in the eyes of his fans? taylor has go, an at top speed full force in the blink of an eye goes str8 thru Edu. dan smith wanted to be a hero after just coming on as a sub losing to arsenal, so he took out diaby lookin 4 appluase.
in english football its encouraged, the english pride themselves on it. media, fans, manager etc. of course we love skills too, more even. but the tackles still get the proper cheers. english football has its own style, but this violence has gone too far. we can have the same game without it, look at arsenals football anyway, non-violent resistance. but pundits and media alike have trivialized it the worst its got. especially for foreign players, cristiano ronaldo, the whole arsenal team, peter cech. ‘welcome to the best league in the world son’ andy gray would say. like fuck. most dangerous surely, best?
all the money hype of the premiership would see to it not to slate he english game, and defend its players. against assualt, basically. so every month it happens in a top flight game, and no1 cares til it happens to an englsihman, and even so allow it.
this is a problem anyway, without the under-handed racism that goes against foreign players. some of whom we should be grateful even play here. u cant, or even shouldnt , stop people from cheering a tackle, but how can u ignore violence at the cost of the squeky clean image of english footy. lawrenson, andy gray, setanta, sky, bbc.
anyway, taylor jumps up smiling at the ref, he didnt even think it were a freekick/yellow. it happened so fast, then he’s more concerned about his red card than our Eduardo da Silva. then he checks on him, he was smiling and shocked at the red before he even cared for eduardo’s pain. maybe i’m wrong and angry still. i didnt really feel too much from the birmingham players, alrite safe, edu’s njured, dont send off our taylor. it was like every1 knew it was a bad injury but brum players were not fucking memorable, i didnt like this whole trivialzing the injury, and it started from the players/manager. larsson accused us of being unprofessional. see how angry flamini was having to prove to the birmingham players (upset with a red card) the severity of dudu’s injury. some fucking nerve. they probably ignored him cos he french init.
i felt the media, that brum manager, some of their players, and obviously taylor were guilty. no1 fet our pain as arsenal fans to see this, and this tactic once again forced onto the arsenal.
gallas may have messed up clichy too, 1st half all our players did. who can blame them? how would u feel u just sen your mate ripped apart.
poor eduardo, victim of the anti-arsenal violence– arsenal are foreign and weak. kick them.
we have foreigners, we love em. we are not weak, we are brilliant.
i dont care who vouches for taylor, its a way of condoning and encouraging this mentality. he aint no devil, u don have to be. he can just lie and say i didnt mean to foul any1.
24 February 2008 at 8:41 am
Good blog re the injury and the cultural circumstances surrounding it. In a very sombre mood today about what happened. Just terrible.
A word for Walcott given that his contribution is being forgotten, made to seem inconsequential by the horror injury which is fair enough, but it was a great contribution from him yesterday and well done to him. All the best to the team and above all to Eduardo who I really, sincerely hope makes a full recovery.
24 February 2008 at 9:06 am
Great piece Goodplaya.
I still can’t get him out of my mind.
oh, and next time Birmingham or Bruce phone up to ask to loan a player or three, the answer should have two words, the second being “off”.
24 February 2008 at 9:17 am
All Arsenal fans must get behind the team now. I cannot believe the comments made by the pundits over the last months promoting the idea of kicking a team to stop them from playing good football and a lot of these ex-players - Absolutely disgusting. When sides get that idea given to them and possibly get told by their manager to get stuck into Arsenal (basically Kick the team) of course some of these players will do it. If only the media was fair and commented on the fact that Arsene Wenger spent -£5M in the summer but through good football and young talented players were keeping up with Man U £60M, Tottenham £50M (Where do they get the money from?!!!!!), Chelsea Lost count on their spending! and Liverpool £40M - This is the amazing fact this season. Come on Arsenal lets really go for it and get behind the team. Wishing Eduardo as speedy recovery as possible.
24 February 2008 at 9:43 am
A while ago, I think it was Van Persie who said that violence in English football would drive good players away. It is commonly accepted that you must kick Arsenal players to beat them. The game against Blackburn was one of the most violent games of football I have seen since the days of Gentile, the Italian butcher in Spain WC 82.I said to my friends then that one day something really bad is going to happen because the rules for beating Arsenal have been set and accepted by all including referees. What makes me even more sad is that in the same game yesterday, Hleb suffered a really bad tackle which wasn’t even called. Similarly, Almunia got a kick long after the ball had crossed the byline, again no punishment. I tuned in late to the game so I had not seen “the tackle” yet. After seeing it, I was even more angry that the referee clearly felt nothing because he let so many things go afterwards. Isn’t someone in England a bit like me? After I see a really bad road accident, I drive slow the rest of the way. But it’s Arsenal, and the hate goes deep. I’m disgusted because what I feared has happened. I’m disgusted because England allows Arsenal to be butchered and it’s called football. I’m disgusted because I love the game but am losing the love.
24 February 2008 at 9:47 am
It’s easy to see which climate the guy came from…
http://archive.thisislancashire.co.uk/2002/1/26/637394.html
24 February 2008 at 9:49 am
I’m a die hard spurs fan and I among many other proper fans send my sincere best wishes to eduardo. No player deserves that. I’d also like to vent my disgust at any rival fan that takes this as an opportunity to sledge you goons, it’s sick.
24 February 2008 at 9:50 am
http://anotherarsenalblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/refereeing-of-lowest-order.html
some of the media comments have been completely out of line, and show how english football still has to come out of the dark ages.
straight leg tackles with studs up like Taylor’s are not just clumsy, they are highly dangerous lunges which can end careers.
24 February 2008 at 9:52 am
Gooner for 60 years - a good point and to be honest it would have been part of the context that has probably allowed all of this to flourish too readily.
But as I said, I don’t think Taylor is massively to blame here. It’s part of an up em and at em culture that our players have also been guilty of too.
24 February 2008 at 10:01 am
fuck taylor fuck you fuck fuck fuck
24 February 2008 at 10:08 am
What I find strange is that everyone says it was an accident and yet everyone agrees it was a red card.
Something doesn’t square.
24 February 2008 at 10:35 am
Just can’t get Eduardo out of my hesd, along with the looks on the faces of Cesc, Hleb and Ade. It was hard to watch the game after, it must have been dreadful to play in.
I think their manager probably has a lot to answer for. You can picture the scenario - get amongst them, let them know you’re there, even put afew heavy challenges in as they will have heavy legs from Wednesday night. Let’s hope the guilt on all parties concerned weighs very heavy on their soul. They know their own guilt, they can try to convince people what they like, but in their heart they will know why it happened.
I really hope that what is left of our team will use this as even greater motivation to go on and win the league. If there is any justice in the world our team will win a medal for Eduardo.
We as fans must get behind the team with even greater efforts. I was at Old Trafford last week, seems so long ago now and nine thousand fans can make a lot of noise. Come on Gooners let’s do our bit.
Last thoughts for Eduardo, you are a credit to our club, you take the tackles, get up and don,t complain. All our love and best wishes for the speediest recovery, you will not be forgotten.
24 February 2008 at 11:06 am
Gunnerson, the link you found to the Lancaster telegraph is amazing.
I am really upset about this issue, but less sure than the rest that this was an attempt to ’send a message’ and not just a really bad tackle by Taylor. If he was trying to send a message, 25 meters in front of his own goal was a strange place to do so. Compare that to Smith’s tackle on Diaby, which really was no tackle at all, just plain assault. My current thinking is somewhere close to Goodplaya’s in that when you allow a certain culture of brutishness something like this was always likely to happen.
24 February 2008 at 11:21 am
it doesnt matter what the guy’s tally of yellow cards is this season .. in the EPL, you only get yellow cards if you moan or dive, not for violent football
I didnt know that RVP had mentioned in the past the nasty characteristic of English fotball, but I go along with it big time and it is something that runs a lot deeper than that
its part and parcel of the English/British culture as much as stagnights in Estonia and drunken hords of shrimps looking kunts running up and down the Ramblas in Barcelona
thats what the Sun/Mirror/Mail promotes on a daily basis
I am not English and have been living in this country for over 8 years now and I am still amazed about this aspect..obviously there is a gulf between the more sophisticated upper class and the rest .. that gulf is bigger than in any other European country
football/rugby are played in that same spirit..without any creative input and purely based on physical strength and violence
John Terry epitomizes it both on and off the pitch, spending most of his free time at the bookies .. our own Ashley Cole, product of the same culture, got dragged into it as he knew no better, even surrounded by people like TH14/PV4 who are miles away from this type of attitude
look what has happened to him .. same can be said of Pennant, etc..
I have also noticed that Arsenal are unusually hated on these shores
one of my English colleagues tried to give me an explanation saying that Arsenal are an atypical English side and therefore are not in line with the global cultural behaviour patterns over here and attract an intensely adverse reaction
this could well be true and its all the more plausible that the dislike is running across the different sections of the sports environment from fans down to media
and this despite the fact that Arsenal is morally a much better fit than anybody else, ie independent from big money and playing a free flowing entertaining game that even appeals to neutrals
and in many other countries, this would make Arsenal the fans’ favorite..not here though
maybe its also jealousy, the anti-French brigade, etc .. but it is remarkable to what degree even football pundits hate this club.. is it because it reminds most players of how inept they are/were in the exercise of this sport??
another interesting aspect of the game here is the perceived quality .. best league in the world hype .. well, let me tell you, if it wasnt for AFC, I would not watch a single EPL game..I dont know where the perception comes from, but believe me, most people I know prefer watching Spanish football ..
its sad that so many other leagues suffer from the money aspect in England that leads to them buying up all the foreign talent and depriving a lot of smaller countries leagues a great entertainment, because lets face it, its the foreigners here that produce the entertainment, not the primmitive one legged one eyed Brits
people over here are mocking the Germans, but at least their league has maintained some respectability and credibility and their national side does yours day in day out
btw in the Bunesliga, Taylor would get a 10 matches ban
I wish Arsenal were playing in Spain where technical ability and ball playing skills are appreciated
but lets look at the positives .. no England/Scotland/NI at the European Championship .. fantastic, great, let them organize their loser tournament during the summer whilst the elite of European football indulges in a feast of beauty
and last point to the ref, he is only another victim of this same culture and therefore you can pull Ade’s shirt back in the penalty box as its Arsenal and they are leading and they have no English players and too much talent and can entertain, so you can use otherwise illegal methods to stop them, you can kick them and you can tackle Hleb without any ball contact and Sky saying that the tackle was perfectly legal, because its Arsenal and they are not English enough
the only time the British football class ever moans is when Shrek gets injured ahead of a tournament..long may it continue
one word to Dudu..I will always remember his exquisite through ball for Croatia’s second goal against England at Wembley .. pure Arsenal class .. bye bye the Brits .. and may you recover quickly to get humiliated again
I cant wait!!
till then Taylor, may you rot in hell with the rest of your poor narrow minded ugly football nation
24 February 2008 at 11:46 am
Great article. Arsene has taken sensible course of action re his initial comments but we all I am certain understand the emotions he must feel and expect he has tried to avoid this becoming a real distraction for his players and a further media witch hunt against him and Arsenal.
I have always felt some Arsenal fans have been a little paraniod about media bias against our wonderful team. But having watched the Sky commentary (their refusal to show the tackle while understandable meant anyone commenting did not know what had transpired-anyone who wants to comment should be required to see the pictures on Arseblog/this site and as for Steve Bruce’s comments I hope he is the next manager to think again about his comments-to remind everyone he was not even certain it was a yellow card offence!!!!)listened to that ridiclous DJ idiot on Radio 5 live football phone in last night, and Match of the day with their so called 2 experts I am convinced the media are very keen to put the boot in (just as every team on the field tries to do) whenever a contentious issue involving Arsenal arises.
How Lawrenson can spend his allotted time being criticial of Gallas when we have just witnessed an assault on one of players I will never understand. Gallas was silly but I am pleased he and other players showed some emotion and no-one cares as much as him obviously and this is a positive. How the whole media can be critical of Arsene and his totally understandable comments and not pass comment on Fergie’s best mate the Birmingham manager who before the game says he will be encouraging his team to get stuck in against Arsenal just illustrates the point. As for Fergie being pleased with seeing Gallas and his antics and the obvious problems in the Arsenal camp (Hansen’s comments last night) Fergie of course is rarely interviewed these days as he refuses to speak to the BBC something Arsene may wish to consider as this is never the subject of any critical comment. I think the team is 100% together and will respond but only time will tell.
All of our thoughts go out to Eddy and let us hope he will grace our game again soon but I have to say I fear this could be doubtful. I still feel sickened this morning and furious with the anti Arsenal coverage in all of the media I have seen.
As for result this almost becomes irrelevant but I thought the boys were a credit in second half and o.k. we did not finish the game off -5-2 Arsenal win was a fairer reflection of the game but for a team which was lacklustre throughout (Alan Hansen) to create as many chances as we did and have 80% possession in the circumstances was unbelievable. Let us hope when the emotions have calmed down and respectful period passes (with some good news emerging about Eddy which is the most important issue of all) the whole of Arsenal football club can respond and use this tragic situation to go out and finish the job we have started and win the Premiership which is the very least this brilliant group of players and our wonderful manager deserve.
Keep the faith Arsene knows.
24 February 2008 at 11:59 am
As much as the tackle was horrible and no one wants to see this in football, let’s not go overboard here with these comments. The man isn’t dead and is paid loads of money to kick a ball. He isn’t living in fear of his life for getting up and going to work like in Baghdad or not having any food for his family.
Get a grip people.
That being said, I do hope that the Premier League will bring in a review board to review horror tackles. It needs to happen now.
24 February 2008 at 12:25 pm
Begeegs so the man isnt dead .. but he will probably never play football again ..
and he came to Croatia as a 15/16 years old one not knowing where the fukk he was going .. he showed great strength and resilience on a personal level throughout his life to get him where he is now .. and some fukking English twat takes his career away from him ..
maybe we should send the Englsih army in to sort him out the same way they did to the poor man in Basra .. a few more collateratl deaths probably dont matter much to this country anymore as long as the empire of the Sun continues to shine brightly
your comments are cynical at best .. try and get your head kicked in and tell me how it feels afterwards ..
24 February 2008 at 1:38 pm
Let’s get one thing straight: whether Taylor meant to injure Eduardo or not is neither here nor there. In the wider world away from football pitches, the great unwashed are expected to assess the possible outcomes of their actions before they take them, and to take responsibility for them if things don’t work out as planned. If I have a few to drink down the pub, take issue with someone over something and then go on to kick the shit out of him, the fact that I’m a nice guy or have no previous convictions is entirely irrelevant. The fact is that someone is in hospital who wouldn’t be there had it not been for me. And let’s also get this one absolutely crystal clear: my state of mind when I laid into him will have very little bearing on the charge
brought against me, whereas the injuries he sustains will have a very great bearing, making the difference between assault, ABH, GBH, attempted murder and murder. If the guy dies and I get up in court and say “But your honour, I only meant to rough him up”, the judge is not going to say “Yes, yes, I quite understand. Tragic accident this. Off you go my man, and do try to be more careful in future”. The law is pretty straight on this one and, as far as I know, has been for quite a while. I’m not sure what it is about football that makes it different.
This of course leads to some truly tragic situations. Despite what the tabloids will have us believe, the vast majority of murderers are not crazed incarnations of evil but humdrum nobodies who made one terrible mistake that they will have to live with for the rest of their lives. But nobody ever suggests that, in these cases, the fact that they are “distraught” (to use McLeish’s word) is punishment enough and that they should duck a prison term, for the simple reason that to do so would be tantamount to saying that murder is something that can happen by accident, that nobody is to blame and nobody should be held to account. Murder requires a murderer, just as a leg-breaking tackle requires someone to make the tackle.
Which is why I share Goodplaya’s (34) discomfort at the notion that this was an “accident”. An accident is something that couldn’t be avoided, generally something that happened independently of human action. Take
another look at the pictures. To strike Eduardo at that angle, Taylor must have launched himself from ten to fifteen feet away. The talking monkey that Radio 5 hired to assist the commentator yesterday opined that Taylor had every right to go for that ball. Not from ten to fifteen feet away he didn’t. At that distance, the only way to get to the ball is to
lunge for it and when you lunge for a ball, you run the risk of, well, causing an “accident”.
Maybe I’m missing something here because I can’t see where all the confusion is coming from. This was not an accident because it could have been avoided. Taylor had the choice between lunging in and accepting that the ball was, in this instance, beyond him. He chose to lunge and should take responsibility for it. As spectators, we may choose between saying that tackles like this have no place in the game and saying that they’re fine, even if they mean the occasional broken leg and prematurely-ended career. As I say, if I’m missing something here then please, someone point it out because if I’m not then there is something pretty fucked up about the moral sensibilities of Garth Crooks, Mark Lawrenson, Terry Christian, Kevin Ratcliffe and anyone else who thinks that
what happened to Eduardo yesterday was a fair price to pay for playing football The English Way, that flying into a tackle that leaves a guy with a broken leg is fine provided “you didn’t mean it” (and who exactly judges intent in these cases?), or that Aliadiere’s petulant flick merits the same punishment as a flying kick delivered by a 6′4″ centre half who is ironically known as Tiny.
So will this incident finally initiate a sea change in this country’s attitude to horror tackles, as Arseblogger in his piece this morning hopes? Will a lunge at shin height, even one-footed, lead to a straight red regardless of the contact made? Will we see the institution of a sliding scale of punishments, such that a tackle that injures a player leads to, say, a 10 match ban whereas a real career-threatener such as we saw yesterday rules the offender out for a season or so? Will it be possible for a player coming from the continent to slot straight into the EPL without first having to spend six to twelve months “acclimatising” to the fact that if you’re short of talent in this country you are not only allowed but *encouraged* to make up the shortfall with violent play? Will, in short, we see a determined effort by the English authorities to stamp injury-threatening tackles out of the game for good, even if it means that “nice guys” like Taylor - who, after all, are only following orders - have to carry the can?
I wish I could be as optimistic as Arseblogger about this, but if the Radio 5 commentary, Spoony on 606, Match of the Day and a good many of the blogs over the last 24 hours (see Louisa’s experiences above) are anything to go by then I think the answer’s clear: not a fucking chance.
Oh, and Begeegs - I’ve just read your comment. I hope you don’t think I’m being over the top in all this, it’s just that I don’t much care to see a player whom I admire and who undoubtedly had a great career in front of him
have it all torn away from him by an incident that anyone with eyes has seen coming for years and which could easily have been prevented. And
without wishing to come over all ultra-sophisticated, I’m quite capable of holding this opinion at the same time as holding some (pretty strong) opinions about the
goings-on in Iraq over the past few years. It’s just that this is neither the time nor the place to discuss them.
24 February 2008 at 1:41 pm
Well put, playa.
This: “It was the product of it’s era. An era that has completely overindulged David as he sets about Goliath. (…) The era allowed that kind of tackle. Taylor is it’s fall guy.”
plus this: ““It goes with the idea that to stop Arsenal you have to kick Arsenal and that kind of thing was waiting to happen.
“Many people have got away with too many bad tackles. We’ve escaped a few times but it’s just not acceptable. If that is football it’s better to stop it.
“The worst thing you hear after is that ‘he’s not the kind of guy who usually does that’, but you need to only kill one person one time - it’s enough.” ”
should be taken to heart by the media, pundits and managers who encourge such “commitment” in their players. Sadly, judging by what I’ve read in the papers and on web sites, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Thought Yogi at Cultured and Blogs at arseblog had sensible comments too.
24 February 2008 at 1:47 pm
Brilliant article. Nothing else to add to it, really.
24 February 2008 at 2:56 pm
A Gooner said there’s news from Croatia that Eduardo called Bilic to say he’s doing ok. Not sure what the source was, but if it’s true, THANK GOD! Click on my name to see that short article.
24 February 2008 at 3:34 pm
What i can’t understand is why Taylor needed to do the tackle? The ball was not too far away from him. Even if he didn’t purposely do that, why he must did the straight leg tackles? Couldn’t he bend it a bit?
24 February 2008 at 3:51 pm
And i also think that Taylor was more wary with the ball rather than Eduardo’s shin, he really is a fucking bastard. From yesterday until now, I still feel a bit shocked. Eduardo is really a very good player who had a great future lie in front of him. From now on, I hope that all of our Arsenal players will be more careful for that kind of tackle in the future, cause I dont think the stupid FA will do something against this.
From deep inside my heart, I hope that this will not end Eduardo’s love in playing soccer, I will pray for you, hope you will get well soon. If Birmingham ever want to borrow our players again, hope Wenger will ask them to “Fuck Off”.
24 February 2008 at 6:43 pm
Great writing, goodplaya. Top marks. Keep the good work up.
24 February 2008 at 8:20 pm
Got a text from a Spurs fan who was at the cup final, he said the first pub he walked into the Spurs fans were singing:
“Whats that hanging out of your sock? Is it your ankle? Is it your ankle?”
That one sentence there sums up in total why I hate Spurs so much.
Why are we even playing these teams? What do Birmingham add to sport, or football? Nothing. Their entire existence is not even to play football. One day soon I will be happy to see Arsenal play in a European league where we don’t have to grace the pitch of these footballing parasites.
Arsene was spot on when he said this has been coming for years - from playing Blackburn, Bolton et all, all perpuated from the myth that Arsenal can be roughed up.
Also to those who are defending Taylor and saying it was not malicious and he didn’t mean to break his leg - he intended to hurt Eduardo - not as bad as he did, but his intent was clear. If someone was to drive a car wrecklessly they know that there could be consequences, most of the time they will get away with it - but there is always that small percentage…
Also - we should point out when our own players attempt these sort of tackles (Eboue on Terry, Bendtner on Johnson)
There is no place in football for them.
24 February 2008 at 8:29 pm
PS - Re Gallas - I understand and in fact support his actions.
Louisa mentioned earlier, what can we do? The answer … Nothing. Gallas for me was highlighting what a joke the entire match was. It was in effect a protest, a way of highlighting how bad the ref was.
24 February 2008 at 9:48 pm
U Arsenal Tossers r a fucking laughing stock - Arsenal who have one of the worst disciplinary records in the Premiership for red cards & yellow cards - Oh its not fair everybody tries to kick us - Sort ur own dirty bastard players out first before crying about everyone elses
Will the FA DO SOMETHING??????????????-Will it be the same committe reviewing the incident that reviewed Gallas kicking Nani off the ball & committee say they didnt see anything wrong so u cant get it every, Eboue Kung Fu assault on Evra -Wenger didnt see it then starts banging on bout Taylor who at best mis timed a tackle, it was a yellow card offence but unfortunate circumstances such timing footposition,studs all down to a couple of nano seconds he could’ve walked away after a rub with a magic sponge- Lehmann who’s be going around for years pushing & shoving anyone he likes never ever gets booked for it
24 February 2008 at 9:54 pm
Gallas - What an absolute embarrassment for the Chelsea reject - Now ur left with 2 strikers who wont talk to each other & most certainly a back 4 who don’t like each other with a laughing stock of a captain -
Humiliated in the Carling Cup by Super Spurs
Laughed off the pitch at Old Trafford in the FA Cup
Will very shortly be dumped out of Champions League & yet u self centred Spastics still bangin on bout how ur playing the best football - U R ALL ON DRUGS haha -
24 February 2008 at 10:00 pm
McGooner at 48: What makes them sink so bloody low? I don’t know. I can understand some of the idiots above more than those your friends met at that pub.
24 February 2008 at 10:16 pm
Louisa - Personally I think it is an attempt to rile, and bait. I try not to respond (sometimes it is so hard and takes every fibre of your being) but to not react is exactly what they don’t want, it is all intended to outrage and try and hurt you. Like the comments at 50 & 51.
It is strange though that the Man Utd fans who where so sensitive about Munich, or the Spurs fans sensitive about the chants they received for Mido from Hammers fans, don’t show the same respect they demand.
Re the comments above you could point out reasonably all the flaws in their argument (Gallas Chelsea reject? More like Chelsea are Gallas’ reject!) but it would be wasted, save your breath.
I must say - reading your comments you look like it really upset you - I was away for the weekend visiting friends, and watched the game in the pub and it was so frustrating having no commentary and not understanding what had happened, the incident ruined my whole weekend - and I just feel so gutted.
25 February 2008 at 4:04 am
“Whats that hanging out of your sock? Is it your ankle? Is it your ankle?”
Wonders what part of this, is funny.
25 February 2008 at 4:39 am
Was Pires injury in our Championship winning season also the result of a bad tackle?
He came back and played some good soccer, but he was often the victim of ridicule for skipping out of the way when he sees a tackle coming his way.
25 February 2008 at 9:27 am
No - Pires caught his studs in the turf and twisted his knee, after jumping to avoid a tackle.
At the time he was the best winger in the world.
25 February 2008 at 9:27 am
What is it with the BBC? They choose not to show a replay of the tackle because it is so bad. What is this? An Al Qaida beheading? An American high school shooting? Beslan 2? It’s an apalling tackle in a football match. Replay it in slow motion time and time again to shame the offender and disuade thuggery in the future.
25 February 2008 at 9:31 am
McGooner (post 48) “One day soon I will be happy to see Arsenal play in a European league where we don’t have to grace the pitch of these footballing parasites.” Perfectly well said.
25 February 2008 at 10:16 am
Thanks McGooner for your response.
It is sad that prudence dictates that the artiste (like Pires) protects himself from being maimed by the artisans that populates the English Premier League. Unless the FA does something about it pretty soon.
25 February 2008 at 10:31 am
Luke, like I said roll on the European Super League - when we don’t have to entertain these lot.
An excerpt of an email froma Spurs fan:
A few edwardo songs were being sung which was a little poor taste but that’s fans for you. Even saw a taylor shirt which was going that step further….
25 February 2008 at 6:26 pm
I’m a United Fan.
I wish this had not happened to Edourdo. He’s a talented player and one who has really worked hard to achieve what he has done in life so far. I wish him all the best and pray that he makes a swift recovery and that he plays for Arsenal again.
You’re problem at Arsenal, both fans and a manager is the gilded world you seem to live in. For the record:
1. Yours is not the only passing game in town. SAF re-invented the genre whilst you guys were winning one-nil to the arsenal under George Graham.
2. It’s a myth that you think that it is just Arsenal whom other teams try to impose themselves upon with physique. Indeed, I seem to remember that’s how you beat us in the FA Cup final in 2006. Ask Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes what they have had to put up with over all these years.
3. You have, by far, the worst disciplinary record for any major club. Most of these indiscretions are for crimes of a physical nature. And yet, your manager never condemns it. When Keane et al lost the plot a few years ago with their atrocious behavior towards a referee, SAF stamped it out immediately and publicly. United are regularly in the top 1/4 of the fair play league.
4. A small example of this was last week when United beat you 4-0. Had Eboue directed his assault upon Evra, he too would be in hospital. Likewise, the kicks at Nani were disgraceful and had no excuses, whatever imaginary provocation your players felt they were under. And yet your manager says publicly that ‘it was understandable’.
You may wonder why there is a lack of sympathy for your cause. It isn’t a conspiracy; you are not being singled out. Put simply, you are one of the worst offenders. And so when you cry wolf, many will say that you should sort out your own wolves before you scream about others.
I have not written this to wind any one up nor have I done so to belittle Edourdo’s injury in anyway. But Arsenal, team and fans really need to get with the program. People will start laughing at you soon. And that would be a real shame as many of you rightly point out, on your day, you do play a very beautiful version of the game we all love so much.
25 February 2008 at 6:32 pm
Sammsy
Can you post the URL where I can check if Arsenal have “by far the worst discplinary record” for any major club? (genuine question)
25 February 2008 at 8:43 pm
Just after reading Sammsky comments and while I dont doubt that he is a genuine fan and means it when he wishes Eudourdo a speedy recovery, but I do take issue with him on how squeaky clean Man U are, he forgot to mention how the Neville Brothers were given Lincence to Kill Reyes when Arsenal went up to Old Trafford during their unbeaten run,or How McClair tried to find out if Winterburns Chest would burst like a balloon when he stamped on it and started the Mother of all rows with both clubs docked points, or how Van the tramp managed to get away with kicking everybody in sight and then putting on his It was not me Ref face. I would also like to say that them assholes that get paid big Money on the BBC & Sky for their comments should be all locked up for stealing. What they know about football they could write on the back of a stamp and still have room for their name and address. Here,s hoping that Eudourdo makes a speedy recovery and as one Arseblogger said.
“As fans too we have to recognise we have a role to play too. These
players are Arsenal players, they’re our lads, they’re fighting for
the championship. Fuck the critics, fuck the begrudgers, fuck the
other fans, fuck the Sky TV pundits, fuck the BBC, fuck that fucking
little cunt Garth Crooks, fuck Martin Taylor, fuck Alex McLeish and
fuck whoever’s left.
Let’s stand behind our team. We are the Arsenal. Let’s go win the
league.
26 February 2008 at 4:08 am
I take Sammsky’s comments for what they are: Biased. This is completely predictable within the context of the rivalry between 2 top clubs. So don’t expect any objectivity.
Even for hard men like Keown, Vierra, etc., I don’t remember any of them maiming their opponents under the current Wenger era. From what I can recall of recent seasons, we have the most fouls committed against us, and are consistently near the top of the fair play league. We probably can support this belief with facts if we wish to.
Let’s win it for Eduardo and have the last laugh at Sammsky and his lot.
26 February 2008 at 7:01 pm
You Arsenal Goons have a very short memory that seems to be the problem -
YEARS of boring everyone to death and kicking the legs off the opposition then all of a sudden u learn how to pass the ball in the last couple of yrs & ur gods gift to the game-
With the exception of 1 year U have a worse disciplinary record than Man U in the League, worse than Liverpool every year & the only teams worse than you in most seasons are the just promoted then relegated kickers we have to suffer every year so heres some stats as U Arenal gimpos love your stats
95/96 Arsenal 62 Yellows 2Red (12th worst)
Man U 50 Yellow 3 Red
96/97 Arsenal 81Yellow5Red(Worst in The League)
Man U 56 Yellow 1 Red
97/98 Arsenal 72 yellow 3 Red (7th Worst)
Man U 62 Yelow 1 red
98/99 Arsenal 65 Yellow 7 Red (8th Worst)
Man U 54 Yellow 4 Red
99/00 Arsenal 65 Yellows 5 Reds (7th Worst)
Man U 43 Yellows 4 Reds
00/01 Arsenal 50 Yellows 1 Red (1of the best)
Man U 44 Yellows 0 Reds
01/02 Arsenal75Yellows6Red(Worst in the League)
Man U 53 Yellow 1 Red
02/03 Arsenal 55Yellow Reds3(1 of better teams)
Man U 44 Yellow Red 1
03/04 Arsenal 51 Yellow 3 Red(1of better teams)
Man U 43 Yellow 3 red
04/05 Arsenal 46 Yellow Red1(Best in league)
Man U 49Yellow 5 red
05/06 Arsenal 55Yellow 2 Reds( 3rd Best )
Man U 60 Yellow 2Reds
06/07 Arsenal 58 Yellow 3 reds (Midtable)
Man U 58 Yellow 1 Reds
26 February 2008 at 7:04 pm
Cant believe a ManUre makes a valid point on here & is fucking right- S’pose we do have short memories ay least we aint doin that anymore, dont remember us being that bad but obviously we were- Can see a trend thou we’re more footballing than kicking now and in the last few years & thats for sure
27 February 2008 at 12:43 am
I’m no statistician but the figures quoted in comment 65 prove nothing other than Arsenal are FAR from the worst team in the league from a discipline perspective - they are this season I believe about 3rd or 4th best in their record - alright Man U are best at present.
As for last Saturday’s sorry incident I can not get too worked up about Mr Taylor - unlike various somewhat unhappy Croatian psychos!- it was a shocker he deserved a red card - and as said above - How can Aliadiere end up with 4 games ban for flicking someone’s nose in comparison to 3 for this guy?
I was appalled at the attitude displayed by the Mancunian twat who presents the Talksport phone in(yes you Mr Terry Christian) - I used to find his one eyed wind ups and comments mildly amusing, but was sickened about how he managed to turn the whole thing around into an attack on Wenger, Gallas, Arsenal, & poncey foreign players in general - but of course expressing crocodile tears of sympathy for Eduardo. Christian plays the game of making provocative and offensive comments in an apparently jokey way - unfortunately half the listeners probably have little clue when he is serious and when he is not. Furthermore, I was not impressed to hear a similar if less extreme line of drivel coming from ‘Spooney (?)’ on Radio 5’s phone in.
27 February 2008 at 4:27 am
Please visit the unofficial Eduardo Da Silva fans site, and leave your comments which will be forwarded to the man himself.
http://www.Eduardo9.com
27 February 2008 at 8:45 pm
Here is The Guardian’s Kevin McCarra’s highly informed take on the weekend’s events - from Monday’s Football Weekly Podcast:
KM: … it wasn’t kung fu, it wasn’t off the ground with both feet, but it was dangerous, yes, it was a bad tackle, and I think it did deserve a red card, and I don’t think it should be taken any further than that.
Paul Doyle: It was very high
KM: If you look at the photograph, well it’s one foot and it’s ankle height obviously (sic)
Paul Doyle: no it’s half way up the shin
30 March 2008 at 6:46 pm
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26 July 2008 at 2:34 pm
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26 July 2008 at 11:40 pm
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27 July 2008 at 1:02 am
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27 July 2008 at 1:33 am
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27 July 2008 at 7:35 am
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27 July 2008 at 9:11 am
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27 July 2008 at 1:29 pm
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28 July 2008 at 3:56 pm
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29 July 2008 at 7:01 am
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29 July 2008 at 8:33 am
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29 July 2008 at 10:29 am
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29 July 2008 at 12:02 pm
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30 July 2008 at 3:04 pm
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30 July 2008 at 3:49 pm
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31 July 2008 at 3:26 am
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31 July 2008 at 8:17 am
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31 July 2008 at 10:46 am
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31 July 2008 at 8:19 pm
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3 August 2008 at 12:03 am
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3 August 2008 at 2:53 am
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3 August 2008 at 3:04 pm
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4 August 2008 at 12:25 am
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4 August 2008 at 3:21 am
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4 August 2008 at 7:44 am
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4 August 2008 at 3:32 pm
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4 August 2008 at 7:34 pm
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4 August 2008 at 10:39 pm
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4 August 2008 at 11:45 pm
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5 August 2008 at 3:22 am
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5 August 2008 at 6:27 am
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5 August 2008 at 7:41 pm
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5 August 2008 at 8:07 pm
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5 August 2008 at 9:13 pm
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5 August 2008 at 9:32 pm
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6 August 2008 at 12:35 am
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6 August 2008 at 11:46 pm
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7 August 2008 at 12:35 am
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7 August 2008 at 12:50 am
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7 August 2008 at 8:46 am
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7 August 2008 at 10:14 am
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7 August 2008 at 12:05 pm
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7 August 2008 at 12:27 pm
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7 August 2008 at 1:20 pm
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7 August 2008 at 6:06 pm
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7 August 2008 at 8:47 pm
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7 August 2008 at 9:10 pm
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7 August 2008 at 9:28 pm
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8 August 2008 at 12:35 am
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8 August 2008 at 8:18 am
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9 August 2008 at 6:50 pm
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9 August 2008 at 8:09 pm
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10 August 2008 at 12:28 am
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10 August 2008 at 10:18 pm
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10 August 2008 at 11:48 pm
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11 August 2008 at 2:39 pm
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11 August 2008 at 3:46 pm
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