It's been far too long since I've been on here. A great deal of things have happened, and I forgot about my OleOle account. Luckily, a fellow Gooner added me this afternoon, and alerted me to my blog. Now that I'm back, I can't promise regular postings, or in fact any further posts at all, but I will try to keep this blog going, at least for a few days.

On to Arsenal. Far too much has happened since I last posted, which I believe was before the season started, to discuss everything. With real football midway through a two week hiatus so international associations can borrow our players without annoying clubs too much and charge their fans far too much in the process, Arsenal news is pretty scarce at the moment. There is no real news on any injuries sustained in this round of matches yet, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed we all come through unscathed.

Speaking of injuries, Cesc will be available for Man Citeh on Saturday, but the boss hasn't decided if he'll play yet. Meanwhile, former Chelski flop, Andriy Shevchenko reckons Andrei Arshavin was "born to play" at Arsenal, and that he will "achieve great success at Arsenal".

In other news, our Ladies team's incredible 108 game unbeaten run has come to an end. The Ladies lost 3-0 at Boreham Wood to Everton Ladies. The BBC and Arse.com seem to agree on the fact that this leaves us 6 points clear of the Toffees who have three games in hand. Anyway, unlucky Ladies, and good luck for the rest of the season. 

So, due to my current inability to come up with anything remotely interesting to say, I'm going to leave it at that for the next couple of days. Should any news emmerge, or any blood-boilingly enfuriatingly bullshitty lazily put together 'article' that needs ranting about appear in one of our beloved nationals, I'll try to cover it. Other than that, I will attempt to come up with a preview for Citeh before Saturday. Possibly on Saturday. I can't promise it will happen, but I can promise to try to try to come up with something. 

Til then. Possibly.

I'm sure you will all have seen the quotes from Arsene Wenger saying he is 'too busy' to sign anyone. Now, I can understand that the Champions League needs to take priority, so this begs the question; Why is it Arsene's responsibility to negotiate and complete transfers?

Earlier this summer, the club announced that it would not be looking to appoint a director of football. This meant that the role would once again be shared between Arsene and acting-CEO Ken Friar. This could prove to be a huge mistake. I can understand Arsene wanting a hand in the transfer dealings, but he is the manager - he should be managing. There should be someone else out there handling transfers. I would imagine that Ken Friar has been doing a fair amount of this, but that Arsene says he personally is too busy would suggest that he doesn't have an insignificant role in all this. Either that, or it is an incredibly poor attempt at excusing our transfer activity. Or lack thereof.

Arsene isn't '[ruling] out anybody completely at the moment', and wouldn't be drawn on speculation about Gokhan Inler. He said;

It is not necessarily the Swiss boy, though. I cannot tell you more about him than anybody else.

The same article in The Telegraph links us again with Ruben de la Red, whom, I'll be honest, I've seen very little of.

Worryingly enough, we'e already been hit by an injury; to Abou Diaby. Arsene reckons 'it is his thigh', and that he'll be out 'for about a month'. With Alex Song at the Olympics, this leaves us with Denilson to partner Cesc. Now we have no way of knowing whether this partnership will work or not. In the same article, Arsene says; 

You cannot say after just one match, you need a run of games to see if it [the partnership] will work, but I am confident it will.

That last bit it encouraging, but I would still feel more comfortable with a new signing. I don't know who, but Denilson and Diaby do not fill me with confidence. This isn't because I doubt their talent, but because I doubt their individual abilities to stay fit for long periods. Diaby is already injured. Denilson disappeared off the face of the earth at one point last season, so who knows how he will handle consistently playing.

I suppose FC Twente in midweek will be a decent test for the pair. I am confident, but I don't think they'll be push-overs. They're here because they deserve to be, just as we are. The game is Setanta Sports, so I'll be able to see it. I'm looking forward to it, to be honest. 

Anyway, that's it.  

I opened my inbox this morning to discover an email from Arsenal regarding standing at the Grove. They say;

In one or two sections of the stadium, it is becoming increasingly apparent that supporters have been standing throughout some of the matches.

Although;

[the Club] have no objection to people standing in order to see a particular move or at crucial points in the game.

They cite the general welfare and comfort of other supporters as their main concern, although safety is a major factor.

Let's deal with 'general welfare and comfort' first. The club felt the need to point out that when you stand up, people behind can't see, and not necessarily just the person directly behind. I sympathise with young supporters and supporters who cannot stand for great lengths of time, I really do. I've been in a situation myself where someone standing directly resulted in me being unable to see. At 6' something, that's no longer an issue - so long as I stand up myself. 

I never stand up unless it's absolutely necessary. For example, when a goal has been scored. When the guy ten rows back shouts to stand up if you love Arsenal/hate T*ttenham. When we get to the tenth man to have gone to bed with a certain number three in east Fulham. You get the idea. 

Standing up at matches helps engineer an atmosphere. I have no doubt in my mind that the atmosphere at the Grove improves tenfold during periods of standing, and I think it would improve more if standing were allowed in the stadium. (But then let's face it, it wouldn't take much at certain matches.) 

Now for the safety issue. They talk about a potential 'domino effect' of people falling over onto each other, potentially causing injuries. Potentially. I understand their concerns, but I feel they've gone too far. Firstly, the stewards do their jobs properly; I've never seen the gangways blocked by fans at any match except at the ends when the stewards attempt to stagger the emptying of the stadium. Secondly, there is just as much risk at the start and end of every match when fans are flocking in and out of the stadium, especially upper tier. The 'elf 'n' safety crew at the Grove would have heart attacks if they saw King's Cross during rush hour. 

There is a point to my rambling, and it's this; I understand people enjoy standing and singing at matches. I also understand that people enjoy sitting and get annoyed when people disrupt their view. The solution is simple; bring in an all-standing area. This way, those who want to stand can. Those who want to sit, can. Kids and those who can't stand for a great length of time can enjoy the game without their view being disrupted. Safety concerns about the standing areas could be alleviated by building in several large exits to the concourses to avoid crushes. I know it's an odd conclusion to come to following an email saying we should remain seated as much as possible, but there you go.

Finally, I've had a look at the seeding for the up coming Champions League season. Qualifying could potentially be tricky, with Atletico Madrid and Galatasaray potential opponents. In the group stages, assuming all the seeded teams qualify, we could end up in a group with; Bayern Munich, Roma or Villarreal; Juventus or Zenit St. Petersburg and; Spartak Moscow, Shakhtar Donetsk or Fiorentina. There's a real group of death lying in there. That'd be great!

Til next time.  

On Wednesday, I came back from a holiday to the States. You never realise how bad Britain is until you return from a holiday. The streets are dirty, people are rude, the toilets have fag butts in the bowls, and absolutely everything is more expensive. The American's even do sports stadia and events better.

Whilst I was in the States, I went to a baseball game. I had never even seen a baseball game before, so I didn't really know what to expect. The Minnesota Twins hosted the Cleveland Indians at the Metrodome, and it was one of the best sports games I have ever been to. I won't pretend to understand the game as much as I do football, but the game was thoroughly enjoyable, and not just because the Twins won 4-3; the whole matchday experience beat the crap out of a day out at the Arsenal.

To start with, the ticket was incredibly cheap. My ticket cost $25 -- not even Junior Gunners pay that little. The grub inside the stadium was good (and hot, which tends to help), and cost relatively little. I can't remember the exact price, but it was certainly less than at the Grove.

The exteriors of the two stadia were fairly similar; mainly concrete, with the odd bit of decoration here and there, although the Metrodome was far more decorated. However, the outsides of the stadia could not have been more different; whereas the Grove has a great number of Magazine and Programme stalls, fanzine sellers, burger vans and very little else, the Metrodome has a small fete. Food and drink is available, but you can also buy some official merchandise. There was a basketball hoop for kids and adults to play on, and there was an autograph session with an ex-player going on. All this outside my gate!

The interiors of the stadia could not have been more different. The Metrodome is full of colour and life. Photographs along the walls show you the current crop of Twins players, as well as the odd legend. There is a ring along the top of the wall providing you with the results for the various youth sports events the stadium has hosted. Food, drink and official merchandise kiosks are colourful and manned by friendly people who actually smile at you (and not just because I have a British accent, thank you very much). Not one of the walls showed bare concrete. You could tell you were inside a sports stadium, and whose stadium it was, without having to look up at the flat-screen TVs hanging from the ceiling. This is in stark contrast to the concourse of the Grove, which is grey, lifeless and boring.

When it came to the bowl of the stadium, there was, again, no contest. The Metrodome was comfortable. You could see all of the action and you weren't constantly berated for standing up to cheer. The stewards were virtually invisible, which I think is a good thing. Naturally, the seats were not as good as at the Grove, but every single one had a cup holder on the back. The bowl itself wasn't as nice to look at, and several thousand seats were folded away to accomodate the outfield, but it was still very good aesthetically. During the match, the atmosphere was great. Everyone was having a great time. The mobile food vendors weren't as loud and disruptive as I thought they might be, and they actually enhanced the atmosphere.

The only bit of the stadium I didn't like was entering and exiting. Due to the inflated roof, the air pressure inside was different to outside, so your ears popped upon entering and exiting. It took me by surprise both times, but I suppose it's just something you get used to.

All in all, though, this was definitely one of the best sports events I've ever been to. The only ones that beat it are the 2006 Heineken Cup Final (when Munster beat Olympique Biarritz) at the Millenium Stadium, and last season's 2-0 Champions League win over AC Milan at San Siro. Not one game at the Grove or Highbury came close. That really is very sad, and I think it's definitely something we, as Gooners, and the club need to work on.

Well this is my first ever blog post, so, err, welcome!

Let me start by saying I am in no way related to Cliff, I have merely chosen to take on his name and goal tally as a username. Right, now that's out of the way, onto Arsenal.

The main news currently is Adebayor's non-commitment to staying at Arsenal. To be fair, he hasn't said he's leaving either, but what was annoyingly incessant press speculation is rapidly becoming a mild concern. The Boss, though, seems certain Ade is going nowhere. He said;

He's under contract and that's quite simple. I can tell you as manager of Arsenal football club I'm not worried. Of course I expect him to be at Arsenal next season - he's under contract.

Arsene's stance on the situation gives me great confidence Ade will still be a Gunner come September. Ade had a good season, and I think he can get better. The amount of chances he failed to put away are proof that his game can improve, and I'd love it if he could do that at Arsenal. If not... Well, no one player makes Arsenal. We will survive if he leaves.

In other news, Cesc's Spain take on Jens' Germany in the Euro 2008 final tomorrow. Cesc could start for Spain, and departing Gunner Jens should keep goal for the Germans in what promises to be a good game. I will be cheering on Spain so, given my track record, I fully expect Germany to win.

If you're lucky, there may be more tomorrow. Or is that today now?