What a performance!!!!  No wonder Wenger is beaming these days. No point trying to play down the score line and display with excuses of Liverpool putting out a 2nd string team or the  Lucky Ol Arsenal story this young team translated the Wenger style of football to perfection. It had the short sharp interchange of passes, holding the ball up front, winning the 50/50s, the confidence to shoot at goal etc etc. The defence, with the oldest guy in the team Toure (25yrs) marshalling the line could have stood against the best. It was a pleasure to watch

Lets see how Spurs will cope or maybe Wenger will roll out the Infant Gunners for the Match

The score line of 4 - 0 sounds like one way traffic. The TV highlights showed Arsenal cruise through the game with a display of a team totally in sink, with imagination, wonderful ball control and determination. What more could you ask for????

The reality was an Arsenal team that continuously gave the ball away through poor passing, kept the ball far too narrow on the final third of the pitch and again and again tried to walk the ball into the net. Yes they did have moments of brilliance but remember they were playing against 10 men for most the game. The only player not to loose the ball with a dreadful pass was Lehman. To sum it up I would recount the comments  in the crowd in the build up to Hoyte's goal. When Henry had the ball you heard people mutter ' dont pass the ball to Hoyte he'll only loose it ' and boy were they relieved in fact amazed when he slotted it into the Charlton net

This Arsenal performance was not good enough if they want to match Man U, Chelsea and the other top clubs in Europe.

Share watchers will have seen a dramatic rise in the value of the Arsenal shares.  Moved from £5200 to £6500 in the space of a few weeks. At the lowest 5 years ago they were only £1250

The value of the Club now stands at over £400M

Are the boys from the Middle East who lost out on Liverpool now in the hunt????

As first reported on 4sportsake  there is movement in the ownership of Arsenal.

Over 11% of the shares have been bought by one of the richest men in America. Stan Kroenke a self made billionaire with large property interests and a very stong presence in the American sporting world is on the move. His credentials as per Wikipedia

Kroenke is currently a sports mogul. As the head and owner of Kroenke Sports Enterprise, he has been co-owner of the National Football League's St. Louis Rams since their relocation to Missouri in 1996. In 2000, he became full owner of both the National Basketball Association's Denver Nuggets and the National Hockey League's Colorado Avalanche, purchasing the team from Charlie Lyon's Ascent Entertainment Group. In 2002, he partnered with football legend John Elway and Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen to become co-owner of the Arena Football League's Colorado Crush. He continued to grow his sports empire in 2004, when he purchased National Lacrosse League's Colorado Mammoth and Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids from Phil Anschutz.

Lets just see how far Peter Hill-Wood, David Deen and Dannie Fiszman

need to be pushed before accepting an offer.

What a shambles England were last night. Were you there? Hopefully not, unlike me who was bored so much I must have spent more time watching St Johns Ambulance resuscitate a collapsed person and jump on and off my seat than be engrossed in the match. Albeit Brasil played a weakened team, but they were still oozing class with Gilberto, Daniel Alves, Ronaldinho, and Kaka. Who did England have? JT, Gerrard and Becks. The rest of them may as well not have turned up. Admittedly the pitch did not help, and it is a crime that after 6 years the pitch is awful and cut up so easily and prevented a decent passing game.

Beckham was quality. So was Gerrrard, he was so committed with each tackle and he can pass a ball! He epitomises a determined proud patriotic footballer. Alan Smith, Shorey (he did ok), Carragher (out of position), Joe Cole (he tried'ish), and Lampard. No bloody wonder the latter was booed. He was a f'ing disgrace. He may say he was tired but bloody hell, how often do people get to represent their country, and in the first England match at the new Wembley? He was f'ing awful. No-one likes to hear a player get booed but he deserved it. No commitment, no ability to pass to his players nor beat a man, he should have been hawled off earlier. Defoe or Crouch should have started and Wayne Bridge should also have started. McLaren got it wrong. The equaliser at the end of the match was no less than the silky Brasil deserved. They had other chances, where Robinson saved them, and didn't look like they were that fussed at all. Kaka was a delight to watch with Ronaldinho as they glided through players, beating them with such ease, whilst all England had was Joey Cole who when he wasn't successful in winning the ball or passing his man, went down.

Is it true that internationals are not so passionate to play for their country? If so, I am sure the likes of Andy Johnsons can provide the perfect example of commitment.

McLaren (whether or not Venables agreed) was correct in bringing Becks back. This was affirmed by the standing ovation he earned when substituted. However the rest of his team selection - in the lead up to a crucial qualifier against Estonia - was a disgrace and if England lose then McLaren must go. My sources within The FA say it is a dead cert he will be forced out, and if Allardyce hasn't taken the Newcastle job, the hierarchy would have eaten humble pie and offered him the job. Allardyce apparently was the best interviewee when they did the managerial process (before offering the position to McLaren) over the last year. Now Panaroma has died down, The FA would have taken him on. The problem is if they get rid of McLaren, who will take over? THe best are in jobs.

Back to the match last night. Brasil with a weakened team deserved at least a draw and had pride in wearing their jersey. Unlike England! Shame that so few fans saw the equaliser, but when you have 90,000 fans going for the tube and organisation is so shambolic, what do you expect?

Ordem e Progresso. Order and Progress is the slogan of Brasil and it epitomises the way they place, unlike the English.

McLaren must go; for the good of the English game.

Following my blog on the Brasil match (PS that's the Brasilian way to spell), McLaren is again showing his true muppet colours. Kieron Dyer at right back! Hello!!!! Look on any website and I guarantee my life savings you will not read that Dyer is a right back. Sicknote maybe, full back no. He is an attacking midfielder and McLaren would be crass to jeopardise any fluidity in his defence by risking Dyer there. He may as well go with a safer option, Phil "I'll give away a crucial penalty" Neville. Then he can build forward from there. JT has an injury and will not be 100% fit, there will be a heap of expectation on Becks, Crouch to come in alongside Owen will guarantee (again) long ball. Can't wait for tomorrow night. We'll either get loads of goals or a post-match resignation. What are the odds?

Look at the money that governing bodies reinvest into their sport, stadia, communities, and good causes. If television broadcasters did not pay all that money the sports would be in a decrepit state. So now the Premier League, French Tennis, French League and a host of other companies spread across the world are suing Google and YouTube for permitting broadcast clips (uploaded by users) to appear on the website infringing their copyright and breaching exclusivity. YouTube say they can not filter, but it is amazing that other sites can. Is it that YouTube don't want to do anything as the reason Google paid in excess of $1billion is because the sites makes money and the infringing clips create revenue from the advertising alongside? YouTube can not succumb to the rights owners and their whole business model would go out of the window, so watch this space for regular updates of Premier League and Bourne (an independent US music publisher) v Google and YouTube. It is David v Goliath in the Sourthern District Court of New York.

Unless I have missed something, there seems to be little discussion about David Beckham. Some may be grateful for this, but having watched the Beckham documentary on ITV, it strikes me that he is not only a great footballer, but a very personable, determined and charitable sort of guy with family values, who loves the game of football. You can not fail to be impressed with the way he recovers after each knock down, whether it be the England dropping episode, or the Real Madrid shenanigans. No matter how much money you earn as a footballer, if you are a genuine footballer, you want to play, and to be dropped at the highest level has to hurt. Beckham knuckled down and forced both his National Team Manager and Club Manager to back down from their positions and it reaped dividends. Now he has moved to America for a huge amount of money. Is he doing it for the mone. I am sure family financial security plays a part - but how much money can you have? - but I genuinely think he wants to bring some success to LA Galaxy and increase the exposure the sport gets out of the US and encourage participation. It can only increase the revenues to the sport as well so I see it as a win-win for all parties. I hope Beckham is successful, but if not, at least I am sure he will have given it a good try. He seems like an honest chap after all!

Few issues in relation to Spurs require discussion on this forum?

Has the treatment of Jol been a disgrace? Does his job role of Coach merit that treatment? Has his purchases added to his downfall? Is 4th place an unrealistic target?

You can only feel sorry for Jol. Look at the positions Spurs have finished in consecutive Seasons. He has brought stability to a Club that has constantly underachieved. Daniel Levy may argue this is because of the infrastructure at the Club and the fact players are bought for Jol, however Jol still has to get the best out of these players and gel them together and bring a fluidity to the team. Jol took the job knowing what it entailed and he can't complain about the structure in place. Jol has only ever signed two of his own players, one of whom was Mido, and you can see why Levy and Commoli do all the player purchases etc. Jol never wanted Bent either which begs the question, why?

The way the Board treated him after two games was shambolic but Jol came out and acknowledged these things happen in football and in fact he got a better contract after informing the Board of interest in him last Season. The Board have indicated they must get into the top 4. Is this realistic? Should this target not have been set pre-season as opposed to after the first couple of games (defeats)?

Many questions, not so many answers. Spurs lose another couple of games, what are the odds of Adios Senor Jol?

Most football fans would be excited if their team had seven points from three matches in the "Group of Death". That excitement may be about to be short lived. I am a Rangers fan and have been for 29 years of my life. I bleed blue, never wear green and go up to the matches as much as I can. I went to the Stuttgart and Barcelona home matches and watched the Lyon away victory from abroad. Wednesday I will be at the Nou Camp in the echelons of the stand, at the very back, musing that the excitement of contemplating qualififcation from the group is coming to an end. Yes we have done well, but anyone who follows Rangers can not appreciate the negative tactics of 4-5-1 or 4-6, even in Scottish football where last weekend we could not beat Dundee United. We got lucky against Stuttgart and with Lyon it could easily have been a draw as they hit the bar three times. Now to get a point to Barca is fantastic, and to absorb their pressure for 90 minutes may be one way to do it, however as a fan you want to see your team have a go, make an effort on target, challenge for the ball, and not simply let a classier team stroke the ball around and constantly pepper the goal. So we go to Barcelona thankfully having not lost any more ground on the Septic in the SPL, and I expect that Barca fresh from their 3 nil victory tonight with Henry and Ronny getting a brace, will be fired up and give us a good pasting. We then have to go to Germany, where I expect Stuttgart to take something leaving us with a crunch final game at home to Lyon who will porbably still be able to qualify if they beat us. And we are bottlejobs, hence the excitement dwindles!

Oh to be an Arsenal fan however!

I went to Hampden last week with the expectation that Scotland would not quite manage to overcome Italy and unexpectedly and miraculously ascertain the second position in the group of death battle with the World Cup Winners, France, and Ukraine. The referee got decisions wrong for both sides, but let's be honest, Scotland the Brave were brave and bold but just not good enough! Alex McLeish is a good manager; he proved it at Rangers and to steer Scotland through as well as he did, was an achievement in itself.

Now to England; what a joke! The squad of players at McLaren's disposal ar easily good enough to win a tournament. So who do you blame and where did it all go wrong? Let's start with the latter. The players were not, or at least did not appear to be motivated. There is something wrong if you can't motivate yourself to play and win for your country. These are highly paid players who apparently pride themselves in wearing the 3 Lions jersey, however last night's display did not evidence this. The players sat back, they did not engage in battle with the Croats or show the passion to tackle and get dirty. It was sad that England got themselves back in a postion to qualify and decided to sit back and absorb the Croats. So to the blame. the pitch was awful but both teams had to contend with it. The FA? They should shoulder the blame for appointing McLaren. McLaren should not be blamed. He has never achieved anything in his career. He is not a man-motivator. He is tactically naive. Terry Venables should shoulder some blame as well as No.2 for not guiding McLaren better, but McLaren was put in a position he should never have been put in, and it was an inevitability the consequence of last night.

Alex McLeish for next England manager?

The last time we had a few famous sons racing in Formula One  was a decade ago when Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve raced together at Williams.

Now we have three sons driving at the highest level.

Nelson Piquet Jr  son of Nelson Piquet Sr   has had 3 races for Renault

Arsenal are lining up a ₤10 million bid for Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure, according to reports…

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger will be looking to bolster his options in central midfield over the summer following the departure of Mathieu Flamini for AC Milan.

The January sale of Lassana Diarra and the declining form of Gilberto Silva leaves Arsenal rather thinner in the middle of the park than they would like, sparking speculation that Wenger will splash out in the transfer window.

And according to The People, the Frenchman has pegged Toure to fill the void left by not only Flamini’s departure, but that of former skipper Patrick Vieira in 2005.

The former AS Monaco man has been linked with Arsenal several times over the last six years, due to the fact his brother and fellow Ivory Coast international Kolo Toure plays for the club.

And with the Toure the elder set to receive the captain’s armband next season, and Barca preparing to enter a new phase under Josep Guardiola, the time could not be riper for Toure the younger to make a ₤10 million switch to North London.

Rangers fan is back having been on the most fantastic European tour which culminated in a dismal performance last Wednesday in Manchester. Rangers pure and simply did not turn up and put in the kind of energy the true fans exuded. I never thought we would beat Zenit, and they were there for the taking. I thought it would impact on our League season, and a miracle is needed tomorrow night.

However back to Manchester last Wednesday, and think about all the press you have seen and the blame that has been placed at the feet of Rangers fans for the trouble and shambolic and embarrassing scenes. Firslty before seeing the article I have attached a link to, I have been defending Rangers fans by saying when 200,000 people descend en masse to one place, and 200 misbehave, this is a minority. A minority of mornic twats who have no shame at all. However read this article and tell me why more has not been said.

http://blogs.notw.co.uk/newsoftheworld_scotland/2008/05/english-rent-a.html#more

Kevin Pietersen defied both coaching manuals and belief. He had just pulled off something that surely no-one else in the cricketing world, past or present, has done and in the process has given the umpires more things to think about. Are new rules going to have to be written?

Last weekend’s disastrous  result against Valencia saw Real Madrid give up hope of catching Barcelona and the Spanish League title.  Things have not been all that settled at the club with the firing of German coach Bernd Schuster and hiring of Juande Ramos in December on a temporary contract until the end of the season. Real unloaded their star Brazilian player Robinho to Manchester City in August banking $22 million profit on the sale but leaving them short of star players capable of competing against rivals Barca. 

The passionate supporters of Real are not happy,  they want to see their club restored to the former glory days. Elections for a new President will soon take place. Could it bring the return of Florentino Pérez, the president when Madrid was last majestic, with its parade of Galacticos — Zinédine Zidane, Luís Figo, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo.  The fans want a return to that policy of star recruitment.

Real star players Fabio Cannavaro and Raul are another year older and now past their best, especially if real want to be contenders in Spain and Europe. Will we see them matching the potential spending power of Man City and Chelsea as they chase for local success and the title of the Kings of Europe?