Petr Cech/FA Cup Final/England Under-21s

From Tarik: Petr Cech

Alex Ferguson got Edwin van der Sar at 35 from Fulham , what a good addition he was.

Hoping that we do sign Cech. I’ll take 5–6 years of his class.

From Ben : 540 Seconds

Arsenal losing to Wigan in the 2014 FA Cup Semi-Final in the 81st minute.

This was the match, and the dire performance to go with it: Arsene Wenger was literally 9 minutes away from getting the sack. No exaggeration, and deserved or not, the tipping point was reached, he would walk if the result stood.

I know this same narrative works for Hull, and I know we had a rough patch in December of this past season, but on that 81st minute during that match 2014, he would have severed his ties with the club.

So who would have imagined that he would have gone on to slay everyone in his path, to win TWO CONSECUTIVE FA CUPS, and build a pretty damn squad along the way.

We don’t argue Wenger In or Wenger Out in this post. Rather, we admire the almost demise, but the ultimate victory. To me, that is impressive.

Let’s never forget where we came from, let’s rejoice in where we are, and let’s not lose sight on where we are going.

Up the Arsenal!

From Balthazar Florentin-Lee ; regarding England U-21s

Reading the responses, I think one thing was missing…the referees.

As long as the English see skill as an unfair form of advantage, and referees allow players to “get into them” to compensate, we won’t get anywhere.

Myles says:

On British referees, Balthazar is right. And that’s never mentioned

British crowds have often preferred contact and untidy action to artistry.

On the FA  Cup, it’s only six matches, often at home to a team in a lower division.

On Petr Cech, I’d love to see  a video of Szczesny’s first training session with Petr & Christophe.

A big Reality Czech for the gobby Pole.

Let’s wish him luck. He’s gonna need it.

Cech, a super-professional keeper, could help Arsenal get to a Champions League semi-final. 

That might happen now. Or have I gone off my rocker?

Today is the sunniest Tuesday morning I’ve ever seen in London but my routine’s the same as usual.

In last Tuesday’s pilates class we used the spongy pink balls, so we won’t see those again for about five weeks.

Blonde Angel: “Just wiggle your pelvis without falling off the ball – should feel good.”

After a challenging hour in the studio I staggered downstairs into the changing room and bumped into Jamil.

“Who can save the Greek economy?” I asked.

“Putin.”

“What, give them free gas?”

He laughed.

I said, “Have you seen that YouTube video of Putin doing judo, throwing six young guys around, one after the other?”

“Was Obama one of them?” he asked, giggling.