Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur - Emirates Stadium, London - Saturday 22nd December 2007

After my work Christmas party the previous day, the last thing I needed was a 12:45 kick off, especially against Spurs. Just when I needed to channel all hatred at the opposition, and crank the vocal chords up to the maximum, I woke up feeling rubbish, and unable to do anything except feel like death. Things didn't get much better on entering the stadium, and finding out that Robin Van Persie was nowhere to be seen - injured again when we are facing a run of games where we really need him.

There was much to talk about before the game - Spurs improvement since Juande Ramos took over (not that they could have got much worse); the very exciting (if a little daunting) Champions League draw against AC Milan; the promising win by the kids at Blackburn in the Carling Cup during the week (with a totally different 16 to the one we had today - that's strength in depth for you!); and the subsequent semi final draw, which gives us 2 bonus games against Spurs next month - lovely! That and Christmas meant that there was barely time to squeeze all that chat in before the game started.

Luckily, the first half was so uneventful that the conversation could continue, if only as a necessary evil to break up the boredom. Arsenal just didn't seem to be trying at all - in fact, you could almost believe that it was a deliberate tactic, to contain Spurs, conserve energy, and try to play the match in the second half only. Spurs were working hard, chasing everything, and doing all the running - with Arsenal doing just the bare minimum to avoid going behind. Perhaps we were cruelly toying with them before beating them later, or perhaps we just had an off half - but at half time, there were some frayed nerves after a most un-Arsenal-like performance.

The second half was much more exciting all round, containing more incident than many whole games. It also saw a much improved Arsenal performance. After 2 minutes or so, we had taken the lead, a fantastic move cutting right through Spurs, and a brilliant backheel from Fabregas to Adebayor, who finished very coolly indeed. That woke both team and fans up, and Arsenal had a couple of good chances in the minutes that followed.

After a while though, Spurs started to claw their way back into the game. Robbie Keane missed a chance that it would have been much, much easier to score, much to the amusement of everybody at the northern end of the ground. A few minutes later, though, Spurs did equalise - Keane feeding Dimitar Berbatov, who drilled a fantastic shot at a very difficult angle, to about the only place that Manuel Almunia wouldn't have been able to save it. Berbatov did look like their only world class player (that's because he is), but he did also spend lots of the game standing around with his hands on his hips, looking completely disinterested.

Things turned even more into Spurs' favour (briefly), when they were awarded a penalty, one about which we could have no complaint. Robbie Keane then stepped up and took a very poor kick, which was saved by Almunia. After some scary pinball in the box, we finally got the ball clear, and that proved to be the turning point of the game. Suitably warned about the dangers of being slack, Arsenal stepped up a gear. Spurs players heads dropped, and the balance of power started to swing back in Arsenal's direction.

The game was won just after the 70 minute mark, when Arsenal won a corner. We sent on Nicklas Bendtner whilst Fabregas was waiting to take the kick. Spurs also sent on Jermaine Defoe as a sub, breaking the first rule of coaching, that you are not supposed to make a substitution when defending a corner or free kick. That is because people don't know who they are supposed to be marking - and thankfully, nobody was marking Bendtner. Cesc floated the corner in, and Nicky rose up to head it in with his first touch. There were a few tense moments between then and the end of the game, but Arsenal were pretty competent in closing out the victory.

A very good win - Spurs haven't beaten Arsenal since 1999 (or 20 games), so it is always good to cheat the law of averages again (although it can't be long before it bites us). We won without playing particularly well, and arguably without playing at all for half of the game. Six points from games against Chelsea and Spurs isn't at all bad, so we are still top of the League at Christmas. A very nice present for Gooners everywhere. The Observer match report is here, as is another review, with some good Arsenal vs Spurs stats. We'll see the Spuds again in January, for (hopefully) some more Arsenal victory.

Arsenal vs Chelsea - Emirates Stadium, London - Sunday 16th December 2007

After a disappointing false alarm last season, where Cashley Cole failed to show up and face the wrath of Arsenal fans, thankfully he turned up this time - allowing everybody to get him out of their system. It was actually a bit of an anti climax in the end, the level of hatred falling far below that at last season's game (when he wasn't even there), and well below the abuse he deserved. Of course, the little shit was booed every time he touched the ball, and laughed at every time something went wrong for him (which was quite a few times, as he had a stinker of a game), but I think many were expecting something more. The crunching last minute tackle from Fabregas was one that many Gooners wanted to make themselves, and his possible FA charge for flicking a v-sign at the Arsenal fans is amusing - but compared to what Sol Campbell got on his return to Spurs, I can't help feeling he got off a bit lightly.

Anyway, enough about a money grabbing little bastard, and on to the game. It was fairly uneventful for much of the first half, with not much of interest going on really. Chelsea looked very good when they got the ball and went forward, something that I hadn't really seen from them since the pre-Mourinho era (which seems like a very long time ago now). In fact, at certain points when Chelsea were on the attack, they seemed to be playing Arsenal's kind of game, although in fits and starts. Arsenal couldn't offer all that much in return, partly because of Chelsea's very effective, but quite cynical, fouling - just enough fouling to break up Arsenal moves, but not enough to attract too much attention (or too many yellow cards). A very clever way to break up a good side's play. That said though, Arsenal did take some time to settle in, the return of Fabregas, Flamini and Hleb to the team probably not helping the cohesion.

Many people had already left their seats for half time when Arsenal scored the winner. What seemed like a routine corner was floated over, straight at Peter Cech for an easy keeper's claim. Except that, for some inexplicable reason, Cech didn't get to the ball, and Gallas was waiting just past him, for an easy nod into the net. Watching the TV replays, the corner looks like such a straightforward one, that would have been claimed 99 times out of 100. So, a lucky break, but Arsenal are probably due one of those against Chelsea - its been a while.

The second half was significantly more open and eventful than the first - both teams created some good chances, and the ball flashed across Manual Almunia's 6-yard box on far more occasions than I would have liked. Chelsea seemed to miss Drogba, and I got the feeling that they would probably have scored if they had had him up front instead of Shevchenko, who looked useless. Still, Arsenal were missing Van Persie for much of the game too, and when he came on with 20 minutes to go, it was obvious what a big loss he is to the team, and how much of a boost it is to have him back. He was electric, quick, skillful, and his presence completely transformed Arsenal's attacking game. Wow, now I'm really excited that he's back, because that appearance reminded me how good Robin Van Persie can be when up for it and at his best.

Special mention in this game must go to referee Alan Wiley, who was lucky not to have needed a police escort out of North London - only the fact that Arsenal held on for the win saved him. As well as seeming to give most of the small free kick decisions Chelsea's way, he disallowed 2 Arsenal goals in the last 10 minutes, at least one of which was for no discernable reason whatsoever. He then saw fit to add a whole 5 minutes of injury time, to a second half where I don't even recall seeing either physio, at least not for very long. And, 5 and a half minutes into injury time, when it was all kicking off between Fabregas and Cole, he totally bottled out of doing his job, by blowing the final whistle. A hard tackle by Fabregas had sparked some pushing and shoving, and had seen Cole appear to punch Fabregas. Justification to punish Cole there - but he booked Fabregas for the foul, then blew for full time - a disgraceful chickening out of making the right decision.

Still, we got the result in the end, and that is what matters. Gallas's performance (again) was outstanding today, and the displays by Fabregas, Van Persie, Flamini and Hleb showed just how much we miss them when they aren't there. We are still top of the League (and maintained our ground) with another tough game out of the way, so it was a good day all in all. I can't help thinking that winning the title this season will depend on how many games we can keep a small band of players fit for - and the 4 mentioned above are most of that group. Their presence will be vital if this season is to live up to the miracle that may be on the horizon.

Work trip to Chicago, USA - 10th to 14th December 2007

A chilly week in freezing Chicago for work, a city that most Americans seem to have only nice things to say about. I have often heard Chicago called "the typical American city", bearing in mind the fact that New York and Los Angeles are both a bit unusual in many ways. So, I was pretty excited to see what it was all about, until I read on Chicago's Wikipedia entry that one of its twin cities is Birmingham. Oh well, nowhere is perfect I suppose.

Arriving at O'Hare airport, I was very quickly reminded that Chicago has a huge Polish population (in fact having more Poles than any city in the world except Warsaw). If you think that the UK has a lot of Polish people, Chicago beats it hands down. In the airport, most of the staff were talking to each other in Polish, and it seemed that only the immigration people themselves spoke English routinely. At the taxi rank to get into town, pretty much every cab driver that pulled up, plus the despatcher, were speaking quickfire Polish, and we went past a number of big Polish churches on the way to my hotel.

The Chicago skyline is very impressive indeed, from the Sears Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the world, to just an "average" skyscraper of 20 to 30 floors or so. There are big buildings everywhere, and that certainly gives the city a sense of importance. By contrast, the Chicago River, running through the city centre, is very small, reminiscent of the Singapore River in being a small river surrounded on both sides by very tall buildings. This even adds to the effect there, because when you are standing on a bridge over the river, surrounded by buildings, you feel very small indeed.

Chicago is also one of the only places I've ever been to that has the weird phenomenon of double decker streets (Hong Kong is another one, to some extent). These generally feature a lower level that carries through traffic, and a level above it, where you can see daylight, where all the traffic lights are. In much of the city centre, the double decker streets feature railways on the upper level. Seeing this, and thinking about it, it looked familiar from films (probably ones that feature Chicago), but it was a strange sight to see "El" trains running directly above the street.

To say it is extremely cold in Chicago at this time of year, is a massive understatement. For the 5 days I was there, the temperature never got above freezing, and the lows in the evenings were down as low as -10. Added to the wind chill in the "Windy City", and it could be bitterly cold indeed. I managed to miss the huge snowstorms that hit the north-east of the country at the same time, but it was more extreme weather than you get in Britain - even though we aren't exactly renowned for good weather, we don't seem to have crazy extremes like that.

As well as going to see The Lemonheads and some ice hockey, I of course spent some quality time eating typical gut busting Chicago food. Deep dish pizzas, big thick hotdogs, huge steaks and all sorts of other unhealthy stuff, made sure that my stomach was full, but they probably take a few years off your life. One particular highlight was a trip to a steakhouse, where there was a 48oz steak on offer, topped with a couple of lobster tails - all for $90, and the most unnecessarily over the top meal in the world. When they also point you towards their "family style" (i.e. massive, big enough for a family to share) portions of side dishes, you know that you aren't going to go hungry. I thought you could eat well in Philadelphia and New York, but the default in Chicago seems to be for huge amounts of gut-busting food. Brilliant for a week, but I'd imagine that it would get tiresome (or you would get fat) after a while.

With the amount of work I was doing, I didn't get as much time as I'd have liked to explore the city - and the visibility wasn't great, which made a trip up the Sears Tower rather pointless anyway. I did get to go out to the Wicker Park area of the city, which was full of cool shops, bars, restaurants and venues - rather like South Street in Philadelphia. The city centre was nice, although pretty business like, and I got the feeling that it emptied out quite a bit after 6pm, as everybody went back to their neighbourhoods. The shopping drag of North Michigan Avenue was entertaining for a (very cold) evening, walking past the Tiffany and Cartier shops, to get to the Apple shop for a play with their new toys.

All in all I had a good few days in Chicago - it was a nice city, with a real sense that you are in a big, important place. I have to say that I could easily live here, but at the same time, I don't really get why the Americans I know all seem to love the place so much. It is a good city, but lets not go overboard about just how good.

Chicago Blackhawks vs Los Angeles Kings - United Center, Chicago, USA - Wednesday 12th December 2007

Tempted as I was to go and see The Lemonheads for the second night in a row, peer pressure meant that we all headed off to the ice hockey instead. The Chicago Blackhawks have been having a bad time for the last 15 years or so, usually playing to a half empty United Center, and with thousands of fans staying away in protest at the owner and some of his decisions (like banning games from being shown on TV). The fact that the unpopular owner died a few months ago, the games are back on TV, and the club isn't a complete circus any more, has seen some fans start to return to the arena. However, it was still under half full for this game, so it was easy to wander up 10 minutes before the start of the game, and pay $15 for seats at the back. We didn't sit in them, of course, because there were so many empty seats towards the front, that were just begging to be used instead.

I've always thought that ice hockey (or just "hockey", as the Americans call it), is the best of the big 4 American sports, probably helped no end by the fact that the game is Canadian, and all of the players are either Canadian or Eastern European. There aren't as many stop-start interruptions as in American Football, Baseball or Basketball, so you tend to get much better and longer periods of uninterrupted play. The fact that, in principle at least, it is quite like football, also helps the enjoyment.

The game experience was a weird one, with lots of drunk idiots at the back of the arena, whooping and cheering at inexplicable things. Whilst the game was going on, everything was relayed on a huge screen suspended over the ice - so it was hard to work out whether you were better off following the ice, or the TV coverage of what was happening on the ice. And, any game that is divided into 3 periods of play, is pretty weird as far as I am concerned.

When you go to a hockey match, you really want to see 2 things - goals and fighting. Thankfully, the one (and probably the only) game I went to had lots of both. It finished 6-3 to the Blackhawks, which is apparently quite a few goals for a hockey game. And, there were some good punchups between the players, including an extended fight in the first period. The venue punctuates the fighting with comedy punching noises, which makes it clear that everybody sees the fights as a key part of the overall action. They ranged from semi-serious to comedy play fighting, but were amusing. We also saw hockey sticks get broken, some sin bin action, and some powerplays. Generally, much of what want on passed me by, but I obviously managed to understand the basic premise that teams were trying to score some goals.

This was an interesting experience, although not one that I'd go all out to repeat in a hurry. Of course, going to a half empty arena took something away from the whole thing, I'm sure it would have been much more enjoyable if it had been full and rocking. However, getting in for $15 was fantastic - I guess it was a direct result of the obvious trouble that the Blackhawks have in selling out their games, but it certainly made for a decent evening's entertainment at a very reasonable price. Given that, I don't know why more people don't get off their arses, move away from the TV, and go to fill the arena.

The Lemonheads, Racoon, The New Rivals - Double Door, Chicago, USA - Tuesday 11th December 2007

I was very pleased one day last month, when a lazy look at Pollstar told me that The Lemonheads were playing in Chicago when I was due to be in town. A visit to Ticketmaster later, and I had willingly relieved myself of a bargain $20 for a ticket, plus an utterly less reasonable $18 on top for booking fees and stuff. A Tuesday night gig, not even starting until 9pm, promised to be very bad for the jetlag, but a good night nonetheless.

The venue for the show was the Double Door, in the Wicker Park area of the city. Sitting in the cab up there, we passed by lots of cool looking shops, bars and restaurants, before finally arriving at the venue, so named because it sits on the corner of 2 roads, with a door on each street. After getting in and settling down with a beer, I was pleased to hear Anarchy In The UK amongst the many punk songs that the DJ was playing. It seemed quite strange that I was about 4000 miles from home, listening to a song sung by a man that grew up a couple of hundred yards from where I live, and with Americans singing along loudly, in awful Cockney accents.

The first band on were called The New Rivals, a band from New York who were fronted by a hyperactive man in a red baseball cap, unfortunately resembling Fred Durst a little too much. No matter, his band were pretty good, playing a highly energetic set, of what could I guess be described as College Rock - sounding not totally unlike the soundtrack to American Pie. The songs were good, and the singer was a very engaging frontman indeed. I enjoyed their short set, and it looked like they were enjoying it too.

After a short break, during which the DJ surpassed himself by playing Ice T's Cop Killer, the main support band called Racoon appeared. They are from the Netherlands, and although the singer spoke with a classic Dutch accent, he sang with a classic American one - most unusual. Their set was very interesting, mixing some obvious grunge influences (although fairly soft and melancholic ones) with a funky sound that the Red Hot Chili Peppers would be proud of, and adding hints of country and folk influences as well. A really entertaining mix, and something that was always going to go down well with American audiences. They are a pretty "soft" band, cheesy almost, but their set was generally excellent, and the singer fronted it all extremely well.

When The Lemonheads came on stage just after 11pm, I was just about ready to collapse and fall asleep, but the opening bars of Hospital quickly woke me up again, and No Backbone immediately afterwards kicked things up another gear. What followed that was an hour and a quarter of absolute mayhem, almost overwhelming at times, considering how quickly the great songs were coming. I counted 25 songs in all, in a little over 75 minutes, which shows how many great (short) pop songs Evan Dando has written, and how they were working hard to cram them all into a very intense set. Fairly typically, there was a 45 minute set of full electric noise, followed by some Evan Dando solo stuff, including a fairly rare playing of Different Drum, then a few more electric songs to finish.

Evan Dando's guitar sounded absolutely amazing throughout, with incredible distortion and feedback just adding to the sense of excitement - especially on songs like Down About It, and It's A Shame About Ray, which were extra distorted, and sounded great. The songs came thick and fast, with virtually no chat in between, occasionally the odd bit of feedback, but most often just ploughing straight from one song into another, giving quickfire excitement as you recognised another great song starting. Incredible stuff, and a reminder of what a great band The Lemonheads are when in full flow - driven of course by the genius of Evan Dando.

For this gig, there can't have been more than 200 people in the venue, which wouldn't have held all that many more anyway. Despite this being a fairly normal gig on a normal Lemonheads US tour, the venue was much smaller and more up close than anything you would see in the UK - if only because they need to play fairly big venues in the UK to make the trip worthwhile. In the office on the day before the gig, most people had heard of The Lemonheads, but it seems like they just don't sell all that many tickets in the US any more - although the crowd on the night were typically devoted. All this made for an unusual and special experience, and the chance to see one of my favourite bands in such a small place.

Leyton Orient vs Cheltenham Town - Brisbane Road, London - Saturday 8th December 2007

A cold Saturday in December seemed like the perfect time to make the now traditional trip to see Leyton Orient take on Cheltenham Town. With friends supporting both sides, they have been in the same division for a few years now (although that may not continue for much longer on current form), which gives a good opportunity to see a Saturday 3pm kick off, and have a few beers into the bargain.

We had the most expensive seats in the ground, which I was slightly shocked to find cost £35, so more that I pay at Arsenal. That was for the equivalent of Club Level though, with access to a nice warm bar, and with seats practically on the half way line. Amusingly, at about 25 minutes before kick off, the Leyton Orient manager came up to the gallery to speak for 5 minutes, giving his thoughts on the team, and on the game ahead. Incredible to see a professional football manager doing that right before the game, and it made Arsene Wenger's reading of the team on telly seem a bit tame by comparison.

The game itself was played in the pissing rain (it always seems to rain when I go to Leyton Orient), and on a pitch that started off Ok, but which cut up fairly badly as the game went on. Not that much slick passing was happening on the pitch, of course. This was a game between a top four side and a bottom four side, and there really wasn't all that much between them - certainly not as much as there would have been between opposite ends of the Premier League. League One is definitely more even, and it was probably only the home advantage, plus a couple of dangerous looking moves, that made the difference for Orient.

One amusing sight at the game (apart from some of the "limited" skills on show on the field), was the fact that John Terry's brother was playing - sporting the classic Terry good looks too! He must be annoyed occasionally, that his brother is England captain, whilst he is gracing the pitches of League One, making a living, but probably only just. He looked like one of the better players on show, and for some of the others, it was quite hard to believe that they actually play football professionally, for their living - such was the clogging on display.

The other main observation from the game (other than the £3 programmes - shocking!) was that there were a good number of robust challenges to entertain us. What in the Champions League would be a likely red card, and in the Premier League would get a certain yellow card, you may not even see a free kick at this level. Part of that is because the players aren't as good - and if you punished everything with Champions League standards, there would be 3 players left on the pitch at half time. But it was good to see the "victims" of these challenges mostly getting up immediately, unscathed, and getting on with the game.

After a number of post match beers, in Leyton and elsewhere, the final pub stop of the evening was in Whitechapel, at the Blind Beggar pub. This was the scene of one of the Kray twins' murders in the 60s, although sadly now, the pub has been tarted up significantly, and is overrun with Kray tourists. They even give you special "Blind Beggar" pound coins in your change, which consist of a black sticker on every pound coin - most strange. Standing at the bar, I couldn't help wondering if the salad with chorizo and rocket was a feature of the 60s menu too. A very surreal venue, kind of a 21st century pub, but still very much trading off its past.

The Courteeners, Black Kids - Kings College, London - Wednesday 5th December 2007

I got a lift to a gig tonight (an elevator, not a seat in somebody's car), for a show at Kings College's 4th floor venue. The Courteeners were in town, for their biggest London headline show yet, and the venue was long since sold out. It seems that, although not many people have heard of them yet (most of the people I tell them about still look confused and say "who?"), those that have are an ever growing number, and are pretty hardcore - knowing all of the words to all of the songs for example. Last time it went absolutely mental, and this gig was 3 times the size - an exciting one, that's for sure.

Support band were Black Kids, a band from America who are over in the UK for 4 or 5 quickfire gigs in as many days (actually, they are doing 2 gigs on one day during their trip). I missed the beginning of their set, but managed to catch enough to form an opinion. They weren't bad at all, an interesting sound, and some decent songs - especially towards the end of the set, which brought them a decent cheer from the crowd as they departed.

The Courteeners came on stage just before 10pm, and kicked things off with Aftershow and Kimberley as normal - happily getting my 2 least favourite Courteeners songs out of the way first. After that it was just one fantastic song after another, with many of the crowd again singing all of the words back, much to singer Liam's bemusement at some points in the show. The band had just had a bit of a bad review in the Guardian, which Liam mentioned on a couple of occasions, and which attracted boos from the crowd.

As the 45 minute set went on, the songs got more and more lively, and the moshpit at the front of the crowd was going increasingly mad. After a crazy mosh for Fallowfield Hillbilly, I was wondering how much more mental things could go for Acrylic and What Took You So Long. The answer was "quite a bit more", with several people managing to join the band on stage during the set closer. What Took You So Long also featured the now customary (and brilliant) section of James's Tomorrow, as seen here. As expected from such a new and exciting band, there was no encore, so they left a venue full of people wanting more.

Another amazing set to add to a rapidly growing list of great shows by The Courteeners - they can't stay too much of a secret for long, surely? The comparisons with the Arctic Monkeys also keep on coming. The Courteeners won't be that big, because they don't have enough great songs - the Arctics had 2 dozen classics at this point in their career, and The Courteeners can't match that. But it is a good comparison, at least to give the uninitiated an idea of how exciting the Arctic Monkeys were at their early live shows. Well worth getting into, but it is probably going a bit far to say that The Courteeners are truly the new Arctic Monkeys.

Setlist: Aftershow / Kimberley / No You Didn't, No You Don't / Please Don't / If It Wasn't For Me / Bide Your Time / Cavorting / Not Nineteen Forever / Fallowfield Hillbilly / Acrylic / What Took You So Long.

Work trip to Zeist, Netherlands - 29th to 30th November 2007

This was a slightly strange work visit, on which I got to spend more time than I'd ever wanted, sitting in traffic on the motorways of the Netherlands. I flew into Rotterdam airport, a place so small that there was at least one member of staff for each passenger. As my plane parked on the tarmac, there was only one other plane at the airport, and it took less than 2 minutes to get from the plane to a taxi. I wish all airports were as easy to get through as this one.

120 Euros in a taxi, and 45 minutes later, and I was at the end of the earth - or more specifically, the very end of the Port of Rotterdam. The port is massive, and takes an absolute age to drive to the very end of. We were on a motorway for the whole journey, and the number of lorries, container harbours, and warehouses I saw was incredible. This used to be the busiest port in the world, and it seemed like every company in the world has a site somewhere in the port.

I eventually got to my destination, a chemical plant, which was purpose built a few years ago. It is so big that Eon agreed to build a dedicated power station next door, and another company built a dedicated waste management plant on the other side. The whole thing is next to a huge private dock, at which ships arrive to deliver raw ingredients, and cart off the finished product, always in large quantities. The sheer scale of the whole operation was incredible, and they don't even make anything you'd ever heard of - their product is a chemical that is then used by other people to make synthetic plastics and other things.

After the chemical experience, I got a lift for the journey of 100km or so, to my company's office near Utrecht. This took 2 and a half hours, such was the nastiness of the rush hour traffic. Getting out of Rotterdam port itself took over an hour, and that included some decent spells of unhindered driving. It really brought home how crowded the Netherlands is - even more so than the UK, if you look at the population density figures. Luckily, they have decent public transport.

Finally, at my hotel, I experienced a classic case of Dutch weirdness. In my room was a toy squirrel, and outside the room was a big shelf saying "Do Not Disturb". Apparently, if you don't want to be disturbed, you have to put the toy squirrel onto the shelf. Why on earth they couldn't just give you a label to hang on the door handle, I have no idea. Still, the champagne for breakfast was very nice....!

The Enemy, The Wombats, Noah And The Whale - Union Chapel, London - Tuesday 27th November 2007

Back at the Union Chapel for the second time in a few days, for another of the Little Noise sessions, this time headlined by The Enemy. This show was not sold out (possibly due to the high ticket price), and I must admit I really wasn't sure what The Enemy would be like in an acoustic setting - stripped of their guitars. Another surprise appearance the previous night, this time from Razorlight, raised hopes of some mystery guests this time too

The first band on were Noah and the Whale, a band about whom I'd heard a bit (and seen their name at quite a few gigs around London), but had never heard anything by. They were ideally suited to this kind of environment, being a folky band, and I thought their set was fantastic. With a guitarist and vocalist joined on stage by a female backing vocalist and a violinist, they played brilliant poppy folk songs, many of which started off slow, dark and moody, then built up to great euphoric finishes. They only played about 4 songs, but I really liked what I saw, it reminded me quite a bit of Willy Mason, but the singer also sounded more than a bit like Adam Green - not a bad thing. I'm going back for some more of them, as soon as possible.

Next on were The Wombats, just back in the UK from a load of dates in Europe, and sounding very pleased to be back home. They played their last 2 singles, Lets Dance To Joy Division and Kill The Director immediately, and looked like they were really enjoying themselves on stage. There was good banter between songs, a few jokes about swearing in church, and they took the opportunity to play some of the quieter songs from their album.

In a setting like this - up close, acoustically, and with all the lights on - bands can often get scared, but The Wombats came across really well. To finish their set, they played next single Moving To New York, with a really cheap keyboard (£20, apparently), providing a very cheesy but funny backing track. A good set, and I resolved to go away and listen to their album, which I hadn't yet got around to.

The Enemy came on stage at around 9:30, with a string quartet kicking off the introduction to set opener We'll Live And Die In These Towns. The strings were there throughout a set that was pretty short, clocking in at around 35 minutes, and they really added an extra dimension to the band's set. I'm not usually the biggest fan of The Enemy, but this set really was special to watch - also helped somewhat by the lack of chavs in the audience.

They played most of their singles, everything was nicely slowed down, and they even chucked in a couple of covers too - including an excellent version of David Bowie's Five Years (which Arcade Fire also cover from time to time - so not a 100% original idea). This wasn't the longest set, and The Enemy are far from my favourite band - but they definitely showed tonight that they have more to them than just some formulaic indie songs. I was impressed, the string quartet made it all very special, and the band came across really well indeed.

The Kooks, The Pigeon Detectives, The Metros - Union Chapel, London - Saturday 24th November 2007

Rock bands tend to do some special things for charity, especially if the charity in question is strongly supported by a music industry figure like Jo Whiley. The Little Noise sessions are taking over the Union Chapel in Highbury for the second year in a row, with a week of acoustic (or at least quiet) gigs by some truly top acts. Last year's was special, and a great chance to see big bands up close in a small venue. Despite the £40 a ticket, I took the plunge again this year, for a gig that was originally due to be headlined by the Pigeon Detectives - then The Kooks were randomly announced as headliners a few weeks later, ensuring a sellout and a nice bonus. The previous night's gig had seen U2 (of all people) turn up for a 4-song set, so these were turning into some prestigious shows indeed.

The first band on after I arrived were The Metros, a band about whom I had heard lots - not least that they were thrown off The Coral's tour for bad behaviour recently. Friends that had seen them were impressed, so I was keen to see what they were like. When they came on stage, Jo Whiley introduced them, and said that they were nervous about playing what was a very different type of set for them. They seemed to have a decent group of fans towards the front of the venue though, who were providing very good support.

The Metros set was a fairly short one at around 20 minutes, but what I saw was really impressive. The 2 singers were clapping in the absence of any drums, but the songs were really catchy - and very reminiscent of their Blockheads and Squeeze influences, but in a very good way. Listening to their MySpace songs later on, tunes like Last Of The Lookers and especially Live A Little, worked really well in this kind of show. I can't wait to hear them electrically, in a proper Metros set - because they sounded like a really good band on this brief look at them.

Next up were The Pigeon Detectives, playing not so much of an acoustic set, as a full plugged in electric set - just with the volume turned significantly quieter than normal. The singer came on stage with a mug of tea, and instead of his usual manic tearing around the stage, stayed pretty close to the mic stand for the whole set - even joking at one point that he was doing his Liam Gallagher impression. The set was a fairly standard Pigeons set, except that the polite surroundings saw the audience clapping and singing along, rather than any moshing.

The Pigeons set again included the excellent new B-side called I Need You, which was really really catchy, and was going around my head for much of the next day. Towards the end of the set, when the band played traditional set closer I'm Not Sorry, the crowd got to their feet and sang along. This was a really successful set - I had really wondered whether the band would be any good if you took away the huge energy and drama of their normal live shows, but they came across very well. It helped that they were still essentially playing a (quiet) electric set, but they really carried off the subdued gig well. Again, at the end of the set, the singer gave everything that wasn't nailed down on stage, to audience members to take home as souvenirs.

And so finally, with no surprise U2 appearance this time, The Kooks were introduced, and immediately played a fantastic new song called Harvest, which had everybody on their feet from the beginning. They had the full band there for this gig (as opposed to just the singer and guitarist last time they played here), and they took full advantage of this by playing a large range of songs. Old songs like She Moves In Her Own Way, Ooh La, and Seaside were all played in quick succession early on, which obviously warmed the audience up.

After that, the set was a fair 50-50 split between new and old songs, many of the names of which are here. Many of the new songs sounded really good - Shine On and Love It All in particular - and I can't wait to hear the proper recorded versions on the new album. With the guitars properly plugged in, they sound like they could be excellent. Of the new songs, though, opening track Harvest was the best for me - really can't wait to hear that again. Mixed in with the new songs were just enough old favourites - Naive ending the main set, and a great version of Jackie Big Tits wrapping the whole thing up. The Kooks will be back properly soon, and if tonight is anything to go by, they will be getting bigger and bigger.

Arsenal vs Wigan Athletic - Emirates Stadium, London - Saturday 24th November 2007

After a controversial game last time, it wasn't a particularly warm welcome back to the Emirates for Wigan. Last season, they wasted time, they fouled, and they moaned endlessly about refereeing decisions that pretty much evened themselves out in the end. This season, though, Arsenal had a slightly better record of not letting in the first goal every time, and consequently not needing to spend the whole game trying to break down an 11-man defence. Hopefully things would be easier (and less controversial) this time. Wigan had been through a strange week, appointing Steve Bruce as their new manager, then not being allowed to have him start work, because of a dispute with Birmingham. So, nobody knew who would really be in charge of the Wigan side for the game.

New manager syndrome often seems to hit Arsenal, and we seemed to get another dose of it for this game. The Wigan side that played were technically not very good, but were very committed, and worked very hard all game to close Arsenal players down, defend their area, and generally try to impress their new boss. With the very cold weather, and the return from international duty probably not helping Arsenal (not to mention missing the suspended Fabregas), the first half saw far too many misplaced passes, and too many moves breaking down before they got going - thanks to a combination of Wigan's hard work, and Arsenal being a bit off colour. All in all, the first half was fairly non eventful, and rather frustrating for Arsenal fans.

The second half was no less frustrating in general - Arsenal stepped up the pressure relentlessly, but for most of the half, it was all coming to nothing. The referee didn't really help, letting certain Wigan players (including ex-Spurs Michael Brown, plus Marcus Bent and Emile Heskey) get away with relative murder. Watching Bent clatter into Denilson with a shocking challenge, then watching somebody else push Gallas in the face when he dared to question it, wasn't nice. Then watching the ref book Bent for the foul, plus Gallas for not taking kindly to it, was ridiculous - it is crazy that you get the same punishment for virtual GBH, as for reacting to people assaulting your team mates.

Eventually, though, as so many times this season, Arsenal kept plugging away, and got the reward in the end. Gallas again showing tremendous energy and determination to get into the box and onto the end of a header. After all the time wasting and fouling, and after making no real attempt to win the game, it was pretty impossible to argue that Wigan deserved anything out of the game. A second from Rosicky sealed the win, with both goals coming inside the last 10 minutes again. A real captain's innings from William Gallas, who really is becoming a vital heartbeat in our team.

Resilient, determined stuff from Arsenal, which is good to see - and this means that the usual nightmare month of November has passed off successfully in the Premiership (albeit having only played 3 games). This time last year, we would have probably conceded first in a game like this, then made the task of breaking down the opposition more difficult, having to come from 1-0 down to get a decent result. We seem to have overcome some of those problems now, we seem to be getting wins against the teams we should be beating, and with Manchester United losing at Bolton today, it was vital to get maximum points, to take maximum advantage.

The Pigeon Detectives, One Night Only - Forum, London - Thursday 22nd November 2007

After a bit of a ropey gig last night, there is nothing better than a Pigeon Detectives show to see some blinding live music again. Having seen them a few times already this year, you know you are going to get decent songs delivered as part of a riotous live show, with a fantastic frontman too. This was one of the last dates on a month-long UK tour. I have written a few times that you need to see this band live to really appreciate them - it looks like many people caught the bug at the summer festivals, and are coming back for more.

When I got into the venue, a band called One Night Only were playing. They seem to have appeared from nowhere in a very short space of time - one minute, nobody had heard of them, now they seem to be popping up supporting every band on tour at the moment. Clearly a large record company has signed them, and is shoving them out on tour to "showcase" them to us all. Anyway, they sounded pretty good, and seemed to have drawn a decent sized crowd. I recognised a song called Just For Tonight from their MySpace, and in fact thought that they generally sounded much better live than on their recorded songs - always a decent sign.

The Pigeons arrived at about 10pm, with some dramatic music, and went straight into it - the crowd on the floor was going mental from the first guitar riff of I Found Out. The singer started off wearing a big black leather jacket, which quickly came off as the venue turned into the hottest place on earth. The mental songs kept coming, to the point where I was forgetting which one was which. That is one thing about the Pigeon Detectives, many of their songs sound very similar - but at least that means that they all sound good, and are all good at whipping up a live audience. For much of the set, the singer even "exchanged fluids" with the crowd - there were loads of pints being thrown up on stage, and in return, the singer threw plenty of water back into the audience.

A few songs in, they played Romantic Type, and the singer failed to get into the crowd as he always used to - scandalous! As the gig went on, I began to think that there were no more songs left for the band to play, as there had been so many familiar ones - but more and more kept coming. This shows that the band have a very respectable number of quality songs - most of the album in fact is very good, and the standard never dips below that of a great shouty indie rock song, with a mental singalong chorus.

As well as playing all of the album, there was also time for some b-sides, including the excellent I Need You, which appears on the current single, and also some new songs. The singer was crazy throughout, but somewhat more restrained than in their early gigs, where climbing speaker stacks and singing almost whole songs from in the crowd were commonplace. There was none of that tonight (he stayed on stage throughout), but sadly I guess that comes with the fact that the band are rightly a bigger live draw now - 3 sold out shows at the Forum, supporting the Kaiser Chiefs next month, and 2 big sold out gigs in Leeds next May. Maybe they are getting more sensible....

All in all a very good show, a bit less mental from the singer than before, but certainly the crowd loved it, and the Pigeons seem to be getting to where their live show means that they belong - as one of the big live indie bands in the country. I'm not sure I'd want to see them in too much of a bigger venue than this (also because a fair few laddy idiots have latched onto them now - there were quite a few punches thrown in the venue tonight) - but the band undoubtedly deserve to be (and will be) playing bigger venues now. At the end of the set, the singer picked up all every loose item on stage - setlists, plectrums, towels, water bottles - and gave them to people in the crowd. So, some people got some great souvenirs from a brilliant gig - more bands should do that.

Good Shoes - Astoria, London - Wednesday 21st November 2007

After the amusement of England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008, and on a stinking evening weather wise (cold and pissing down), it was off to the Astoria to see Good Shoes. Having seen them a couple of times before so far this year, and having some of their album on heavy rotation on my iPod, I had had this in the diary for a while. The gig wasn't sold out, and there were still plenty of tickets left on the door, but this was still easily the biggest gig on the biggest headline tour of the band's career. The audience was very young, even for a 14+ gig, so the front of the ground floor was still packed as usual.

The band came on stage at around 10pm, just after the final whistle of the England game, which also saw a big influx of (wet) people into the venue. Despite this, the balcony was almost empty, with nobody higher up than the first couple of rows - meaning that the venue was a good few hundred short of capacity. The stage was pretty bare, with just a banner at the back, and not much else to give you any clue that you were watching a headline act. Obviously not a huge headline act, but I had expected some more in the way of stage set.

Overall, I was pretty underwhelmed by the set that Good Shoes played. Their album is pretty hit and miss, with 7 or 8 really good songs, but then another few that are very nondescript indeed. This carried through into their set - the songs were either really rather good, or not far short of terrible I thought. They just don't seem to write average songs, they are either very good or very bad - and with too many dodgy ones. It didn't help that the sound was quite poor for most of the set, so even some of the good songs struggled to sound their best.

Previous times where I have seen Good Shoes, they have played a relatively short set of around half an hour. This is time enough to play all of their good songs, but not enough time to allow too many of the crap songs to lower the overall quality of the set. This was a 50-minute set, which I though that the band just didn't have enough quality material to fill. When your songs are either 8 out of 10 or 3 out of 10, playing for too long really isn't a good idea if it exposes people to the lowlights of your song catalogue. Their good songs are real highlights, but sadly I just didn't think there were enough of them to make this a great show.

Reading vs Arsenal - Madejski Stadium, Reading - Monday 12th November 2007

After drawing the last 3 games, albeit good draws against Liverpool, Manchester United, and most recently Slavia Prague, it was important to regain the winning habit against Reading. With Manchester United going top of the League the previous day, and with an international break coming up, it was also important to be back at the top of the League, so that the next 2 weeks of bored and lazy journalism are not focusing on an Arsenal decline. So, any sort of win would do, but ideally a 2-goal win to get us back to the top of the table.

Reading are a team that are relatively inoffensive when you see them on Match of the Day, and a lot of Arsenal fans (myself included) have a bit of a soft spot for them. Last season, they were unlike many other teams in trying to play football against us, instead of just kicking us and defending with everybody behind the ball. When you get close to and into their ground though, some of the sympathy starts to evaporate - a lot of small town, chavvy fans, banging on about how they have (crap) English players, how they support their local team, and generally having a persecuted and annoying "small team" mentality.

This time, Reading started off with a very determined performance. Their players pressed and ran around after Arsenal's players, and they did well to restrict space and time on the ball for Arsenal. Adebayor hit the post in the first few minutes, but for the rest of the half, not all that much happened. Arsenal had lots of possession, but didn't really do very much with it. Eventually, a minute before half time, Flamini scored a goal that his excellent efforts in midfield all season have thoroughly deserved, and Arsenal never looked back from there. It was the perfect time to score, right before half time, and there was only one winner once that goal went in.

The second half, in hindsight, was a relative stroll for Arsenal. There were long periods where Reading just couldn't get the ball, and where their fans were very quiet as a result, resorting only to the occasional pathetic chant of "In-Ger-Lund". The amount of chasing of the ball that Reading's players had to do was inevitably tiring, and it made more goals increasingly likely as the game went on. Adebayor scored his first for a couple of months (again, well deserved given recent performances), and Hleb added the third, eventually taking a shot after what seemed like an absolute eternity dwelling on the ball. A deliberate booking for Fabregas (to ensure that he misses the Wigan home game through suspension, rather than something more testing), and an annoyingly needless Reading consolation goal conceded, and that was that - 3-1 to the Arsenal, top of the League again, and back to winning ways. Just what was needed.

Finally, a quick word about those chavvy Reading fans. I was sitting about 3 seats away from them, and they were very full of mouth during the first half, when it was goalless. They then totally shut up in the second half when Arsenal were winning - apart from their moronic "In-Ger-Lund" chanting. When Arsenal were playing them off the park, and our fans were singing "You need more foreigners", and "Have you ever seen England play like this?", a few stood up to go absolutely mad at the insult to their queen and country. They appealed for everything, all the time, and generally reminded me of Birmingham or Portsmouth fans - more interested in the shitty England team, than the top flight club that they pay hundreds of pounds a year to support - and with a huge persecution complex about anything to do with the "big clubs". All very sad indeed, so good to get the win and shut them up.

The Courteeners, Vincent Vincent & The Villains, The New York Fund - Luminaire, London - Friday 9th November 2007

Having been to, and really enjoyed the first ever London gig by The Courteeners; then missed the second gig through being on a work trip to the US, there was no way I was going to miss out on their third London show. This was a special gig, being filmed for Channel 4 and put on as part of the JD Set series of gigs, with support from Vincent Vincent & The Villains, and The New York Fund.

The venue was The Luminaire, a really good little venue in Kilburn, where you can get really close to the stage, and where they really take the music seriously. The toilet walls are plastered with band stickers and graffiti, and there are signs everywhere warning you to piss off elsewhere if you want to talk to your mates whilst the bands are on. Because of the Jack Daniels sponsorship, everybody was given a voucher for a free JD on entry, which was a very nice surprise, and certainly one way to get everybody into the mood!

First band on were The New York Fund, who describe themselves as a country and indie band. This turned out to be a pretty good description, they sounded very American at times, but definitely also had a lot in common with many British indie bands at the same time - Primal Scream, The Thrills, and 1990s in particular. Their singer is Scottish, and it was slightly surreal to hear him singing country songs with an American accent, then speaking to the audience in a thick Glaswegian dialect. I really, really enjoyed their set though, from start to finish, and will definitely be looking forward to seeing them again - they had some excellent songs, and their set sounded like a great soundtrack to a night out.

The other support band were Vincent Vincent & The Villains, who played a very short set at around 20 minutes or so. I had heard much about them before, but never seen or heard them, so I was interested to see what they were like. To be honest, I was quite disappointed though, although the set wasn't all that long, I was getting bored. They had a good number of fans there, but I didn't really see the attraction - they seemed to resemble the Rumble Strips, but were not quite as good. Keen to give them another chance, but I wasn't desperately impressed.

Seeing members of The Courteeners around the venue before their set, they seemed to be on excellent form, and their set was suitably incredible. Kicking off with Aftershow, they started fairly slowly, until Not Nineteen Forever, Bide Your Time, and Cavorting finally woke the audience up, and started things going a bit mental towards the front. There was no real barrier at the front of the audience in the venue, so Courteeners roadies were faced with the tricky task of keeping the audience off the stage.

This task got more and more difficult as the set wore on, with new song Please Don't, and future classic What Took You So Long getting people more exited, and Acrylic sending a group at the front absolutely crazy. The set only lasted for around half an hour, but did more than enough to reinforce the view that they will be winning large numbers of music fans over in the next few months. Singer Liam Fray has all the makings of a legendary indie rock frontman; the songs are all there to have people going mad in indie discos for some time to come; and people, although only relatively few at the moment, are starting to believe. I am one of them, this band have all it takes to be huge - the songs sound like instant classics from the first listen, and all in all, The Courteeners deserve to be massive.

Trip to Prague, Czech Republic - 6th to 8th November 2007

Football trips are great. Spending 3 days away does mean that, even if you are unlucky enough to see the most boring match in history, at least there is something else to remember from the overall experience. A large group of us met at Gatwick Airport the day before the game, bound for a few days of drinking in Prague. Given the destination, this was a pretty popular trip, so there were a good 1,500 or so Gooners due to be there.

After checking into the hotel there (and after a minor but expected rip off from the taxi driver from the airport - some things in Prague never change), we decided to do the decent thing and go for a beer. The first meeting point was the height of unadventurous behaviour, an Irish pub on Wenceslas Square, where beer cost 70 crowns (about £1.80) a pint - criminally expensive by Czech standards. After a couple there, a few of our group got bored, and went in search of something a little off the beaten track, more authentically Czech, and less profiteeringly expensive. Whilst some mates went and paid £25 each for a steak, we went for a "traditional Czech feast", with more than you could eat for a fiver.

Then it was on to beer, and our first stop was a tiny bar, with a man standing behind a single Pilsner Urquell beer pump. The place sold only 2 drinks, large Pilsner Urquell, or small Pilsner Urquell. They also sold fags, and sausages with bread and mustard - a true locals only place. We had a beer there, talking through the hazy cigarette smoke, which was a strange reminder of the days before the smoking ban in the UK. We went to a similar place that sold only Budvar (my favourite Czech beer by far), and a couple more interesting bars. Sadly, in one bar, we were able to watch Liverpool's 8-0 win over Besiktas, and Chelsea's amazingly lucky and undeserved 0-0 draw at Schalke - all most depressing indeed.

On the morning of the game, a few of us went for some sightseeing around the castle, in the freezing cold and rain. Up on the hill near the castle, it was very, very windy indeed, and horribly cold. All this meant that the sightseeing didn't last too long, we quickly retreated to a pub for some beer and pork for lunch. I had a baked pork knee, on a skewer, like in the picture here - more meat than you could shake a stick at, for £6, washed down by beer for less than £1 a pint. Of course, this was a Czech place, so it was a slight disappointment that they tried to con us when the bill arrived - by charging for mystery things that weren't ordered, and trying to tell us that it was a Czech tradition to tip 15% (which it is not). I am a fan of going for local establishments rather than identikit Irish pubs and chain restaurants, but if they are going to try to rip people off, they really don't do themselves any favours. Stop it!

The less said about the game the better, but we were all settled into a bar by 11:30pm afterwards. Sadly, much of the evening was punctuated by encounters with horrible, horrible English people, which really put me off a return visit (knowing that Prague is chav stag do central). Wenceslas Square in particular was a really nasty place to be, with idiotic English people, dodgy Nigerians trying to drag you into strip clubs, and general characters on the streets, up to no good.

Pretty much everybody we saw on Wenceslas Square was an example of anti-social behaviour in action, and I was really ashamed that most of it was the fault of my fellow countrymen. In a late night McDonalds, there were Scousers looking for a fight, Arsenal fans being drunk and obnoxious, people asking the 20-year-old, minimum wage workers if sexual favours were available, or just shouting at them to get their food quicker. Czechs must absolutely hate English people, and it is hard to blame them. Along with huge groups of teenage students, English beer trippers have utterly ruined this city - and unlike Amsterdam, Prague seems to be putting up with it and taking the money. A real shame, and I'll think twice about going back.

Slavia Prague vs Arsenal - Evzena Rosickeho Stadium, Prague, Czech Republic - Wednesday 7th November 2007

After 3 wins out of 3 in the Champions League so far, qualification for the next round could be secured with a point away against a team that we hammered 7-0 at home. Given the many other important games coming up, it was not too surprising to see Arsene Wenger rest a number of key players for this one. The weather was due to be cold and wet, so Fabregas, Hleb, Toure and Rosicky amongst others, were also probably not too unhappy to have been left at home.

Last time I went to a 0-0 draw, it was this reasonably boring, end of season kickabout - but at least that had some form of incident in the form of a missed penalty, and a disallowed goal. Since then, Arsenal have not failed to score in any competitive game, we are unbeaten and firing on all cylinders. I suppose that this, rightly in a way, raises expectations of the type of game you can expect, so goals and a victory were on most peoples agendas for the evening.

After what seemed like an endless walk uphill to one of the least salubrious grounds in European football, this game was one of the most boring and downright dull football matches I have ever seen. In fact, it may even be the single worst game I have watched, especially given the distance travelled, cost, and effort involved. This happened for a few reasons - firstly, the Slavia Prague team were clearly desperate to give a decent performance in front of their own fans, and show that they were better than the 7-0 drubbing they had a fortnight ago. This led to a dogged and determined, if not especially skillful, display from them - with lots of tactical fouls to break up the little decent play that Arsenal tried to string together.

The Arsenal team on display didn't help matters particularly, it was a second string team, with only Gallas, Almunia and Clichy surviving from last Saturday's game against Manchester United. At times they played like they had never met each other before, never mind were part of a squad considered amongst the favourites for the Champions League this season. Slavia Prague made it difficult, but a number of quiet performances from Arsenal players meant that there was not much to write home about. The Slavia players were just as bad, to the extent that there were very few passages of play worth noting, from either team, throughout the game. It took 85 minutes for Arsenal to get any kind of goalwards effort on target, and even that was a pretty tame header. Slavia weren't much better, although I do recall Almunia making a save at one point.

And, of course, the conditions made it a turgid game as well. It was freezing, it was windy (the stadium being on top of a huge hill made sure of that), and at half time, it absolutely lashed down with rain, turning the pitch into something of a mess, and for the second half at least, ensured that any technical ability that Arsenal may have had, was eliminated. A freezing, miserable night weather wise, and many in the crowd seriously considered leaving at half time, to seek out the warmth and beer of a bar back in town.

So, a very strange game all in all. Arsenal got the point they needed to qualify for the next round, we did it without risking or tiring many of our key players, and we gave the second string a valuable run out. On that score, everything that we wanted to get from the game was achieved, and it was a success all round. But if you went to Prague, walked up the endless hill from the city centre, stood in the freezing cold, and watched 90 minutes of football where, literally, nothing interesting happened, you would be forgiven for wishing that we'd just been awarded the 0-0 draw without having to endure the match. Even the official site's report, and the Guardian report, couldn't find much interesting to say - the fireworks launched from the Arsenal end were the highlight for some, the amusing chanting the relieve the boredom was the highlight for me - as well as the walk back downhill.

Arsenal vs Manchester United - Emirates Stadium, London - Saturday 3rd November 2007

The biggest game of the season so far saw the top 2 teams in the League face each other. Arsenal vs Manchester United, the league leaders vs the league champions, and a game that marked the resurgence of a rivalry that has defined much of the last 10 years of English football, but which has fallen away somewhat in recent years. The Monday before the game, Sky started their hype, with revolving Arsenal and Manc badges on Sky Sports News, with the caption "5 days to go". After passing the first true test of the season by getting a point (and deserving more) at Liverpool, it was all set up nicely.

Before the game, the anti Usmanov protests were there in force, thousands of orange balloons decorating the northern end of the stadium, to let the TV viewers know that Arsenal fans don't want Alisher Usmanov taking over our club. When the first whistle went, though, all the balloons seemed to disappear, and everybody was concentrating on the football. Which was pretty dull for the first half hour or so, to be honest - not much happening, and a very slow and sluggish start, all in all.

Just into first half injury time, horrible, horrible Wayne Rooney got onto the end of a Ronaldo cross, and although the ball hit William Gallas on the way in (and looked a bit like a miskick), it was a decent run from Shrek to get into the position. The Mancs went mental, which was a totally depressing sight, and we all heard them for the first time in the game - typical for a bunch of fans that are very loud when things are going their way, but that you absolutely cannot hear a peep from when they aren't having it all the way they want it. So, a depressing end to the first half, and many Arsenal fans at half time knew that we had a big job to do.

Almost as soon as the second half started (lots must have missed it if they were late back from half time), a good Arsenal move ended up with the ball at Cesc Fabregas's feet, about 6 yards out from goal. He did very well to trap and control the ball, then just seemed to casually roll it into the bottom corner of Van der Sar's goal, to provoke pandemonium at the north end of the ground. He ran towards the bench, before being shoved away from Arsene Wenger by the fourth official - quite why, nobody had any idea. In fact, in general, the officials in the game were very over officious, and seemed to be very picky whenever Arsenal players breathed out of turn.

As the second half wore on, there were decent chances for both sides. The referee seemed to give all of the decisions to Manchester United, and generally to blow his whistle far too much - most football fans prefer to see the game flowing, and he seemed to be needlessly stopping it too often. Also as the half progressed, there were a few scrapes in the Arsenal box - some caused by lapses in concentration from the defenders, others by some erratic goalkeeping, and some crazy rushes off his line, from Manuel Almunia. The Manc second goal was a product of one of each of these - a good run from Evra, which Walcott totally failed to track him on, then Almunia rushing out to find himself in no man's land. It gave Evra the simplest of pull-backs to play into the centre, and a tap in for Cristiano Ronaldo. More noise from the Mancs, after they had spent a relatively quiet half, they were full of mouth again.

So, Arsenal had to come from behind again, and come from behind they did. This really shows that the team have the qualities we need to win the League - coming from behind twice against Manchester United is not easy, and the never say die attitude seemed to see us through. We had to wait until the last minute, but we got there in the end, Gallas's hooked shot was a yard over the line before Van der Sar could push it back out. On balance, a draw was probably a fair result - having never been ahead in the game, I can't really say that Arsenal deserved or did enough to win - but then I don't think we deserved to lose the game either.

Of course, afterwards, Alex Ferguson's view was different. He claimed that the referee favoured Arsenal, then adding that he had the potential to reach the top, of course cleverly inferring that to get right to the top, he needs to start giving Manchester United a few more decisions (like all the top refs have to do to avoid Ferguson's bullying tactics). He then complained that there was a foul on Saha in the build-up to the second Arsenal equaliser, which Sky later showed to have happened over a minute and a half before the ball went in (including a goal kick for each team, and an Arsenal throw). He really does show himself up (and does this against Arsenal on a regular basis), when he makes such ridiculous statements, as many people pointed out afterwards.

His most ridiculous statement of all was that there is a lack of security at Arsenal's stadium. He claimed to have been abused by somebody a few feet away in the crowd, and it was good that, in the Sunday Times report amongst other places, the irony of this complaint was pointed out, because Ferguson spent most of the game abusing the fourth official. When 70,000 Manchester United fans call Arsene Wenger a paedophile during Arsenal games at Old Trafford, nobody EVER reports it, and nobody at Manchester United EVER says anything to condemn it, it really is a stupid and hypocritical rant for Alex Ferguson to get into, as if he expects to be treated reverentially at the home of a club he has spent the last 10 years slating.

Anyway, hopefully the senile old bastard will retire soon, and we can all get on to enjoy life in the Premiership without referee intimidation, and his stupid mind games. The Observer report on the game seems to be a pretty balanced one. The game was apparently watched by over 700 million people around the world, more than saw the last World Cup Final. It wasn't all that great a game of football (the Liverpool game last week was a better match), but then the biggest games often aren't. Still, onwards and upwards, and an away game in Prague this week, which could book our place in the last 16.

Work trip to Philadelphia, USA - 21st to 25th October 2007

Not too long since the last time, I was back in the US, and back in Philadelphia, for a week's work. This time, I flew out there on a Sunday, and arrived at a near-deserted Philadelphia airport. It was so deserted, in fact, that ours was the only flight full of people in the immigration hall when we got there, so I got through in under 10 minutes - which is totally unheard-of. The immigration officer I saw had a book on his desk called the "Al-Qaeda Reader", which no doubt was helping him to spot terrorists. Beard, yes. Dark skin, yes. Funny name, yes. Speaks Arabic, yes. Big rucksack, yes. Hopefully every immigration officer has one, that'll help keep the nation safe!

Very soon after arriving in the country, in fact the first time that I tried to buy some food, I was re introduced to the inescapable fact of customisation in the US. Americans are used to having everything exactly the way they want it, down to the most trivial detail. Do you want your salad "chopped", or not? Well, if I'm honest, I don't really care, and the 10th such similar question gets a bit tedious. I just want a sandwich, on some kind of bread - I don't care which of the 10 varieties of bread it comes on. At one point, just after midnight one evening, I went to a "convenience store", and walked past the coffee counter. Even at that hour, there were at least a dozen different types of coffee available (even more than are captured in the photo here) - why would anybody need that much choice in coffee at midnight on a Tuesday night? During the trip, I also visted a (normal) "Pharmacy", which sold cigarettes, and lots of other bad things, but that's another story entirely!

One of the highlights of my first day in the office, was getting to play with my geeky IT colleague's new iPhone, which obviously isn't available in Europe yet. They really are quite fantastic toys - I wasn't all that excited when I first heard about them, but having played with one now, I have to say that I really want one. The way you control everything from a touch screen (including zooming in and out on stuff, with some very cool finger movements), and the general intelligence of the thing, is amazing. After playing with the iPhone, I went to buy an iPod touch for somebody back home - this is pretty much the same thing, just without the phone - and it took a lot of willpower to resist the urge to get it out of the box and start playing with it!

Whilst I was away, I was gutted to miss the magnificent Arsenal's 7-0 win over Slavia Prague - by the look of it, an absolute textbook display of how to play football, which had everybody purring. Annoyingly, I didn't even get to watch the game as I was stuck in a meeting, so I had to rely on Sky Sports website for updates. Isn't that sod's law, that the game I missed was so spectacular.

Again this time, I couldn't help noticing that there are lots of mental people on the streets of American cities. At night in the centre of Philadelphia (which is pretty normal for America), you can't walk more than a couple of blocks without being approached by people that want something from you. It is a bit threatening because lots of them look and sound a bit mad, and I am generally more comfortable with the street weirdos that you get in England - maybe because I am more used to them. The street nutters always really strike me when I go to the US - partly because of the number of them, the frequency with which they approach you, and how they are an integral part of most cities, yet a million miles away from the mainstream people walking past them.

Many "regular" (white) Americans are "assholes", and treat lots of people in their country, service industry workers in particular, like shit. But then, their whole culture is geared up to do exactly that - pay certain people a pathetic "minimum wage", then put them through the indignity of serving other people, and practically begging to earn the tips that make them able to scratch a decent pay packet. In return, "normal" Americans are allowed to expect the earth from these people, they treat them badly when they don't get it, then they wonder why there are huge class divisions, and massive resentment in the country.

Alongside all this, you have the fact that lots of migrants to the USA are very hard working, grateful for the opportunities that come their way, and believe that their destiny is in their own hands through hard work (rather than being owed something by everybody else) - and the country is therefore a total magnet for skilful, ambitious people from literally all over the world. Sadly, many of the people that were born with US passports as their "right", are nowhere near as hardworking or self-reliant, and perhaps the place would be better if its "citizens" needed to re-earn the right to stay there every year. The UK faces the same problem I feel, that many of the immigrants that the Daily Mail complains so bitterly about, actually have more of the qualities that the country needs, than many of the locals.

And it is this strange mix in America, that makes it so fascinating. On one hand, the country creates the ultimate environment where people can advance themselves (if they can be bothered), and for many people it really is the land of opportunity - which is definitely something great about the place. But on the other, there are swathes of people, many of whom keep the country running by providing service industries, who are treated like dirt by the rest of the population, and that seems to be OK - which is definitely something I hate about the place. Very weird, and rather worrying that this rather unhealthy mix of things seems to be the way the world is being led.

The Hold Steady, Art Brut, Demander - Fillmore At The TLA, Philadelphia, USA - Tuesday 23rd October 2007

Whilst on a work trip the US, I was lucky that the NME Rock and Roll Riot Tour was hitting town whilst I was there. Having been to the UK version of this in London last week, it was good to do the double, with 2 excellent bands in The Hold Steady and Art Brut on the US tour. I had been to this venue before, admittedly under a different name, and really enjoyed it - so I was looking forward to going back. A good place, and at around 1,000 capacity, a much smaller venue than you'd get to see these kinds of bands play in London.

The first band on were Demander, a three piece with a female singer, who also played the bass. I had listened to a couple of their songs on MySpace before the show, and wasn't really impressed. Seeing them live kind of confirmed that, with not a great deal interesting going on. Eddie Argos from Art Brut was having a drink at the bar during their set, which was interesting. I must admit that they did get significantly better towards the end of the set, but I won't be rushing back to see them.

Next up were Art Brut, playing something longer than a "normal" support set, at about 45 minutes. I was due to go and see them in London in June, but had to drop out thanks to a nasty bout of food poisoning. At this gig, of course, hardly anybody in the audience had heard of them, so very few people knew what to expect. I was wary to begin with, about how Americans would react to some very over the top Englishness. As it turned out, though, this was a great way to see Art Brut, watching them completely win over a crowd that had never heard of them before, to the point where they were eating out of the band's hand by the end.

The set was drawn pretty equally from across Art Brut's 2 albums, although the sound, and the quickfire nature of the lyric delivery meant that it was at times difficult to hear what Eddie Argos was saying. But, all in all, Art Brut are one of the funnier bands you can watch - the stage presence of all of the band (but the singer in particular) is amazing, and they really put on a good show. From Blame It On The Trains towards the beginning of the set, through Nag Nag Nag, to the finale of Direct Hit and Good Weekend, their set had people dancing and moshing, and Eddie Argos had people laughing. A really good live band, (with a lookalike for Gareth Keenan from The Office on guitar), I fail to see how anybody could watch them live and not enjoy it.

After a mercifully short changeover, The Hold Steady appeared, and started their set with a fantastic version of Positive Jam, the first track on their debut album, every word of which was sung back loudly by the majority of the crowd. That song is not well known enough in the UK, and not instantly likeable enough, to play it first, and this was the first sign that the set would be very different to the Hold Steady gigs I'd been to in the UK before. Of course, in the UK, the band have novelty value, being so American - which just doesn't apply here - but they also seem to attract crowds here that know the songs much better, and that know songs from more than just the latest album. This was an outing for comparative die hards.

The Hold Steady had been playing new songs already on this tour, and this continued with the debut of an excellent new song called Lord I'm Discouraged, something which the NME Review of the gig surprisingly failed to pick up on. (This review also contains utter fiction about Eddie Argos tearing through the crowd topless at the end of Art Brut's set. He did get into the crowd on one occasion, and he did unbutton his shirt on a different occasion - neither were at the end of the set). This new song (and a couple of others) were played with a double necked guitar - the ultimate in rock cheese, which of course the Americans loved, and seemed to see no cliche whatsoever in.

When the set got around to Your Little Hoodrat Friend, the venue went completely mad, and that song was the undoubted highlight. In fact, many of the highlights were songs that aren't from Boys And Girls In America, again showing how much deeper the American fans seem to be into the band. Many of the songs were played quite a bit faster than the recorded versions, which I thought meant that a few of the lyrics got a bit lost - I would have preferred some of the tunes to have been heavier sounding, rather than faster, but there we go. The band rarely stopped to talk to the audience, which was cool, and gave the set a real sense of urgency.

As the set wound on, the band gave a mention to their English t-shirt seller, who they met in Manchester (the English one), but who had the broadest Scouse accent imaginable. Towards the end of the set, there was a blistering version of Southtown Girls, a rendition of a brilliant song that I'd never heard before called Girls Like Status, with the classic chorus line "guys go for looks, girls go for status", and to finish the show, a manic version of Killer Parties, complete with a huge cheer during the lyric about Philadelphia. A great gog overall, seeing the Hold Steady in America was a very different experience to when they are in Europe - it is a full throttle show, and extremely enjoyable indeed.

Review

Arsenal vs Bolton Wanderers - Emirates Stadium, London - Saturday 20th October 2007

Those boring international breaks, where there is no Arsenal football, really do seem to go on forever. This time, England lost and effectively screwed any chance of qualifying for the Euros, which at least should keep the pubs relatively free of idiots next summer. The round of qualifiers saw Robin Van Persie get injured for a month, but did also see Tomas Rosicky and William Gallas come back from their recent injuries. Swings and roundabouts really.

In the week leading up to this game, Bolton sacked their coach, and replaced him with Archie Knox, who used to be Alex Ferguson's assistant at Aberdeen and Manchester United. Never a good time to play a team, when they have a new coach, and particularly one whose first aim will be to tighten Bolton up defensively. The Bolton that we all know and hate, were sure to make an appearance. The day was deceptively warm and sunny, despite there being leaves on the ground, a hint of a cold bite in the air, and some menacing looking black clouds around - but in the sunshine, it really was a very nice (and unseasonably warm) day.

The first half of the game was utterly unremarkable. Not much in the way of chances, shots, corners, or much decent football to write home about. Bolton had 10 men behind the ball whenever Arsenal were in posession, and were getting stuck in with some robust tackles. Mike Riley was predictably being weak when it came to punishing the fouls that came Arsenal's way, and midway through the first half, seemed to be losing control of the game somewhat. He was bottling the important decisons about booking Bolton players, and instead made the stupid decision to book Cesc Fabregas for his reaction to one particularly nasty foul. OK, players shouldn't get involved with dissent and afters, but it really does make you wonder why referees seem to punish dangerous tackles in exactly the same was as the (understandable) angry reaction to them.

Anyway, the talk at half time was about how generally dire the game was - certainly not a classic, and Arsenal looked slightly jaded, like they had forgotten to play together during their fortnight away for internationals. Luckily, the second half was better. Bolton's defending stayed as resolute as ever, but fortunately, Arsenal were up to the task of getting through them. The first 20 minutes of the second half looked like a slow building of pressure - Bolton players were running around a lot, and it looked like they had a couple of players more than us at some points. But, a fantastic double substitution on the hour mark, changed the game. Arsenal had been busy tiring the Bolton players out, and when Rosicky and Walcott were introduced, it was clear that the extra injection of class was something that their tired legs couldn't cope with.

The first goal was one that was long overdue, both in the match, and for Kolo Toure. On many occasions over the last few years, we have had a free kick around 30 or 35 yards out from goal, and knocked it square for Toure to fire a thunderbolt towards the goal. Usually, they either hit the wall, or practically go into orbit. This time, the shot arrowed into the bottom corner. We'd all been waiting for one of them to go in, so the reaction was pandemonium, and Kolo himself was jumping around like a madman in celebration.

Once Arsenal had scored, it was all downhill from there. I don't remember Almunia having anything all that difficult to do all game, and even once we were a goal up, Bolton still didn't threaten much. Adebayor had a comedy miss, where he was one-on-one with the keeper, and contrived to take the ball wide, then fall over in the most amusing fashion imaginable, on the corner of the six yard box. Then, one of many surging and exciting runs from Theo Walcott, ended with a brilliant ball in across the back of the defence, and a great finish from Rosicky for a well-deserved goal. Game over, and Arsenal's momentum restored.

With the next 2 league games against Liverpool (away), and Manchester United (at home), this was a game where a win, of any kind, was needed - and it was great that we managed to get it. Four points from the next 2 games would be a decent return, 2 or 3 points wouldn't be too shabby either, but beating Bolton was needed in the run up to an important couple of weeks.