Aug 25
I’m moving to Northfield, MN, but am less worried about the increased distance from the centre of the world (Highbury) because of this site, which I often read.
So, a simple question: are there any Gunners out there in the Northfield area or in Minneapolis? I signed up for Arsenal TV On Line but the stream is not the best and anyway the experience demands to be shared. TV is better. TV in a bar serving decent beer is best.
28 Responses to “Northfield/Minneapolis, MN”
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August 25th, 2005 at 9:48 am
What can I say, I definately agree with his comment that Fabregas’s new hairstyle and Alice Band are very dodgy looking, and someone really needs to him to go back to his previous clean-cut look.
He is also right when he says that Fabregas does not have the imposing physical presence of Vieira.
Then again, I do believe that since he is only 18, he still has a couple of years worth of growing to do.
Fabregas, in my mind can be deployed as an attacking or defensive midfielder. He is quite good when working in tandem with Silva, in breaking up the oppositions run of play and also scores goals.
August 25th, 2005 at 10:29 am
Wow. I *really* like the idea of Kolo in the middle if we could finally get Sol back in match fitness. Who knows, maybe Cygan has been using all this time for training!
August 25th, 2005 at 10:34 am
http://tinyurl.com/7wpqg
August 25th, 2005 at 11:38 am
If that’s true then Van Persie is as good as cleared.
Just seen the Champions League draw, Arsenal have their easiest group ever: Ajax, Sparta Prague, Thun. This gives Wenger the opportunity to buy some players in January and therefore more than a remote chance of getting past the quarter final.
August 25th, 2005 at 11:56 am
I guess its not a surprise to be drawn with Ajax again. It seems a constant these past years. On paper the other 2 teams look like a walkover but I guarantte everyone that there won’t be any free lunches.
I think we’ve had enough experiences to pull through and I feel the other teams in the group will provide tough usual European grit.
I hope Bergy can atleast make it to Amsterdam for the Ajax showdown; that should be the highlight of this group stage needless to say that the Amsterdam tie would be a major deciding factor in our qualifications.
August 25th, 2005 at 11:56 am
If they have to make it a group stage, personally I feel if they could make the first round as a head-to-head format, leave the final 16 teams to play the group stage, the fixtures would be much more attractive.
There would be chances like Juve, Real, Arsenal, Bayern in one group, Milan, Chelsea, Barca, Ajax in another etc something like that. Then EVERY game would be a big hit.
if you look at the draw this season, in every group u can easily pick out two sides which are going to qualify. It’s only a matter which “giants” are going to get slayed. There is really no need to take 6 games per team to go through a group stage like that.
August 25th, 2005 at 12:01 pm
Yes there is Andez; money!
August 25th, 2005 at 12:07 pm
This is no point even taking about this draw. Is on the plate for us without even trying so there will be no excuses here.
The easiest Group. What else can you asked for?
Now let see what happens on the day.
August 25th, 2005 at 12:15 pm
Dennis Bergkamp’s last season & we draw AJAX. How fitting! I don’t think it will be difficult for us to finish on top. It could be a lot worse (AC Milan looks like they’ll have a tough time).
P.S. Andrew, am I to assume we’ll be getting an AA Roadtrip announcement in the near future?
August 25th, 2005 at 12:45 pm
Manure didn’t exactly walk over Sparta Prague last year, draw in Prague but 4-1 at Old Shitford, a score way too flattering for Manure, Sparta had actually a decent game. So they seam to be up for the big games!! There is no way a team named Thun will go far in this competition, just not the way the world works. The big question is Ajax they will be no pushovers. This group is very doable and a question of using it to build up self believe before the 16!!!
August 25th, 2005 at 1:12 pm
In the past I have seen Arsenal fumble in games that have looked walkovers on paper. On first glance, I had a smile on my face when I saw the draw. Then as I kept thinking, the smile slowly faded.
We need 6 points from the first two games to make it an easy experience. The third game is a tricky fixture away to Prague. And hopefully things are finalized before the last game.
Atleast there are no trips to Spain or Russia (no Russian teams).
August 25th, 2005 at 1:28 pm
Sorry for the irrelevant post.
I read a week or so ago about a gentleman w/ season tix who’ll be in canada during the Sept 19 Everton game.
Kind sir, if you’re reading this and havent yet sold off your tickets for those games I’d love to take them off your hands (for a price of course), as I should be there around that time and have no idea how else to get tickets.
Message me back if anyone has any ideas other than this shot in the dark attempt at getting tix.
August 25th, 2005 at 1:32 pm
Wasnt it Sparta Prague that Martin Keown scored 2 goals against in the Champions League about 5 years ago?
Maybe I am thinking of some other East European team. I do remember that that game certainly was not a walk over, and Arsenal were losing until Keown scored two late goals.
August 25th, 2005 at 4:01 pm
If you are a member of Arsenal America you can e-mail me at tickets@arsenalamerica.com or PM Rick B on bigsoccer.com If you are quick I can probably get hold of a ticket for you. Obviously at face value.
Rick
August 25th, 2005 at 4:03 pm
Nope, it was Shaktar Donesk.
This isn’t as easy as people think. Our record against Ajax isn’t great and Prague are always a handful away from home. Thun are unknowns so should be easy. Many people relate these teams to lower division sides, they arn’t. We can’t be complacent about them. We should go through, but it certainly isn’t the easiest group…..
August 25th, 2005 at 4:53 pm
It’s certainly the easiest group Arsenal have ever been handed in teh competition. Player for player, we should win all 6 games. But 4-1-1- would be adequate.
FC Thun are by far the worst team in the competition, they are semi-professional and have only been in existance 9 years.
This group really should be a breeze.
August 25th, 2005 at 5:02 pm
Nothing is EVER a breeze for us in the CL… is it?
But we have absolutely ZERO excuse for not advancing from this group. It should be easy for us, so it won’t be. Just hope its not down to the last match at Ajax.
August 25th, 2005 at 5:56 pm
Well Ajax are a decent team of course, but we should take 3 points of them somewhere along the line.
Prague should be taken apart at Highbury, but a narrow win there, or draw at the very least should suffice.
FC Thun haven’t a prayer, they’re the whipping boys, they’ll lose all 6.
August 25th, 2005 at 7:20 pm
Now I remember. I think they also thrashed us 3-0 when we went to play them in the Ukraine.
August 25th, 2005 at 8:47 pm
BTW, i noticed at the past the CL group format is - the team you play first, you won’t play them until the last (6th) fixture. The 2nd team you play, you will play them again on the 5th fixture. In between with a back to back fixtures against the 3rd side you play…
So after we played Thun at home, we should meet them again at the final fixture.. how come it become Ajax (on the last fixture)?…
August 25th, 2005 at 10:08 pm
pubs from the fsc.com pub list:
MN Soccer
Burnsville Fox Soccer Channel subscriber
MN Brit’s Pub
1110 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis
612-332-3908 Showing all games on Fox Soccer Channel
MN Kieran’s Irish Pub
330 2nd Ave
Minneapolis
612-339-4499
MN The Local Irish Pub
10th & Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis
612-904-1000 EPL, FA Cup, UEFA and International games
MN Soccer
Osseo Fox Soccer Channel subscriber
i think you are out of luck there. I know that Sirius Satellite radio has all the Prem games, i think its all the Prem games. Anyways, you could get that and listen to the audio from the games that are not on FSC or PPV, that is if you can get FSC and the games on PPV at your house!
August 25th, 2005 at 11:08 pm
Here’s one ArseAm member in the Minneapolis area, checking in.
Brit’s and The Local are a good start for pubs in the downtown Minneapolis area that show the occasional game of footy. Brit’s is (IIRC) on 12th St & Nicollet ; the Local is on 10th & Nicollet.
The Local generally seems to keep their website updated pretty well with upcoming events. The Brit’s Pub site is not updated so frequently, but in general they seem to have shifted focus to rugby (although they do show football with fair regularity.) (Click the text to see either site.)
And of course, in both places, the beer flows like wine.
I haven’t been down to Brit’s for a match in a couple of years; the last time was the 2003 FA Cup 6th round matchup between Arsenal and Chelsea. It snowed a foot and a half the night before the game, and a grand total of five people made it downtown for the match - me, a kind friend, and three others (evenly split between Arsenal, Chelsea, and Disinterested Girlfriend.) Arsenal went down 1-0, up 2-1, then Lampard popped up for Chelsea and it all came to naught (and a replay). There’s nothing like slogging through snowbanks to see a draw on a Saturday morning. There’s also nothing like weaving drunkenly through a deserted skyway at 12:30 on a Saturday afternoon.
Anyway, welcome to Minnesota.
August 26th, 2005 at 2:27 am
I can’t add anything regarding access to games, but I live in the Twin Cities surrounding area. Rockford to be specific - out west on Highway 55. If Arsenal ever have a really big game, we should all try to band together at one of the pubs. I certainly do love my Guiness!!!
August 26th, 2005 at 8:35 am
Sometimes match’s are moved for weather reasons. I can only assume that in December the snow will be too bad and unpredictable for the game to be at risk. So they moved the game around.
August 26th, 2005 at 8:38 am
Went to uefa.com and actually there is a new system. You always play your last game against the team you played second in the fixture!! Seems to be the case in all of the groups!!
August 26th, 2005 at 8:55 am
Arse fan here in Minneapolis; in my opinion the best footy action is at the Local. Damn good beer selection too. You’ll have about a 40 minute drive to get downtown though. If it rains or snows double that time.
Welcome to the Twin Cities.
September 5th, 2005 at 2:13 pm
probably because thun have a rest period in their national league then or because two teams from one contry cannot play a home game in the same round im not to sure, im going to go to the home thun match
shud be fun
September 10th, 2005 at 12:26 am
Thank you all for your replies and welcomes. It’s taken me a while to respond as I’ve been busy moving. But even in this town of 13,000 (not counting the students) I met another Gunner within 48 hrs of arrival and found that the TV in our house will carry the match with Boro tomorrow. Culture shock - what culture shock?
I do agree about the importance of getting together for a big match, and it sounds as if one of the Minneapolis pubs will be the place. What is a big match, though? Any match is big, even in the Carling Cup (remember seeing e.g. Fabregas in action for the first time?). I suggest we all get together when we find ourselves in the CL final, if not before…. Maybe it will be our year despite wot the critics say.