(This is my column from issue 235 of The Gooner.) It’s spring at last, so it must be the time of year when Forbes come out with their bollocks list of ‘world’s most valuable football clubs’. There are two reasons why this list is a giant pain in the arse: firstly it’s full of supposition,…

For the first and probably only time, here’s a Spurs programme in full on this blog. On May 3, 1971 Arsenal went to Spurs needing a win or a goalless draw to take the title. As we all know, a Ray Kennedy header won the match and the Championship for Arsenal, for what was then…

I read Swiss Ramble’s excellent new blog post earlier, wherein he dissects the accounts of all the top English clubs (and Spurs). And I noticed something I hadn’t thought about before regarding FFP. I was aware that clubs with wage bills over a certain amount could only add £4m a year to the wages budget.…

So Robin van Persie came back for his first return to Arsenal this weekend, his sweaty palm already anticipating closing around a Premier League medal. There are many ways of looking at the whole Van Persie situation as an Arsenal fan. Some think his actions and departure were justified, some blame the Board or manager,…

People bang on about Arsenal, but how is everyone else doing? And some claim to be ‘big clubs’ on the flimsiest of evidence:

All the questions and answers from last week’s charity Arsenal Quiz Night. Answers: 1 – 1967    2 – 1992    3 – 1993    4 – 1995    5 – 2007 6 – Cesc celebrates scoring v Milan 7 – Michael Thomas scores at Anfield ’89 8 – Martin Keown taunts Ruud van Nistelrooy 9…

Well the title sounds better than ‘An Irish Loony’s Rant’. Just kidding Noel, all input appreciated! Regular correspondent Noel Conway is having a quick go at me for taking my eye off the finale to the season. Go Noel! “Phil for goodness sake we have three games left , the spuds have taken themselves down…

For the benefit of those who attended the Charity Quiz at The Tollington on Thursday evening, here is the final table of results. The evening raised a big sum for charity, somewhere over £1,300, so thanks to everyone who supported it by turning up or just buying raffle tickets.If any participants have queries on the…

Two questions in the title, but the media at large normally treat them as one. In this world of immediacy, whoever is on top RIGHT NOW THIS SECOND is deemed to be superior. But as we know, the League season is a marathon not a sprint. And the history of football is an ultra-marathon, or…

Following yesterday’s blog post comparing Arsenal managers’ stats, here’s the full table of all stats in one place for handy reference. (Click to enlarge.) Andy Kelly has pointed out that the base information I used contains some small errors in dates and numbers of games, but nothing that will dramatically alter the figures I’ve calculated.…