Forum Topic

Thought for the Day

King James Bible. Revelations 12:12"Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."That is, unless he can manage to get a third term.

David Ainsworth ● 3d13 Comments

Congratulations, Jonathan, on an astonishing result. Hopefully Macclesfield will now get a lucrative away tie at a Premiership club.

Steven Rose ● 1d

They did it!!  They only went and beat the cup holders. Amazing stuff. First time ever into the 4th round.

Jonathan Callaway ● 1d

Steven'I regularly attend games at the Emirates'.I used to watch them as well (on the basis of my wife's great, great uncle who once apparently played for Woolwich Arsenal), when I was able to use my 'Red' level membership ticket privilege. The only one I could obtain yet alone afford afford behind Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze !This enabled me to get a ticket to watch the likes of Burnley, Wolves and ....Fulham and try the excellent restaurants in Upper Street.But never Man U etc.One gets a different Subbuteo perspective on the game from high in row Z at the Clock end of the Emirates !We then thought hang on, our real local team is Fulham and so we got season tickets in the listed Johnny Haynes stand which we still have.And of course we went on a wonderful European tour in 2010 where Woy's team took us to the final which we narrowly and unfortunately lost.Atletico's team we realised afterwards contained David de Gea, Diego Forlan and Sergio Agüero !But we had Zamora, Murphy and Clint Dempsey, scorer of the wonder goal at the Cottage against Juventus.🎼🎵🎶"he scores with his left, he scores with his right. That boy Clint Dempsey makes Drogba look sh!te".Good football coupled with sightseeing and great food.Sometimes a bit dangerous too.To attend the away Roma fixture Fulham fans were told at the last minute to gather at some square where we were herded into coaches and transported under police escort to the entry turnstiles !I am sure Arteta does not encourage foul play.As I said it's his Latin touch line histrionics that irritate me and put me off his team.But that's the irrationality of football fandom for you and Marco Silva can go berserk over a disputed throw-in also !Arsenal do seem to have the Premiership's best mid-fielders in Rice and Odergaard and forward in Saka.Plus two top class centre backs.And of course the 'corner coach' !Just a shame about Martinelli !Could they win the quadruple ?BTW have you ever bumped into Starmer or been invited to watch from his box 😉Best not to mix sport and politics.

John Hawkes ● 1d

How could anyone forget Macc's great cup run??Steven, I agree about all the penalty area wrestling.  The refs rarely pick up on it unless it is blindingly obvious.  It has to be said that Arsenal have mastered the art of attacking play in the opposing team's penalty area though it is not always very pretty!Back in the day one of City's better players was Francis Lee, whose ability to win and then score penalties was legendary.  In fact he adopted a Chinese name:Lee 1 (pen)Geddit?

Jonathan Callaway ● 1d

‘…… managers would tell their players to desist.’ Or, maybe, they’d tell them to dive.

Gerry Boyce ● 1d

I am afraid to say, Jonathan, that I was unaware of Macclesfield's magnificent Cup run in 1967/68. I wanted to add something about foul play. There is no reason for a player ever to lay hands on an opponent. Yet at corners you constantly see players pulling their opponents down. I think referees should simply give penalties and free kicks every time this happens. After a couple of weeks managers would tell their players to desist.

Steven Rose ● 1d

I always find football chat between supporters of different London teams very entertaining. I am strictly neutral in all this. Born in Manchester and schooled in Macclesfield I had an easy choice to make back in the early 1960s: red or blue. I went red for three reasons: Best, Law and Charlton. My team’s fortunes have, shall we say, fluctuated since then but I do know one thing - if Arsenal win the league then City won’t have, and that is good enough for me. Those who follow the footie will know my team currently needs yet another new manager. I am considering sending in my CV but I will only take the job on if my 12 year old grandson can be my assistant. He is the only kid in his north London class who supports United, the others nearly all Arsenal or Spurs. Final word: Macclesfield!  Come on you Silkmen! Who can forget their 1967/68 cup run which ended in the 3rd round at Craven Cottage? 4-2 as I recall.

Jonathan Callaway ● 1d

Mikel Arteta is admittedly somewhat histrionic on the sidelines but there is no evidence that this encourages foul play by his team. Arsenal have the (joint) fewest yellow cards of any team in the Premiership this season, namely 29, compared to the leaders, Tottenham, who have 55. Fulham by the way have 45. Arteta has managed to deduce the number of yellow cards given against Arsenal by telling his players to defend but not to put their foot in.  I regularly attend games at the Emirates and I can’t remember seeing an opposition player unable to continue because of a nasty tackle, whereas Saka, for example, is frequently kicked from behind.

Steven Rose ● 2d

StevenI don’ understand, John, why you call Mikel Arteta a ‘man-baby’.'Firstly this is a comment from the terraces and we football supporters are not rational !I just find his pitch-side histrionics irritating - questioning even every throw-in that does not go his way.But as Basil Fawlty might have explained - "He's from Barcelona".And if Arsenal don't win the premiership this year after the fortune they have spent on players, he is for the chop !And as for Martinelli I just feel that his over emotional attitude is partly derived from the example set for him by his manager.COYW !

John Hawkes ● 2d

I don’ understand, John, why you call Mikel Arteta a ‘man-baby’. I think he takes defeat and draws quite well and is generally respectful to his opponents, including  after last night’s match when he paid tribute to Liverpool’s performance. Martinelli obviously should not have tried to pull his opponent off the pitch. He misread the situation, believing that Bradley was feigning injury in order to waste time. Even the Liverpool manager admitted after the game that many players in the Premiership use this tactic. Anyway Martinelli got a yellow card and I hope he apologises to Bradley who, it seems, was seriously hurt.

Steven Rose ● 2d

Mr Ainsworth'"Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."This comment on Iran I have to concede is one of your more perceptive.How long do you think this Islamic theocratic dictatorship can survive ?Perhaps it will only take one more Trumpian push😉

John Hawkes ● 2d

Ms HammondFantastic win much deserved.Marco has developed a great style of play from this squad.It is recognisable and effective.But Cairney and Raul are both 34 so need replacing soon.Watching MOTD most other teams seem to play 'kick, rush and lob it into the box' including Arsenal.Talking of which, even as a 'Scouseophobe' I was so pleased to see that hysterical man-baby Arteta poked in the eye.No wonder Martinelli acted as he did.Who does he take his example from ?

John Hawkes ● 2d

The FFC Chronicles 8th January 2026Fulham 2 Chelsea 1Craven Cottage 7th January New Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior watched from the stands as Harry Wilson's fine finish condemned his team to defeat against west London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage.  Fantastic win for the Cottagers !!!Watch the highlights here:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/cj3vm5nz161t

Sue Hammond ● 3d