2014/15 International Football

[VictoriaGooner]

And Polska defeats Deutschland 2-0.

Like I said earlier, hands down the best tie of Matchday 2. Poland played a wonderful match, especially Glic in the center back role. I thought for sure my Germans would come back with their normal onslaught and constant pressure in the last quarter of their matches. But Monday matches of Germany v Republic of Ireland and Poland v Scotland are going to be huge.

[Berlin Wall]

That was just like the fourth or fifth loss of the Nationalmannschaft in Wordl Cup or Euro Qualifiers ever. But as I got Polish ancestors, I'm okay with that.

[VictoriaGooner]

No need to worry about Germany, one blip for the World Champions

[Berlin Wall]

This wasn't even a bad game by us. Poland was just more effective.

[ninersdd]

The heavyweights could afford a loss or two since getting 2nd guarantees qualification to the tourney.

[pepis21]

Glic

Glik, he and Szczęsny are MVP of this match.

Honestly, I never thought I'd live to see the day when we beat Germany in football. I'm so happy and so proud.

.

BTW: This is good year for Polish Teamsport vs German Teamsport. Handball team won, Basketball team won, Volleyball team won and now in the first time in history football team won (I didn't count matches vs DDR).

[VictoriaGooner]

Glic

Glik, he and Szczęsny are MVP of this match.

Honestly, I never thought I'd live to see the day when we beat Germany in football. I'm so happy and so proud.

.

BTW: This is good year for Polish Teamsport vs German Teamsport. Handball team won, Basketball team won, Volleyball team won and now in the first time in history football team won (I didn't count matches vs DDR).

Thanks for the spelling correction on Glik's name. Agreed that Szczesny had a stand out performance today, just wish he play like that more often for the Gunners. More hit and miss, no real conviction or confidence when he comes out for a ball, unlike today's match. Let's hope today's performance continues onto club level.

[VictoriaGooner]

The biggest upset of Matchday 2 was Iceland winning 2-0 over Netherlands in Reykjavik. Swansea City's Gylfi Sigurdsson scored two goals, one from the spot, in the first half to lift the Strákarnir okkar to a historic win over the Oranje. That is two losses in three matches, 6 points off both Iceland and Czech Republic by Guus Hiddink's men to start off the European Qualifiers. I know there are still 7 matches to go in Group A, with Holland most likely qualify for France 2016. But Iceland has been getting stronger with each passing year, including their U21 and U19 sides.

Any thoughts on the Dutch side?

[lordsketor]

The biggest upset of Matchday 2 was Iceland winning 2-0 over Netherlands in Reykjavik. Swansea City's Gylfi Sigurdsson scored two goals, one from the spot, in the first half to lift the Strákarnir okkar to a historic win over the Oranje. That is two losses in three matches, 6 points off both Iceland and Czech Republic by Guus Hiddink's men to start off the European Qualifiers. I know there are still 7 matches to go in Group A, with Holland most likely qualify for France 2016. But Iceland has been getting stronger with each passing year, including their U21 and U19 sides.

Don't be surprised if Iceland qualifies for Russia in 18'

[ninersdd]

Shades of Robbie Keane in 2002, as Ireland ties Germany at the buzzer in Gelsenkirchen.

[IanC]

The BBC have done a survey on the price of football. I can't go to football matches regularly like I used to as I have been priced out totally by the spiralling costs.

Arsenal have the most expensive season ticket in the Premier League coming in at £2,013. Manchester City have the cheapest season ticket in the premier league at £299. Bear in mind this will give you access to 19 home games and a handful of cup matches over a season.

In the Championship Charlton Athletic have the lowest Season ticket spread over the four divisions coming in at £150. Now that might seem very cheap but Barcelona do a season ticket at £103.

As for single match day tickets NewCastle have the cheapest at £15 while Arsenal charge £97 as the most expensive. West Bromich Albion charge the least for an expensive matchday ticket at £39.00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29527838

[kewp80]

Surprised you guys haven't talked about this yet. Maybe you have and I didn't see it.

[DS729]

Surprised you guys haven't talked about this yet. Maybe you have and I didn't see it.

What other reaction did Albania expect the Serbians to have?

[VictoriaGooner]

The BBC have done a survey on the price of football. I can't go to football matches regularly like I used to as I have been priced out totally by the spiralling costs.

Arsenal have the most expensive season ticket in the Premier League coming in at £2,013. Manchester City have the cheapest season ticket in the premier league at £299. Bear in mind this will give you access to 19 home games and a handful of cup matches over a season.

In the Championship Charlton Athletic have the lowest Season ticket spread over the four divisions coming in at £150. Now that might seem very cheap but Barcelona do a season ticket at £103.

As for single match day tickets NewCastle have the cheapest at £15 while Arsenal charge £97 as the most expensive. West Bromich Albion charge the least for an expensive matchday ticket at £39.00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29527838

It doesn't surprise me one bit that Arsenal is at the top of the list for the fourth straight season with respect to highest season ticket and single match ticket prices. I just don't understand the high season ticket and match day ticket prices. They are making a a huge cash cow and barely spend it in the transfer windows. Yes we spent £42m last year on Ozil (rumors he wants to leave to go to Bayern) and £35m on Sanchez/16m on Welbeck this summer. But with the £30m Puma deal this past summer, £10m for last year's Champions League participation and this massive influx of matchday revenue, what else is the reason for holding onto all this cash reserve? The last Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST) reported at the AGM last year that the club had in excess of £175m available in a kitty for a "war chest". The AST had their AGM with the club today and I'm waiting on the results of the AGM with this being the top topic for discussion. Gazidis and Wenger attend every AST AGM but Kronke has never attended one since he has taken over as the majority shareholder. Along with the rising ticket prices, the other topics were to include:

- It's reported that Arsenal paid KSE £3m for advisory services. Was a competitive tender issued for these services and can you tell us specifically what the services were, why they were needed and whether such fees will become an annual feature?

- The ticket price increase this season has created on-going bad feeling amongst the fanbase, made worse when we see the club sitting on such a large unused cash pile. Furthermore there have been very large increases in commercial and broadcasting revenue. Will the Board consider the difficulty fans have with keeping up with ever increasing costs of attending football and confirm there will be no increase next year?

- Once again Arsenal have ended a transfer window with tens of millions of spare cash not invested in the playing squad. At this stage of the season we are four points down on the comparative points from the same fixtures last season and have gone four years without winning an away game against a team which has finished in the top four. Does the Board withhold these cash reserves from the manager and if not then why we are so short of defensive players?So much so that two weeks after the close of the transfer window the manager admitted we were "light at the back "!?

- The Arsenal Board is currently all male, white and mostly no longer young. Are there any plans to improve the diversity of the board so that it better reflects those who play for, and support, the club?

- Arsenal as a club have long traded on doing things the right way, 'the Arsenal way'. The financial results also show we have strong financial resources and can reward and retain the best talent at the highest levels. At the lower levels, however, recent times have seen an extension of the adoption of casual worker contracts. Is it only right, given the club's enviable fiscal position, that ALL staff have access to the benefits of basic employment. In the interests of stadium safety, security and the club's own reputation for basic decency, should the Arsenal Way be made to once again apply to all levels of employees? Will the Club also consider being a good citizen and signing up to the London living wage which is not a decision for Government as stated last year but a choice for a good corporate body to make?- Can Mr Kroenke explain why he doesn't want to support the Fanshare scheme, which looks like it will sadly close, either by issuing new shares for it to purchase or through the club continuing to cover some of the running costs?"

- Categorisation of ticket prices such as Arsenal have with A, B and C pricing clearly offers benefits to home fans who can choose which games to attend based on their cost. But for away fans it can be very unfair as they have no such choice. An Arsenal fan who attends every away game of the season pays hundreds of pounds more than a Crystal Palace fan who goes to exactly the same games which could be described as discriminatory. The Football Supporters Federation and the Premier League have agreed to look at this issue. Will Arsenal support this review and any proposals made so that more can be done to protect Arsenal's away fans who create such a good atmosphere supporting the team?

- Ivan Gazidis and Arsene Wenger have previously supported Safe Standing returning to Football Grounds. Now the Football League and several Premier League Clubs are calling on the Government to trial some of the rail seating / standing options so that it can be assessed as an option for football. Will Arsenal publicly support trials so that we can assess its suitability for football matches?

- Are Arsenal one of the Clubs who asked the Premier League to explore playing games overseas last week?; and can you set out the Club's position on this?

Given the recent payment of £3m to Non-Executive Director and leading shareholder, Stan Kroenke, for Advisory services provided from another company within his KSE umbrella, can the Board confirm whether other companies within the KSE umbrella are deriving service based value from the U.S. data management and analytics company acquired by Arsenal in 2013. If so, has a fee structure been set-up to ensure Arsenal PLC will be re-compensated for the aforementioned services?

Surprised you guys haven't talked about this yet. Maybe you have and I didn't see it.

What other reaction did Albania expect the Serbians to have?

As for the incidents in the Serbia-Albania European Qualifying match:

Disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the Football Association of Serbia (FSS) for the setting off/throwing of fireworks and missiles, crowd disturbance, field invasion by supporters, insufficient organisation and use of a laser pointer. Proceedings have also been opened against the Football Association of Albania (FShF) for refusing to play and the display of an illicit banner. Matter will be heard on 23 Oct 14 in front of the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.

I can actually see both Serbia and Albania having some big sanctions placed against them. This isn't the first time Serbia has been charged with crowd disturbances. I think the only thing that prevented this turning into an absolute powder keg was the Albanian away supporters was not allowed into the ground prior to the match due to a UEFA ruling. If there was Albanian supporters in the ground, we could have seen some real injuries in the stands.

[IanC]

Morocco reportedly withdraws as 2015 Africa Cup of Nations hosts over Ebola.

The venue for next year’s African Cup of Nations finals is in major doubt after proposed hosts Morocco reportedly withdrew due to fears over the Ebola outbreak on the continent.

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/morocco-withdraws-as-2015-africa-cup-of-nations-hosts-over-ebola-reports/ar-BB9qx3p

[Jaffa]

What surprises me about the whole Serbia-Albania situation is that the two nations aren't kept apart by FIFA/UEFA in qualification groups. If the likes of Spain and Gibraltar are purposefully kept separate due to politics, then why aren't two nations where there exist such clear problems?

- Categorisation of ticket prices such as Arsenal have with A, B and C pricing clearly offers benefits to home fans who can choose which games to attend based on their cost. But for away fans it can be very unfair as they have no such choice. An Arsenal fan who attends every away game of the season pays hundreds of pounds more than a Crystal Palace fan who goes to exactly the same games which could be described as discriminatory. The Football Supporters Federation and the Premier League have agreed to look at this issue. Will Arsenal support this review and any proposals made so that more can be done to protect Arsenal's away fans who create such a good atmosphere supporting the team?

Most clubs have similar policies in place now, and it can be very unfair on supporters of certain clubs. As a case in point, a few weeks ago we charged Manchester City supporters the princely sum of £50 per ticket to see their team play at the KC. The following home game saw Crystal Palace supporters charged just £16 for exactly the same seats.

It's easy to forget sometimes that although certain clubs may be fabulously wealthy, that doesn't mean that its supporters are and it's not right that they're penalised. Indeed, wages are usually higher in the south east (and London in particular) so charging a northern club's fans three times as much as those of a London-based team isn't on, I reckon. Have a flat price for all teams.

[marble21]

- Categorisation of ticket prices such as Arsenal have with A, B and C pricing clearly offers benefits...

...Have a flat price for all teams.

All good points which I agree with Jaffa. However it is just supply and demand.

Football fans can't make a statement by boycotting because somebody else will just take their place and they will be sent to the back of the queue for season tickets if they don't renew theirs.

Collectively, we are all too stupid to make a stand. We confuse "supporting your club" and "being ripped off".

[Jaffa]

- Categorisation of ticket prices such as Arsenal have with A, B and C pricing clearly offers benefits...

...Have a flat price for all teams.

All good points which I agree with Jaffa. However it is just supply and demand.

Football fans can't make a statement by boycotting because somebody else will just take their place and they will be sent to the back of the queue for season tickets if they don't renew theirs.

Collectively, we are all too stupid to make a stand. We confuse "supporting your club" and "being ripped off".

Exactly - as long as people pay the prices, what motivation is there to change things?

[VictoriaGooner]

Morocco reportedly withdraws as 2015 Africa Cup of Nations hosts over Ebola.

The venue for next year’s African Cup of Nations finals is in major doubt after proposed hosts Morocco reportedly withdrew due to fears over the Ebola outbreak on the continent.

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/morocco-withdraws-as-2015-africa-cup-of-nations-hosts-over-ebola-reports/ar-BB9qx3p

I can see why the Moroccan FA and the Moroccan government are both worried about the feasiblilty of hosting and running a ACN. There could be anywhere from 250,000 to a million African football fans going to the match and the chance of someone might be infected with Ebola is within reason. It could make the now 4000+ deaths caused by Ebola in west Africa small compared to what could happen in Morocco and be the gateway to other places around Europe and rest of Africa. I myself am happy to see Moroccan officials stand up and withdraw as hosts. Now it's up to CAF to find an alternate host or just cancel the tournament until the outbreak can be contained. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29644723

How Ebola outbreak has affected African football:

- Sierra Leone has suspended all football matches in the county

- CAF has placed bans on Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone hosting any international football

- Seychelles forfeited their Nations Cup qualifier rather than host Sierra Leone

In other football/Ebola news, Greek second division club PAS Lamia has banished Sierra Leone player John Kamara from the next 21 days after he return from international duty with the Leone Stars in their Africa Cup of Nations ties in Cameroon. . He was asked to not train with his club until the 21 day incubation time is completed. Lamia told him the decision was on advice from the Greek health ministry. The move by second tier Lamia comes despite the fact there have been no reported cases of Ebola in Cameroon and Kamara has not been to Sierra Leone in more than a year. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29663682

[VictoriaGooner]

We luckily got a point today against Hull...second half stoppage time goal by Danny Welbeck perserved us the point and our FIFTH draw of the season. Ramsey and Arteta were back in the side for the first time from injury. We played like today, all credit goes to Hull City for another good match. I wonder if any of those emotions and heart that Hull played with today was residual from The FA Cup Final. All I can say is WTF is going on with Arsenal?