I miss Nicosia. He was like a low ranking STASI functionary patrolling the

[Burney]

Oh my days

He could teach today's modern generation snowflake a few things about taking unwarranted offence, could Nic.

[SWv2]

Yes, he lost his shït because he was proven to have criticised an Arsenal player, the cognitive dissonance was too much and his head exploded. I'd forgotten that.

The fact that Sanchez didn't even bloody play for us at the time didn't seem to change anything.

It was this absolute refusal to even countenance a criticism of a player or Wenger that I found staggering.

A negative remark aimed at a club employee during a game I can understand would anger some, personally not a jot, but when one may write something at a random moment and still be sometimes aggressively challenged was bizarre. And then the oft used response of “so you think you know better than Wenger”. Of course I/we bloody well don’t but it does not restrict one from having an opinion.

We do of course have another contributor who will very often steer his debate down this silly route but will word his responses in a more structured and perhaps articulate manner, he being one of the Turks more frequent enemies. I expect the similarity between the two to be quite galling for him.

Thing is I have met the old man and even bought him a beverage (not sure the tight wee bubble reciprocated mind you) and he was a nice, genial old bloke. Harmless if I can say that in a completely non-condescending way.

[Burney]

It was this absolute refusal to even countenance a criticism of a player or Wenger that I found staggering.

A negative remark aimed at a club employee during a game I can understand would anger some, personally not a jot, but when one may write something at a random moment and still be sometimes aggressively challenged was bizarre. And then the oft used response of “so you think you know better than Wenger”. Of course I/we bloody well don’t but it does not restrict one from having an opinion.

We do of course have another contributor who will very often steer his debate down this silly route but will word his responses in a more structured and perhaps articulate manner, he being one of the Turks more frequent enemies. I expect the similarity between the two to be quite galling for him.

Thing is I have met the old man and even bought him a beverage (not sure the tight wee bubble reciprocated mind you) and he was a nice, genial old bloke. Harmless if I can say that in a completely non-condescending way.

Yes. I often suspected that he was one of these guys who's probably had the pïss taken out of him or been wound up so much over a lifetime that he often suspected people were having a go at him even when they weren't. I think this made him unpleasantly prickly and almost totally unable to take a joke.

[redgunamo]

Yes. I often suspected that he was one of these guys who's probably had the pïss taken out of him or been wound up so much over a lifetime that he often suspected people were having a go at him even when they weren't. I think this made him unpleasantly prickly and almost totally unable to take a joke.

I thought it was because he didn't speak-a the English so good. Anyway, so good as he needed to to make his points in writing, and that heightened his sensitivity and paranoia to acute status.

[Burney]

I thought it was because he didn't speak-a the English so good. Anyway, so good as he needed to to make his points in writing, and that heightened his sensitivity and paranoia to acute status.

Well I think that was part of it, as well. He didn't know when people were taking the pïss or how seriously because he wasn't as innately sensitive to the rhythms and cadences of English/Irish pïss taking. This would mean that a playful or friendly jibe would be manufactured by his paranoia into a deadly insult.

[Luis Anaconda]

It was this absolute refusal to even countenance a criticism of a player or Wenger that I found staggering.

A negative remark aimed at a club employee during a game I can understand would anger some, personally not a jot, but when one may write something at a random moment and still be sometimes aggressively challenged was bizarre. And then the oft used response of “so you think you know better than Wenger”. Of course I/we bloody well don’t but it does not restrict one from having an opinion.

We do of course have another contributor who will very often steer his debate down this silly route but will word his responses in a more structured and perhaps articulate manner, he being one of the Turks more frequent enemies. I expect the similarity between the two to be quite galling for him.

Thing is I have met the old man and even bought him a beverage (not sure the tight wee bubble reciprocated mind you) and he was a nice, genial old bloke. Harmless if I can say that in a completely non-condescending way.

Actually reminds me - I didn't pay him for the ticket the Boro match he got for me. (This could see him scurry out of the woodwork)

[redgunamo]

Well I think that was part of it, as well. He didn't know when people were taking the pïss or how seriously because he wasn't as innately sensitive to the rhythms and cadences of English/Irish pïss taking. This would mean that a playful or friendly jibe would be manufactured by his paranoia into a deadly insult.

That's why I never called him out on any of it. Not cricket.

Wrong, of course, but there it is.

[Burney]

That's why I never called him out on any of it. Not cricket.

Wrong, of course, but there it is.

No, probably sensible. The problem was that his inability often to get or take a joke made him hard work conversationally-speaking and that led to exasperation with him and thence to unpleasantness.

[redgunamo]

No, probably sensible. The problem was that his inability often to get or take a joke made him hard work conversationally-speaking and that led to exasperation with him and thence to unpleasantness.

Perhaps we can simply close the door gently on the whole sordid episode and mark his name down as the very first victim of The Emirates Stadium Warchest?

After all, calling a Barcelona player rubbish in the belief that there's no chance whatsoever of Wenger going on to actually sign him was a pretty safe bet back then, wasn't it.

If I've got the timing right, that is.

[Ash]

Thing is I have met the old man and even bought him a beverage (not sure the tight wee bubble reciprocated mind you) and he was a nice, genial old bloke. Harmless if I can say that in a completely non-condescending way.

He was a genial old bloke, although he didn't take kindly, amongst other things, to Rafa Nadal being called a drugs cheat. I must defend him though against the "tight wee bubble" allegations. He often used to get a decent-sized round in that he would not recieve back, as he was driving.