Grateful Gooner

Happy Birthday Steve!

// September 29th, 2006 // No Comments » // Adventure

Enjoy!

Walking in a Wenger Wonderland

// September 28th, 2006 // No Comments » // Arsenal FC

Arsenal Football Club and supporters the world over are celebrating today the tenth anniversary of the arrival of Arsene Wenger as manager.

Arsene has revolutionized not just Arsenal, but all of English football.

Three Premiership titles, four FA Cups, two European cup final appearances. An unbeaten league season. Patrick Vieira. Freddie Ljungbgerg. Cesc Fabregas.

Thierry Henry.

Arsene has brought so much to Arsenal, but according to the man himself, there is still work to be done:

I know one thing. No matter when I stop, I will always feel I have not done enough whether it is with the Champions League or without the Champions League. Personally, I want it to be with the Champions League but I know I will always have that feeling – even if I had won it three seasons running.

Chairman David Dein has offered Arsene the job for life. When all is said and done, Arsene Wenger will stand with Sir Henry Norris and Herbert Chapman as the single most important men in the history of Arsenal Football Club.

“Arsene Wenger’s magic, he wears a magic hat…”

Arsenal 2 – 0 Porto

// September 26th, 2006 // No Comments » // Arsenal FC

I’ve been swamped at work and can’t give this match report the detail it deserves. I’ll be catching the replay on Setanta tonight, but for the time being here are the bullet points:

Thierry Henry and Alex Hleb scored in the 37th and 47th minutes respectively to put the Gunners top of the group at 6 points. CSKA Moscow beat Hamburg to give them 4 points. Porto have 1, and Hamburg bring up the rear with none.

Seahawks 42 – 30 Giants

// September 25th, 2006 // 4 Comments » // New York Giants

Outcoached.

That’s what Jeremy Shockey says happened in Seattle last night. I for one think he’s right.

The scoreline doesn’t even tell the whole story, because the game was never that close. In fact, it was 42-3 going into the fourth quarter.

It’s obvious that there are some serious game plan adjustments that need to be made. I’m not sure if it’s bad scouting or what, but for two weeks in a row, early in games the opposition have been able to move the ball at will, while stopping the Giants with relative ease.

I still can’t say for certain whether the in game adjustments the Giants made, including those that enabled the comeback over the Eagles last week, are a result of Eli Manning being much better at running a no-huddle offense, or if the coaching staff are responsible for an improved game plan.

Either way, it’s normally a bad thing to have a bye so early in the season, but this time around, it’s quite welcome. Hopefully these issues can be ironed out in time for the visit of the Redskins to Giants Stadium on the 8th.

Arsenal 3 – 0 Sheffield United

// September 23rd, 2006 // No Comments » // Arsenal FC

Gunners earn first league victory at Ashburton Grove by scoring three in the second half to beat Sheffield United 3-0 this afternoon.

Sheffield United seemed to be stifling the Arsenal attack throughout the first half. In fact, the teams went into the interval level a 0-0.

However, the Gunners stepped up the pressure in the second half, and the much needed three points stayed at the Grove.

Next up is Porto at the Grove on Tuesday night. Kickoff is 2:45 PM ET, and the match will be shown live on Setanta USA here in the States.

Arsenal America NYC Gathering Part One – The Five-A-Side

// September 18th, 2006 // No Comments » // Adventure

There’ll be more photos coming in as those who attended this weekend’s activities upload them througout the day, but here are the first images from Saturday’s match between Arsenal America and the ManUre Big Soccer posters. Oh, wait, did I say ManUre Big Soccer posters? I’m sorry, but not a one of them showed up! The only ManUre supporter to take part in the match was a friend of NY Branch Officer Ryan Barkan’s named Daniel.

So, it ended up being Arsenal America Red v Arsenal America Blue. The great thing about 5-a-side on an indoor pitch is the speed of the match. We played for an hour, and after the dust settled, the final score was Arsenal America Red 11 – 8 Arsenal America Blue.

On a personal note, it was great to be able to hang out and have a chance to reconnect with my cousin Dave who made the trip down from New Hampshire along with his dad. It was also fun to see Becca play a few minutes during the five-a-side. When the “whistle” went for halftime, you could see that she was really disappointed that she had a 3PM rehearsal time! (Don’t worry Bex, we’ll be doing this again soon!)

Click on the image above to see a slide show from the match, and stay tuned for photos from Arsenal America’s trip to Giants Stadium.