up under the bar....or is that another thread?

well in that case ..from what i saw i reckon there must have been between 10 - 20 shots on target . I only missed about 4 mins at the start of the second half as you couldnt take beer into the stadium .

They used to includes shots that hit the woodwork (or metalwork ) as being on target - I never understood why

I have done my own yearly rating for the season. This year it goes from average 5 to exceptional form 9 with 0 being crap to 10 supergirl, individual explanations are in the female football player thread. guess what no one is crap in the Arsenal Ladies team

Here it is by number
1 8.5
2 8
3 5
4 7
6 5
7 8
8 7
9 8.5
10 7
11 7
12 7
13 6.5
14 9
15 7
16 7
17 7
18 5.5
20 6.5
21 6.5
22 6
23 5
24 6.5
25 6.5
27 6.5

Karen Carney is my player of the year.

Can i park at the training ground?x

yes you can

I wonder what kind of side we will put out today ?
Last season we had a few players off on hols , maybe we will get lucky and have a few youngsters to get a game.

I've no idea what team we put out, but we just drew 1-1

So the good news is - an undefeated league season , and the bad - there were 2 games we didn't win

I just realised - those games we didn't win were both at home and against the 2 teams we played against in Cup Finals.

a rather flat performance today .... started with Emma Alex Faye Anita Mary Karen Ciara Kelly Kim Jayne Fleets.... Leeds started brighter and had a couple of half chances, then Arsenal score from their first chance , simple long high ball through the middle, Karen outpaces the defence , Leeds keeper Higgins hesitates and Karen puts it away from 15 yards in the middle of the goal. This settles Arsenal and they play with more urgency...Kelly runs past 4 but gets blocked, Fleets puts a header wide, Karen puts in a couple of crosses, Alex attacks as well. Half time Vic makes a BIZARRE triple substitution..... Faye off, Yvonne on, Kelly off, Yanks on and Emma off, Becky on..... Becky's league debut and within a minute her first job is to pick the ball out of her goal. A straight high ball over the back four up the middle, Jade Moore outpaces the new centre back and scores bravely as Becky clatters into her. The ref speaks to Becky about her challenge but no card. Leeds gain in confidence. Jess Clarke is excellent as a lone striker, Moore is good in midfield and Jess Wright handles Fleets well. Arsenal do make chances, Fleets header brilliantly saved, Kim sets up Rachel and she curls a shot which hits the inside of the post but stays out. In the last minute Leeds break away and Sue Smith has a chance to win it but curls a shot a foot wide from 10 yards with the last kick of the game! Leeds were really up for this and Rick was shouting instructions the whole game....they played it like they shoud have played the final. Arsenal were poor by their standards....thought Kim was excellent but Jayne was poor....defence was OK apart from the goal but they lacked precision in their passing. Last ten minutes they showed more urgency and Leeds had to defend in desperation. Yanks was 3 inches from winning it near the end but Sue possibly should have won it with the last kick. About 200 there, all the usuals.....

Thanks for that Pat - shame that Bcky had a bad first minute

Anyway - we still have a season without a league defeat

For someone who hasnt visited the training ground before i found it very exciting to see 'behind the scenes' good equal game, shame Leeds didnt play like that in the final...looking forward to next season already!

what has gone wrong this year .....Arsenal Ladies lose twice this season and draw three times , they should be ashamed of themselves . Someone must take the blame .....pay the price ....get the boot .. i mean its just embarrasing .

I'm glad to see Vic has the nerve to sub Faye. Did she have a good first half Pat ?

Yes she did, although the way Leeds played with Jess Clarke on her own in the up front and her being quick and tricky it meant that she was a bit spare at the back....Leeds had effectively 5 in midfield with Steph Houghton, Sue Smith , Mel Sutcliffe and Jade Moore free to break forward as and when. No criticism intended but I don't think Leeds would have scored if Faye had been there. I think it was her pass which lead to the Arsenal goal and she was rarely troubled apart from the odd bit of eweeping up in the first half. The training ground is beautiful, the grass was so lush and even , so unlike most places where the women games are played...loads of people working on the grounds even at the end of the game at 7.20.

Correction....Arsenal website gives assist for Arsenal goal to Anita not Faye...easy mistake for me to make!

Thanks for that Pat

Yes - they look like twins

I'd have loved to have gone, but decided against as it was going to be too soon after my return from holiday and I knew I'd be doing a lot of driving (ended up doing 2,100 miles).
I'd have gone if Ron could have taken time off work, as he could have shared the driving (or done all of it), but 450 miles would have been too much as I was knackered.

I'd have liked to have seen the game, of course, but also the training ground.
I have an Arsenal credit card (which I don't use these days) and anyone who has one and uses it in the next couple of months get an entry into a free draw each time they use it, and one of the prizes is a tour of the training ground - so it's obviously a valuable, sought-after thing, and those of you who went did ok

I'll try and arrange things differently next year if possible - they're bound to have a game there - but, make sure you get your season tickets to ensure you are offered the chance of going without having to ask around for tickets
In fact, at this season's prices, the season ticket was probably worth it just to go there

Was Ken there?

Hey,that's a lot of miles driving ...in how many days was that ? Naturally Ken was there and as it was just one side of the pitch roped off he was close to everyone else. I heard some guy warning his friends about him as he wandered up at half time, that he would be moaning that they were not playing well. At another point he was stood next to Gilly and the other young players near where I was. I could hear him moaning away but in a much lower voice than usual ....the lady who sings was there as well, giving her usual efforts to support. One odd point...when Leeds scored there was quite a round of applause which either suggested that a number of their supporters were there or that the crowd was being fair play....

Leeds brought a few supporters in their coach.

The big news is Emma Hayes is leaving the club to join Chicago quite a bad news indeed or the club.

I didnt see Ken but i was sat next to Maria lol she had another lady with her also singing along but obviously not too sure of all the words yet lol

I clapped when Leeds scored as i thought they deserved something from the first half and becos it meant game on lol

I thought the grass was like a shag pile carpet lol just lovely x

you could move i guess ....

Same grass as at the Emirates Stadium the training ground is really impressive.

@ Pat

2,100 miles in 9 days
And AFCL fans always seem fair in their attitude to the opposition


@ Conn

I calculate that if I moved in with you I'd have reduced that to about 2,000 miles
It's a long way from your place to watch Everton v Cardiff


@ Spikey

You say you didn't see Ken - but, you must have heard him?


@ Anyone

I thought Emma Hayes was taking over from Vic

Well she isn't she is off in one or two weeks, we need someone quickly as pre-season starts July

Is Vic staying?
Do we need a new assistant or a new coach?