Although i do have it, watching the Arsenal and Man U match every reply i say “he should have slipped him in, the greedy *******”. When Ashley Cole did that stupid mistake i shouted “you stupid ****, ******* hell, you should be playing Sunday league” but thats what i was raised on, to just criticize and criticize

Now Eamon Dunphy is a real ****, i watched RTE football for the first time in 2 years when Liverpool where away to Atleti (sky was turned off at this point) and after enjoying two real quality teams go at it, seeing the likes of Sergio Aguero and Maxi Rodriguez on the pitch with players i watched week in and week out was brilliant. I loved watching the game but after Eamon Dunphy called Robbie Keane a disgrace and said the result was a disaster! No Eamon you are the disgrace!

I absolutely loved the the Arsenal vs Spuds/United matches too

I’ve spent the last few weeks heaping criticism on Arsenal and yesterday against United they played in one of the most beautiful games of the season. But the game was very open – and I don’t want to be fooled. Stoke didn’t allow them to be beautiful last week, nor will Liverpool in the future. And I don’t see anything wrong with holding Arsenal or the game to a higher standard of beauty. Sure – it sounds like people bitch, complain and nit-pick. But I think it is due to a search for something higher. I know for instance that the better Arsenal play their brand of football against better and tougher teams, the more I feel vindicated.

Having said all that I think that perhaps we are talking about different definitions of the beautiful game. Perhaps the game is just simply always a beautiful game – a great aesthetic and emotional drama unfolding before our eyes – and we should just enjoy it – as you say.

Perhaps.

But as someone who has tracked Arsenal’s beauty for a few years, I have to say that beauty has to contain some rigor for me. The Spurs 4-4 match was ugly to me and yesterday’s win over United – while thrilling – left me suspicious.

ive been telling my mates this, especially my gooner mates, that just because every commentator, presenter and newspaper climax over arsenals “beautiful” football and harp on, it doesnt make it, and it isnt, true…

i think the media have turned football into a cliche. now forums arent any good any more. you cant even discuss it with guys at the pub, as no-one listens when i argue that fabregas, great though he is, is a wanna be xavi hernandez of barcelona. the media had turned fans into pieces of plastic.

I love football, I have shoehorned it into my professional life and my academic life, it forms the basis for many of my friendships and my fondest memories, but when I sit down to watch a Premier League game at stupid o’clock on a Sunday afternoon, I can’t help feel that we’ve been stitched up.