Tuesday 2 March 2010

An Open Letter To Derek McGovern. Anti-Arsenal? Maybe This is Proof?

Derek McGovern is a Betting columnist from the Daily Mirror newspaper. I'll be honest, I usually find him quite funny.

Today however, he disgusted me. You can read his article here. If there is any proof needed that an anti-Arsenal feeling is doing the rounds in the media then maybe this is it.

Below is an e-mail I've written to him. I hope to get a reply although I doubt it. It would be even better if he came on here but does he have the bollocks? Again, I doubt it.

Dear Derek,

I just wanted to say that I'm very disappointed with your article today titled "Wenger paranoia is Shaw embarrassing".

I usually love your column and have even defended you from my father who thinks you are a "donut". After reading today I'm inclined to think that he maybe right.

First off how can you say Sol Campbell ensured that Ryan Shawcross got a red card? Maybe the fact Aaron Ramsey, a 19 year old with a fantastic future, was lying there with his leg hanging off could have had something to do with it!

You then say that Shawcross is 'wholly innocent'. If you have done any research then you have known that the 'innocent' Shawcross has previous. At 22 years of age he has now broken 2 legs of fellow professional players (Francis Jeffers and Aaron Ramsey) with rash horrible tackles and also badly damaged Emmanuel Adebayor's ankle in a challenge that wasn't even on the field of play!

Next off you speak of Wengers 'spiteful comments' about Shawcross. Where, in any interview has he named Ryan? He hasn't. You have fallen for the media spin, much like Tony Pulis. Arsene speaks of bad tackles on his players, he doesn't mention Shawcross but then you wouldn't notice that would you?

You talk of Arsene Wenger being a 'visually-impaired Frenchman who has lost le plot', well maybe you need your eyes tested too and even your ears syringed. Maybe you are from France too.

Derek, you say Sky's decision to not show the incident meant it allowed 'Wenger's disgraceful assault on Shawcross's character to go unchallenged'. Can you please point out to me where Wenger does 'assault Ryan's character' please, because I can't see it.

Maybe Sky have learnt from the Eduardo situation and decided that the viewing of a 19-year-old having his leg snapped was a little distasteful. Who knows?

The next point is laughable, almost as laughable as your joke of a column, you say that Shawcross's tackle was never a red card-it wasn't even a foul-while the penalty decision was a sick joke.

UNBELIEVABLE!

What warrants a red card or a foul then Mr McGovern? Someone pulling out a machine-gun and slaughtering the opposition? Maybe that is not enough for someone as bloodthirsty as you. How about a nuke bomb taking out England and the rest of Europe? Maybe a booking?

As for the penalty decision being a joke, was it not handball? And as a matter of fact, did you actually watch the game? I ask because Aaron Ramsey should have had a penalty early in the second half and Nicklas Bendtner should have had a blatant one in stoppage time.

Derek, you say Wenger seemed unwilling to pontificate on that, so why have you not mentioned the two 'other' stone-wall penalties we deserved? By my reckoning Arsenal should have had 3 penalties.

Egg on your face?

I'll leave it at that and I doubt you will reply because you will probably be too busy making up other hilarious quips on distasteful matters. If you want you can even reply on my own Arsenal blog www.wrighty7.blogspot.com and maybe explain your article.

I look forward to hearing from you. As I'm sure many Gooners are.

Wrighty

Keep it Goonerish....................

86 comments:

Anonymous said...

well said, wrighty:)

Anonymous said...

Spot on Wrighty. I was simply disgusted when I read his column.

Unknown said...

Totally agree with you, very bad article by Derek McGovern. I am shocked that someone can write such crap(well not really), but it's stuff like this that actually contributes towards players getting injured. We'll see what the British papers have to say when someone does it to Rooney/Gerrard/Lamps/etc...

Amos said...

So "Shawcross's tackle was never a red card". Forget serious foul play which in itself would warrant a red card. Law 12 says that a player must be sent off for play 'in a manner that the referee considers is careless, excessive or uses excessive force'. Thae you pick which one of those the ref sent Shawcross off for - he qualifies under all three

Danish Gooner said...

Imagine it had been Rooney,Mr.Mcgovern would have Shawcross and that vile neanderthal Pulis executed.British media is full of bias just remember the Eduardo versus Rooney dive incident.Shawcross is a hodlum and a bad professional he has a history of doing the same as Rooney have of diving but he is british so noone shall speak a bad word.....pathetic.

Wiseman said...

I complained directly to feedback@mirror.co.uk about this shit.

Anonymous said...

I have ALWAYS thought the mirror was run for white hart lane to be honest. When not slagging the Arsenal, whenever there's a great win and/or performance it's rarely featured. I don't buy the mirror for the simple fact that there is rarely any Arsenal new and that's what I want to read.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely spot on, you're the first person I have heard mention the Ramsey penalty early in the first half.....maybe if it was given Stoke might have been a little more careful in the challanges and the whole episode might not have happened, but no protection from referees means one of the most promising players will be out for 9 months and maybe will necer return to be the same player.

Anonymous said...

Of everything i have read during this whole episode, this was by far and away the most offensive.

I was going to email this chump as well, but then thought better of it.
Lets face it, this guy is buried away on page 60 with a 20 word column. He needs to be offensive to gain a reaction, so that people know he is there. For he can't rely upon any natural talent to do that for him.

Mocking a human being for being in distress at such horror, as he did with Sol Campbell really shows him up as the type of person he is.
What a scumbag.

Anonymous said...

Good post Wrighty.

Where is all this stuff coming from, whereby people are even going as far as to say it wasn't even a foul?? It is completely mad - can anyone of that view point explain to me when eaxctly it is that Shawcross wins the ball fairly !!

KJS

FORTHELOVEOFARSENAL.BLOGSPOT.COM said...

Top class post.
One of the worst articles i have read and there are some bad ones.

The Arsenal hating has gone into overdrive this season.

Could the media be trying to out Wenger??

Anonymous said...

If Shacross continues to break the legs of opponents at the rate he is doing currently(2 every 3 years) then by the time he retires at the age of lets say, 32, he will have broken 8 players legs.

Anonymous said...

By far and away one of the worst pieces of journalism I've had the misfortune to read. The sad thing about it is that I think he just wrote it for the contoversial reaction he knew it would get. No class from that sorry excuse for a human being.

Anonymous said...

Well done Wrighty!
how about sending more E-mails to Stan-the dogger and the Sky sports mugs.

Anonymous said...

Simplest way to hurt b=these idiots? Write to the feedback address telling them that you find the level of bias in this and other articles unacceptable and forthwith you will no longer be buying the newspaper. Then carry it through.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately there is this view that we have to defend 'English' football at all costs. If that means that one or twice a season somebody gets seriously injured then that is collateral damage.

I have written to Jeff Stelling and asked him to raise the point that the real culprits, outside of the player that injures another, is the manager, closely followed by the referee. The manager ups the stakes, the referee fails to protect. Once the bar has been raised and the first bad tackle is allowed it is downhill from there.

I find it sickening that little mention is made of Ramsey, yet Shawcross is being hailed as some sort of poor lad who we all should be sorry for.

Anonymous said...

Eddie Yak said: There are too many lunatic media writers in England and several are borderline case to the cuckoo's nest.
What is absolutely disappointing is the way these people see things, some are ex-professionals, who cannot even understand the difference between harming with intend and harming without intend. Punishment is the end result because nobody is going to get away with breaking someone's leg. When I read some of these people's comment I concluded they are really insane, things like Wenger should apologised to Shawcross ! I feel sorry for all the talented foreigner footballers in England because you could be the next one to use clutches unless you are blessed by the England FA like Rooney.

Anonymous said...

I've just read Mick Dennis' article on the Daily Express site:

I HAVE seen unbroadcast footage that should be called The Shawcross Redemption. It exonerates Ryan Shawcross and changed my mind about the challenge which shattered Aaron Ramsey’s leg.
I was about to go on Sky News to berate Stoke’s Shawcross when I was shown a Sky Sports clip. Neither the BBC nor Sky have broadcast this footage because of a horrific close-up of Ramsey’s shin snapping.
It is ground-level coverage, from the side. It proves that Shawcross was looking at the ball, and trying to hoof it with his laces. Ramsey nipped in first and toe-ended the ball away. The Arsenal player’s momentum then carried him into the terrible collision.
There does not have to be intent for it to be a foul. An accident can be an offence if there is sufficient recklessness. But I do not think there was. So I do not even think it was a foul, much less a red-card offence or a symptom of Stoke’s malevolence.
I despise how Tony Pulis’s team play. A lot of what they did against Arsenal was outside the law and outside the spirit of sport. But Ramsey was hurt in a legitimate, 50-50 challenge.

At what point does not making contact with the ball and snapping someone's leg in half become a legal challenge? I may be wrong, but i can't see any contact with the ball. Nothing legitimate about this challenge what so ever. A legitimate attempt to play the ball is a lot different to actually playing it.

I don't care if he was trying to play the ball, a reckless challenge in my opinion, is when you cannot change the outcome once committed, which is exactly what Ryan does and is why he was rightly sent off and will be rightly banned.

Why can't the papers see this? And isn't Mick Dennis supposed to be a qualified Ref?

Anonymous said...

he's just your typical Liverpool supporter who's got a chip on his shoulder. He always quickly refers to Arsenal winning a trophy whenever people question Rafa or Liverpool.

alwaysafc said...

Stop buying the paper...

It might make the editor think twice about McGoverns column...
I've cancelled my subscription..

Anonymous said...

Come on you Gunners.....get a campaign to stop buying the Mirror....Liverpool fans did it to the Sun!

FayXaan said...

Against Arsenal Lobby Member..

Anonymous said...

Well said- this guys a prick if he thinks a broken leg dosent warrant a red card.

All this crap about Shawcross being upset,and Pullis saying hes a good lad. it seems it is now Ok with everybody now to break legs on the field.

Honestly - they should look at themselves before making those types of comments.

adam said...

Was just thinking the same. I read the article and was shocked by the tone of it. If it happened to a Man Utd player, they would all be scared of offending SAF.
The media seem to forget that Ramsey is the victim in all this, not Shawcross.

Gunners The Stunners said...

Wrighty,

Spot on, mate.

Joppa Road said...

Wiseman @ 13:13.

I am just about to go mail them too. I suggest all Arsenal fans do the same.

This is becoming bigger than just the Ramsey injury now. The level of bias in the media is getting beyond the joke and that article sickened me.

Its bad in so many ways. Whats with the attack on Sol Campbell? How should he be reacting?

Should he have not celebrated his goal in Porto or the result on Sat? He showed great passion.

Don't buy the mirror and let them have it in the feedback.

feedback@mirror.co.uk

Anonymous said...

Would somebody else please watch a replay of the incident.

Shawcross only became emotional and started his crying act after he was shown the red card. Why then do the media all assume that his distress was caused by Ramsey's injury ?

superfly said...

This whole media storm is baffling me its funny how they make up things. CAMPBELL DIDNT SAY ANYTHING TO THE REF NEITHER DID FABEGRAS....if you watch the incident again all there attention is on Shawcross himself....and how the hell is someone suppose to act if there mate just got there leg cut shattered in half....pat them on the back, give them a high five... its actually amusing. can honestly see Wengers point of view it really is a media witch hunt. In fact all its doing is strengthening the the bond between the players,,,,and installing them against us mentallity into the young lads. So personally I hope they keep it up!!!!

ds goon said...

Wrighty 7 good on you mate!
nice to see someone fighting back in whatever way. i would have also mentioned the hypothetical rooney in the place of poor aaron's place bit while also tearing into the cunt without any politeness whatsoever. probably good then that you wrote that instead of me!
hope you keep a copy of that and send it out (with the app changes if necessary) to all the other xenophobic cunts who write/wrote similar drivel.
cheers

Anonymous said...

Where is the Mirror printed? Manchester by any chance?
The Mirror has been the source of much anti Arsenal transfer speculation in recent years.
Its a pro United rag. What do you expect-dont buy it-dont read it.

Remember Shawcross is a Man united boy on loan

Anonymous said...

It's the Mirror FFS. Don't give the worthless c**ts the oxygen of publicity.

No self respecting Arsenal fan reads that f**king toilet paper anyway.

Anonymous said...

I think the media realise the genius of Wenger and his plan, and they can see it is coming to fruition, so they are trying to undermine him and get him out, because they know that it is he that will make Arsenal great on and off the field, and do not want to see Arsenal succeed like that, and they know if Wenger is out, Arsenal will fall.

Joppa Road said...

We as Arsenal fans should target the Mirror and boycott it. This was my simple mail:

Dear Sir, Madam

I have just read an article in your paper I find wrong factually and sickening. I am talking about Derek McGovern's 'Arsene Wenger's paranoia Shaw is embarrassing.'

Its an insulting article which I am surprised you even let go to print. I for one will not EVER be purchasing the Mirror again and I will be campaigning through my own blog and in conjuction with the other Arsenal blogs that all decent folk take the same line.

JR

Wrighty7 said...

Its becoming a sick-joke.

I read the Daily Mirror every now and again because my Father buys it.

I shall be asking him not to buy it again.

I'm seriously considering a petition.

What say you?

superfly said...

Im with you Wrighty I think there should be a petition...to be honest since the internet age i've given up with papers such as the Sun the Mirror, News of the World...all they do is sensationalise stories, twist peoples words and make up bullshit

Anonymous said...

I'm hoping he (Derek Mcgovern) is on a windup because i find it unbelievable these are his honest views....can someone actually be that much of a cunt ?

Joppa Road said...

I am all for getting a petition going. Get a little logo designed and stick it up on our blogs.

The media needs to be reigned in, it is just getting silly now. I thought the Ramsey injury alone was bad enough but somehow it has created something all more sinister in the press. I think there is alot top be said for anon 13:55's comment.

Anonymous said...

Here's the sad reality that will evolve over the next couple of years - foreign born players will no longer want to come ply their trade in the EPL, because between the lack of protection from the referees and the larcenous upper tax rates, why would a talented individual want to risk career and fortune playing on English shores? So all those who have been pining for an all English league, get ready, you will get your wish, and then we can be treated to the likes of Stoke v. Hull 8 times a week, hooray, I can't wait to watch that kind of quality football week in, week out.

barney.s said...

well said wrighty!! just sent my mail to them too..

Wrighty7 said...

Nice one Gooners!

I think the more e-mails sent the better.

I'm gonna wait to see if I get a reply from Derek himself.

If I don't, then I think a petition is a serious option.

Anonymous said...

You'll never learn Wrighty will you? The media hate arsenal! Its a fucking disgrce but arguing it and writing emails and letters to the FA (like on other blogs) will always fall on deaf ears. Give up. All we can do is unite as fans, get behind the team, which has more team spirit than any other in the world and shut these fuckers up on the pitch.

Win the title but then even stan collymore and cunts (i mean co) will still claim we didnt deserve it! I tried to phone into talk sport yesterday but instead opted to talk to some retarded stoke fans.

This team can dominate the premiership! Im convinced of it!

If you look at the injuries over the course of the season, I think Vermaelen is the only player whos not been out at all. Its ridiculous and we couldnt have been blamed for falling completely out this title race but the togetherness we've shown is amazing and as I've been saying all season, we're gonna win the league! Now we have the added incentive of getting a PL medal for Rambo! The anti-arsenal brigade has been about for years and its not going away so lets just shut them up the only way we can....by winning as many trophies as possible!

Anonymous said...

It is not just an insult to Wenger’s intelligence but to everyone’s to pretend that Arsenal do not come in for harder treatment than other teams. They are roughed up.

How can it be denied when Ricardo Fuller, the Stoke City striker, says: “Some people say before the games, ‘We know how to play Arsenal . . . we have to kick them.’ Nobody in the whole country is upset by that.”

More revealing still is that such a statement should go unremarked. Kick Arsenal? Well of course you do. You aren’t going to beat them with pretty passing.

Even Manchester United have resorted to such roughhouse tactics against them on occasion, notoriously for the visit of the “Invincibles” in 2004. There is an acceptable limit for intimidation, and United strayed very close to that line.

This is the background against which he wants Shawcross’s crunching tackle on Ramsey on Saturday to be re-examined; and the widespread view, which I share, that the challenge did not intend to cause such grievous injury does not make the inquiry less valid.

Wenger’s point is that terrible accidents are more likely to happen if one team are more intent on kicking the other than they are in their other 36 Premier League matches — if one side are furiously revved up to get in the other’s faces and to disrupt them by overtly physical means.

Does that make Stoke — and Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers, etc — too hard? Or Arsenal too soft? Wenger may be prone to bouts of self-serving cant, but as Ramsey sits in a hospital bed we owe it to the Welshman to stop and consider the argument.

After all, no one in Spain kicks Barcelona. Few teams in La Liga can match them for skill and verve, but you don’t hear of opponents concluding that booting them is the only option.

I checked with a Spanish journalist yesterday who couldn’t recall anyone talking about kicking Barcelona out of a match — although he did remember one attempt at roughhouse tactics.

When Juande Ramos took a depleted Real Madrid to the Nou Camp in December 2008, he instructed his players to get heavily stuck in. Sergio Ramos dumped Lionel Messi on the floor several times, but Real lost the game and it was seen as a one-off, the tactics of last resort.

Kicking to stop a team when necessary isn’t the culture in La Liga, but, sometimes, particularly with Arsenal in opposition, it is ours.

We celebrate the physicality in the game, we breed players who thrive in a tough environment. This is English football, warts and all, and we might make the case that Wenger knows the league, with its expectations of furious physicality. We may conclude that he should buy his own enforcers.

But we should also acknowledge what Barcelona, what Spain, what the rest of Europe might say if they heard that Pep Guardiola’s team were going to play another club — let’s call them Stoke — and the pre-match talk was full of threats about roughing them up and hitting them with aggression.

It is a fair guess they would not shrug their shoulders, but be appalled. And they might think it beyond a coincidence if serious injury resulted.

Anonymous said...

I was at the Britannia Stadium last season and wondered how the hell Shawcross got away with the Adebayor tackle.

For me these injuries are a direct result of the worst ever refereeing performance by Mike Riley when “kicking Arsenal” became an Olympic sport. The Old Trafford game in October 2004 which ended Reyes career with Arsenal and the thuggery that the Mancs got away with that day was the blueprint for all teams wanting to beat Arsenal. Had Riley reffed the game to the rules, Man U would have finished with eight, possibly seven men and then the FA should have thrown the book at Ferguson and his sycophantic gang. Eduardo’s injury was as a direct result of that day – as was yesterday’s ‘let ‘em know you’re there’ tackle. Stoke has a plaque somewhere in their complex with the words for visiting teams “this is going to hurt”, so when you send out a team to hurt the opposition you are never more than a tackle away from disaster and on Saturday disaster struck again for Arsenal.

It’s the cowards at the FA who have created the Araldite, Pull-this and McLeish brand of football and they are the real culprits in this recurring horror story. Ramsey’s injury would probably not happened if the politicians in Soho Square had acted in accordance with their own rules and thrown the book at ‘Red Nose’ the morning after United kicked Arsenal to pieces in 2004. I used to believe in ‘rough justice’ but with Shawcross now in the England squad and the Neville Sisters still free at large to kick who ever they like, it seems to have done their careers no harm at all.

Anonymous said...

Twice Arsenal showed real character in this fixture. The English media will point to how upset he was and what a good English pro he is. Will they be showing replays of his assault on Adebayor in November 2008? The man is exactly the kind of wreckless thug who should be drummed out of the sport, but is actually encouraged at places like Stoke, Sunderland, Birmingham and Bolton. He was probably crying about his red card and the three games he will miss. I haven’t read the ‘The lad’s inconsolable’ quote from Tony Pulis yet, but I’m sure it’ll be there when I read the reports of the post-match press conference. F*** off Tony Pulis and well played Cesc Fabregas for telling the Stoke boss to shut his hypocritical mouth when he had the audacity to complain when our captain hacked down a Stoke player. You can’t have your cake and eat it pal.

The second Groundhog Day moment was obviously Ramsey’s (assumed) broken leg. All that can be hoped is that the break is a clean one and that the lad recovers. The match went predictably flat for a few minutes after he was loaded into an ambulance. In 2008, Arsenal did rally from Eduardo’s injury to take the lead in the second half at Birmingham, but ultimately the late concession of two points became a turning point in the campaign, and the team never recovered.

However, on this occasion, Arsenal were able to establish a lead and hang onto it, and this was the second time that they showed immense character. It took real balls for Cesc Fabregas to step up and take such a pressure penalty under the circumstances, but the goal he scored was a moment of affirmation. The Gunners’ winning the game – that was already so vital to the season even before Chelsea’s defeat to Man City, and then losing Aaron Ramsey until at least the following campaign – suddenly developed even bigger significance, real make or break for this season, perhaps even for this generation of players. Time will tell.

But in a horrible kind of way, they needed something like this to set them up to battle with real purpose in the games ahead. There is talk of an easier run-in on paper, but when every match becomes a must win fixture, it’s all about determination, focus and attitude. The players had to get it from somewhere and the adversity of this victory might be what galvanises them and actually gives them the fighting spirit to go on the necessary run of victories at places like St Andrews and White Hart Lane.

I like the sentiment of the notion of ‘doing it for Aaron’, but in reality that idea did very little after the Birmingham match in 2008. What is more of a factor is the drawing on reserves of character to overcome injustice, to battle against the odds and triumph in adversity. It’s what makes boys become men, and this misfortune might just provide the spur. The table certainly offers hope, but so does the response of Arsenal to win at the Britannia. It’s backs to the wall and a siege mentality from here on. And in the seasons that this club has triumphed in the league, that is usually the story. This has nothing to do with the beautiful game and everything to do with winning your battles. Aaron Ramsey’s broken leg is a very unfortunate incident, but the response on the pitch might just be a turning point in a very weird football season.

Anonymous said...

You saw that 2-footed tackle that Faye committed to get the ball?

It was also a 50:50 ball, and CLichy was smart enough to jump and did not tried to play the ball.

On BRUM, divine justice was done as their team imploded and relegated.

Pray teh same divine justice and Arsenal Curse strikes Stoek City and relegates ‘em this season of the enxts eason at teh very altest.

CHelski vs Stoke City next weekend, an FA Cup tie.
WIll be most interesting as both teams are going to go in hard.
And if an English international is seriously injured, just watch how the media will bray for “justice”?

Fabregas leaving?
I believe that after the BRUM match, Hleb was so shaken that he was never the same player again and was angling for a mvoe away from English football.

And a few years back, Van Persie warned that flair players are getting very little protection and physicality will drive flair players like him and Fabregas out of the English game.

We all knew that every team nowadays are targetting Fabregas for a good kicking to keep him quiet. And it is a matter of not if, but when will Fabregas suffer a serious injury on another 50:50 ball incident liek he was injured WHEN ON THE GROUND when ALonso performed that tackled.

SImilarly, if you recalled a previosu incident against CHelski, Terry 2-footed lunge at Fabregas when he was falling on teh ground. Luckily there was another player between ‘em, else Fabregas will certainly be seriously injured – just a 3-match ban for Terry then.

Another incident was that of Liverpool ve Everton when Pienaar was fell by a tackle and Gerrars was charging in with a slide tackle and his knees connected with his ribs. Easily, a broken ribs.

And with this kind of dirty plays, deliberately comitted to intimidate players, and ENglish referees jsut take it as mundane stuff in a typical highly physical and committed English FOotball – adn those pansies and softies crybabies of a Johnny Foreigner, always whingeing, play acting, diving cheats, etc..cannot even play a man’s game without crying…..I wil not blame Fabregas and Van Persie, disenchanted by zero protection form referees and are presently contemplating life elsewhere.

3 serious injuries within a 5 year period is too much to swallow:
Once a happenstance;
Twice is a coincidence;
Thrice? @#$%^&@#

Anonymous said...

Here is what I sent to the FA:

“The FA is in part responsible for the horrendous act committed against Aaron Ramsay today at Stoke City FC.
The facts are that Stoke City FC have reportedly strategized to affect this fixture by acts of intimidation. This act alone is not necessarily grounds for an investigation but certainly silence by FA on that rumour is troublesome. And, now what do we have? Stoke City FC not only demonstrating these reported acts throughout the match, the FA accepting that, a referee allowing it, and a young Wales International fighting for his career.
I have seen the FA stand up for absolutely nothing as far as Arsenal are concerned. All that I ask is the FA investigate the rumours. Investigate the manager & player. And, hold them accountable for the act if found guilty.
Finally, this is the third similar act of hostility portrayed against the Arsenal within 5 years. How do you account for this? The FA should have its own internal investigation and be held accountable for allowing this to occur.
I have lost a great deal of respect for the FA especially in recent years and in recent weeks.

Respectfully,

Chris Geczy

Anonymous said...

It’s time Arsenal got behind the players and took out legal action against individual players making these horrendous tackles.

In the light of continued Sky anti-Arsenal bias and general newspaper collusion when it comes to anti-Arsenal agendas – and in particular encouraging the kind of over the top disgusting tackling which has seen us lose the third player in four years to the same kind of tackles – it is clearly the only thing that will discourage talentless musclebound athletes like Smith, Taylor and Shawcross from perpetrating their assaults.

I’m sick of “English” football.

Anonymous said...

Funny how the English sports media are a little lazy when it comes to doing their research Ryan Shawcross has previous, and his assaults are not reserved for games against Arsenal.

Presumably he was driven home by mum after each of these incidents. Butter wouldn’t melt blah, blah, blah, honest lad, etc. Pass me the sick bucket please. Oh and ban this animal from association football while you’re at it…

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1083214/Arsenal-striker-Adebayor-ruled-weeks-Stoke-clash.html

http://content.thisis.co.uk/sentinel07/homepage/ad_panel/sentinel_backpage.pdf

Anonymous said...

I would sign the petition.

The guy seriously does not know anything about football. I bet he just watches so he can see thugs like they have at Stoke breaking other skilfull players legs.

Another Journo from the Mirror Daren something, was spot on.

He came on Talksport twice yesterday and got a load of bollocks from ex-pros such as Alan (alcoholic, gambling addiction) Brazil.

Anonymous said...

I have also emailed the mirror, this is by far the worst and most disgusting piece of journalism i have ever read, how can they let people write such drivel, so getting a 50/50 pen is sick but breaking someones leg is ok. Considering we had a spot on 100% pen turned down (on ramsey) i think the pen was ok, but that has no comaprison to what he said about sky not replaying it over and over and to sol's reaction and wengers comments, this guy should be sacked for being such a twat.

Matt said...

3 serious injuries within a 5 year period is too much to swallow:
Once a happenstance;
Twice is a coincidence;
Thrice? @#$%^&@#

You're missing the rest of the Blofeld quote from one of the Bond films:

Once is happenstance
Twice is coincidence
Three times is enemy action

Exactly!

Mavi said...

the mirror article has to be a wind up... other wise that is fuckin unac ceptable

warholio said...

Wrighty - as much as i agree with what you're saying, opinions are like arseholes - everybody has one - as does this arsehole from the mirror. You shouldn't dignify or validate it with a response - its below that - don't rise to it, you'll just give him a laugh and encourage the prick.

Anonymous said...

The only think I would wish is to have this bastard in Aaron's place, to experience the same feeling. Then I would ask him to wright the same article and if he feels a bit different about it, I would chop his other leg for being such a worthless piece of shit.

Let's get on with the petition!

Anonymous said...

oh my god, this idiot has ragged me for years now!!he hates arsenal hes a stupid scouser loving twat!! his bet of the year before the season started was 11-8 that arsenal wud finish outside the top 4!!!! wat braindead clown!!

Anonymous said...

He must have wagered a lot against Arsenal that day, simple.

Derek McGovern said...

My heartfelt apologies for that column. I forgot to take my medicine for dementia that morning when I wrote that borderline idiotic rant. I admit, I don't have insights into many football games. My journalism career solely rests on their shock effects not insights. If I spark an outrage especially on Arsenal fans that's a job well done for me. They also pay me peanuts at the mirror that is why I try to supplement my income through side bets on sports. I'm sorry for being a degenerate human but I can't help it :-(

Anonymous said...

This is my email to the mirror

This email is in regards to one of your so called journalists. I am absolutely disgusetd at the comments of Derek McGovern, who is so im told a BETTING journalist, well maybe he should just stick to talking and writing about ways of losing lots of money because this piece of journalism is just disgusting. A 19 year old boy had his leg snapped in half with a late challenge, ok im sure he was not ment to break his leg but Ryan Shawcross deserved a red card but Mr McGoven does not even think it was even a foul how can a players leg get broken by another proffesional and it not be a foul come on. To say that sol campbell got him sent off is an absolute joke, to say that sol campbell was over the top with the way he reacted is an insult, the guy had just seen his team mates leg hanging by a tread what was he supposed to do go and shake his hand and say "dont worry mate we will go for a drink after the game", if this happened to Wayne Rooney I would put everything I own on a bet (not advised by this usless waste of space) that most of the Man Utd players would have reacted the same, im sure the same goes for every other team, infact if this did happen to Rooney the whole of the nation would be wanting Shawcross banned for life especially the media and it would have been the worst tackle ever made in the history of football, its just like when eduardo dived the whole country got on his back so did the media but when rooney dived nothing was said. When I broke my leg playing football my team mates did the same thing its a natural human reaction, you see a friend in pain and you react maybe not in the best way but everyone is different.

As for Mr McGovens comments regrding Arsene Wenger, Mr Wenger did not slate off shawcross he just stated that he thought the tackle was reckless, well if you break someones leg then maybe people have the right to call it reckless especially if your the manager of the player involved.

To say Sky were wrong for not showing a 19 year old boy have his leg snapped in half over and over is probably the sickest part of this rubbish piece of journalism, why would anyone want to sit there on a Saturday late afternoon and watch such things, im sure there were thousands of kids watching the game im sure those childrens parents would not want them to see someones leg snap in to 2 over and over, Maybe this guy also likes to watch beheadings on you tube aswell.

To call our penalty decision a sick joke just puts the icing on the cake, breaking someones leg is ok but getting a dodgy penalty is sick hmmm thats very strange, considering we had a 100% penalty (on ramsey) turned down maybe things even themselves out, maybe we should have evened things up by breaking one of there legs maybe Mr McGoven would have liked to have seen that over and over. He also says that we stole 3 points considering we created more chances and had most of the possesion (away from home) that is a very weird comment to make from someone who gives advice on what bets to put on, maybe his tip of the week is stoke to get in the champions league, they deserve it they are such a good footballing team and have so many great players and are not mallicious in the slightest even tho francis jeffers, adebayor, sagna, wallcott and ramsey will not agree with that comment.

I am one for free speech and all but biased journalism like this is just drivel and should never have been printed, its disgusting and has no place in your paper I thought Stan Collymore was bad but this guy just takes the biscuit

Anonymous said...

Well done Wrighty - the guy is a hater!

tojo said...

Wrighty.....I think this guy was just trying to get more people to read his stupid column....
A piece of sensational journalism....by writing this drivel...and getting you pissed off about it atleast a 100 more people have read the stupid article.....
Man he is such a dick...

Anonymous said...

Happily i have never read himbefore, sounds like a right big jam donut to me,what a prick. I hope he gets kidnapped soon

Anonymous said...

Hes been at this for years with this anti arsenal stuff - If you read his articles they are all very very negative. Notice how being a liverpool supporter hasn't had as mauch to say about their shambles of a season. I actually find that often Liverpool supporters are most bitter about were we are in the league simply beacuse they think they should be there.

Anyone with half a brain would see that sol campbell has been a brillant signing. Certain people who laughed at it like mcgovern are now writing these articles beacuse they are worried wenger has pulled off a masterstroke - why else would he include sol here when he had nothing to do with it?
I would love us to win the prem this season and ram it down the throats of collymore, mcgovern and the likes. He won't have much to say then

dean the gunner said...

an he can fuck his macca acca two....he owes me money...PRICK

Anonymous said...

For God's sake calm down. I agree with Mick Dennis and McGovern. Ramsey was just too quick for Shawcross. It was bad luck - that's all. Legs get broken in football, not always by horror challenges. It wasn't a two footed studs up job. Ramsey is a TOP player, hope he makes a quick recovery but for fs don't squeal like a woman. People are dying all over the world and you go ballistic over an accident. Chill out.

Anonymous said...

First of all, great blog.

Secondly, some of his claims are actually libelous. He could get in trouble for some of his assertions.

Anyone know any lawyers?

Tonyss said...

I wrote to this twat a while ago when he wrote what in my opinion were anti semitic comments. As I am Jewish I took offence and told him what I thought of him.
His response was to tell me to"get a life"! I told the prick that at the same time as getting a life I would also be buying a different newspaper in the future.
He is a two bob nothing. He is not a journalist, his betting tips and predictions are shit and his attempts at humour are far from funny. Boycott the Mirror!!!

Anonymous said...

Very Nice and Well Said, Wrighty! Thanks.

:)

Ishan said...

Well said =)

Anonymous said...

Guys,

We are Arsenal.

Don't buy the Mirror.

Don't read the Mirror website.

Don't even follow links to them.

Just boycott the shower of cunts.

Geez said...

Sent my email to the Mirror telling them what I think, LETS ALL DO IT !!!

Anonymous said...

I am an Arsenal fan from New Delhi,India. Got hooked to the Premiership around 2001-02.

I do not claim to have much knowledge of the game but can make out the fouls. It has become like you announce to the world that you would kick arsenal players instead of the ball in the match and it acts as an insurance policy against action from Referees. The refs seem to have lost it. Why should the foul committed in 1st minute different from the one in 90th minute. Deliberate fouls should be penalised from the word go. The genuine ones, where both the players go for the ball, can be forgiven for 2-3 times. I remember the game at MAN-U which ended Arsenal's unbeaten run. The stupid referee just did not see the kicking of Jose Reyes, even the Ferdinand foul from behind on Ljuneberg was ignored when he had only keeper to beat.

The point is not of Shawcross or of one player - but the game in general. How can such players / coaches / refs get away with murder every single time.

Though I did not like AW not buying in winter. He should have got Huntelaar, one strong defensive midfielder and we would have been in a much better shape.

Whatever Derek McGovern wrote shows only one thing - The sick state of mind where they dont think much of a broken bone but are worried about a few tears of the injury inflicter. These guys need to undergo some mental rehab!!

Pray for Ramsey recovery, Aresnal Premiership title and a few sensible purchases in summer starting from Goalkeeper onwards!!!!

BNT said...

Derek McGovern is as biased and stupid as all other indivuduals who made shawcross look like a hero despite the horrendous tackle of ramsey. I wonder why these idiots are quick to attack wenger's post-match statement (which any manager in his place would have said he same thing) but failed to highlight the fact that shawcross has a long history and liking for bad tackles in the name of winning the ball. Anyone with some brains wld know that the manner in which shawcross charged at ramsey to win the ball is unacceptable! would the statement been the same if Rooney is tackled like that?

Anonymous said...

Elrctrolex: I will be boycotting the mirror and and will be advising my fellow gooners too

Anonymous said...

what no mark cunts write these articles. Fuck em..we are the Arsenal

Anonymous said...

Don't worry about it Wrighty. McGovern has had a chip with Arsenal for years. I have no idea why either... He must be a spurs fan or something. I can't remember the last time he wrote anything good about Arsenal ever. Just constantly moans about Arsenal.

Anonymous said...

McGovern absolutely loathes Arsenal, it is obvious from his columns. He never missing an opportunity to slag off Arsenal, Wenger or in particular Fabregas. Maybe it's something to do with Anfield '89, Scouser that he is. His vitriol increases the worse Liverpool play which is probably why he has been shouting his mouth off so much lately. I have been inclined to complain about his blatant stance in a World where he should remain impartial, I mean how can you take his betting tips seriously if he hates a particular side so much? Perhaps it's time for the Mirror to employ somewhere without a chip on their shoulder. Campaign anyone?

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Mick clancy said...

Not only has this geezer got a problem with Arsenal but he has a huge one with Scottish people, what have they ever done to this racist idiot, only he knows, Mick clancy