Hughes’ Arsenal obsession reaches Ferguson proportions
December 18, 2007
From The Terraces publishes UNEDITED submissions we receive from you, the readers. It’s your chance to show us how this football blogging is done right, or to embarrass yourself and your ancestors. Simply write to: editor[at]caughtoffside[dot]com.
This time, Skis gives us his views on Mark Hughes and his ‘inane ramblings’.
Mark Hughes’ latest inane ramblings about Arsenal’s rough play bears all the hallmarks of his former boss and mentor, the perpetually purple-nosed Ferguson. Now, we all know the mutual dislike between Arsenal and Hughes stretches back around 20 years, but to accuse Arsenal of being a dirty side is absolutely hilarious coming from him of all people.
The grey haired Welshman had this to say after Sunday’s match:
“Arsenal are a strong side and they certainly get their foot in. I watched the game yesterday and some of the tackles that were flying in were tackles that, maybe if Blackburn Rovers players were making similar tackles, then there would have been red cards involved.
“But maybe the top teams get a little bit of the benefit of the doubt in regards to how referees actually interpret things.
“Time and time again, I see referees calling over to big-name players and telling them just to calm down and have a stern word with them.
“We seem to get involved in games where we just get yellow cards straight away.
“We don’t have little chit-chats with the referee; the yellow and the red cards come out straight away.
“There is a feeling, possibly, from our point of view that maybe referees interpret the way we play rather differently to how they interpret other teams.”
Utter rubbish, Mark. If he’s seen challenges in that game worthy of a red card from an Arsenal man, then he was watching a different game. Much as I dislike Eboue as much as the next man, I honestly don’t think he went into that challenge with any malicious intent – for one, he’s generally more cowardly than to do something so blatantly and vicious, and for two, it was the kind of challenge that you see all the time up and down the country. ‘Brave’ John Terry was just unlucky that he got injured from it, that’s the only difference. And Cesc on Cole? Well, if that was a red card offence then you’d end up with 8-a-side every week.
The fact that Blackburn have received 4 reds in the last 7 matches can be no coincidence – 1 or 2 could be unlucky, but FOUR? Please. It’s just another case of an opposition manager blaming his own club’s faults on the Arsenal, and trying to influence officials to perhaps look at us in a different light. Ferguson did it, complaining about our ‘crazy’ fans (clearly a total lie), and now Hughes is doing it – he really is the perfect replacement for the old Scot at Old Trafford, isn’t he? And personally, I can’t wait for the time when we get to lock horns with him in that capacity – it will make victory even sweeter.
Let’s hope the kids can give Mr Hughes something else to grumble about tonight – my money’s on the great Dane doing the business again.
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43 Responses to “Hughes’ Arsenal obsession reaches Ferguson proportions”
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Um, I think you’ve got it the wrong way round mate. It’s Wenger’s obsession with not being able to take lost points like a man that is the issue here.
If anyone outside the top 4 beats or draws with Arsenal Wenger comes out everytime and accuses the opposition of using rough tactics. Wenger did it with us earlier in the season (apparently we had a “desire for violence”) and then he accuses Middlebrough of the same thing when they beat them. If anyone uses excuses to cover their own inadequacies then it’s Wenger and his lack of a plan B!
If you also think that Ref’s aren’t influenced by big teams and big players then you suffering from a serious case of denial my friend. You should know too as it was Arsenal that got a ref to change his mind by surrounding him a couple of seasons back.
…oh and my money is on the Great South African knocking you out of the cup again!
EstebanRey, I think you’ll find that Arsene accepted that we were poor and Boro fully deserved their victory. It’s unusual for him to admit our shortcomings, admittedly, but he did on this occasion, and there really was no argument.
Dont see what lost points has to do with Hughe’s ramblings in todays papers.
What on earth are you on about EstebanRey? Or are you, like Mr Hughes taking the opportunity to have adig too? Ha ha ha Fool!!!!
Esteben, you clearly did not read the post Boro match comments and thought it would sounds good if you just accuse wenger os saying they used strong house tactics. He actually said they deserved to beat us and were the better team. but when we play Blackburn for whatever reason, they come at us in a very physical manner. not just good closing down at a high pace, I am talking hard dirty challenges that can cause injury. thats what wenger does not like. Arsenal players get dealt that sort of treatment from time to time as other clubs seem to think its a good way to stop Arsenal. how ridiculous is that? I wager if you put your studs into any player from any clubs’ legs he wont like it.
Hleb has been the victim of 3 horror challenges this season. I remember Tugay doing a particularly bad one recently. without the physical intimdation Blackburn would be down in the bottom half fighting relegation so thats why they do it, but dont expect refs to like it.
Blackburn are hard and uncompromising. Hughes is a dirty hypocrite coming out with shit like that. Next Man U manager in the making it would seem
oh do me a favour you idiot man u fans
Blackburn are hard and uncompromising. Hughes is a hypocrite to label Arsenal dirty. He surely will take over from Sir Alex.
Blackburn are hard and uncompromising. Hughes is a hypocrite to label Arsenal dirty. He surely must be the next manager of Manure
What is wrong with this comment?
Blackburn are hard and uncompromising. Hughes is a hypocrite to label Arsenal dirty. He surely must be the next manager at Old Trafford
Are you just Man U fans desperately trying not to have anyone criticise your beloved team? What is wrong with you?
Why can’t I venture the opinion that Mark Hughes’s team is dirty - and that he shouldn’t label Arsenal the same?
So that’s okay - therefore you must take exception to me venturing firther that M Hughes is the ideal candidate to take over when Demento finally leaves
So that’s okay but the 2 points together are vetoed?!?!?!?! You are insane - what are your reasons for moderation?
Is it the use of the name Sir Alex?
Marzipan Mynci, have you got a split personality or something? You seem to be having a one-sided conversation here. Weird.
whoa whoa.. it’s turning into a manure against ass-nil here.. come on people.. civility..where art thou..
about the big 4 getting decisions going their way, all managers have said the same thing. sparkie is not the first, and certainly won’t be the last. and just cause he’s come out before the match, he’s being branded a moaner.
and what if he had come out after the match? you guys would have called him a sore loser. my my..
This topic is actually for the Rovers fans to spar with the Arsenal fans. If no Rovers fan turns up, why should we bother?! Afterall, using SAF’s name is perfectly fine for us because everybody knows SAF is not going to give a wine bottle to AW; vice versa. Why don’t we ‘battle’ it out at the 11-day topic that has been resurrected? I am stuffed of action.
Well the Rovers fans hardly bother turning up at their own stadium, so i guess unlikely to turn up here……
Ha ha ha ha !!!
Yeah, come to think of it, I have not seen any Rovers fan at this forum. Have you?
Rovers fans seem to have forgotten the clear cut penalties that Arsenal didn’t get against them last year in the FA Cup? Big clubs getting the benefit’s……..
Editor, please announce a walkover if no Rovers fan turns up in the next 5 minutes. Shocking. Er… or are they having a better life than us doing literal battle day in day out at this forum?!
Um, I’m a Rovers fan and I was the first one to comment so erm…….
My fault, perhaps I’ll stick to ‘Big Four’ or Totteringham related articles in future - at least you can virtually guarantee some abuse/comment from those. But then we get accused of ‘Big Four Bias’! Sometimes you just can’t win….
Fair enough Esteban.
Don’t be shy, Estenbanrey. You may just be the pioneer Rovers fan that the rest look up to. Honestly, Rovers under our old boy, Hughes, is not bad at all. Wish you will squeeze into the Top Five this season, at least knock out our half-cousin-by-default-only Man City.
I think what most Gooner here don’t realise is that Hughes is only doing what Wenger usually does every match. I notice the editor didn’t use the term “dark arts” which is what Hughes was basically going on about. Doing interviews and press conferences before a game slagging off the opposition.
Before our league match earlier in the season Wenger did several interviews stating how Arsenal wouldn’t be “intimidated by Rovers tactics” and how they would “stand up to Rovers physicality”. Hughes sees this as a nod to the ref that he should be watching us more closely.
The problem I have with this article is it implies Hughes’ grievence with Arsenal is due to his Man Utd roots but as a Rovers fan I know it has nothing to do with it. It is down to his experiences as Blackburn Manager and never been congratulated by Wenger after a match that Rovers got something from.
That is why he is making these comments now and I’m sure you’d find that if Wenger ever left Arsenal and more humle (towards Rovers anyway) man ran Arsenal they’d be no problem.
Thanks versa, although on current form I can’t see it. We have player unrest (Roberts, Mokoena & possibly Savage & McCarthy) and our top players like Benni, Pedersen & Samba have been way off the boil lately.
Unfortunately I can’t see us winning tonight either if I’m honest. My dad and lots of mates are Gooners so I’ll get it in the ear if we get battered! Hopefully I’m wrong though and they choose tonight to find their spark again and Santa brings us another three presents (this time without letting the opposition scoring 5!)
Don’t worry, Estebanrey. The rest of the Top Four, at least, will be cheering for Rovers. And how to forget Spurs and other London clubs? You’ll never walk alone today.
estebanrey & dikos, you guys are missing the point altogether .. and skis has written an unacceptable (to me) soft piece about this thug called sparky and his thug of a team ..
Skis, you have to call a spade a spade and quick messing with these soft words .. the man is a thug, schools his team to go out and maim/take out the opposition .. so he is scum of the highest order.
Whenever we play them, the refs watch while they take turns to try and maim our players .. during the last match, our players decided for a change to stand up for themselves a bit .. and I expect them to fight back this time around.
His comments are so unfair especially when you consider that the refs are always against arsenal when we play these so-called physical teams .. and whatsmore, they know it too .. and here this scum is trying to claim arsenal are as guilty as his team … He is just trying to put more pressure on the ref, but why bother, the refs are already bought and paid for already .. years of other similar matches have shown that …
wenger was right and under-stated when he said they show great appetite for violence .. the EPL authorities and the FA are a disgrace for allowing this level of corruption? in refereeing to go on .. its quite embarassing .. and most honest folk know the truth about arsenal and english refs (even abroad), regardless of press coverage and nonsensical comments like this from Hughes ..
Sigh. Why am I comforting a Rovers fan here? I need action or I am going to turn off my computer soon.
How come your old man’s a Gooner? Or more to the point, how come you’re not??? Were you a mid-90’s ‘glory boy’ Rover?
For the benfit of the editor, this is what Hughes actually said…
“There always seems to be a tone leading into the game highlighting our misdemeanours,” said Hughes. “Some clubs will put a line out maybe to influence referees prior to the game, a touch of the dark arts.
“I watched the Man United-Liverpool and Arsenal-Chelsea games and you look at some of the challenges that are happening and the referees are asking the bigname players to come over for a chat and to calm down.
Advertisement”They gave them the benefit of the doubt. I don’t see that when Blackburn players are involved.
“Arsenal don’t pick up yellow and red cards for the challenges we’re getting penalised for. We just want a fair crack of the whip.”
listen carefully i will say this only once-hughes is the spawn of old blue nose fegusmoan-he is ex manure & is taking a leaf out of dementos book by trying to shit stir things up fot the match- an old well worn tactic of his mentor -blackburn mirror their manager so they will attempt to kick the kids senseless & get away it.incidentally arsenal have been top of the fair play league for the last two seasons-blackburn bottom.speaks volumes!!!!
I am so proud of you, Estenbanrey. You “did it my way…”.
Editor, you are also comforting a lone Rovers fan here? Lol. Just ‘instigate’ for or against Man Utd and I will be here.. See ya.
Versa, I’ve no doubt I’ll be able to stir things up for a battle with you as the season progresses. My utter contempt for ManUre is strong and, as it looks like we might be toe to toe for a while yet, some articles are sure to follow……
estebanrey, you do get more than a fair crack of the whip from refs .. especially when you play arsenal .. thats why hughes comments rankles .. bruiseburn gets away with so much against arsenal, stuff you know they would not try with other teams without purnishment .. why do you think they persist in that approach ..
If you extend your comments to our recent loss to boro, yes boro did do some underhanded things that were not punished, but our manager never dwelt on these ..
Just you watch tonight’s game .. and try to see it from a neutral’s point of view …
Ha, thanks a lot. I am pretty new here so I didn’t expect an anti-ManU editor/contributor (?). The challenge is all the more intoxicating! I trust that you will not be an abusive warrior like some here despite your sentiments. Just improve the arguments, right?
So what is the colour of your club?
put that in your pipe an smoke it hughes.
kids….the boys of arsenal, at your own backyard.
how embarrassing.
denilsons tackle aside you gave as good as you got to (really the other way round - blackburn clearly been sent out to ruffle a few feathers)
wanker
Hughes is right. One thing sticks in my mind from the last few weeks which is Eboue and some of his horror show tackles. Maybe is poetic justice that he’s been injured.
For all the arsenal fans that will not be able to take this genuine criticism, there are plenty of other bad tacklers in the premier league, but the subject is how dirty arsenal are.
rob - it isn’t genuine critism. just another new chapter in ‘whats wrong with arsenal’ cause we hate seeing them be so righ.
invincibles? oh they’re too soft, can’t fight their way to victory like thbe stronger prem sides.
playing the best football in europe?
oh they’re so dirty.
if arsenal are such dirty players - then so is every other team in the prem. so why focus on arsenal?
thats why its not genuine, just another shot at arsenal for the sake of it.
iceycalm - it is genuine criticism, and I will explain in greater detail, obviously my previous comment is too open to interpretation. The point I want to make is about how eboue seems to get away with horror tackles.
You make the point ‘if arsenal are such dirty players - then so is every other team in the prem. so why focus on arsenal?’
Yes, other teams are, yet they seem to get called up on it. I remember Mikel from Chelsea making a series of nasty tackles, Robbie savage is a consistent culprit, the list goes on. However they all get taken apart for it. For Arsenal, however, it seems to go unnoticed. I don’t know why this is, and I certainly don’t have an axe to grind as far as arsenal are concerned, but I think its a shame that something hasn’t been done about this guy, he could seriously injure someone and these things have to stop.
In response to why focus on arsenal, I don’t believe I am, it was mark Hughes who originally commented on it, not me, so if you have something to say about it, I suggest you write him a letter.