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Zombies & Turkeys
Today starts a very weird week here in the USA. As some of you know Thanksgiving day is upon us and with it lots of emotions and thoughts arise. As a whole, being grateful is basically my life philosophy and it would make sense that I would see this holiday as one of if not my favorite time of the year. In theory maybe. I’m not gonna get into the dark history of the holiday but it’s worth looking into if you haven’t.
Then there’s the lovely side of it, for those lucky enough, who can spend time with family, eating a lot, resting etc. And then there’s Black Friday, which is fantastic if you’re at home ordering some stuff you’ve wanted or needed for at a discounted price, but going in person to a store that day is basically as close to a zombie apocalypse as one could ever experience, and I would even say it would be safer because zombies are slow and they don’t say mean things.
But what the hell doesn’t any of this have to do with women’s football or Arsenal? I honestly have no idea other than, overall, I’m thankful for this club and the amount of joy that they have brought to my life the past few years. But seriously though, I am of the belief that in order to achieve anything important wit a true deep impact on others and on ourselves, we have to be grateful, not only while doing so but the action itself is a means to thank people and give back.
The issue some people run into though is that they give thanks or do things for people but they do so fueled by what they will get in return, and this is one of the beautiful things about life and being a football fan, specially a women’s football fan.
We all know that there’s nothing we could ever do to repay all they joy, excitement, acceptance and even sense of belonging and identity building that a club gives us. Even as a musician, who has to be not only obsessed mentally with music, but emotionally too, there’s always room for Arsenal. It’s part of who we are and it’s something that I’m very proud of.
Among the things that young people can learn from the AWFC players in how to be grateful always and this is something that a lot of people criticize about the new generation, although that’s been going on forever hasn’t it? Anyway, the girls are always thanking the fans, expressing how much it means to them to see and hear them. They get the travel, they understand the sacrifice, they truly do, otherwise they wouldn’t be where they are and have been for the past few years.
Weird post, I know… but I’m a weird guy.
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Solid, solid, solid.
I’ve been up since 4 am because I set the wrong alarm. Normally I set it for an hour before kickoff time so I could see the lineups, ponder about how we will play and everything in between. Today though I set it up for an hour BEFORE the team news aka 2 hours before kickoff. So to say that I’m not at my most lucid would be an understatement.
The lineup isn’t my preferred one for a few reasons and it’s always a thing with me when its not. Usually, if the players I want to see aren’t there, it takes me a few minutes to get into the game to be quite honest with you but there was something in the energy and vibe of the match today that was very much invigorating.
KCC has been playing incredibly well and I cannot wait to see her play with Kim and/or Lia. And don’t get me wrong, I still think Kim and Lia are cornerstones and barometers of our squad, team, match, season, but it’s very good to see someone so dynamic and intelligent at our club.
Ever since I’ve watched football if noticed that there are players you watch and you think to yourself: “pass it here” or “do this!” and when they do it feels like you’re connected in a way. Then there are some that do the total opposite, in a frustrating way or usually in a: “shut the f*ck up you don’t know anything” way, and they’re correct too haha.
Kyra is a player that I think makes the right decision all the time and even though I usually disagree with who gets POTM, this was an absolute no brainer.
Speaking of brains, you know I’m a Roord fanatic. Her goal today was so damn smart. I miss her 😦
A trip to the south coast is next for the girls on Thursday, when they will play Southampton.
I gotta go rehearse but as always: THANKS FOR READING!
d ❤
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You had one job…
I really don’t like depending on other teams for anything. It’s just a helpless position to be in and we can get all existential and talk about how that is also a good way of living etc but the fact of the matter is that Liverpool not beating Chelsea today absolutely sucked.
In all seriousness I didn’t think that Chelsea would lose or even tie this match but I just wished I could go to sleep and wake up (the match was at 5:30am my time) and be greeted with better news, that’s all.
But holy sh*t Chelsea are good. Yes Lauren James is great but the rest of the team look very solid and its gonna be a very interesting match next month at The Emirates. If you’re going, please enjoy every second. If you’re not going it’s ok, it’ll be super cold haha.
Our girls face Brighton tomorrow and don’t really have much to say other that I’m hoping for another resounding win. It’s the only thing that will suffice. Not just winning but winning but a lot.
Going back briefly to depending/not depending on other teams, can I just say that I know that this is literally how it works BUT you can’t just think you’ll go a whole season unbeaten. But anyway, the Manchester derby will be interesting. A draw would be the most favorable result in my opinion as the idea of both teams dropping points is fantastic.
Some days I can get more creative than others and today my brain is fried.
I’ll do a podcast tomorrow after the match at some point.
Enjoy your Saturday!
Enjoy your week!
d ❤
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Don’t worry about who’s next…
The music industry is absolutely insane. If I were even to develop this point in a more detailed way, there would be so many examples of how ludicrous it all is, that I wouldn’t know where to begin. And I guess if we take a step back this is one of the things that both music and football have in common: absolute insanity.
One of the things that some musicians face is actively pursuing bigger and better gigs as a goal. I don’t like to compare artists or legitimize them based on the size of their crowds, but to make it as objective as possible, some musicians want to play with artists who play at bigger venues.
That is understandable to a large degree and I relate to this in a way. The issue is though, when you lose focus. When you are on a gig (literally during a show or while you’re part of a project) and your eyes are on what’s next, it doesn’t allow you to be fully present. I get the distraction and the ambition, but I’m also talking about the responsibility you have to be there, to be respectful of the artist and music as a whole.
As women football fans we know that players have a finite career, and that they can change teams every year it seems. And with that comes the understandable vision of who will the next “X” player.
Lately there’s been a lot of talk about Pelova being the next Kim Little. This is something that I definitely don’t agree with for several reasons. First and foremost Victoria is her own player, she’s an individual, she’s unique in her own way like every player is and should be seen as who they are. Not a copy of or anything like that. Secondly they play different positions and more importantly, Kim is still here and is not showing any signs of slowing down in my opinion.
For the record if I had to pick “the next Kim little” I would go with Khul but that’s not the point. The point I’m trying to make is that we need to realize what we have, while we have it and not worry about the next Kim. Nobody will be the next Kim Little.
She’s one off, she’s historic and its unfair to put that pressure on anyone. I choose to enjoy having Kim for as long as she wants at our club and I encourage you, if you have an eye o what’s next, to truly focus on the here and now and know how lucky we are to have Kim as our captain.
Enjoy your week!
d ❤
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Who needs clean sheets?
The most basic of principles in sports is that in order to win you have to score more than the opposition. You can also flip that and assume you’ll win if you allow less goals that the rivals. At the moment we’re doing the former, but it seems like we are doing the latter. I personally find these types of things very interesting as it can be very much a perception situation.
We all know clean sheets do wonders for the team in more ways that I can articulate. And if you think I have any intelligent analysis or have some sort of misplaced confidence where I express how we can stop other teams from scoring, you are way too kind and I’m not that smart.
One thing I do know is that the staff, coaches and players are aware of this situation and they don’t really need anyone chiming in or pointing to the clear current state of affairs as it relates to goals being let in. It’s what’s shiny at the moment.
I much rather like to focus on 5 games unbeaten. During those matches the girls have scored 17 goals and let in 6. Those six goals don’t make us scream of confidence but that’s a +11 goal difference and I’m not a mathematical entity but I can tell you that is a great stat. And, it will only get more favorable when Beth and Viv get more consistent and efficient minutes on the pitch.
So like I’ve said before, I’m not one to obsess over stats but if the issue is goals against, then score a boat load more, and that’s what we’ve been doing. Yes goal difference matters but you can balance that out by not missing sitters, by being ruthless.
And I think that is something that we have to take advantage of during the WSL season whenever possible, as we did with Leicester. We need to demolish Bristol, Everton, West Ham and Brighton, all of whom have a negative goal difference.
Before I go I wanted to apologize for cancelling my show yesterday on The Highbury Squad but I will be back soon. Also, and I will write more about this either here on via Twitter, but the backlash my friends on that pod are receiving after their interview with Aaron Ramsdale’s dad, is way too harsh.
If you haven’t watched it, do yourselves a favor and check it out HERE
Enjoy your week!
d ❤
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CANCELLED -AWFC Show today!
Sorry friends, have to cancel this
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Sometimes this blog is about ideas, sometimes its about matches, sometimes its about things related so women’s football in general and on days like today, this blog is all about shameless self promotion.
As some of you know I often appear on The Highbury Squad, which is one of the most important Arsenal YouTube channels/podcasts out there. It’s hosted by my friend Sophie Nicolaou and Arsenal legend Kevin Campbell. Whenever I’m on we speak about the girls so, if you are around at 12pm Pacific / 8pm UK / 9pm Europe you can watch me host for the first time a full show on that channel.
Here’s the link for the channel and once I know the actual link for the show I’ll come back to this and edit and post it.
https://www.youtube.com/highburysquad
Come hang out and ask questions!
d ❤
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Halftime Speeches
Among the many things that intrigue me about professional sports, and sports in general if I’m being honest, is the power that a halftime speech can have on the rest of the match/game etc. We have heard and seen examples of this and we’ve probably also cried watching some of them on TV. Yes of course there are pre-match speeches, but there’s something super interesting about halftime talks that interest me.
To be a fly on the wall, right?
But among the things that fascinate me is how in my mind, a lot of these elite athletes do not need the actual speech, the actual extra motivation. Almost by definition they are already at such a high and developed competitive and resourceful mentality that it makes me wonder if they even need it.
There are reports of Arsene Wenger barely saying anything and there are also the infamous hair dryer treatment talks that Sir Alex Ferguson was famous for. Two totally different situations and I don’t call them styles because I don’t think one always did it one way.
It wouldn’t criticize anyone for thinking that vs Leicester, at halftime, Jonas gave one of the most motivational speeches ever right? But maybe he said absolutely nothing. Why would he say nothing? Because everyone knows what they have to do, or maybe everyone knows what they didn’t do as well or how something didn’t go to plan collectively.
Everyone can use motivation, of course, but I believe that the truly elite might need it a little bit less than most. What do you think?
I honestly don’t think someone like Kim Little needs or could be more motivated for every kick of every minute of every match of every season. Same goes for the squad and staff, of course. But it’s also more than ok to need that motivation from time to time and sometimes we need it when people assume we have it.
So I might be writing this about Kim, just an example, and (had she been playing) might’ve needed the motivational talk more than most.
I don’t know… it’s just a very interesting thing and I’m curious to know what you think.
I do think that the best scenario would be a combination of all kinds of motivation, including internal and external, as often as possible, in every which way and through various means.
d ❤
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Two Halves
Here’s the latest podcast!
d ❤
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Second place?!
Today’s match was bonkers. The epitome of “game of two halves.”, wasn’t it? I will over lots about this match on this week’s podcast which should be out by tomorrow morning pacific time, but I’m not sure yet.
What I will mention now before I let you go is how crazy it is that we are in second place. I find that hard to believe after the early results but we have been fortunate with City dropping points, as well as Spurs.
Gotta love when the mathematics work in our favor. And overall we have to say it was a stellar weekend for Arsenal as a club. Both squads winning, both squads in 2nd place.
As per usual on the weekends I’m leave you with this video by the one, the only Shebahn. And in case you haven’t done so, please subscribe to her channel.
d ❤
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Laura Love
I’m coming to you a little later than usual today because I totally forgot that I hadn’t posted anything today. And by the way, can I please just take a moment to thank all of the new readers that have been so kind to visit this blog. I truly appreciate you being here and dedicating your time and mutual love for all things AWFC and women’s football.
I know we are all super excited about seeing Beth and Viv get minutes. I’ll stick to a footballing perspective for now and I know you can see it too, but we’re a totally juggernaut of a team when those two are available and on the pitch. It’s magic. You know things are going to happen and it’s only a matter of time for that to happen. That is something very special and to have that with them too plus Katie and co it’s incredible. We’re very fortunate.
However, these offensive positions are sort of eye catching so to speak. And yes, it goes without saying we miss Leah… I miss her very much and you’ve read me say how much I think she means to the team and how chasmic the space she has left feels to me. Anyway, I wanted to show some love to Laura, who sometimes doesn’t get mentioned as much as she should.
For all intents and purposes the club has players that can “replace” the injured trio mentioned above and even some starters. No Viv as a 9? We have Stina, Alessia. No Viv as a 10? Frida can play there… No Beth? We have some options. Midfield gets injured? Khul, etc… yes you can argue that Lia doesn’t have a replacement but that’s another blog.
Leah’s absence is covered by Amanda, Jen and Laia. etc.. I mean that’s literally what a squad depth is about…but honestly, the way I see it, we don’t have a like for like cover for Laura/Noelle. That tandem worked so well last season until what happened happened.
Everyone loves Laura, from fans (my self included) to her fellow players. Her smile is always lighting up pictures, cameras, rooms, stadiums and I can’t bloody wait for her to recover. She’s gonna get just as much love as the other girls and she absolutely deserves it.
The bond they have established over there at the ACL club is something that I don’t think any of us could ever come close to understanding. It’s not a club anyone would ever want to be a part of I’m sure, and I don’t even feel its my place to add a “but” to that.
You know, I am not one of those people that thinks that things happen for a reason. I understand how some people are that way. I totally get it and I respect that way of being/feeling. I however, feel that it’s more like: things happen, and I’ll create a reason why it’ll be for the better.
So no, I won’t ever say that getting an ACL injury happens for a reason. Its a very delicate thing. I’m just happy to see how positive (not always I’m sure) things seem to be for them judging by their smiles, the support they have, interviews they give, etc.
Family, friends, coaches, physiologists, fans. These are all ingredients of the bigger cake so to speak, but at the end of the day they are the ones that need to make the choice and take action. They have to reach out, to talk to themselves, to make the calls, to send the texts, to read the tweets and letters sent to them. All of that. Takes effort, takes vulnerability.
Gotta run but I’ll be recording another pod again most likely post match tomorrow or later on.
d ❤
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A very subjective look into AWFC 