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You MUST watch TS in person.
Friends. I might have finally been left speechless.
Ok not really, but I can’t write more at the more.
What I will say is that wether you’re swifties or not, you have to do yourselves the life shaping favor of going to a show.
It was unreal and I am so very happy/proud of my friends in her band and crew. It was truly special and touching to witness it.
I will write about it but if you’re wondering what this hast to do with AWFC, its just that they love her too. And I can see why.
Unreal.
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Chelsea Sandwich
But of course… It was always going to be Chelsea wasn’t it? I personally welcome the challenge and these are exactly the type of matches that make us love the sport so very much.
I am on the total opposite side of the world at the moment aka not in LA and I’m very jet lagged and hungry and sleep and tired and also have so much energy and I’m very excited about what the rest of day will be like for us today here but I will chat about that later.
One thing I want to mention really quick is that I respect and dare I say LOVE Emma Hayes. I really don’t care about her press conferences or digs at Arsenal/Jonas, etc. She is one of the architects of our success and we wouldn’t be here as a club if it wasn’t for her work, determination and knowledge.
She is folklore and she deserves a lot of respect and a lot more than what she gets from what I see online from Arsenal fans. It’s pretty crazy and I don’t think it’s a matter of opinion. Hating on her is hating on Arsenal in a way, but that’s just my opinion.
People need to calm down.
Chelsea, Villa, then Chelsea. Kinda like that trio of matches… let’s just get them all over with and show the world we are winners.
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Parking break OFF!!
How incredible was that? It was absolutely incredible to see everyone, EVERYONE play great. It was free flowing, elegant, ruthless… it was ARSENAL. I couldn’t believe how that first half went to be honest. Not because I didn’t think they were capable of but precisely because they are capable of that. This is them.
I have been critical of Jonas recently because I don’t think the combination of players he has chosen has been that effective but all things considered, today felt like the players just said: FUCK IT! WE’RE GONNA PLAY HOW WE WANNA PLAY.
Stina balled, Lia balled, Beth balled, Leah balled. Also this was BY FAR the best match I’ve seen LWM play and I gotta give her flowers for sure. Very, very good match.
I’m sorry but the midfield is much more fluid without Pelova. I know you all love her and I appreciate that and her commitment is undeniable, however I truly believe that Jonas hasn’t found the right position for her.
I was kinda bummed for Jordan, Anna, Rachel and Daphne, all players that I really like but that’s the way the cookie crumbles, my friends, and our girls ate every cookie and every crum.
So now we wait… Chelsea or Man City…
It’s interesting because if we play city we can have the revenge factor over our FA cup loss. But since we play Chelsea next, it might not be the worst to have them again so we know “exactly” what we can and can’t do.
I’m getting on a plane for a very long flight and I’m not sure what my posting schedule will be for the next few days but I’ll do by best to defy the space/time continuum and still write every single day.
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Villa today
I’m dealing with some potential last minute travel logistics and when I tell you I totally thought today was Tuesday again, I would not be lying to you. That is why I was shocked when I saw my FotMob app and it had the Conti match TODAY. Thankfully, if all goes well, I will be able to watch the game or at least most of it.
This is a very hard match to predict specially because I don’t think the manager knows our best XI, as arrogant as I can sound just now. To me, not knowing what our best XI, doesn’t allow me to know who is coming in for who and like I’ve said many times, some players are getting way too many minutes and they need a break.
I know we usually have our reserve keeper aka Sabrina for some of these matches and no disrespect to Sarah, but we need to keep things as consistent as possible and Manu needs to be back there.
My assumption is that the back 4 will be the same, with KCC and Pelova in the kids table lol. With the adult supervision of Queen Kim Little. I expect Beth and Caitlin to play and Stina upfront.
But I would like to see 2 forwards up top. Honestly think Stina and Alessia or anyone plus Beth would be incredible. Meado is a world class assassin and she is a finisher. I get she’s stellar on the wing but I believe her as a 9 would be a good shift that we need.
Villa haven’t kept a clean sheet in 5 matches and as much as I LOVE Van Domselaar, this is not the match I want her to have a clean sheet in.
I would love to see Jordan get some minutes and also Anna Patten because I think she’s very, very good and I think its a shame we let her go.
Overall I’m hoping for a shift in the team, in formation and if Jonas won’t play the best team possible, which should include Lia, Kim, Russo, Stina, Beth, Amanda, Leah, Manu, Katie, then I have no idea what to expect.
Bonpastor should be our next manager.
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Is this the Most deadly group of death ever?!
The time difference is always interesting for me because there are times when it works to my favor and others when it doesn’t. It mostly doesn’t in theory since I wake up at 4am to watch games, but it’s also very favorable because it the games were later in the day or in the afternoon, I would not be productive at all and all I would do is stare at the clock.
I do love just waking up and having draws like this morning’s just laid out for me and I don’t need to watch the ceremony live or wait for the next opponent to be drawn etc. The draw didn’t disappoint.
Let’s start with the team I support and the one I refer to when I say “we” and that is the Oranjeleeuwinnen. All in all its a favorable draw in that the group isn’t that hard and there should not be an issue being top of the group based on paper alone but traveling to Norway and Finland, who knows in which weather conditions can’t be easy for any team. Italy aren’t the strongest side at the moment so I would expect us to qualify as group winners.
Then there’s little issue of the biggest group of death I can remember… England, France, Sweden and Ireland. Holy shit is right.
Right of the bat I will say how happy I am for Katie, Denise, Louise, Ruesha and the rest of the girls in green, that they will have this incredible opportunity to, if not qualify, to pose a great threat to all of these powerful nations, must be a dream come true and I’m here for every minute of it.
The players at Arsenal must all be so pumped and excited. It’s definitely a celebration in every possible way and I’m just beyond the moon as a fan that we get to witness these pioneers of the game in the biggest stage doing everything they can to get to another big stage. It’s magical.
But let’s not forget about fixture congestion and players being overplayed. That’s my big fear specially when you can’t really afford to rest those key players when you are playing for your lives.
For now, we get to enjoy it all, what can be and not worry too much.
We’re lucky and we’re living the best of times ever!
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Justice for Mccabe
Here’s the latest podcast episode!
d ❤
THAT ARSENAL WOMEN PODCAST on:
APPLE PODCASTS
SPOTIFY
You can listen to my music HEREAlessia Russo, Amanda Ilestedt, arsenal, arsenal blog, Arsenal Football Club, arsenal podcast, arsenal women, arsenal women blog, Arsenal Women FC, arsenal women football club, Arsenal women podcast, AWFC, beth mead, blog about arsenal women, blogs about arsenal women, Emily Fox, Leah williamson, Steph catley, Stina Blackstenius, that arsenal women podcast, Victoria Pelova, Vivianne Miedema, WSL, WSL Blog, WSL podcast, WSL transfer -
A win is a win…
It’s difficult to not see a NLD win at home and not be very positive about it. Even though I wasn’t impressed with the match overall I’m gonna do my best to, as usual, focus on the positives and look ahead.
All in all, the 3 points is all that matters and it feels good to have had some payback at a sold out Emirates. Let me say that again: A SOLD OUT EMIRATES STADIUM for a WSL match… not a cup final, not a CL semi. A WSL match. It’s just worth repeating a few times
Among the positives I’d like to point out how I thought Laia, Kim and Lia had really good games. Alessia scoring again is also a great thing and getting 9 corners or so was also a positive.
However, let’s be real now, getting ZERO out of those corners and set pieces is absolutely something to worry about and it has to be addressed. We had like 5 corners in the first 5 minutes and none of the felt like we posed any threat at all.
I also love a team with McCabe but she feels like she’s on a island. Sooooooo far from the action and it’s just not cool at all. Yeah we need her there but come on Jonas, there has to be different options. Play 3 at the back or something. She’s also a much better option on the left than Foord and it’s literally giving the other team an advantage when she is basically tucked away.
I know in my heart and in my brain that I should be more positive but I am not feeling that way today. We aren’t clinical, we aren’t ruthless and that to me falls on the manager because he picks the players and Is supposed to set them all in winning positions and for success. I don’t think he’s doing that at the moment.
We need a Roord or a Horan. We need a different formation from time to time. We need Stina up front. We need the USWNT to lose today so Emily can come back and Katie can be Katie.
I also think we need a female manager, ASAP.
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Who’s fit and who fits
Tomorrow’s match is one of those that challenge my puzzle solving/tetris playing ability, and you’d be correct if you thought that I wasn’t good at either. Usually though, we have a good idea of who is playing were but because we don’t know a certain someone’s fitness situation, it all gets very confusing.
That certain someone is Katie McCabe and she has become, in my mind at least, the most important player this year and is in fact the only option for player of the season. She is it. I know a lot of people want other players but they aren’t as crucial, effective and relevant. They just aren’t. They don’t carry the same weight.
I’ve said many times, and I still think this way, that Lia Walti is the barometer. How she plays, arsenal play. How her season goes, ours goes. I will die on that hill. This doesn’t take away the importance of Katie McCabe.
I’ll just mention 2 things: her versatility and her power.
Let’s start with the latter… it’s unquestionable, undeniable and unmatched. She is a force of nature and ANY team with her in it is that much more intense, powerful and dare I say: mean. And we need that.
I’m sorry but I would bet large sums of money that an opposing team looks at our team sheet, sees Pelova, LWM, KCC or Frida and are terrified or intimidated. But they see McCabe and they are like: oh shit.
I guarantee it.
She is also absurdly versatile. I mean her not playing at right back tomorrow can throw the whole damn thing into a crazy spiral. Now we’re thinking about 3 at the back, having players play out of position and all this at a sold out Emirates.
I’ll definitely talk about this on the next pod, but at the risk of sounding arrogant, if you don’t see her importance I kindly suggest you watch the games and ignore twitter and TikTok.
So, with that said, who is fit and who fits in the squad tomorrow? Well its hard to say if Katie’s involvement is not confirmed. Assuming she is not…
A change in formation is what I’m expecting and what I’m afraid of. 3 at the back isn’t something I feel Jonas excels at. Also, these are incredible players that will adapt and play anywhere for the good of the team.
I wouldn’t be shock if Beth plays RB.
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Talking ≠ saying something
In the long list of what can be frustrating as a fan, feeling like we’re not being told the truth has to be right at the top of the list; and this is coming from someone who definitely feels the club doesn’t have to disclose everything and people should mind their own business, hahah.
What I mean by this is that if you look at the comments Jonas made about Viv, Leah and co, you’ll find that he talked a lot but he didn’t really say anything. And to be fair to Jonas its not that I don’t think he’s saying nothing but I just wish I would get more information and I would assume that you would like that too.
I didn’t read which knee Viv is getting an operation on but we can assume it’s the same one she did her ACL on, but if that’s the case then we would process it differently than if it was the other knee. Then, when we hear about Vic’s “muscle injury” it would be great to know which one because there are over 600 muscles in the human body.
Basically I’d love it if there was less cryptic “news” and more assertive and informative truths. But again, they don’t know us anything, and we definitely don’t have a right to know things that aren’t our business and that they want to keep under wraps not only for the player’s privacy but also to not give our opponents an advantage as it regards to planning against us and so on.
All I care about is the players being ok, mentally and otherwise. That’s literally the only thing I care about and I don’t care if we lose every NLD ever if it means our girls being solid in every way possible.
With that said, we should still beat spurs at a sold out emirates because, let’s be honest, we have a world class squad and they don’t and there’s no reason to doubt that we’re gonna get a result.
Lotte and Laia played well together, Steph will play on the left and not sure what will happen with Katie. If she’s not fit I would assume we’re playing 3 at the back, but I’ll speculate more on that tomorrow and Sunday.
Oh, and if you’re subscribed to The Athletic, I was privileged enough to chat with Katie Whyatt and you can read a bit of what we spoke about here
https://theathletic.com/5289629/2024/03/01/male-fans-womens-football-interviews
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When to engage and when to ingore
Women’s football fans deal with so much stupidity online, it’s quite exhausting. Day after day, post after post, tweet after tweet, the slimy rats appear and express hate, homophobia, misogyny and more. It never seems to decrease, does it?
I have definitely changed as it relates to when I engage with these people and when I choose to ignore them. Lately I have felt it’s way more productive, important and healthy to ignore them. But sometimes I feel guilty, as if I’m letting down the women I admire, the sport, and what’s just in life. Like we have to fight against them, don’t we?
That dynamic is very weird and odd. Not sure I know how to navigate it a lot of the times but I think the important thing for me is to try to identify not just what they are saying but how and to read the message a few times. To try to understand first of all and often we find that they clearly have some personal issues and things they’re dealing with. 99% of them big men and I feel truly sorry for their partners and family members.
Sounds rude, but it’s how I feel.
A couple of days ago the Venezuelan football federation released their new shirts and they were modeled only by male players and I commented on it. Shortly after dozens of dudes that clearly hate women, said some really horrible stuff and normally I would’ve replied to each and every single one, but I didn’t.
Not replying works for me, but am I ignoring some sort of duty? Should I have tried to change their mind? to explain themselves more? for what? I don’t know really.
What I know is that if this is a crappy situation to deal with, I can’t imagine what being a player is life. When these attacks are not about my opinion on a marketing strategy, but a direct attack and insult.
We gotta do better as fans and calm the f*ck down sometimes.
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A very subjective look into AWFC 