Arsenal

[phresh]

is there a "man-hours lost through injury" type statistic for EPL teams?

I was thinking about this the other day, the best way to do it though would be to look at player availability as that better acocunts for the larger squad sizes of the top teams.

edit: also this line "I see a great many tackles which are fair but result in injury" is absurd. How many fair and square tackles do you see that snap someone's leg in two? Nonsense.

That Coventry player, and he busted both legs in two!

[MiniVixen]

Are you talking about Busst vs Man Utd? If so he wasn't tackled -- he slid in and his studs caught in the turf, and his momentum broke his leg, and it was only his right leg, not both.

[Arc'Tan'Gent]

It highlights the hypocrisy of Arsehole fans. Viera was one of the roughest bastards ever to play in England and got sent off more times in two games than Shawcross has in his career. So the lesson from Gooners is "It's ok to be a violent thug as long as you're on our side".

So by that concept, if any Man Utd players become seriously injured, the fans have no right to be upset because of Roy Keane's mental challenge on Alf-Inge Haaland?

Absurd.

[Dude Ranch]

*Arsene article*

I'm interested in your reason for posting this. I'm not prejudging, simply interested cos you've not commented.

[Art Vandelay]

Interesting to see in that Sunday Supplement show that it was The Sun of all people defending Wenger. I expect Barclay to speak sense as they guy is always considered and on-point, but it was very refreshing to see.

[Eats hoops and leaves]

I'm interested in your reason for posting this. I'm not prejudging, simply interested cos you've not commented.

I hadn't seen it posted yet and I thought it made for an interesting read.

[BlinkyBear]

Bee-you-tee-ful.

[Dude Ranch]

I hadn't seen it posted yet and I thought it made for an interesting read.

Yep, cool and agreed. Nice one Hoop.

[phresh]

Are you talking about Busst vs Man Utd? If so he wasn't tackled -- he slid in and his studs caught in the turf, and his momentum broke his leg, and it was only his right leg, not both.

My bad, he broke his leg in two places, not two legs in one place. I thought the injury was due to a collision with Irwin and someone else though, I think the majority of broken legs usually involve studs getting caught in the turf at some point during it happening.

[a big boy]

The idea that this can be reduced to an argument over whether Arsenal as a club can claim the moral high ground is a massive straw man. This is about officiating the game correctly and ensuring players careers aren't put in jeopardy by their fellow professionals. Regardless of who's involved.

I'm listening to Football Weekly now and Rafael Honigstein absolutely nails it. Yes, accidents happen in football but it's hardly a coincidence that you don't see these sorts of injuries in Germany or Spain where as they are unfortunately almost considered part of the game in England. Moreoever, this supposed moral defense of Shawcross that he doesn't seem a bad lad completely misses the point. Only a lunatic would suggest he actually intended to break Ramsey's legs, but still you owe a duty of care towards your fellow professionals at least to the extent that your challenges aren't totally wild and liable to do the sort of damage we've seen to Eduardo, Diaby and now Ramsey. This shrugging of the shoulders "let's just move on, accidents happen" attitude - is exactly the kind of approach that ensures this will keep happening again, and again.

[phresh]

The idea that this can be reduced to an argument over whether Arsenal as a club can claim the moral high ground is a massive straw man. This is about officiating the game correctly and ensuring players careers aren't put in jeopardy by their fellow professionals. Regardless of who's involved.

I'm listening to Football Weekly now and Rafael Honigstein absolutely nails it. Yes, accidents happen in football but it's hardly a coincidence that you don't see these sorts of injuries in Germany or Spain where as they are unfortunately almost considered part of the game in England. Moreoever, this supposed moral defense of Shawcross that he doesn't seem a bad lad completely misses the point. Only a lunatic would suggest he actually intended to break Ramsey's legs, but still you owe a duty of care towards your fellow professionals at least to the extent that your challenges aren't totally wild and liable to do the sort of damage we've seen to Eduardo, Diaby and now Ramsey. This shrugging of the shoulders "let's just move on, accidents happen" attitude - is exactly the kind of approach that ensures this will keep happening again, and again.

I can pretty much guarantee you will never stop that kind of challenge happening, there will always be an element of human error and the good old red mist, they key for me is reducing the overall physicality which you would expect to then lead to a reduction of tackles that lead to long term injury (not just broken legs). I think there is another issue and that is that players essentially build a rod for their own back by constantly crying wolf and going down at every opportunity. Maybe that is why there is less physicality abroad, any challenge will be punished but that then leads to an increase in simulation because of this.

[a big boy]

I'm sorry to say any challenge will be punished abroad is just wrong and indicative of the kind of thinking that stops the authorities clamping down on this. Fouls are more likely to be called abroad. And if injuries like Ramsey's don't happen in the rest of the continent (obviously not actually never, but extremely rarely), they can be count on down on here too. The Spanish mentality is no less firery than the English, they just know they won't get away with a sympathetic pat on the back for endangering the careers of their fellow professionals.

[phresh]

Yeah, I overstated it a bit and you're right, not every challenge is punished.

[hercules]

Bee-you-tee-ful.

Great to see, i just really hopes this galvanises the squad, we have a really good chance off winning the league but now we really have to prove it on the pitch

[Shawyboy]

Found an interesting pic today, which suggests Ramsey's leg may have been in trouble before the contact, look at the angle of it here as it goes in to the turf:

[redbloodcell]

It looks like its from before the contact, but the position of the ball is all wrong for it to be so. Also rewatching the video Shawcross is much more upright when contact is made.

[The Fox]

Found an interesting pic today, which suggests Ramsey's leg may have been in trouble before the contact, look at the angle of it here as it goes in to the turf:

Uh that's after he's kicked him. Pretty sure he didn't split his own leg in half with no assistance.

Also you should hotlink that for the squeamish.

[Mars]

Bee-you-tee-ful.

Fucking brilliant.

[Dude Ranch]

It looks like its from before the contact, but the position of the ball is all wrong for it to be so.

It's definitely after. But.. I watched MOTD last night and I don't know if it was an optical illusion but Ramsey's leg does look like it's turning over a bit before the contact. I still think the force of the tackle was ridiculous and reckless though, this was an accident waiting to happen.

[The Fox]

Ramsey's ankle was turning over a bit before Shawcross kicked him, yeah. I would have thought that's pretty irrelevant though considering the break was halfway up his shin.

[Dude Ranch]

Ramsey's ankle was turning over a bit before Shawcross kicked him, yeah. I would have thought that's pretty irrelevant though considering the break was halfway up his shin.

I'm just saying.

Anyway, apparently he's spoken to Ramsey and it's all cleared up, no hard feelings. I say apparently cos Eduardo couldn't remember the visit Taylor claims he made . But it's in the past now and hopefully Ramsey can go on to become amazing. I also read an otherwise meaningless piece from a guy who did the same at 16. He said he never really looked down at the injury and in terms of making a mental recovery it was the best thing he could have done. If Whelan made sure Ramsey didn't look at it, as has been suggested, then even more props to him.

I haven't said this as it seemed irrelevant, but Ramsey's awesome, isn't he? He might not have blossomed at 16 like Rooney or Cesc but he's so complete as a player that he can be world class.

[Rev]

Let's all salute Sheffield Wednesday players. If that is what he was doing, the Whelan is a genius.

[Lucky]

Not sure about that picture, It's quite obvious it was caused when there was contact. Anyway, I think all that can be said about it has already been said.

An unfortunate accident (again) caused by players being a bit over the top and reckless when it comes to getting stuck into Arsenal players. This kind of over the top attitude will result in these kind of injuries.

How about this then?

Next seasons away kit?

Also

Arsenal's chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, has said the club are looking to bring the Highbury Clock to the Emirates. The famous clock, which was erected in the early 1930s by the then-manager Herbert Chapman, is expected to be in place for the start of next season.

"We want to bring the clock back into the stadium and we will move back to having a Clock End, a North Bank, and East and West stands," he told the Daily Telegraph. "We want to make sure it is the best stadium in the world, five, 10 and 15 years from now.

"We want to make it not just a technological marvel but a place that our fans can feel the traditions of the club."

[SeanR]

hotdogs... reminds me of hotdogs.

[Dude Ranch]

The kit is no better or worse then most recent efforts. At least it's yellow. The neck looks a bit snug though.

On the subject of the clock and the stadium plans, good news. We need that clock, it's part of our history and is clearly seen as part of the Arsenalisation of the Emirates.

I did read a piece about when Real came over for the Emirates Cup, apparently they were massively impressed with the stadium, the way the Club is run and the whole organisation and hospitality. This has been said for years and years though, foreign Clubs visiting to see how we operate. Just a random snippet of info there!

[Throbin Hood]

Whelan was an absolute legend with Ramsay, really hope he gets a massive cheer for it next time he is at our place. Top bloke.

Getting the clock end clock back would be amazing.

[Rev]

Things to envy:

Real Madrid: Kaka, Ronaldo.

Arsenal: Organisation, hospitality.

[Dude Ranch]

Just read this on Gunerblog. Made me chuckle and grind my teeth at the same time. The Macari bit is literally incredible, even if he's been selectively quoted.

Yesterday’s date was the 1st of march. Sadly, it was neither the first nor the last march of football’s imbecilic pundits brigade. You’d think the injury to Aaron Ramsey would be the sort of incident to unite football fans: a young player with a burgeoning career all-too-literally cut down by over-zealous tackling. However, there are a fleet of individuals determined to stand out from the crowd.

Take Stan Collymore, the lady-hitting dogger and tip-top football pundit. He’s always stood apart from the crowd, largely by the crowd’s choice. In the aftermath of Saturday’s game, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was understandably upset by Ryan Shawcross’s tackle. Understandable to most, but not to Collymore, a man who is pathologically contrary. He began:

“Wenger was completely out of order with his post-match comments about Shawcross. Despite the belief that Wenger is the professor, he has a real bitter and nasty streak.”

I like Collymore’s assertion that being a professor and having a nasty streak are somehow mutually exclusive. Perhaps he had a really bad experience at university.

…Oh.

Stan The Man (Who Has Sex In A Van) wasn’t finished. Where others saw a deeply upset but articulate man voicing his concern over the treatment Ramsey had received, Collymore saw a French conspiracy:

“It is blatantly obvious the Frenchman wants to buck the trend and traditions of English football. If Wenger wants to make football almost a non-contact that is up to him but it won’t happen in England.”

Collymore is right. That pesky Wenger is always trying to buck the trend and traditions of English football. Like in the mid-90s, when he almost single-handedly transformed our game from one consumed by drinking culture and ugly football in to the world’s leading league.

It’s odd that Collymore is so bitter. It’s almost as if he was one of those players whose lifestyle was so incompatible with the demands of top-level sport that Wenger’s revolution caused him to be left on the scrap-heap, shouting-down punters on talk radio in a desperate attempt to remain relevant.

When I was a young lad, I collected the sticker album to my right (picture of sticker album). Every time I popped in to the newsagent I’d pick up a packet of stickers, and tear them open, excitedly hoping I might catch sight of the Ian Wright shiny that I so craved.

It was never to be. I spent countless pennies chasing that simplest of dreams, and was disappointed. And at every turn, every time I opened one of the small packets, whose face was staring back at me, a malicious grin strapped across his inanimate face? Paul Parker.

I had more Paul Parkers than the rest of my stickers put together. I couldn’t shift them. I actually wrote to Merlin to ask if there was some sort of Paul Parker-laundering scheme going on. Imagine my horror, then, when I saw Parker’s aged but still recognisable features in the byline of an article on eurosport.yahoo.com.

If that shock alone was bad enough, the opening sentence floored me:

“Arsene Wenger was wrong to criticise Ryan Shawcross for the challenge which broke Aaron Ramsey’s leg and should apologise to him.”

Apologise for what? For criticizing what was an irresponsible and dangerous challenge? Nowhere has Arsene made any kind of remark on Shawcross’s character, other than to say that it’s no defence. Being a nice bloke doesn’t mean you didn’t do it.

Parker rambled on:

“When something like this happens, [Wenger] should count to 2,025 before he opens his mouth.”

At first glance, 2,025 seems like an arbitrary choice. Perhaps Parker can’t conceive of a higher number? In fact, no: it is the exact number of Paul Parker stickers that I had spare. The plot thickens.

In the end, I destroyed my countless Paul Parker swaps in a ritualistic ceremony involving some Fairy Liquid and a bucket. Sadly, the real Paul Parker would never fit in a bucket.

Finally, bringing up the rear, Lou Macari. The following really needs no introduction:

“What got my goat about events at Stoke on Saturday was not the tackle, but Arsene Wenger’s ridiculous reaction to it.”

Not the hideous challenge. Not the bone-crunching effect on young Aaron Ramsey. Not the fact that one of Britain’s brightest young talents has endured an injury he may never recover from. No, Macari’s not bothered about those. But Wenger’s reaction? Disgraceful. Wenger’s reaction has got Lou Macari’s goat and is holding it at gunpoint - and furthermore, he’s demanding the soul of English football as ransom.

He continues:

“I’ve got to say I felt sorry for Shawcross.”

“…as well as Ramsey”? Go on Lou, at least show a bit of balance. No? Ok, then, carry on.

“Not just because of all the hoo-ha over the challenge, but the fact it overshadowed one of the greatest moments in his life after being called up by England for the first time.

I suppose the furore over the Ramsey injury is a bit of a spanner in the works, but the call-up is still a feather in his cap and he should go there and enjoy the experience as much as possible.”

It is a bit of a spanner in the works, isn’t it, that Welsh fella’s leg falling off. Bit of a bummer for poor Ryan. Sort of remiss of Ramsey to let his leg break on Shawcross’s big day. Selfish, even.

Macari crosses the boundary from stupidity in to just plain scary. He doesn’t even show empathy for the player who has been hurt.

The problem with Idiots is that to compensate for the lack of weight behind their opinion, they often talk very loudly. Collymore & Co have struck up their marching band, and are on parade. Johnny Foreigner comes over to this country, takes our contracts, then complains when his leg comes off.

Fortunately, there are a few sensible folk out there who are making constructive and intelligent contributions to the “furore” that Macari deplores. Martin Samuel and Patrick Barclay, among others. Hopefully their voices will be distinguished above the rabble that so often dictate football conversation.

[Dude Ranch]

Things to envy:

Real Madrid: Kaka, Ronaldo.

Arsenal: Organisation, hospitality.

There's no shame in good manners .

[Rev]

I wasn't entirely convinced we came off worse in that list myself, actually...