Stoke Blues, Early rumours & Kronke's plans hit snag.

Afternoon Gooners,

I have come out from my hiding place in the hope that all the Stoke-ness in the world has been evaporated and we can all move on from what has to be 90 of the most depressing minutes of the season. Never have I felt so crap watching a game. All I wanted was a spark of enthusiasm, a droplet of effort, a trinket of passion and all I got was 11 players plus subs who thought pre-season had already started.

No player can take pride from that performance on Sunday and I hope they are made to watch the game in full by Arsene Wenger over and over again in a hope that they will realise just how bad they were and decide to at least turn up for the final two games of the season otherwise we could well find ourselves having to play a qualifier for the Champions league next year. If that happens then despite reaching further points in the cup competitions and challenging for longer for the title, the season has to be seen as a backwards step from last year.

I desperately tried to find some positive points in recent day’s news to pick me up but failed miserably. Instead I found a load of ex players saying we weren’t strong enough, Sagna speaking out saying we had no fight and Wenger sounding more beaten and pessimistic as I have ever heard him since he first came through the front door at Highbury. However, in his depressing press conferences and interviews of late I very much get the impression that Wenger finally believes that something must change but more than that is already planning ahead and making decisions on how to improve our squad in the summer. He said:


"We have our plans and we know what we will do"

Now I know eleven words hardly make a complete argument that change is imminent but this is a quote at the end of a long period of acceptance for Arsene Wenger and maybe it’s just my new way of channeling optimism but I honestly think we will see a busy summer this year with up to 3 or 4 players coming in as well as going out.

One of those players linked has been linked with us for a while and is the mountain of a man Christopher Samba of Blackburn fame. In fact, Samba has gone one step further and claimed that he was close to joining us in January, now I personally don’t think we need a world class centre back to come in so someone like Samba could do the job but I’ll look closer at transfers once the season has finished.

Slightly higher caliber player linked to us again recently is Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema. Wenger is a fan of Benzema and has publicly admitted liking the player and although he would not pay the £35m that Real did, a cut price of £15m-£20m may tempt him to bring in the big name player many fans are craving.

Players are still being linked with moves away but there are seemingly more and more stories claiming that Liverpool have joined Real Madrid and Manchester City in the chase for Gael Clichy. Now the fact that many teams would be interested isn’t a shock however the fact that the price being flung about is only £5.5m has literally had me on the floor in stitches, a much needed laugh for Gooners in this miserable week. £5.5 million... Really? Anyway, as I said I’ll look at transfers in a bit more detail at the end of the season.

Other news floating about at the moment is all about Stan Kronke’s takeover.  Just when Silent Stan thought that a fat greedy Russian was the only thing standing in his way of a complete takeover, the Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST) have contacted their members advising them not to sell their own shares to Kronke.

There are about 1’000 shareholders and supporters in the AST and last year they set up Arsenal Fanshare which has seen 1800 fans buy small stakes in the club but the total investment has risen to above £650’000. The deadline for Kronke’s offer is May 27^th but AST have said they feel the future of the club will be safer if it is not controlled by a single owner. A letter sent out by the group included quotes such as:

"The AST believes that Arsenal is stronger when supporters are represented in its ownership structure,"

"This arrangement means we can ask questions at an AGM and scrutinise the official report and accounts, something the AST has gained a reputation for doing with clarity and expertise.

"We also think that having supporters involved in the ownership helps to give the club a real sense of 'belonging' and acts as a check and reminder to those that run the club that its most important asset is its supporters."

I have to say that on many levels I agree with them but in all honesty as long as the takeover doesn’t turn hostile and cause issues behind the scenes at the club I don’t have much preference on which way it turns out.


Anyway, I’ve muttered on for too long today so I’ll leave you now to mentally prepare yourself for tonight’s game between City and the spuds. I can’t decide what result would make me smile more, obviously City dropping points is good as the bigger the gap between us and them the better but at the same time, knowing even a sixth place finish for Spurs wouldn’t give them European football of any sort next year makes me smile a lot. I guess the best result would be a draw as that would leave Spurs behind the scousers and would mean one win from our last two games would guarantee us third place and avoid those annoying qualifiers in July/August.


Until next time,
Goonerfish.

Szczesny's defence, Wilshere for England and Cesc to Real?

Hi Ho Gooners,

Can I just start in saying my love (in a purely professional sense of course) for our new number one Wojciech Szczesny is growing daily. His recent defence of Arsene Wenger made me swell with pride and showed just how mature even the youngest of our young squad can be, when questioned about the criticism coming Wenger's way he said:

“It’s ridiculous really, If you ask any of the players they will stand by the manager. He built this team from nothing and I believe he is the best manager in the world.
 

“We are a young team, we still believe we have a lot of years ahead of us and a lot of trophies to win. Let’s be patient and show that we are good enough.

 “We all take individual responsibilities for our mistakes. Everyone has played their part in this season’s disappointment and I think we have to take it as a team. You can’t blame the boss because he stood by the team the whole season and supported us.

Well said Mr Sczcesny!

Other news this week includes Wilshere being called up for the under 21 squad for the summer. Now although I want our star players protected and Jack is definitely a star player and will be for years to come, I actually support him playing in the summer. I remember when David Bently was called up for the U21 squad a few years back while he was playing for Blackburn and he came out and said he didn't want to be in the England squad  because he was tired. My initial response to him was that he could F**k right off, how dare he say no to his country. So many kids, even adults, would sell organs and limbs to have been in his position. What right does he have to say no because he was tired?! If I phoned work and said "sorry, won't be in this week because I'm a bit tired from working the last couple of weeks" they would sack me on the spot for being a knob. Playing for your country is a privilege, not a chore!!

Whenever Wilshere has been asked about it he has remained professional and always said that it's not his choice, it's up to the FA and on twitter proclaimed "I will never say no to my country" All I can say is good on you Jack, good on you. However if the FA are by any chance reading this, please don't pick him, he's a senior international and could really do with the rest!!

I wasn't going to mention this next bit about Cesc Fabregas on this blog but I keep thinking about it and laughing a little then turning really angry and then get really nervous but finish with a feeling of pride inside. There is a piece I read today on the Online Gooner (I'm not going to provide a link because I don't want to give the author any more hits) that claims a £45 million deal has already been agreed for our captain and it will  be announced early June that Cesc will join......................... Real Madrid!! The author claims it will be announced in June because it is after the deadline for season ticket renewals. The author then goes on to claim that we need to buy several world class players to compete and Nasri is useless etc, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah.
I'll concentrate on the main issue that Cesc has already been sold to Real Madrid. Firstly, Jose Mourinho may not even be there next year so I doubt they will be allowing him to spend that amount of money before the season ends and a decision on his future has been made. Secondly, does anyone think we would agree a sale without allowing a bidding war to commence? Thirdly and most importantly, Cesc will only leave our beloved Arsenal for one team and that is the team he has supported since he was a boy, Barca. As I said, I keep thinking of this article and laughing, then get a little angry about the constant rumours and 'inside sources' we'll have to put up with again during the summer, then nervous that another trophy free season may be too much for Fabregas and he may actually complete his move to Barca but then end with a sense of pride in our captain as I remember the way he has dealt with all this nonsense in the past. Cesc loves Arsenal. Cesc loves Wenger. If Cesc leaves it will be to wear the number 4 Barca shirt that was annoyingly reserved for him last year. The author of this article has claimed to have written proof of this transaction (although declines to share it) and claimed he will give up writing on the site if it doesn't happen. I hope he enjoys his newly found spare time.
(I just want to point out that the above is in no way an attack or criticism of Online Gooner, I thoroughly enjoy the site. It's just this particular article that got to me.)

Anyway, the weekend is finally here. It feels a little annoying watching Champions League in midweek knowing we're no longer involved but our long wait of a full week to see the boys in action again is almost at an end as we look forward to a trip to Stoke play the closest thing to a rugby team we can see in the Premier League. Great news in the build up to this game is that Vermaelen is available for selection again after coming through 90 minutes in the reserves against Man Utd. I don't think TV5 will be starting against Stoke but the knowledge that he is ready to go is fantastic and if given a problem free pre-season he can once again claim his reputation of one of the leagues top centre backs.

Well, there ya go, that's my two cents worth. I'll leave you now the rest of your evening,

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Rambo guns down Utd, New home kit & Fergie's a comedian.

Good Morning Gooners,


I have been away for God knows how long due to personal reasons that I'm not going to harp on about but what a time to not be blogging, I've missed the depression of the Carling Cup final, the ecstasy of knowing the title is in our own hands and the misery of watching that control disappear with a run of miserable results including that ludicrous run of draws, but enough of all that, it's all in the past, I've missed my chance to rant over them and like everyone else I must move on.

So what a welcome back to the blogsphere. The unbeatable Manchester Utd that people were seriously considering could finish the season with four trophies and unbeaten in the Premier league but yesterday saw them  lose their fourth game of the season to ............... hold on a second, just let me check my notes.......... Oh yeah, Arsenal!!

The team deemed not good enough to be crowned champions all the way through pre-season and the year so far spent 90 minutes dictating to the almighty red devils how football should be played. We showed them that Arsenal are not a team that rolls over to die and can compete with the very best teams in world and we can even do this without our best centre back and one of the best midfielders in the world.

There are times I am truly proud to be a Gooner, yesterday was one of those days. The commitment, togetherness and passion shown by our players was immense, the point proven by Arshavin's second half performance. The magic little russian (although didn't really offer much going forward) showed how much he seems to be concentrating on improving the defensive side of his game and produced no less than four crunching challenges to regain possession from Utd.

Szczesny has continued to grow in his role as Arsenal's new number one and produced yet another faultless performance. Koscielny was seen wandering around the Emirates at about six 'o' clock in the evening, apparently he still had Hernandez in his pocket, where he had spent all afternoon, and Kos was wondering who to return him to. Djourou was solid throughout and I really hope his injury isn't too bad. When Vermaelen returns, which could of course now be much sooner than expected, he can rest assured he will have a top class partner in defense regardless of which player Wenger gives the nod to.

We beat Utd in the midfield yesterday and if you asked anyone to pick a midfield that will win that game at the beginning of the season I guarantee no one would have given the answer Song, Ramsey and Wilshere. All three were immense throughout the full 90 minutes Ramsey dictated the play for the whole game and Wilshere's forward runs were sublime, yet again proof of just how good the depth of our squad is.

Walcott has really started to discover himself this year and when he suffered his injury in the middle of the season I fully expected to see him whither up for the rest of the year but sweet Jesus has he proved me wrong. Theo has gone from strength to strength this year and did anyone else notice he was rotating with RVP  when it came to central duties? He spent a lot of time in the first half in a central possesion and although I hate to draw comparisons between players new and old, a lot of his movement was very Henry like.

So, in achieving this and realising 2011's 'Happy St Totteringham's Day' as we secure yet another season where the Spuds need to look up the table and stare at our arse and dream of reaching our heights and also secured Champions League football for another season. (Both points are assuming we avoid complete catastrophe of results and really need another point to be certain but as a Gooner I'm nothing if not optimistic)

My final comment today is on the new kit which is now available for preorder and here it is:



Now in all honesty, I actually quite like it. It celebrates our 125th anniversary and has the simple motto 'forward' below the badge which is rather fitting for the current stage of our club but was also the motto on the kits from our early years. I saw a lot of 'potential' designs floating about the internet and the big issue with me was those bloody leaves on the crest however, they have actually grown on me and if you look at some of the other images available it looks a lot better on, now yes I would prefer to have kept the white collar but we can't have everything we want.

Even though I know our title challenge is over, yesterday's result can't help but make me go over all the mathematical possibilities of how we can still be crowned champions and regain a little bit of (realistically unfounded) hope. You will read a lot today about "why couldn't we perform like this all year" and "it's only one game" and other negative rambling but I urge you to ignore them and just enjoy making Fergie sulk.

I'll finish with a joke. A Skysports presenter goes up to SAF after the game and asks him about the game and when talking about the penalty decision says "We're not going to get decisions like that in a major game" when questioned on his statement he continued "it's too big a game and we don't seem to get these decisions"................. That is all. Is Fergie serious? Ah well whether it's the real world or Fergie's fantasy land one fact is the same, Utd lost, Arsenal won!!

Until next tme Gooners,
Goonerfish.

Wolves Thoughts:Good time to be a Gooner, bring on Barca

Afternoon Gooners,


I feel good today, I always do after an Arsenal win. Better than the win yesterday was the team performance.

Robin Van Persie will get the majority of the Headlines after his brace but everyone that played yesterday had a great game. Szczesny was solid and calculated, our defence were excellent with Djourou and Koscielny continuing to form an excellent partnership, there will be some tough decisions for Wenger to make once Thomas Vermaelen is back fit again as neither of yesterday's centre backs deserved to be dropped but surely you can't leave out a fully fit Vermaelen.

Song, Wilshere and Fabregas are without doubt our best midfield trio. We all know how good Cesc is and Song proved last year that the DM role is his and he's added a bigger attacking presence to his game this year. Jack Wilshere has stepped into our midfield this year and even he must not have expected to play as much as he has but he showed again yesterday how he can dictate a game.

RVP obviously had a great game yesterday, you can rarely pick up a couple of goals unless you play well but his attacking team-mates also had great games. Theo Walcott kept running at the Wolves defence all game and they just couldn't handle it. Theo kept jumping from right wing to left and was running at full pace right up to the final whistle although he did miss two sitters, when you win you can forgive him. Arshavin worked his arse off. He chased lost causes, he tracked back and helped Clichy and closed down players whenever he was needed to. This is the Arshavin we all hoped we signed.

Confidence seems to be high in the camp which is vital as we look forward to Wednesday night and the visit of Barcelona. We will always create chances against any team but we will need the same work rate and  hunger shown yesterday to keep Messi and Co from creating to many of their own chances.

The result would have been sweeter if Wayne 'Shrek' Rooney hadn't produced the best goal of his career against City to secure Utd a 2-1 win, however with three consecutive away games coming up, including Chelsea and Liverpool they will drop points within the next month and Arsenal only need Utd to draw one game and then the title is in our own hands. If Man Utd drop any points at all in these games then Arsenal only need to beat them at Ashburton Grove and then match their remaining results and we will win the title. The other good news is that we are now four points clear of Man City in third with a game in hand and even if Chelsea beat Fulham on Monday, we will still be six points clear of the Chavs. The title race really is becoming between only two teams and we're one of them. It's been a long time since we've gone into the final run in as genuine contenders.

So mid way through February we are looking in good shape to beat Barca, we are only 2 dropped Utd points from having the title in our own hands, we have a Wembley final in a couple of weeks looking to end our extended trophy drought and we are still going strong in the FA Cup. It's good to be a Gooner.

On that positive note I will leave you for today,

Until next time,
Goonerfish

Dowd's a tit but we must four-get the negatives.

Morning Gooners.


Right. I had the joy of playing some poker on Saturday night with some mates. Most of these mates are Gooners but also included some Man Utd fans. As we arrived we instantly came to a gentleman's agreement to not mention the day's football, but when we obviously failed we ended our depressing thoughts of the day's activities with all agreeing quite simply that last weekend just did not happen.

I wish I could keep with that agreement but every now and then I get a glimpse of the disappointment, frustration and anger that I felt when that fourth Newcastle goal flew into Szczesny's net.

I cannot and more importantly will not show the same restraint as our manager and players and refrain from mentioning the ludicrously inept refereeing by the self loving, self important gnome that is Phil Dowd. His performance was pathetic and before you start bitching that it's a pressure job, I don't know how hard it is etc etc, I'll point out firstly that I am a qualified and active football referee. Secondly Mr Dowd is apparently in the top percentile of his profession so I do not care how much pressure you are under at work, if you can't take it, don't do the job.

Our game fell apart once Diaby got sent off. I am not saying that the red card was not deserved, Diaby's actions were reckless and stupid, However, again my annoyance is two fold, firstly Barton's challenge was reckless and excessive and it was at least worthy of a yellow card but again it does not allow Diaby to do what he did but my second point is this, can someone please for the love of all that is holy explain to me how Kevin Nolan putting Szczesny in a headlock after Toon's first penalty is not as much of a red card as Diaby's? also how did the whole thing end in Szczesny getting booked? lets not forget Nolan's push in Diaby's chest before the Frenchman was sent off which again was worthy of at least a yellow.

All my bitching can't be reserved for Dowd though. The second Newcastle penalty was given by the linesman and I am still trying to find the law of the game that means a penalty can be conceded with making absolutely no contact.

Arsenal have failed to win a single game under the supervision of Dowd this year and he was also the referee in the games we collapsed against Spurs and  Wigan. Also in the four games under his completely unbiased eye he has shown 10 yellow and 2 red cards to Arsenal players compared to 7 yellow and 0 reds to our opponents. Do not tell me this is pure coincidence. There have been reports circulating today that Interpol will be investigating the game for match fixing, in particular Phil Dowd and ....... wait for this............. Rosicky! I'm not going to fuel these rumours but the first report I read with a translation of the French press was on Gooner talk and you can read it here.

Even after everything we suffered on Saturday the worst bit of it for me was the injury to Djourou. The young Swiss defender has really grown this year and in my opinion has surely become first choice to partner Vermaelen when he returns. There has been no official news at the time I'm writing this but I'm sure we'll read a report today on Arsenal.com telling us he'll be out for around three weeks which of course will mean he'll miss the first Barca game. Get fit quick Johan, we need you.

OK, here comes the 'but'. We were 4-0 up and in complete control of the game. Diaby's red card hurt us as we didn't have a natural DM to see out the rest of the game and Djourou's injury was disastrous as (please correct me if I'm wrong) but we have failed to win a league game that our centre back partnership was Koscielny/Squillaci BUT the players we have and the quality they have should not be letting that lead slip. We were not strong enough, we did not concentrate enough and we let Newcastle back into the game. That second half performance cannot be excepted and certainly  not repeated if we have any desire to win anything in the coming years.

Despite everything I've just written I consider myself one of the most positive Arsenal fans in the world so I will try to spread that positivity to you guys in a vain attempt to make you feel better about the weekend. The message is this, you must ignore the fact that we were 4-0 in half an hour and although it felt like a defeat please remember we won a point which is one more than either Man Utd or Chelsea achieved. We have finished the weekend 6 points ahead of Chelsea, one point ahead of City with a game in hand and now only four points behind a Utd we are still to play at Ashburton Grove, play Chelsea - twice, Man City and away to Liverpool who seem to have found some form and hunger so if we beat them when they come to our place, Utd will still have to take maximum points from the other games above and I'm sorry but I just can't see that happening.

Utd's next four games are City (h), Wigan (a), Chelsea (a) and Liverpool (a). In that time we play a game less because of the Cup final but we play Wolves, Stoke and Sunderland all at home. By the time these games are completed I believe we will be within 3 points off them and if we go into the United game at the end of April knowing a win will put us top (or keep us top) then I have every faith that we will take that opportunity with both hands and after that we will have 3 games to hold on to that lead before we can be crowned champions.

OK, now hopefully you're all feeling a little better about things and can look forward to our next game but just in case I'll end today's blog by sharing some more of the silver lining, as pointed out by Ladyarse on twitter. We conceded four goals and not a single one of them was down to a goalkeeping error.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Some good news, some bad news & petty Moyes

Morning Gooners,


I was trying to think of a gentle, polite and respectable intro to today's blog but all I could come up with is this: uh-hum *clears throat* Isn't David Moyes a ridiculously pathetic, whining little girl!!

The Ginger Scot from the blue side of Merseyside has been having a proper cry stating that he over heard Cesc Fabregas asking how much the referee got paid to not see the three yard gap that meant Saha was offside when he put the Toffees 1-0 up in the week. He said:

"Cesc questioned Everton's integrity by suggesting we had possibly given money to the ref,"

Then when Arsene pointed out That Moyes was talking out of his arse, he responded with this:

"Arsene seems to think that I haven't seen or heard it, but you have to decide who you believe - David Moyes or Arsene Wenger - and I'm happy for people to make their own mind up on that."  

Don't worry you lying petty pillock, we have!!

Moving away from my rant, sad news has been received about on Fabianski. The poor guy has been ruled out for the season after having to undergo surgery. I feel so sorry for him, he has taken his chance this year and proved so many fans and pundits wrong and shown his qualities in the Arsenal goal with only one slight error this season ironically against today's opponents when he misjudged a cross a lost out to now Liverpool striker Andy Carroll. I wrote on a blog months ago that I thought he's be our first choice keeper by the end of Christmas and if he had remained fit he would be strongly established as our number one. Get well soon.

Silver lining though for everyone except Fabianski is that Szczesny has come into the side and excelled. He has only conceded a single goal in his last three games and has looked as solid as keeper twice his age. I really hope he takes his chance and help us towards some silverware.

Good news from the Arsenal camp though is that Vermaelen finally looks like he's on his way back to fitness. Arsene Wenger has said he is "making very good progress so he should (be back in) three to four weeks"
It should bring him back in time for the return leg against Barcelona , I doubt he'll play against "Cesc's club" but it's great to know we'll have TV, Kos and Djourou for the final push in the title race.

Anyway, it's time to start looking forward to today's game against Newcastle. We all know what happened last time we met so there's no need to to go over it again but St James will not be an easy place to visit but if we had to pick a time to play them then 6 days after they have lost their best player  followed shortly by their second choice striker getting injured would be a good shout.

I think we'll see Andrei Arshavin get a rare league start today but I think our 'lazy' Russian is starting to find his confidence again and if he gets the nod I really think he can make the difference for us. With Man Utd almost certain to get the three points against Wolves (probably scoring the winner in the 93rd minute) our boys really need to be on their game and ensure the we keep our concentration and pick up the win.

I'm off to find a decent stream and enjoy the game, you can follow me on twitter for random mumblings.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Transfer madness finally over and we're still in great shape.

Afternoon Gooners,

The transfer window has finally closed and Arsenal will continue through the rest of the season with the same squad that we had at Christmas.

There has been a lot of moaning from certain areas of the Arsenal fanbase that we failed to sign anyone and that moaning is being heavily fueled by the media. I heard myself shouting violently at Ian Dowie and Tony Cascarino on skysports news last night as they were questioning Arsene Wenger's sanity as a result of not adding to our squad.

To those who share their opinion I ask you this...... Who would we have signed?

Do we need a goalkeeper? - Fabianski's and Szczesny's form so far this year would suggest definitely not. Neither have done anything to warrant being dropped, let alone completely replaced and Almunia is a very good back up keeper to have.

No we do not need a keeper.

Do we need a defender? - Lets split this one up. At right back we have Mr consistency Sagna with Eboue in reserve so no-one needed there. Our choices for left back are Gael Clichy and Kieran Gibbs so who could you bring in above them? Centre back is a big call. We have TV5, Squillaci, Djourou and Koscielny as our main four central defenders. My opinion has always been you need three centre backs you could rely on week in, week out and in Vermaelen, Djourou and Kos I think we have them. Then you need players that can play there for the odd game here and there when we're desperate and Squillaci fills that role for me as much as Campbbell did the second half of last season. We also have Song that can comfortably play in the centre back role. There would have been no point in bringing in a player like Cahill or Jagielka or Upson or Woodgate purely because they are no better than the main central defenders we already have and then when everyone is fit we would have unhappiness in the camp because players aren't getting the games they feel they deserve and we would have to end up selling someone in the summer anyway.

No we do not need a defender.

Do we need anyone in midfield? - Would you drop Fabregas? Would you bring an experienced player in over the natural quality of Wilshere? Who would you bring in to replace Song in the DM role? But then again, maybe we need some cover, after all it's a long season and we're still competing in four competitions. It's not like we have a pool of players like Diaby, Denilson, Ramsey, Rosicky or even Nasri who can play in the middle of the park if called upon............ oh wait a minute!! Look at players that were available? Would someone like Charlie Adam really add that much to our squad?

No, we do not need a midfielder.

Should we bring in a striker? - Theo Van Nasregas (Not my invention but love the name!!) would slot into almost any side in the Premiership. We have Theo Walcott, RVP, Arshavin, Nasri, Chamakh, Bendtner fighting for our forward positions, how much more quality competition do we need? Andy Carroll? £35m + add ons? you're having a laugh!! Torres would be a fantastic addition to any squad but the question is do we NEED anyone and our financial structure does currently allow for luxuries that we do not need. Torres would fall into that category.

No, we do not need a striker.

I wrote a blog a few days ago about Wenger's transfer policy and last months activities so just how good our manager is. Our starting line up against Wigan cost £46.9m, that's less than Torres and if you take Nasri out of the line up then Andy Carroll just about covers the cost of the rest of the team. That is mental!!!!!

However I did give a chuckle when Arsenal.com announced the signing of Ryo Miyaichi, a player we agreed to sign over a month ago and have already loaned out so he can get his work permit,  at about 11 o'clock last night. Surely that was someone with a sense of humour that put it up on the site as the transfer window closed.

January saw a record £225m pass across clubs in exchange for players services and now that madness has stopped we can get back to concentrating on what really matters, playing football, starting tonight when we host Everton in the Premier league.

We may not have seen any new faces come in but we haven't lost anyone of real significance either. We still have one of the strongest squads in the league and I believe we have more than enough talent to genuinely challenge for all four titles.

If you disagree, feel free to leave your comments below.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.