Back To Scene of the Crime. Arsenal v Birmingham City, Match Preview
2yrs Ago in A Galaxy Far Away
Two years ago on the field at St. Andrew’s Martin Taylor recklessly flew into a tackle on Arsenal forward Eduardo. The subsequent result was a horrific ankle break that upon first sight had snuffed out a very promising career before it had started. This Saturday Arsenal will take to the Birmingham City pitch for the first time since that event.
The tackle on Eduardo was the start of the decline of Arsenal and their loss of what was looking like a promising season. Arsenal had come out of the gates on that season and were lighting up the league. After Eduardo went down, mentally the Gunners were shot and so was their season.
This season while not exactly the same has the Gunners, much of them the same squad – saw thm deal with similar adversity when Aaron Ramsey went down. This time however the result has been different. Showing they have matured, this Arsenal squad continue to defy the odds and win. They currently are running on a 6 game winning streak. Since their loss to Chelsea they have done what they had to do and took care of the business at hand – beating the lesser teams.
The team they face Saturday, Birmingham are in a comfrtable position in the table, currently sitting 9th. They had a great run of 12 games unbeaten but haven’t maintained that form recently. Though they’ve lost their last two, this team is no push over. Especially at home. They are unbeaten at home in their last 11 matches. Additionally, Alex McLeish’s boys have only conceded 10 goals at home this season. That feat is only bettered by league leading Manchester United. Finally, they have managed to keep 11 clean sheets this season. Unfortunately they have only had one in their last 11.
McLeish, trying to dispel the notion that his side will be overly physical again, said his side while they will not play an open style will not purposely be physical with the Arsenal side.
“I’ll certainly say to my team ‘don’t stand back and admire them’, but there won’t be any rough stuff. We know if we are open, Arsenal will rip us apart, but we believe we have got players who can cause Arsenal problems as well.”
For Arsenal the task is simple – win and stay in close with Chelsea and United in the title hunt. While slipping and losing points in a draw won’t completely unsettle the run, it won’t help it. But that has been the task since last losing in January to Chelsea. All Arsenal could do was play their matches and hope the others slip up and because they have, the Gunners are back in the title race.
Unfortunately for Arsenal they will be without the services of Thomas Vermaelen. The star signing of the season will miss his first game as a Gunner serving a one game suspension for a rather dubious red card he received in last week’s match against West Ham. His likely replacement will be veteran Mikhail Silvestre. He’ll be paired up with Sol Campbell who’s been nothing short of astounding. Of course, Arsene could start Alex Song back there and have Diaby and Denilson in the midfield with Fabregas. Though it is still more likely the former United defender will get the nod.
A lot has been made of the coming Champion’s League tie Arsenal have with Barcelona. However, Wenger maintains his charges are “too intelligent” to look past the Birmingham match and lose sight of the EPL title race. While much has been said about some of Wenger’s choices this season he has to be given credit for keeping his squad focused on each single game. He has taken a squad decimated by injury to key players and kept them in the hunt for tophies on two of the biggest fronts – the EPL and Champion’s League. He knows that it will take laser focus unlike two years ago to keep moving forward.
“What we know is we have three teams in the race, and it will be down to the team which is the most consistent,” he was quoted by the BBC. Given their run of form this season – they must be buying into it.
All in all as the Gunner’s return to St Andrew’s their is no talk of revenge just talk of winning for the sake of continuing the success they’ve had this season. And while the Arsenal gaffer has yet to forgive Taylor for the horrific tackle he and players like Cesc Fabregas have moved on. The catalan play maker was recently quoted as saying,
“We are not the kind of people who dwell on two years ago and all that happened there. Eduardo is well again, he’s back playing again. So for us it’s all about right now and the future – not going back into the past. It is a big game for other reasons now – not for revenge but for something more important than that. It’s because we want to win the league, not settle old scores.’
How the Match Should Play Out:
This meeting will be the 130th time the two squads have met onthe pitch. Arsenal lead the series 57-38 with 34 draws. We mentioned earlier that Birmingham have only conceded 10 goals at home this season. That is tempered by the fact that Arsenal have scored in every match at St Andrew’s since 1979. All in all this should be a game that the Gunner can exert their style of play by being patient. What McLeish says may be true and Birmingham won’t be a physical side to play but they won’t shy away from pressing the player and tackles. They will look to deny Arsenal passing lanes. The Gunners must maintain the patience they’ve displayed to close out opponents. That being said the Gunners have improved on one very important stat – the early goal. They have score within the first 15 minutes in their last two matches, effectively taking the opposition out of the match early. If they do that at St. Andrew’s they take out the side and the home fans.
Players to Watch:
Arsenal: Sol Campbell. He has been called on more than even he probably thought he would be. And he has not disappointed. There are points in each match wherre he looks a little off of it. But when looked at in the entirety of the match, Campbell continues to provide a solid contribution to the squad. Some have even gone so far as to say that he is a better partner for Vermaelen then the Gallas is. Either way, he is being called on not only to fill in for injuries, he is being called on to provide leadership something missing for the last few years.
Birmingham City: Jerome. He is Alex McLeish’s leading scorer with 9 this season.
Probable Starting XI:
Injuries/Suspensions:
Arsenal: Gallas (calf) Van Persie (ankle) Gibbs (foot) Djourou (knee) Ramsey (leg) Vermaelen (suspended 1)
Birmingham City: Carsley (ankle) Murphy (hamstring) O’Connor (hip)
Recent League Form:
Arsenal: WWWWW
Birmingham City: LLDWW
Leading Scorers:
Arsenal: Fabregas 18 (15 league) Arshavin 11 (9 league)
Birmingham: Jerome 9 (9 league) Bowyer 6 (5 league)
Last Meeting: (EPL)
Arsenal: 3
Birmingham City: 1
Match Officials:
Referee: Howard Webb
Assistant Referrees: Darren Cann & Mike Mularkey
4th Official: Anthony Taylor
Broadcast Outlets:
US: FoxSoccer.TV 1055 EST
UK: Arsenal TV Online 1500 GMT
Online Feeds:
www.atdhe.net
Gameday Chat Will Be Open: www.youaremyarsenal.com/gamedaychat
YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal: 2
Birmingham City: 1
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Amidst all the hoopla of the ManU game and Rooney injury, nobody mentioned Bordeaux getting thrashed by Lyon in the other game. Chamakh scored again!
Maybe Bendy is on the way out. I wouldn’t bet against someone leaving. I can’t remember the last summer when we didn’t lose a single first team player.
Well, Senderos will definitely go. Hopefully that’s your one substraction.
That’s the beauty of football Andez, we have no idea how the tie will play out. I’d take 0-0, then again I’d also love The Emirates to experience a night to remember with this emerging Arsenal team stamping its name all over Barcelona. That may not seem probable, yet surely if AKB is true then sooner or later this side will re-write the doubting previews.
I’m just waiting for Wenger’s usual commentary about this being THE TIME for Arsenal’s young guns to come of age and prove their abilities…
whenever that happens, we get our ass kicked all over the pitch!
so, I hope he says NOTHING, and just lets the players go out and play, and enjoy their moment in the spotlight of Europe…
…I’ve thought that myself. Usually the player that has made the most recent and frequent embarrassing gaffes gets quoted in the tabloids saying how we’re going to do this or that. ;-)
exactly kiwi. The beauty of football, or indeed, the reason we all love football is – anythng can happen.
Therefore I rarely bet on football just because I’ve watched the game for a long time.
My old man once said during the World Cup.. those biggest losers in betting floor are always those who have watched the game for a long time and thought they know better.
Chance is that – the beginners, or those who never watched the game before, would have a better chance to win a football bet.
Andez, regarding your last statement, I got a funny story. For the 2002 World Cup, we held a betting pool at our office with almost 200 people taking part. We had to guess all the winners of all the matches from the first round games up to the final. There were only a few soccer fans at work and most people had never seen a soccer game before, so a few of us thought we would nail the thing. But in the end we were totally outclassed by a girl who had never seen a single game in her life. We were all dying to know how she picked almost all the right winners. Her answer floored us — she said she just picked countries that she would most like to visit for her winners. That’s it :)
The 2002 World Cup was probably the most upset-filled WC ever. I mean, Turkey and S. Korea in the semis? The USA in the quarters? All three of those teams beat some HUGE-name teams to get there. And then you have Portugal, Argentina, and France out at the Group Stage. It was crazy, and it was awesome.
It did create some havoc in terms of picking winners :)
Senegal’s opening win over France set the tone and Senegal almost got dumped out in a fascinating game with Uruguay who were one header away from making the next round.
Speaking of betting pools, we had a similar one in our office for the 2002 World Cup. Happy to say that yours truly won the competition. :)
But in 2006, same office, I came out one of the last. The winner was the HR lady who didn’t watch a single game. She didn’t let out her secret, but most of us suspected that she got her bets from some betting site. ;)
Or she had good outside help :) My friend, who worked in another company, wanted me to help him as he hardly saw soccer. So I filled out all his results, including the scores as his pool had bonus points for guessing the right score. He didn’t do too bad and almost won the thing.
I can’t help but wondering – the Barca tie is hyped up as two of the world’s most attractive attacking sides go head to head, what if… the scoreline ends up 0-0?!
Well in football u never know!
but a goalless draw at Emirates wouldn’t be a bad result. whatever happens, just get us a clean sheet.
In Almunia we pray.
Gee, I gave that some thought also (0-0);
I do want to see Arsenal take the advantage tomorrow, but more importantly I want Arsenal to showcase their talent.
Walk off the pitch knowing we gave our best.
Andez, ummmmm…
I’d say there is virtually no chance at a 0-0 match here.
It would be SHOCKING… especially because I’d imagine Barcelona have seen tapes of Almunia, and know that shooting on goal = goals…
They will be taking shots from all over the pitch against him, and that’s not good for Arsenal.
I’d say 3-2 is more likely.
The possibility that Rooney’s injury may keep him out of some games (hopefully!) just shows how finely balanced this EPL race is. This is how it should be, down to the wire and 3 teams keeping each other honest.
This is a strange season, none of the three title chasing sides have really surged. Opportunities have been missed and the race has become close again and again.
With such a fragile balance an injury to a key player could be even more crucial than usual. ManU don’t have Ronaldo and Tevez – much (too?) is reliant on their bulldog Rooney. If he’s out or his threat is lessened by carrying an injury they’re blunted at the sharp end of the team at the sharp end of the season.
All year long Macs have been claiming ManUre is not a 1-man team. Let’s see how much their tune changes now.
Agree, it’s been a while since ManU has been so reliant on 1 player.
well, I’ll give them this, they won 4-0 on the road at Bolton this weekend…
This Barca tie is sumptuous. This is what the Champions League is all about, a glamour tie against the best side for many a year. The 2 teams acclaimed as the best footballing sides head to head over 2 games. Played in two wonderful stadiums. The veteran master Wenger leading a young side still to prove itself against the youthful Guardiola leading the talent-laden all-conquering Barca team. Add in sub-plots like Henry the Highbury legend in Barcalona colours and Cesc the Catalan babe captaining Arsenal. Don’t forget the recent CL final where Barcelona pipped Arsenal late.
It honestly doesn’t get much better. You couldn’t invent this script.
Can it be called? Well sure you can make a stab, you can state the obvious that Barca are favourites, but after that what’s there to say?
Much has been said of how much this team needs a trophy and that’s ture. But the other real need is for The Emirates to build some history of massive European nights and stellar performances. Can this be one? Why not? Sure Barcelona is a mega-scalp yet their style of play gives us a chance that a tie against a narly CL campaigner like a ManU, Chelsea, Bayern or Inter wouldn’t.
Anything could happen – ain’t that wonderful. Bring it on.
Kiwi…
I agree that this is WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT. No doubt about it.
I’d love us to take down Barcelona, and crazier things have happened, but if we lose… not really a big deal. We are underdogs, and its been a good CL run, and successful financially.
The Emirates, is not a wonderful stadium for creating any type of atmosphere… and unfortunately, I don’t think that will change… with the realities of it being a big corporate building, in which even the biggest, season-ticket holding, ardent fans… can’t attend most of the matches, because its just too damned expensive.
It leads to quiet crowds… out for one or two matches a year… its just a really strange atmosphere.
I hope the fans there bring their shouting lungs, and make it a mad house, but I just can’t see it happening when even standing up during the match is not allowed!
But again… great opportunity to play the best… hope its a good footballing match.
The loss tonight for ManU has to be devastating for the team & Ferguson must me furious.
From replays, Rooney (from no contact) came down on the side of his right ankle, resulting in a severe twist.
As mentioned above they have been getting all the breaks (this entire season:
extra injury time; 11 own goals; favorable calls ). Maybe their LUCK has hit a brick wall – at the worse possible moment of the season.
Chelsea, Bayern, Blackburn (away), ManCity (away), Spurs at home. Not a walk in the park.
That comes from diving. The c%%t deserves that.
Neville, Fletcher and Rooney are experts scuba players. They will be graduating to aqua lung very soon.
Oh, its been all lucky breaks for United?
Own goals come from exerting pressure on your opponents.
Favorable calls!
I love it.
As I said above, I would love to see United go out of the CL against Bayern, but they are hardly “devastated” over a 1 goal defeat on the road, in which they got an away goal.
1-0 and they are on to the semi’s.
Yeah, Utd are by no means worse off than Bayern after tonight’s result. I’d say the tie hangs at about 50/50 right now.
I saw the Bendtner to Bayern rumour too. It’s hard to know if there is anything in it. On the one hand if Chamakh does come I would have thought he’s a real threat to Bendtner. They’re both essentially ball playing CF’s. On the other hand I’m not convinced that Arsene would be happy to let Nick go just when he’s about to offer some on-field payback. The other factor in Nick’s favour is he’s typically one of the few physically robust attacking players in an attacking squad full of frail ones (I know he’s been out for a lenghty period this season but that’s his first serious stretch). Even with ‘ice in my veins’ I give a guy one chance ;-)
I believe after the Barca ties, there will be many clubs drooling over a number of our players.
Optimistic for our chances tomorrow evening.
That would be fantastic news, as it will drive the price up on all the players, and we can really make some money in the Summer.
Let’s hope that happens.
Speaking of Bayern, I heard last week, on the Champions League preview show, that they are interested in signing Nicklas Bendtner in the summer. This is an intriguing proposition for both Bendtner and Arsenal to consider. I’ve always expressed doubt of Bendtner ever being the main striker here but that he could play for a big team in Germany.
FC Bayern, being one of the top five teams in the world, could prove alluring to Bendtner. According to that report, they are willing to pay 15 million pounds for him. Anyone wondering why Wenger has young players on long contracts with big wages; that is the reason why. High player wages gives Wenger a position of power. He obviously wants to keep the team together but if a player leaves, then Arsenal demands top dollar for a young player on X wages. Fifteen million for a backup striker would be a great bit of business for any team but especially for Arsenal considering Chamakh’s impending (free) arrival.
15 Million for Bendtner?
I think 10 Million would do it easily.
We would sell him in a minute, take the the nice profit, and it would be “good business” as usual.
That much for a player who hasn’t really done anything, is crazy money.
That would be good for the AFC bottom line, would have to endorse that sale.
German clubs, but especially the national team, do it trough mental toughness/focus and excellent organization.
————————————
I used to hate watching German as they bored my pant out. But over the years you cannot help but admire their mental strength.
Especially in major tournaments they often overachieved with sheer determination and organization on the pitch.
The interesting part is they always had internal problem within their national team. Players’ ego clash. Nevertheless, the moment they stepped on the pitch, they became a fighting machine.
If we are going to get a new keeper, I really wish he’s from Germany. With keeper it’s not just about ability. Mental strength is vital.
I used to hate watching German as they bored my pant out. But over the years you cannot help but admire their mental strength.
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Exact same here. I tend to root for the underdogs in sports, and Germany seldom is one, but I cannot help but admire how they make up for apparent lack of talent with other attributes. The big boys know how to win: There have only been 2 World Cup finals in history that have not featured 1 of either Germany, Italy, or Brazil. Winning is a skill, a mindset.
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If we are going to get a new keeper, I really wish he’s from Germany. With keeper it’s not just about ability. Mental strength is vital.
——————–
German keeper, eh? Sounds like you’re pining for the days of Mad Jens!
oh, some would say Germans play anti-football!
;)
Hey guys,
We all think DAG is doing a great job.
Let’s ante up $5.00 or $10.00 each so he can offset his hosting costs.
I agree. Paypal or something? Whatever the cost is, I’m happy to pay it b/c this site is more than worth it.
Yeah, no shit. Say the word. I’m here every day that I have time.
Thanks guys actually I only pay $7.50 a month.
You have to know someone.
Donations would be welcome. If anyone knows how I set up a paypal I will certainly welcome it.
Never mind I set up a Pay Pal account.
I guess I can be found out by searching for
http://www.youaremyarsenal.com
I will get something up tonight to allow you to click through to Paypal.
carib,
if that AA host (I forgot his name) read that he would be very upset! ;)
Two words: TUFF SHIT!!!
We lost our top striker to an ankle injury since November so I feel no sympathy for them. It looks like Rooney rolled it. I used to roll my ankle and, strangely enough, it typically meant either three days out, three weeks out, or a long time out. Rooney’s looked like a three day’er to me. We’ll see.
Man Utd are probably going to pay for letting FC Bayern hang around in this tie. You don’t let a German team hang around because they can pull a rabbit out at any time. Demichelis is crap and has been for some time. I don’t know how he starts at CB for a team like Bayern. He’ll probably cost Argentina in the World Cup.
And that mask makes him look kinda weird out there.
As for not letting a German team hang around, I completely agree. You’ve got to kick ’em when they’re down or they WILL come back and bite you in the ass. But I wouldn’t call it pulling a rabbit out of the hat. That would imply a single moment of luck or brilliance. German clubs, but especially the national team, do it trough mental toughness/focus and excellent organization.
Look, I hope United go out to Bayern, but I think they will BURY them at Old Trafford.
United are a better team.
(even though the best team doesn’t always win)
Bayern outplay United and win on a last minute gasper.
And Wayne Rooney – looks seriously injured. Seriously.
metatarsel ala beckham?
fergie time back-fired today, i bet that’s the first thing out of his mouth post-match…
well, that would go against the case for UNITED always getting calls, getting extra-time when they need it,… etc.
If that was the case, there would have been 1 minute of added time…
and the Olic goal would have been called back.
There is NO FIX or bias for ManU.
Sorry.
The fix is only for the Prem, according to my Conspiracy Theorists Guide to European Football.
Yup Vibes, the British teams are hated in the rest of Europe. The calls normally go against them in the CL.
Yes, United blow a 1-0 in the last 10 minutes… the defense GIVE AWAY the lead goal in injury time, and Rooney has to be helped off the pitch!
So, as I said… still a chance in the league… still not sure who I want to win or if I want a draw with Chelsea @ United…
but hopefully BOTH drop points on the run in…
so… CESC… not 100%, rest … Nasri will have to fill in.
Can’t wait to see the repsonse to Thierry Henry jogging onto the pitch tomorrow.
Should be fantastic.
Greatest Arsenal Legend to ever pull on a red & white shirt.
;)
United blew the lead after they scored their first goal.
Their passing was laxidasical and it allowed to Bayern to get back in to in my opinion. Then Bayern really showed what pace can do to a team when used right. The HB had no answer for Ribery down the side with his speed.
I personally think United v Chelsea has 1-1 draw written all over it. They both will be too busy trying to clobber each other to score.
Admittedly I still have concerns about our match against Spurs and City.
Though – I will wait. Tomorrow I think I am ditching work at 2:30 to go over to Nevada Smith’s in NYC to join the Arsenal faithful as Henry comes home. But as he said there is much love but no favours to be granted.
HB? I’ve heard the ugly Neville sister called a lot of things. But what does HB mean?
It’s at 3AM here in Perth. Only slept like 9 hours last 2 nights and i don’t hink I’m going to get any sleep tonight. We better win otherwise I’m going to collapse at work tomorrow.
nipuna Reply:
March 30th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
No, we are effectively saying – no trophies, no legend.
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Nah. Was Liam Brady an Arsenal “legend”? He had only one FA Cup medal to his name.
Chippy, the greatest Arsenal home grown talent ever. Now tell me he’s not a legend just because he hadn’t won trophies.
but then if you count a FA Cup as a requirement to be called a “legend”. Then Senderos is also an Arsenal legend. Paul Dickov must be an Arsenal God. Cos he has a Cup Winners’ Cup medal to his name, despite never played a single game in the campaign.
Ummm. NO Andez, you actually have to be a great player, to become a legend.
You can’t be a scrub or mediocre and attain legendary status because you happened to be part of a great team.
So Phil Senderos, is an Arsenal afterthought. He filled out the roster spot.
Liam Brady, WON an FA Cup medal, back when the FA Cup actually meant something to the teams – players.
if you didn’t win anything, you might be able to be a legend, but it would be a stretch in my mind…
Someone like Stan Musial or Carl Yaztremski in baseball come to mind, played 20 plus years for one team… never won shit.
But we are talking football.
Hey! Watch it! Dickov is a legend, damnit! Well, he is for me.
If it weren’t for Dickov, I probably wouldn’t even be an Arsenal fan. I also happened to be a big fan of Cantona but Dickov made me an Arsenal fan.
If Cesc is not fit, he should NOT start.
Him staying on the pitch at Brum was more harmful than useful.
I remember a half fit Vieira starting a home game against ManU (was it 2002-03 season?). Arsenal sucked and as soon as he was replaced by Edu, we played a lot better.
I agree 100%.
I am sure he WANTS to play regardless, but as Joshua said a few months back… there are still games to play after this one, all equally important.
If Cesc makes the injury worse, and misses the match @ Barcelona… and some of the run-in, what chance does that give us?
I have adopted that mentality, meaning learning from what has happened previously… and changing my mind based on the results.
Kudos to Josh for the sound thought process.
Rest Cesc unless he’s close to 100%.
Agree 100%.
A “real” player will never tell you he can’t play, unless he is angry about his pay scale.
Arsene needs to sit him for this game. Recently, he has been playing hurt and it shows in his somewhat “unCesclike’ performances.
Once that athlete is injured, and it becomes known that he will be out for an extended period, he immediately becomes- in the fans’ minds- the most talented athlete in the world who plays that sport. And the fans expect all their troubles to be over upon his return.
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Very well said CG. It’s so so true.
The same can apply on former-players as well. Maybe that’s why they are often called “legends”. Fans tend to create a God-like figures out of them.
That’s one reason I never like to use the term “invincible” to describe the class 2004.
You don’t have to like the term, but they use it, because for that season, it is FACTUAL.
They NEVER LOST in the league, and its only happened twice in English Football history, and the other time was in a lower division, over 100 years ago.
That = LEGENDS
Not to mention, the likes of Vieira, Henry and Bergkamp… come along … well, they DON’T come along very often.
That’s why they are LEGENDS.
(not even mentioning other outstanding players that also contributed a great deal in Pires, Ljungberg, Gilberto, Cole, Lauren, Sol and Kolo, and the role players on the bench)
It took them all to accomplish the undefeated season.
INVINCIBLE.
When this current crop win something… anything… we can make a few into god-like legends too, for now, they are just mortals.
But they do their best with what they have… I think they play pretty decent football on their budget.
Hey guys –
Good and lively discussion – sorry I haven’t gotten in more but work has been hectic (considering the alternative I’ll take it).
Let me say Stag – your transformation has me laughing every time I read it. Honestly, I don’t care if you slag on the team or cheer on the team. You’ve got a lot to contribute and you will always be welcome.
To everyone – unlike AA – I will never block or kick anyone from the site (unless the really cross the line – e.g. racism, sexism, threats, etc.) This was always intended to be a place of discussion. Be that argumentative, of the kool aid variety, whatever, as long as you guys keep commmenting, I will keep writing and keep this place open. (Which reminds me time to pay the bill on this place).
Anyway. I will work frantically to get my preview out for tomorrow’s match. It likely won’t be seen till tomorrow in the AM but it will get out.
Hell the preview could just be – Arsenal v Barca, let the fun begin!!! I really think this match is going to be a joy to watch in terms of two teams – one with an established style and one who is working on emmulating that style. If Arsenal ever reach the summit of ingraining that substance into their being and combine that with the mental toughness that comes from playing in the EPL I firmly believe Arsenal will be king of the hill for a time to come. Just my opinion but I am intitlte to it.
Well, thanks DAG.
As long as I am making you laugh, that’s great…
but I am SERIOUSLY changing my expectations, and rooting for everything we do.
Why NOT support the team making a profit in selling players and lowering the stadium debt.
You can watch it, and chart it like goals and assists.
Its good for the team.
As long as we are successful on the pitch = top 4, and making money, we will be acheiving the goals of the club.
Enjoy it.
We play nice. If you want trophies, support United.
Gallas is back, boys.
If he is I hope he isn’t rusty. CB’s have a tendency to be terrible in their first game back, no matter how good they are. Plus I hope he’s fully fit, if his hammy goes when chasing Barca’s forwards it’ll be a problem.
@Nip:I guess you love Ashley Cole equally then.
@Kiwi: Did I talk about greatness and trophies? I just appreciated the fondness they still retained for the club which is a breath of fresh air in the mercenary filled football world. Not that I think them salivating for money is wrong, its just natural. Its just that these guys are more than that.
But no.. we have to drag trophies back. Good Luck Guys.
I don’t harbor much dislike for Ashley Cole.
He wanted more money, we didn’t want to pay him more, and he wanted to go somewhere he could get it.
You never know when you can break a leg or foot… as an athlete, you get as much as you believe you need.
In return, we got Gallas.
Don’t begrudge a man who wants to make more money. It was the way Cole went about things. No class.
There are A LOT of athletes who lack class, MORE than have any.
Absolutely. But that’s changing the conversation, which was specifically about Cole and his seedy exit from Arsenal.
Oh I dont have a problem either. I think its just fine. Though it’s have been nice if he could have gone like the other greats. I was responding to the guys above who effectively said – “Trophies = Affection”
No, we are effectively saying – no trophies, no legend.
without a doubt.
you don’t get to be a “LEGEND” in the game, without winning trophies.
Let’s be honest, it was the winning of trophies that sealed their greatness.
Offtopic as usual: The legends speak. I love them.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/7535744/Arsenal-v-Barcelona-Dennis-Bergkamp-defends-Arsene-Wengers-beautiful-vision.html
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2912715/Losing-to-Barca-was-the-worst.html
Of course though, message boards know better. Almunia, Denilson, Clichy…Wenger..
I love them too.
They actually won trophies, you know. ;)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8589872.stm
I have been watching Bundesliga since last season and I have to say I love the football there. If only, they showed more than two games per week, I would be really hooked on to it.
Other enticing factors include – much better standard of refereeing, extremely low level of ref abuse by players and coaches/managers and of course, the strict level of financial policing (as per the link above).
At present, I see an analogy (this is purely my opinion) between the top three clubs in England and Germany.
Bayern and ManU (before the Glazers) are the self built clubs which are the richest and also have the best record.
Arsenal (for last 5-6 years) and Bayer Leverkusen are the eternal bridesmaids, playing good football but not winning trophies. Remember Neverkusen (as they are affectionately called by other clubs in Germany) losing on all three fronts (CL, title and domestic cup) in 2002? And this year, Kusen were leading since the start and have fallen apart in the last few weeks. Sound familiar?
Chelsea and Schalke have lots of money (earned in different ways) but struggling to meet their targets – CL for Chelsea and league title for Schalke.
Just my thoughts.
My 2nd-favorite league. And an interesting article.
True Nip, perhaps the difference with Eduardo, RvP and Rosicky is their age and the constant references made to them when evaluating squad strength.
There was an interesting little interchange of ideas above, where a dose of realism entered the fray. Players who are out become bigger in our imaginations. Robin is the ultimate – just recently posters were agonising over his return, when, truth is, he’ll come back as a passenger in any (part)appearances he makes – getting fit for a cameo in the WC and the near-cert injury.
well, if RVP comes back the last few matches, and does well in the WC… we might be able to get a good price for him in the Summer, if we are in fact bringing in Chama Chama Chama-khemeleon…
(Boy George reference)
RVP has had some moments of brilliance, but it might be time to sell him off, and give some other the team the chance to pay him to be on the sidelines for half a season every year.
He has talent, we see it, but too infrequently.
Too bad, he’s one of my favorites to watch when he is on his game.
agree agree
“…they come and goooo ooooo oooo…”
LOL! Very clever Kiwi:-D
LOL. nicely done Kiwi.
Vibe, touching article mate.
On Eduardo, I agree. Pre-injury – he was a player in the process of adapting to the EPL and integrating into our team – nothing more. He’s like Robin van Persie and Tomas Rosicky – they have never contributed a full season to AFC. Fact.
Wait, a list of those are yet to contribute a full season to Arsenal? That would be –
RvP, Sicky, Theo, Dudu, Diaby, Djourou, Gibbs, Vela and now we can add Ramsey to it.
yes, true…
but Diaby is INCREDIBLE!
;)
That’s what I’m talking about (see above).
Kiwi, Cheers, my man.
You’re about Eduardo, as well. I had really high hopes there, tho.
SG made an excellent point about the offside on Brum’s goal.
It was discussed on some blog (can’t remember which one). Earlier in the same game, when Cesc took a free kick, Bendy was called offside even though a Brum player put the ball out of play before it reached Bendy. Very similar to the Brum goal.
But hey, remember the referees are the best and if we think they are against us, we are just being paranoid. ;)
No, if the referees were better at what they do, we would be in 1st place.
Does any one believe that a ManU loss to Bayern (tuesday) will benefit our league run-in?
No idea.
I don’t think it will matter much to be honest. If they win purple nose will make sure the momentum is carried onto the league, if they lose, the players will know that purple knows will have boots on their faces (literally) if they don’t do the business in the league. Cold bast*rd that purple nose!!
@Mazza,
basically I agree with u on Eduardo. I were never that impressed by him even before his injury. So when ppl suggested his injury cost us the title 2 seasons ago I disagree. Personally I believe that psychology blow of Clichy conceding a last minute penalty (at Birmingham) that killed our season.
Anyway back to Eduardo. He was never that quick, but he did seem to be quicker than he is right now. And I also doubt that whether his injury has played to his head. If there’s one side of his game impressed me prior to his injury – it’s his coolness. That how cool he was in front of goal. He made things look so easy, and never rushed a shot. But nowadays he seemed to be rushing with his shots.
Eduardo, while certainly talented, is the victim of a process that affects all talented athletes who experience an extended lay-off:
Once that athlete is injured, and it becomes known that he will be out for an extended period, he immediately becomes- in the fans’ minds- the most talented athlete in the world who plays that sport. And the fans expect all their troubles to be over upon his return.
It seems like the longer a guy is out, the more the expectations, the myth, the legend, grows. He becomes a messiah-like figure to the fans, symbolic of all their past troubles, and hopes for the future.
Eduardo is currently suffering at the hands of this process. The talent that fans supposed him to possess skyrocketed, and I’m not quite sure the unrealistic expectations have come back down to earth yet.
Maybe the 4-3-3 does not utilize his tactical prowess?
Just saw the City Wigan game (second half anyway) and the commentators wouldn’t shut up about the red that the Wigan CB was shown. I personally thought it was high time a ref did show a tackle like that a straight red without having to see a leg hanging in half. I think if Tevez has his leg planted there he probably finds himsef roomies with Ramsey. Or am I just seeing things with Wenger’s myopic vision?
Would love others input on this.
ps- The football in itself was quite entertaining. I love how Wigan (stupid tackle not withstanding), play on the ground.. don’t look to kick the opponents to oblivion. They pass the ball calmly out of defence with pace and if not for Almuniaesque keeping, would’ve probably caused city a lot more trouble than the scoreline suggests. That Johnson in City was one of their bright sparks. And Adebayor kept getting called offside. Heh. Classic.
Andez this is Arsene we’re talking about here… you really think he will forget about pecking order? If you told him deviating from the pecking order would GUARANTEE a title (impossible I know, but this is a hypothetical) and sticking with it would GUARANTEE finishing in 5th, he’s stay with it anyways.
The thing that I wonder about the most with Arsene, the thing that irks me the most is…
Nearly everything you hear people complain about him is relatively recent, i.e. within the last 4 years, give or take. All the qualities/traits that his detractors can point to are tendencies he’s seemed to develop SINCE 2004. What I don’t get is, why fix what ain’t broken?? You won 2 doubles and had an undefeated season… WHY DEVIATE FROM A SYSTEM THAT BROUGHT THAT KIND OF SUCCESS??? If he chalked up the lack of CL success to deficiencies in that system rather than just bad luck then he’s no different than Abramovich when he fired Jose.
yes CG, I been asking myself the same thing – why changed the system?
I think u meant that power/pace side of 2004 instead of the more tactical and technical side of today right?
Personally, I believe –
Although the class of 2004 were blessed with a physical power, they were also a highly intelligent side as well.
Titi, Paddy the likes weren’t just strong and tall, they were damn clever on the pitch as well.
But players like that are difficult to find. Take Adebayor, I think when AW went for him, he was attracted by his sheer power.
Powerful he might be, Adebayor never has that football IQ as Henry.
When AW went for Theo, I think he was attracted by Theo’s sheer pace. Yet again, Theo never got that intelligence on the pitch.
That tells you how difficult it is to find the right players. And let’s dont forget we are a club which has a transfer BUDGET as well, that makes it even more difficult.
Anyway, this current side are not really short of power and physical strength.
Bendtner, Diaby, Song, Varmelen, Eboue are all powerful guys. Theo, Clichy, Sagna have pace.
I agree with Andez.
It is not an easy job, but Arsene Wenger is steering the ship… and he has kept us in the Top 4 every season, played beautiful football, AND all the while, not only confined to a budget, but he has MADE MONEY for the CLUB, every single season with shrewd sales.
You can question some things he does, but overall, he knows the players, and what goes on behind the scenes and in the board rooms as well.
I would say Arsene felt that he had NO CHOICE but to CHANGE the system.
We needed to spend less on players… deal with the debt of the new stadium, AND maintain a good style and WIN regularly.
CHECK, CHECK, CHECK and CHECK.
I think at this crucial stage of season, AW should forget about his pecking order. Against weaker sides, starts Eboue at RB. Against stronger sides, start him at RM.
Like basketball, u give the ball to the player who has the hot hand. Eboue is one of the in-form players at the moment. Perhaps he’s playing for his contract. I don’t know. Don’t care neither. all i know is he’s been playing well, and effective. Attacking wise, he should at least be in front of Rosicky and Walcott right now, if not Nasri and Arshavin.
Yeah Andez the boy is red hot right now, red, red hot
Not sure I would play him ahead of Arsh’ and Nasri though, those two know how to find the net Manu is lacking in that department so far.
Yes, start Eboue in front of everyone. Its a must.
I think Sagna has probably been one of our best and most consistent players this season, with Vermaelen…
but lets switch up the back 4 for Eboue!
And sure, he’s gotta start ahead of Nasri and Arshavin, because neither of them do much on offense.
EBOUE for Captain next year…
;)
And now you as well… are questioning Wenger?!
REALLY?
I think he knows his team and what works best … more than
all of us combined… I am sure he’ll make the right decision.
There HAS been interest in Europe for Eboue… so hopefully a few teams
will come knocking, and we can make a nice profit by selling him … or Sagna, as one will be surplus to our needs, and there are youngsters coming up the ranks that will need to play as well.
So its all positive.
Okay. I think I’m getting medicated stagg now. Killing ’em softly with super-optimism. ;-)
HATER ;-) .
Yeah let’s sell Eboue, Sagna, Cesc, Ramsey as soon as he is fit enough for sale and buy Uberto Umbongo from the Congo for a bag of nuts we’re not called the Ars£nal for nothing you know.
Pounds-Sterling is more beautiful than those trophies anyway.
Have you ever seen a pile of fifty pound notes in a triple stash, those silver lines shining in the moonlight, with the subtle red of succulent strawberrys and the queen of England looking as sexy as Halle Berry in her prime.
Damn! Stag, those pounds are to die for , who needs the EPL or the Champions League?
This is very funny…Personally I’ve had trouble looking at pound notes since I saw one of the Cashley Hole twenties….
lol, good one steve!
Oh, I am serious, and you guys mock?
You aren’t REAL supporters.
;)
Arsenal need both a good result in the EPL and advancing in the Champions League… that allows us to make money, and allows us to lower the stadium debt.
I accept that is part of the clubs goal… and I support and root for us to do well across the board.
IF Wenger were to sell Cesc, we’d make a MASSIVE profit… that would be good for the AFC… would it not?
I don’t advocate selling all the best players, as we still have to compete and get a top 4 spot… and be competitive in Europe.
We HAVE achieved this goal every year.
If we keep Cesc thats GREAT, if we sell him, well… he will go at some point, so I would want us to make as much as we could.
Arsene will know if it is the right thing to do.
No sense in having Sagna AND Eboue, when there is probably a youngster ready to be a back-up to either one we keep… and they will make a lot less money, and we will make a nice tidy profit on whomever we sell.
Again, I’m ON BOARD with the master plan… I see what the AFC is doing and trying to do.
So, I have adjusted expectations, and started supporting Wenger and the shirts we wear.
The names will change regularly, but as long as we are competitive, and lowering the debt, and playing good football… why should there ever be any complaint?
Do what is BEST FOR THE CLUB.
On Ramsey,
I’m just hoping he can play again. The only positive side I can think of is – he’s not a player relied on pace. Look at Eduardo, he seems to lose a yard of pace since his injury, and that really hurt his game.
I don’t think Eduardo relied on pace either. It’s more of a sharpness thing, a combative edge being dulled by the trauma of the injury. Ramsay was showing signs of being all action midfielder in that vein so I fear it could effect him equally as much as it looks to have put paid to Eduardo’s career.
Has to be said though, Eduardo wasn’t exactly a world beater before his injury. His lack of mobility and one-footedness seemed to be a bit of a handicap – especially when played on the wing. He has declined though since the injury, without doubt.
Agree with this.
Watching highlight reels (esp. strikers scoring their goals) we forget the frustrations we used to have with players who are out for long periods. Dudu was never as good as we think he was, and RVP and Ramsey will likewise suffer the same troubles upon their comebacks.
Dudu has suffered this season by not getting pitch time as a second striker tucking in behind a real front-man. If anything he’s a better like-for-like replacement for Arshavin (the only other relatively healthy forward we’ve had this season.) His best moments before the injury were when he was able to maneuver quickly while defenders were occupied with Adebayor. He never had the traditional qualities to replace Bendtner/Ade up top as traditonal front men, nor the pace, mobility and passing range to replace RVP as a “false 9.”
Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s able to score a few if he gets some pitch time down the stretch this season, or early next season as some of our other forwards take their time coming into form after WC exertions.
I would not doubt that Ramsey will recovery physically relatively quickly.
Nevertheless his development has been stunted somewhat and the mental impact of the injury is immeasurable. I suspect he will return to his former glories and beyond he does have age on his side.
Eduardo was a world beater before his injury Mazza have you forgotten so soon, he was one of the most clinical finishers I have ever seen in an Arsenal shirt and he was still only just finding his rhythm in the PL. His international record is still quite outstanding too. Despite Arsene’ wishes Edy never really belonged on the wing.
Ooops
Ok, they are way too many comments to read through to see if anyone else discussed it, so here it goes. On Birmingham’s goal, when the ball came in and Sagna kicked it into Kevin Philips’ face, there was another B’ham player who was very clearly off side and who would have been the target of the pass if Sagna didn’t get there first. I’m not blaming the ref or the linesman for not calling it (if they missed it it is just another in a long line of missed calls against all teams by what seems to be really atrocious refereeing this season) but I’m just wondering if he was not offside for some reason. It seemed very clear to me but I haven’t seen it talked about anywhere, so I’m jsut wondering if I don’t have the rules correct.
SG –
You are correct.
Player was off-sides & flag did not go up. Based on Phil Brown’s new book on gardening tips, if flag doesn’t go up its not offsides.
just another case of the calls and refs going against Arsenal.
I would say if the referees were better at their job, we’d be in first place…
No Doubt About It.
Relax man, I wasn’t blaming the refs at all other than I’ve seen horrible refereeing in most of the EPL games I’ve seen this year, Arsenal or not. There are bad decisions against most teams in lots of games. I just think he looked off side and I haven’t heard anyone say anything about it so I wondered if there was a part of the rule I didn’t know about. But like Arsession said, if they didn’t raise the flag it isn’t offside according to Phil Orange.
He can’t relax. He won’t be satisfied until he becomes so annoying that everyone quits and he is the only one left at YAMA.
Agreed….And it seems awfully disrespectful to DAG. (Who, as always, deserves kudos and salutations for his pro-bono work on the site here.) The desire to kill conversation with unremitting sarcasm, to me, seems pathetic and madly self-indulgent, but maybe ALL internet posting sorta falls into that category….
Still, it IS very honorable that DAG doesn’t want to be like Arsenal America and ban any posters….Lucky for me, I’ve found the “Ignore Poster” function….. ;-)
LOL! Just let Stag be Stag
so, I voice my disapproval regularly, and you don’t like that…
I decide to support the team… and change my expectations of what we can and should be doing… and not only rooting for us to win, supporting ALL the players…
AND supporting the clubs obvious attempts to make a profit…
and you complain about it and call it disrespectful.
Seriously.
Feck off.
Don’t respond if you don’t want to.
There’s nothing wrong with voicing your opinion, but that doesn’t mean you have to be disrespectful to the other posters. A few threads back Josh said he thought Diaby was incredible; you said you disagreed, and that’s fine. But now you continually bring it up in a mocking tone, even though the matter is long gone. How many times have you done so on this thread? At least 2 that I can think of… why? It’s annoying and it doesn’t contribute anything to the conversation.
Also, like I said on the last post, you have a tendency to totally distort what people say. You take it way out of context and then lambaste them for it, even thought it’s completely different from what they actually said. No need.
Monday already….
I can’t see how Cesc can finish the match on Saturday and somehow not play this Wednesday. Seems to me like AW is trying (again) to point out the lack of protection our boys get from the refs. I guess the whole “wounded warrior” limping onto the pitch still has legs….(pun intended).
I’m concerned about Diaby’s knock. (Picked up doing a salmon imitation?) I think he presents problems for Barca’s MF and defenders that Denilson (obviously) does not. If Sagna plays at RB and Arshavin’s spot is automatic, then one of Nasri, Diaby or Eboue must sit (even if Denilson doesn’t start). I’m very curious what folks here think should be our line-up for this one, arguably our biggest match of the season.
The Ramsey question is interesting in that he (like maybe too many of our players) is/was more about potential than what he was giving us at the moment. That said, it appeared he had pipped Denilson in the pecking order AND he was having an outstanding game on a difficult pitch vs Stoke. (Perhaps if he were a more “established” player he would’ve been given the penalty he should have gotten moments before the injury.)
Asking around here in my ski town, where tib/fib fractures are (unfortunately) fairly common, people tell me that the recovery is usually very good. Does anybody know if Ramsey will need a second surgery to remove any “hardware” that was put in to help set the bones? For skiers, who often don’t need the flex that the two thin lower leg bones provide for running sports, hardware (including titanium rods) is often left in place and athletes are back to full training in about 12 weeks. Reports are that Aaron is already walking without crutches, but that wouldn’t really matter if he needs another round “under the knife.”
Ramsay was very Darren Fletcher-esque in that game. There can be no higher praise than to be compared to the Scottish legend.
Sarcasm intended right?
Okay, maybe not on Darren Fletcher’s level, that was going a bit far.
;)
LOL :-D
Here! Here! Highbury Terrace.
“The Ramsey question is interesting in that he (like maybe too many of our players) is/was more about potential than what he was giving us at the moment.”
I am not sure whether he had pushed the “illegitmate son” (Denilson) of his perch yet though. Wenger’s pecking order sometimes appears almost sacrosanct. However I would rather play Ramsey than Denilson on an average day.
don’t remember Ramsey being responsible for a few wins this year, but I know Denilson was!
You can hate him, but ARSENE KNOWS.
Why are you questioning “he who can’t be questioned”?
You guys are killing me with laughter tonight, I’m gonna have stitches!
This is so funny!:
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has hit back at the continued criticism aimed at him mostly by ex-players who are now pundits.
respond to the comments of former Liverpool captain Jamie Redknapp after the 2-1 defeat at Manchester United.
Redknapp, a close friend of Steven Gerrard, criticised Benitez for moving the England midfielder to different positions as they chased an equaliser late on.
To back up his assertion that Liverpool were a weaker team than the previous season he referenced the influence of Xabi Alonso, sold to Real Madrid in the summer, in the 4-1 win at Old Trafford last March. That finally prompted Benitez into a response.
“I was surprised to see some comments by some experts talking about how they could see Alonso playing in the 4-1 win against United – he didn’t play,” Benitez said, referring to the fact the Spain midfielder was injured.
————————————–
LOL! That tells you how much the ex-players turned experts KNOW what they are talking about!!
That is funny…
Rafa sometimes seems like a poor man’s (Spanish) version of AW….
Not only that, Liverpool made some good money on that sale of Alonso.
Big Up$ for that.
LOL! Stag you are creasing me up!
why? shouldn’t other teams also be focusing on making money?
or is that supposed to be something that ONLY ARSENAL can do?
United sold Ronaldo for 80 MILLION, and they are in first place, with a chance to win the league and the CL…
WHAT A PROFIT THEY MADE! They are taking a page out of Arsenal’s financial playbook, AND they are actually STILL WINNING!
Ah common Stag! ManU are relying on the genorosity of these globalist world bankers, or will be.
When you are in that much debt they got you by the balls. That is no way to run a ship, dude. Yep , Arsene can spend a bit more and probably should in the GK position at the very least. But he is who he is, he is open to criticism and questioning, but it’ either you back him, hope for the best, hope he learns from any mistakes or you might as well stop following Arsenal until HE chooses to go, or you may just well end up an extremely frustrated Arsenal supporter (well I suppose you are already, but you get my point.)
Arsene is unsackable as long as this board is in control of the club anyway. Even Stan the Man knows Wenger is the best thing that has ever happened to this club, baring Chapman maybe.
So you might as well humour us with the ultra-positivity, it will probably be good for you.
@sachin,
That FIFA slogan “My Game is Fair Play” is even more laughable! I believe everyone who loves sports, loves fair play. That’s the fundamental spirit of sports. But who are they kidding? Football has the least spirit of fair play.
FIFA’s job is to do their utmost to ensure the game is playing under as fair as possible a circumstance, not creating “talking points” (they argue that Video review technology would take away that) from a ref’s error.
maybe they could use Eboue as the spokesperson for “fair play”?!
That way it would be even more laughable.
;)
yes right, excluded your beloved Wayne “Honest” Rooney then.
Rooney and Gerrard and anyone else that dives and flops like they were shot, … I think 5 match ban would certainly change what players do out there.
And if they appeal, make it 10.
Then there would be no diving, and Eboue would have to focus on playing football, which he is good at.
And Rooney and Gerrard, they’d go back to greatness on the pitch.
Labour Party is proposing giving fans of clubs the right of first refusal to buy shares when a club is put up for sale. And it is also discussing requiring owners to sell 25% of shares to supporters’ groups if they wish to sell the club.
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_6060758,00.html
The idea of giving supporters more influence is a sound one, but this specific proposal seems hastily thrown together. And the fact that there’s an upcoming election makes it seem like its more than just coincidence that Labour would bring this up now of all times, when they’ve been in power for so long already. Blatant electioneering perhaps, but at least it’s something.
Gee, I wouldn’t want to see the fans actually having a say in the club they support… spending their cash and coming out to matches every week.
That’d be CRAZY.
Would it be so bad if Arsenal were forced to rest Cesc Wednesday night?
Yes.
I’m surprised you’re asking the question.
Frankly, I thought he was was resting Saturday. I hope he was saving himself, as much whatever may have been going on physically. Because it seems pretty vital he make the first leg, or the second leg may not matter that much.
Agree. If we shut them out, we must still win by 2 goals. If they score, we must beat them by 3 goals. B/c I’m assuming Nou Camp will be hell.
I posted this exact same idea above…(calling for a 2-0 or 4-1 as scorelines for the first leg that actually might see us through to the next round.)
That said, if we could actually produce such a score-line, the pressure of sitting on it for a week and then having to defend it at the Camp Nou might be too much for our young team. So any clean sheet or aggregate lead might, perversely, be for the best…
Unless Cesc is absolutely 100%, he should be rested for the 1st leg.
We need him for the run in, the last 6 games of the season.
Nasri has shown he can handle Cesc’s spot for a match or two.
We don’t want Cesc crocked at this point.
a) the final 6 league games
b) the WC in the Summer, where he can drive his sale price sky-high with a good tournament.
Stagg-or whomever you are ;-)- you really think AW will prioritize the League over the CL? I’d be surprised.
I am not sure he will prioritize the league over the CL, but I am sure that whatever decision Arsene makes about this, it will be the right one.
He knows the player, and how injured he is.
But we have to think a bit more long-term than just Wednesday, right?
We still have matches to play after Wednesday, so let’s keep the focus on the big picture.
Get well Cesc.
To be clear, I’m speculating on what I think AW will do.
Both titles are long shots, but we stand no chance in the CL without a good result at the Emirates. Between that, AW’s ambitions and the fact that I can’t see Cesc sitting out Barca even on one leg, I expect he’ll be out there.
That would be sad, if he played Cesc injured.
That shows no faith in the other players in the squad.
Plus, if he gets really injured, it could jeapordize his WC…
Have faith in the other players, we are not a one-player team, and the 6 remaining games AND the 2nd leg of the CL are still to play.
Get well fast Cescy.
Well, obviously I don’t think any substantial…oh, what the hell are we talking about?
Is it Wednesday yet? ;-)
HA!
Yeah “Get well fast Cescy” we’ll get Aunty Val to give you a hot water bottle and some warm Milk and Cocoa before tucking in tonight, oh and am sure she’ll read you a bedtime story too.
There, there our little Cescy. ;-)
I am not stuck on the theory of the Ramsey loss. We all know he has the potential to be special and he has youth on his side in terms of his injury. Look on Diaby. He was young when he received his injury and is now back on track. Ramsey should be the same. He was never a player of today but of tomorrow and he will fulfill his potential barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Ramsey is not a DM, but a Cesc clone. So is Nasri, Rosicky, Merida, Denilson (a pale imitation) and Diaby (to a certain extent). One of our problems is that we have 6 players suited to a single position whereas we are weak in other positions such as DM and Winger.
Walcott and Eboue are our only true winger’s and Song our only DM. As for GK, we all know the story.
Amen Pastor Carib.
I’m not ready to throw the towel in on Eduardo. From every press release from our club, recovery was going to take time and this year would be hit and miss.
We have surely missed the old Eduardo.
I tend to agree with those that say Ramsey was a big loss. Not simply because of his current on-field contribution but because he was one of few recent recruits that showed real signs of making an impact at a very early stage in his development. We have had a prossession of players that take 4+ years to get anywhere and even then some of those still seem less than convincing. So for a youngster like Ramsey to come through, look special, and actually look as though he is close to coping with the game at this level to be cruelly executed is a big blow.
I will agree with you Kiwi. I just believe Mazza was talking about his impact this season.
I think he will not be missed at all we have Nasri and Diaby that I believe can do a better job for us in the centre of the park this season and probably next to if Ramsey was available.
As I stated earlier Ramsey’s potential is undoubted, but his potential is no more than that at present, he has not developed into a Cesc Fabregas yet and the comparisons to Cesc so early in his career especially as he has not been that outstanding or to quote Stag “INCREDIBLE” :-) to justify Mazza’ Hleb-like infatuation is unjustified.
I just refuse to join in with the Theo style over-hype. The biggest loss this season has been RvP and dare I say it…….
Adebayor :-P .
Apropos of nothing other than being a proud son and this having a connection to London, my mother (her photography book) is on the front page of The Guardian’s Lifestyle page today. (More pictures in the hard copy of the paper.)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/27/alzheimers-care-judith-fox
Heart-breaking, but inspiring…and I’m almost glad I can’t get to the pics of your step-dad….
Football, emotional as it is, is only a respite from these “real” things we all must deal with….
Thanks for posting the link….
I understand the trepidation, but the pictures are actually not sad at all. (It’s hard enough to sell the idea of a book about a depressing subject that reminds people of human frailty and mortality. Much more so if the actual images bum them out.)
But, yeah, AD is a cruel SOB. Much, much crueler than sport, as you allude.
Glad you had time and interest to take a look, Steve.
Darn, should have picked up a copy.
Unfortunately I’m a low brow tabloid reader ;)
I am glad Mom wasn’t willing to take her top off for The Sun. ;-)
Your mum sounds like a really nice caring person and judging from the only photo I saw she is really talented too.
You have a right to be a proud son.
Thanks, Art.
I think there is concensus over the key role goalkeepers play and Arsene’s less than stellar record in that department. George Graham was a very miserly manager when it came to player procurement yet he was happy to spend up big on David Seaman even when he had a capable GK in John Lukic. The rest as they say is history – for me Seaman was the best keeper in a generation. I find it irrational NOT to buy a first-class keeper after being the Arsenal manager for so long. Even Lehmann was a flawed purchase. Alas, this is an area I’ve reconciled myself to years ago with Arsene. The best we can hope for is for Arsene’s keeper to be ‘ok’.
We shouldn’t be surprised with the Birmingham result. Disappointed yes, but not surprised. We desparately need a trophy to seal our maturing as a team. We need to hunger for that next trophy but with a real sense that we can achieve it. It will be hard for this side to have that hunger/belief fusion until we actually get over the line. This team is complex, it mixes arrogance with fraility and great technical strength with deep-seated structural weakness. We need that trophy. A trophy will reduce the collective pressure that must be palpable whilst wetting their appetite for even more success. Wenger’s press reaction shows the pressure he feels.
With Eduardo, for me it’s been hard to see what role he has at the club aside from achieving his personal rehabilitation – sadly he’s not much of a contributor on-field. It makes a lot of sense to me to sell him, but I’m not convinced that Wenger will. He’s persisted with Robin van Persie and Tomas Rosicky for much much longer so it might be wishful thinking. And who would want to buy Eduardo and pay him a massive salary, let alone pay us a transfer fee, given he’s done sweet fa since his return to suggest he’s a good bet? Maybe we could package him up with RvP, Rosicky and Walcott in a footballing version of a CDO and on-sell them to some unsuspecting superannuation fund.
I’m looking forward to the Barca games, just hope we can put out a reasonably fit team.
“And who would want to buy Eduardo and pay him a massive salary, let alone pay us a transfer fee, given he’s done sweet fa since his return to suggest he’s a good bet? Maybe we could package him up with RvP, Rosicky and Walcott in a footballing version of a CDO and on-sell them to some unsuspecting superannuation fund.”
You are as hard as nails and as cold as ice Kiwi! :-o
I don’t get the refereeing situation in world football. I think the biggest problems could be solved by 2 things. The first is something you hear suggested all the time; the second is one I think would work, but I’ve never heard anyone else mention.
1. Goal-line technology. Pretty much everyone thinks it is idiotic for FIFA not to have done this 5 years ago.
2. More Refs!! Basketball has 3 refs to watch an entire playing area that could fit inside the 18-yard box, and is filled with less than half the number players as football. American football has 6 referees to watch the same number of players and size field as ‘soccer’.
Why have only 1 ref to watch 22 players on a massive playing area, with 2 assistants that only have some authorities? Why can’t you have 3 refs who have the full jurisdiction to call all fouls and move throughout the pitch? And keep the 2 linesmen.
I think the reason football has so many problems with refereeing is the lack of scoring opportunities. Every sport has gray areas: was that a foul, a dive/clean challenge? Was that in the box or out? Did the ball cross the line or not?
Was that a block by the center or a charge by the point guard? Was that holding or excellent blocking by the left tackle?
In basketball a questionable call equates to a difference of 1-3 points in a game where you score 90. In American football, it is 5-15 yards of position, not even any points. In football the difference could be the only goal in the match. And yet the have far fewer officials to manage the game, and make the least use of widely-available technology. It’s absurd.
Agree entirely. It’s actually beyond absurd neither/both has been implemented. It’s almost as if something other than what’s best for the game is guiding the decision-making process.
I second that. Completely agree.
It’s so obvious to everyone that the refs need HELP.
that is why I always find FIFA’s slogan “for the good of the game” ironic as it seems they are trying to ensure the good of the game is not met. Everytime you hear of a suggestion to help the refs out, FIFA cancel that. It has been clear for years that linemen and refs cannot capture everything. A blink of the eye and they miss something, a blink of the eye and a player darts across. The refs are left isolated on their own to take the brunt of things. And at times some refs are threatened. Anders frisk being forced to retire was a very unfortunate example.
The 3 blind mice in basketball frequently get it wrong, but now have the aid of video replay at the scorers table, for specific situations.
There are many calls that are subjective, depending on what team you’re following.
That said, it takes 30 minutes to play the final 8 minutes of any basketball game. American football is worse.
You are correct, there is no perfect system. I think even those machines in tennis probably get it wrong.
For my part, I’m clearly not expecting perfection. But is there any question THIS system could be improved?
“Now imagine if we make as much mistakes as often as them in our own profession, would we last one week in our job?”
I don’t know what any of us do for a living here, Andez. But I doubt anyone’s job is much like that of a football referee.
For starters, a lot of their job requires subjectivity. What constitutes a foul is often a judgment call, a matter of opinion, made in a split second, with a number of different factors at play (positioning, weather, etc). Now add the almost constant action, the physicality, and the fact that they perform in front of ten of thousands of people every week. Most of whom are predisposed to believe they are incompetent, before they have even started. And who are not shy about cursing them when they disagree with how they perform their job.
Is that really what your job is like?
If Doctors or Air Traffic Controllers made as many mistakes as referees, yeah, they’d lose their jobs. And if your either one of those, you definitely have a point. ;-)
I disagree.
Yes their job is difficult. But so do many other jobs in the world.
Let’s do not forget – they are PAID to make the RIGHT judgment. No matter how hard their job is, they are not doing it for free.
This is their JOB. They are not PAID to make WRONG decisions.
If it’s ok that making the wrong calls and saying their job requires subjectivity, that it’s a matter of opinion with every decision, then everyone, you and I also could go on to be a ref. Or just drag a homeless guy from the street to refereeing a match. When they make mistakes, just say they are human. Human makes mistakes.
Yeah, and football players get paid to kick the ball into the other teams goal, or pass to their teammate, or not to punch the ball to the other team…and Managers are paid to get the tactics 100% right, and to bring in the right players, and (at our level) to win something….so, again, how can the referees be the only perfect people in the game?
sachin Reply:
March 28th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Apparently we are not allowed to complain about the refs either. New enforcement rule in effect on this website.
—————————————–
sachin, u know I have heard too often people saying stop using the referees as EXCUSE…
To me, I think it’s time for people to STOP MAKING EXCUSES for the refs. They are crap. Especially under today’s circumstance – those guys have turned PRO. They are now supposed to be PROFESSIONALS.
Is it too much to ask by hoping the so-called “professionals” to do their job properly?
It’s true they are human. So are we. Now imagine if we make as much mistakes as often as them in our own profession, would we last one week in our job?
@ arthur,
I got the same hunch as you – that Eduardo will be leaving.
For a small forward without much a physical presence, when you lose your pace as well, you are as good as finished. At least in EPL.
Although it’s not really his false that someone broken his leg, football can be a cruel business.
The bottom line here is – Arsene is a man-manager. When he has a certain amount of players in one position, it’s very likely he will want to give them chances to play. And will not bring in new players to cut down their playing time.
Eduardo right now is taking up a slot of our forward position yet doesn’t contribute much. Yet Arsenal do really need an out and out striker to back up van Persie. So I think Eduardo will be the goner.
If he does go it will be a real shame it would be an example of how a reckless challenge can end up changing the direction of a players whole life.
@ CG
Looking back over this season, as a team we’ve played fairly consistent. Most would agree there is reasonable improvement over the 08/09 season.
Players who are reliably turning in good performances:
Cesc, RvP, Diaby, Song, Vermaelen, Nasri, Arshavin, Gallas, Rosicky, while Eduardo is a wait & see.
Others who are raising their game: Eboue, Ramsey, Sagna, Clichy, Sol, Gibbs, Bendtner, Denilson, Traore
This has not been a productive season for Vela, Theo, Merida, Almunia, Fabianski, and Djourou.
Our prospects for now & next season look exciting.
But what about the lack of a GK? We are also still stretched thin at CB. No reason not to buy a GK. Arguably the single most influential player in the team, one who can swing the game the most INDIVIDUALLY. Even the best out-field players rely on the help of teammates most of the time. A GK can make individual contributions to save a sinking ship, even when no one else in the team is performing well- in fact, this is often when a GK is required to do his best work. And the best ones come thru.
Yet despite all this, they are reasonably cheap compared to most other types of players. And yet despite THAT, Arsene keeps his “faith” in Almunia rather than buy a decent, affordable keeper.
I’m on the same page abt the importance of GK.
Suicidal for Arsenal if Arsene continues to ignore innate fundamental weaknesses in Almunia’s game. We will have to wait and see.
Just as we had to patiently wait for Diaby and Song to evolve, I’m sure Djourou will make the same contribution upon his return; at CB or DM.
I see Djourou partnering with Vermaelen. Silvestre, Gallas, and Sol are age issues and not our future. Let Silvestre and Gallas contracts expire.
There must be someone coming up in the academy that has talent.
Also, I would keep Sol on, if he can maintain fitness, for fill in duty and to work with defenders (as part of coaching staff).
Sessh, Unfortunately I do not see anyone in the academy that is up to the task for the next few years apart from possibly Nordvet (excuse the spelling).
As he is out on loan I have not seen of late but hte last I heard he was playing in a DM role and playing quite well by the sound of it.
Kyle Bartley looks useful but his size and I presume pace may make him look commanding at youth level but I do not think he has the DF instinct to be good enough for the first team in the near future.
I think Aaron Ramsay has and will be a massive loss. He really was beginning to dominate midfields just before his injury when he playing a deeper role(he still struggled playing as advanced midfielder ala Everton match), and especially against Stoke he was first to nearly every ball and as a result their midfielders turned into pussycats, when against the likes of Denilson they suddenly get ambitiousness and start pushing on.
Denilson has scored a few goals and deserves credit for that but he just isn’t in the same league as Ramsay potential wise.
That’s why I found it weird when some were saying we would “win it for Ramsay”. It’s almost like they actually forget he wouldn’t be playing for nine months. It’s worst kind of injury as well because people from other teams won’t look at it as a major injury ala RVP. They will think he was only a fringe player and not be aware of his rapid development so it won’t be factored into things when the season is summed up.
Blah, Blah, Blah.
Ramsey is not a massive loss Mazza that’s an exaggeration, he is/was developing into someone special by no means there yet. He was not fundamental to our success at all, just someone we were giving more experience to. I think you are developing another Hleb-like man crush!
Oh and while I am at it ;-) You had the audacity to claim that Cesc only scored so much goals in a season was because of Hleb. This season he has scored more than ever before. So your derogatory theory that Cesc is average without Hleb has been totally disproved, right?
You don’t need to answer that mate ;-)
He is a massive loss long-term, as an injury like that may prevent him from ever reaching the potential he initially showed. There is no doubt he had world-class potential; I hope he still does, but I fear he may not.
Chicago I was referring to his importance to us this season as I suspect Mazza was referring to, too.
He got potential but not pivotal to our success this season as the Hlebist ;-) would have you believe.
There speaks a jilted soul. Ade deserted you and your still lashing out. Hang in there Art, plenty more oafish buffoons in the sea and all that ;)
“Hang in there Art, plenty more oafish buffoons in the sea and all that!”
Ah, now you write greeting cards, don’t you? ;-)
LOL! @ Mazza “Oh Ade, oh Ade where art thou Ade.”
That bafoon could have helped us win the title this season in RvPs absence. I am sure he would have been more use to us than Hleb? Don’t you ;-)
Ade would have helped us win the title??? Like he did in 08??? LOL!
Ade might have been a help, but he would have pushed Bendtner down the pecking order, and we don’t want to keep the younger players waiting forever for a chance.
AND… look how much we made on the sale of Adebayor.
Seriously. Awesome sale, and he hasn’t scored much at City. He is behind Tevez & Bellamy over there.
Good sale, nice profit.
LOL! Stag, I just cannot tell whether you are being sarcastic or not!
Your sudden love of profit is just so unlike the Stag we know.
But seriously Stag great sale and profit but he may have been enough to have got us another 6 points and have us on top of the league. A Premiership/Champions League trophy is priceless.
See those haters have cost Arsenal a trophy this season ;-) Driving the Dade away from his spiritual home
:-(
I have a feeling that Eduardo will be leaving at the end of the season along with Meridia. None are getting regular playing time and Merida from what I have heard has still not signed a new contract.
If he is not injured and he is not on the bench than I presume Arsene is not playing him because he will not feature in our future. Like Fran Eduardo is not getting games or goals for Arsenal but scores on the international stage. Maybe after seeing the Ramsey incident he wants to find greener and more importantly safer pastures to ply his trade. With Chamankh coming in I would think his chances of playing will be further reduced and he does not have the time on his side the likes of Vela and Bendtner do.
Pure speculation however, but just a thought.
Well, I am sure that whatever happens, with Eduardo or Meridia… the club will go on without them.
We might be able to get a decent fee for Eduardo.
He might not be 100% healthy, or Wenger might not have wanted him to play v. Birmingham, with the past being prominent in his mind.
Andez I do think we wanted to win it bad enough yesterday but we simply did not play well with the personnel we had out there.
The fact that Song was not in MF and Cesc was not on his game was a large contributing factor. Denilson was absent particularly in the 1st half, Theo Walcott looked like a waste of space and Bendtner was isolated so could not really get involved.
I think our players are hungry for this title, and they were well aware we had to win this game. I presume thay felt all they had to do was be patient and play their game and the result would come. Unfortunately we only really looked up to our game when Nasri and Arsha came on and we didn’t get that second goal
@Andez:
“in hindsight, I don’t think our team really have that many problems which needed to be addressed. Cos if we do, we would not have been at where we are, a position to challenge the title.”
I want to make sure I’m reading this sentence correctly. You’re saying that had we addressed problems, we would NOT be in the position we are now. At least that’s what I think your saying. And I gotta say, it makes no sense, and is the complete opposite of what would happen were we to address problems.
Why do you think we’d be worse off if we addressed problems?? That makes not sense; it’s the opposite of sense. Just think if AW had addressed one single problem last January, say GK… we’d theoretically be in an even better position than we are now. Why do you think we’d be worse off?
I meant we don’t really have that many problems or weaknesses with our team.
As for to address the GK problem in January, first, it’s highly unlikely any decent keeper would have been let go by their clubs mid way of the season.
Secondly, even if we did buy a new keeper back in January out of panic, there’s no guarantee he would make an impact straightaway.
I wanna make it clear one thing here – people only ASSUME that BUYING a new player would immediately change the outlook of the team.
That’s probably based on the fact AW more often than not making the right purchase.
But if you look at normal circumstances, this is not something guaranteed. A lot of purchases by other managers which people thought would improve their teams, but ended up the other way around. Lescott anyone?
I do want AW to get a new keeper to improve our team’s fortune. But I do not want to see a panic signing. If we are going to get a new keeper, I think we all want to see a truly top class goalkeeper. To get a new keeper like that, it does not happen over night. it’s better for the coaching staff and scout to take their time to access the quality of the keeper than rushing for it.
Signing a GK should not be a panic buy. Everyone else who is not myopic outside of Arsene has seen that need for the past 3 years.
During that period we have seen Friedel, Hart, Hannehman, Scwatrzer, Given and a host of other GK’s changing teams for under 6 Mill, with some even moving on a free.
Forget about the january transfer window, this should have been done many moons ago.
AMEN.
X2
I agree. I’m not sure about other keepers, but I really like Friedel. Without him, I’m not sure if Villa be able to ever challenge the top 4 at all.
I agree with you Andez rush buys don’t make any sense. But what concerns me is that even if Arsene and his scouts take a long time to assess someone they may still end up with a dodgy keeper.
How long did they take to assess Al? Fabianski? and even Mannone I would have thought they took some time. Yet all three are far from world class and may never become world class. Arsene is simply not good when it comes to buying GKs even Lehman was terrible when he first came.
u got a point there arthur. AW’s record on goalkeepers have been pretty awful to be honest!
but keeper IMO is the most difficult position to find a right buy.
For instance, our ex keeper coach Bob Wilson. Massive experience and knowledge in goalkeeping. Yet he once felt Stuart Taylor would become England number 1…
Yeah I hear you ‘Dez, not that easy, but Wenger should go for an try and tested well established keeper alongside the young “gambles”. He could have gone for Shay Given for example. But I do undersatnd that you have to gamble somewhat in regards to the youngsters.
Not really much sense in addressing any perceived issues in January … to go out and get a keeper?
He has faith in Almunia, and isn’t likely to change that idea now.
What if we tried to address perceived problems and it didn’t work. What then? We would have wasted lots of money, and it didn’t work.
I mean, its not the worst thing in the world to try to improve your team, but I would leave it up to Arsene more often than not.
How can you REALLY question the success we’ve had this season? And it is NOT over yet… still a chance to win the league.
You can dislike Almunia, that’s fine, but… you can’t disagree that he WON the game with the saved penalty against West Ham.
It’s easy to point to problems when things go badly.
But you have to look long-term, and what “success” means…
Disgraceful refereeing? Definitely. That however, has been a constant the past few seasons and we just have to deal with it. Complain we can but it will not change in the near future.
We lost the game because a number of players failed to step up to the plate. Walcott, Denilson and NB never stamped their presence on the game and both Arshavin and Almunia bottled it, which ruined what I thought was a scintillating performance by Diaby and an extremely competent display by the back four.
NB proved once more that he is not quite world class yet and basically looked at sea with his first touch, and never looked dangerous at any time during the 90 minutes. Walcott floated in and out of the game and once again showed his lack of football IQ.
With Song at CB it proved once again that Denilson albeit his one good game last week, is not Arsenal class and offers nothing defensively and very little creativity going forward. Almunia? Well, Almunia was just Almunia. Arshavin did whiff at a simple goal, something which has become irritatingly familiar of recent, but once again showed his class by creating opportunities and should have earned a penalty.
Like Tim said, we are not out of the race yet, but I for one am very concerned about the ability or lack of ability from certain players who repeatedly put us at risk game in and game out.
Not really in a good mood at this time and I am struggling to be optimistic once again. I watched the game at a Pub in Atlanta, Moreland Brew House, with about 30 other Gunners and there was a deadly silence for about 5 minutes after the Birmingham goal. Although there was no outward display of tears we were all crying on the inside, with the inner tears being slowly replaced by despondency and then anger.
Please, please, please Arsene, at least get us a GK and and a backup DM so we can cheer and laugh instead of cry. Please Arsene, we don’t like being Bridesmaids when we should be the Bride.
Apparently we are not allowed to complain about the refs either. New enforcement rule in effect on this website.
Don’t complain about the ref just curse your own players instead.
These are the people that blame Clichy for giving away a penalty last time against Brum although he clearly got the ball and the ref called it wrong.
Sach just ignore them and say what you want to say anyway.
ok :)
Wenger should get rid of Almunia regardless of what happens the rest of the season. I don’t ever want to see him in an Arsenal shirt but he has to play the remainder of this season because no choice there. Funnily enough, I had said the same thing last summer when I didn’t want to see him play at all this season.
If Arsenal offered him for free, I don’t think any other EPL team will take him so like you said he or Silvestre would not be in the EPL if not for Arsenal.
That’s very negative in regard to Almunia.
We saw first hand what Fabianski has to offer, when he played against Porto in the CL, and personally gave them 2 goals.
Wenger should do, and will do, whatever he believes is best for the club. If he feels Almunia is the Number One, and he has the potential to be our keeper for years, then you’ll have to just SUPPORT him.
Wenger has gotten us this far with Manny in net, a good spot to be in the league with 6 to play, and doing well in the CL as well.
We didn’t even spend much to improve the team, and we’ve done so well on the pitch, and off the pitch, a GREAT season… filled stadium every time, and long-term debt is way down on the stadium.
Not sure what there is to complain about, other than the refereeing.
Just think, if the refs did their jobs, we’d be in first place.
Well, after Manny did his best fuck up of the season, I promptly shut down all my computers and went out and have finally decided to go back online.
My impressions:
1. While i have to give Arsene all the credit for keeping his group of charges going – I also have to say that he clearly showed a preference yesterday for the Champion’s League and not the EPL. Had EPL been a priority – Nasri and AA23 would’ve started and once you had a lead could’ve been subbed out early. Sorry to me that was the biggest glaring fuck up yesterday. 20 minutes was too little time for those two. The game changed for us the instant those two came on.
2. Cesc was very unCesc like yesterday – from the get go he seemed almost disinterested in the match (much like the whole team). He should’ve been swapped out.
3. Song, Diaby and Rosicky have nothing to hang their heads about. For the entire time they played they seemed to be the only 3 trying to do something. Nasri and AA23 are also saved from any ridicule as they did change the timbre of the match.
4. If we don’t win the title – you can point to this and the Sunderland match as to the why. Those will be the big difference makers.
5. Agree that overall the future is bright for Arsenal – doesn’t make the complete cock-up of yesterday’s match any better.
I guess the good thing is that since our next match is Tuesday I don’t have time to dwell on the disappointment.
By the way – Iniesta is out of the first leg for Barca.
agree about song, diaby, and rosicky…….but there was another group of players who did what was expected: Sol, Sagna, and Clichy
when the other team is playing a 4-4-2 and your playing 4-3-3…..there will be a midfield imbalance and Denilson is just not strong enough at DM with his tackling and possession (yet)!
we needed more from theo; we can ill afford an upfront player that can’t be a threat. At the moment, his attacking portfolio is limited.
having calm down a bit, on hindsight, I don’t think our team really have that many problems which needed to be addressed. Cos if we do, we would not have been at where we are, a position to challenge the title even without our starting striker for the large part of season, at the first place.
And I also doubt had Vermaelen started it would have made much a difference.
Browsing through the posts above, I think Vibe4 summed it up perfectly – our team seemed like sleeping through the first half.
I did feel it that way when watching the match, it hardly felt like watching a side who’s fighting for the title. Did anyone feel a sense of URGENCY from our players, in particular the first half?
At this stage of season, with only a few matches remained to decide who’s going to be the winner, honestly I think it’s all about MENTAL. That how much a team WANT to win it.
When a team want it bad enough, they will find a way to win it.
Let’s just say – we didn’t want (to win) it BAD ENOUGH yesterday.
“Let’s just say – we didn’t want (to win) it BAD ENOUGH yesterday.”
Yes, exactly. Strip everything else away and it’s that simple.
Which, actually, is a really discouraging thought.
OK, lets say I buy this argument that we didn’t want it bad enough.
Who is most responsible for instilling that feeling in the players… the need for urgency, especially at this point in the season?
And… if you say the players, then … who is responsible for assembling the players that lack that drive?
Just a question, not a negative commentary on anyone… just observation.
Of course it starts at the top. We’ve been saying this for awhile tho, no? The agenda has long been set…
1. CL
2. Prem
And that’s where the list of priorities ends.
@arthur,
I were about to write the same thing. Good point. We are never the most liked team.
I think Wenger should stop complaining about the refs. Cos let’s face it – he is not Alex Ferguson. When Ferguson complained, the refs gave in. When AW complained, we had more calls go against us.
As they said – the refs are HUMAN. Human make mistakes. Indeed, they must be more HUMAN than anyone else in their own profession.
Another point is – because they are human. They got their own feeling as well. When you keep pointing out their shortcomings publicly, who knows if they would hold grudge against you?
As someone pointed out before – in so many games this season, oppositions could go constantly fouling our players without getting any booking. One mistime tackle from one of our players.. yellow card. I’m still trying to figure out the logic.
To be fair with Wenger though, I believe he’s only use the referees as a channel to vent his frustration.
The real target he wanted to get angry about – must be his players. Cos they are the one who cost us the game. But that’s not Wenger’s management style – he’s well known for protecting his own players, and refused to criticize them in public.
“I think Wenger should stop complaining about the refs.”
“To be fair with Wenger though, I believe he’s only use the referees as a channel to vent his frustration.
The real target he wanted to get angry about – must be his players. Cos they are the one who cost us the game. But that’s not Wenger’s management style – he’s well known for protecting his own players, and refused to criticize them in public.”
Agree. And agree. To a certain extent, it’s the Manager’s only option. Which is yet another reason the referee’s job is such a difficult one. They are subject to scrutiny and criticism, sometimes just out of convenience.
“When Ferguson complained, the refs gave in. When AW complained, we had more calls go against us.”
More of a disagreement here. While it’s natural for us to focus on the most successful Manager in Premier League history as somehow being favored, I doubt the comments about ‘fat’ Wiley (among many, many, many others) has made SAF many friends in the referee fraternity. And I think we tend to overlook things such as how often Cesc, for instance, asks for and receives calls. He chats at the refs a lot, and gets away with more than a lesser light on a smaller club would. It really does cut both ways.
It’s funny how easy it is for people to see bias among officials. But who is more biased than a fan? I’m surprised more people can’t acknowledge their own prejudices when evaluating the referees. Find me a fan of any team who says “You know, we really had the officials going for us today.”
Again, the most remarkably consistent thing in sport is that the officials were against ‘us’.
1000% spot on in regard to referees, and how ALL fans think there is bias against there team… in virtually ALL sports.
Andez, I’d say that back a few years, we were DEFINITELY the best liked team by supporters of other teams.
Football fans watched us JUST FOR THE WAY WE PLAYED and SCORED.
We had rival fans applaud us off the pitch on more than one occasion.
I look at it this way…Short term we were riding our luck (getting fortunate but needed results in matches against relegation-quality opponents, despite our injury issues) while attempting to sneak in the backdoor and take the league title…At the death yesterday, that luck ran out. (Not surprising really.)
Longer term we are doing much better. Some of our younger players are appearing the real deal and our focus and belief is growing…to a certain extent. But we’re not there yet and to get there we must be able to compete with the very best teams in Europe. Barca, of course, is a great opportunity. But the prospects can’t appear so great when we’ve squandered similar chances in all 4 matches with Chelsea and United. To truly turn the corner, we must compete with and beat these teams. Winning the title in any fashion would be wonderful, but until we can measure up with the best, head-to-head, we will still be a step below.
Regarding players, AW has done some amazing things: At the back yesterday we needed a clone of either Vermaelen (a great buy, plucked from obscurity) or Song (a project few thought would come good). Diaby looks majestic receiving the ball at his feet but I agree that Denilson looks completely out of place at this level. Both, trying to fill in for Song yesterday at DM, allowed too many bounced balls (including the critical one for the goal) and failed (along with the collective naivete of the remainder of the squad) to kill the game after we’d done the hard work of scoring our goal.
Personally I don’t fault Almunia for yesterday’s goal, but his chronic inability to command his box, instill confidence in the defenders ahead of him AND distribute the ball intelligently undermines the team no end. This latter element is particularly galling as Arsenal have a massive fitness advantage over ALL our opponents and poor distribution and giveaways have the function of wasting time/shortening the match and rendering our advantage moot. Mooney has got another chance to impress on Wednesday and a clean sheet is just about the only way.
So on to Barca, who will be missing Iniesta (a massive talent, IMO, who combines the best of Cesc, Nasri and Rosicky). If we can take our chances (which we tend NOT to do), play rock solid in MF and at the back (very, very questionable) and somehow dominate possession, we will be in with a shout. Given the inexperience of the team (and the daunting atmosphere we’ll find at the Camp Nou), 2-0 or 4-1 in the home-leg are about the only results that leave us with a real chance to progress to the next round.
Tough stuff, I know, but otherwise we might need to start talking about next season….
Hey Sad -n- feeling sorry…!
;)
Denilson, in fact, has had his share of good matches.
He is hardly out of his depth.
I doubt you know more about Denilson’s skills than Arsene Wenger does, and if he believes Denilson gives us the best chance of winning, he’ll be on the pitch.
6 games left in the league, and we definitely still have a chance… though partially based on other results.
2 glorious Champions League matches left (at least)…
Why not enjoy it, and just adjust your too high expectations?!
Just think of what a great season it has been in regard to lowering the stadium debt… as well as a top 3 finish at WORST.
Up with the mighty Arsenal Footbal Club PLC!
Iniesta ruled out of Wed game. Is Cesc fit?
If he isn’t 100%, I think we should rest Cesc for the run in… 6 games in the league, and we need Cesc for all of them.
Nasri has shown that he can fill in for Cesc for a match or two.
Need Cesc at 100%, not half-crocked.
But if we don’t win on Wednesday, we will effectively have gone out of both competitions in a 5-day span? Sound familiar? That’s b/c it would be a repetition of the same ignominious, spirit-crushing, season-ending, frustrating, infuriating COLLAPSES that Arsenal will have gone through for the 3rd or 4th season in a row! And Arsene will once again be back on the hot seat, as fans recall things he could’ve done last January or summer to avoid the collapse in the first place.
I hope it does not end that way.
That’s negative.
Spin it like this, STILL a CHANCE in the league regardless, and… we aren’t expected to beat Barcelona.
They spend gazillions, and we don’t. We play the same style of football, and we do it for much less.
Anything can happen, just have to be happy with your lot in football.
Wednesday night is a chance to re-energize our spirits and belief!
Howard Webb I do not like and I think he does not favour Arsenal, Cliche’s booking and the unpunished foul on Nasri springs to mind. Nevertheless his performance hardly affected the result on this occasion
Regardless of other fans in other countries and other sports it is quite evident that Arsenal and Arsene is far from liked in this country. Certain commentators everytime we played, particularly in Europe, would always comment about the lack of English players in the team. A friend of mine a Liverpool fan was in Spain at the time we played Barca in the CL final, he said he all the English people he met were backing Barca.
What the media puts out forms public opinion. Look at the lack of penalties we get since the Eduardo incident, I think we have had two all season and think that would be a lot less than the other attacking/top clubs in the league. Referees are human too with bias’ prejudice etc, professional or not media/public opinion can also affect the decisions thay make. Another example would be they fact that Arsene got sent to the stands for kicking a water bottle I have seen countless managers do the same thing but nothing done.
Firstly I would like to welcome back our Monger friends, as expected they were out in full force today ;-)
I am gutted because I think we have lost the title now, we were not playing that well anyway and if you look at the recent performances of ManU and Chelsea we were more likely to lose points anyway. However if they draw next week it all goes back to square one, but I doubt that we will be able to go the rest of the season without dropping anymore points.
In truth Birmaingham deserved a draw. I cannot criticise Manny too much though, the ball came at him fast it appeared he tried his best to parry it over the bar, but as we all agree his best is not good enough at the moment. Nevertheless I would not put too much blame on him.
Cesc had a shocker today and Walcott was useless again, I cannot see why Arsene did not take of Fab for Nasri considering he was not playing well and had a knock and bought on Eboue for Walcott.
@ Andez
the ‘talk’ up to this match was its importance, even more critical than Barca on Wed.
– if Cesc has a knock, start Nasri, or at half, replace Cesc.
Hell, from my screen, at least Rosicky was industrious, slot him in to run the midfield. Injury or not, this is about the team; regardless of what a player tells you (says he can continue) as manager your eyes evaluate performance.
– FOR ME, Arshavin has been a big disappointment this season. Okay he scored a great goal against Pool and a sublime pass to Eboue vs. Porto – add another 9 goals somewhere, BUT EVERY match his linking play is at best, “SLOPPY”……..no concentration; how many open nets has he missed – no anticipation….. For our style of play and size, we cannot afford to have this type of complacency on the pitch; this is the manager’s fault.
No need to rehash the officiating, we all know Arsenal will not get any breaks; but by not getting the 2nd goal – Arsenal leave themselves vulnerable to questionable calls!
Our roster just doesn’t have the right depth – at this moment.
Clearly, the return of RvP (for me) is not going to solve our problems. Yes, he is a great player, but for our team to compete for any silverware – we need to bolster our squad with an experienced GK and CB.
@AS,
The Cesc’s knock I meant the one he picked up during the match.
Yeah, maybe I’m expecting too much every match from him……
How many passes to him, went right under his controlling foot?
Do you think he’s got Barca on his mind?
You have given up on the title?
WHY?
Still a chance.
And the season has been exciting.
What more do you want?
This result brings into sharp context our four losses against Chelsea and ManU. After that, we needed a near perfect record against the smaller teams and that is not easy,
Yes, ManU won the title last year even though they lost both games to Liverpool, but they didn’t lose to Chelsea!
If we had won one game each against ManU and Chelsea, we would still be top today. That is why the head to head games are important.
OK, OK… I’m trying to think positive (though it is difficult). Man U are 4 pts a head of us, so we need them to drop at least 5, without losing any ourselves. Chelsea are 3 up, so we need them to drop 4 minimum. (We ain’t winning by GD against either of these teams, unless some crazy shit happens.)
If Man U are to drop pts it would most likely be against Chelsea, Spurs, or City. If we win the rest of our games, and they get one each of a W, D, L from those games, it’d put us 1 pt ahead.
If Chelsea are to drop pts it would most likely be against Man U or Spurs (I’m not going to include Liverpool here- they suck way too hard). If they lose one of those and draw one they’ll beat us on GD, but if they draw both of them, then we’d be 1 pt ahead.
That Chelsea/Man U game almost has to be a draw for us to have a shot. Again, I realize that it is asking A LOT for everything I just mentioned to happen.
Honestly, the hardest part is for Arsenal to go the entire time without losing a single point… a whole 6 matches. (But hey, before today we went 6 matches without dropping any so you never know.)
Do I expect us to win the title? No. But I will be watching, waiting, and hoping until we either win it or are mathematically eliminated.
I wouldn’t rule out Pool taking something off Chelsea. A lot may depend on what they have to play for and that brings 4th place into play of the title race. Pool are a different beast at home. I think if they win today, they’ll have won their last 8 league games at home.
I miss VP!! And I hate that in spite of all our attacking philosophies our goal difference is this lacking.
We just need to keep looking at the next game and keep going. Bring on Barca.
Ozi I miss RvP too. I think he was the jewel in the crown earlier in the season. A commentator commentated that our goal per game average had dropped from over 3 to just over 1 since his absence.
Bendtner is far less effective than RvP but better than anyone else we have at the moment.
The problem for Bendtner is that we are playing the 4-3-3 like a 4-5-1 most of the time because he always looks isolated like Ade did last season in the 4-5-1.
We have a chance, so nothing to complain about here.
3rd is good, still a chance for 2nd or first with a bit of help.
Chelsea CAN drop points, I’d be more worried about United not dropping enough.
Arsenal will have fulfilled all its goals regardless.
Played good football.
Finished in the Top 4.
Progressed in the CL to at least the QuarterFinals.
Made a nice dent in the stadium debt.
Filled the stadium to capacity every single match.
Won the profit league again.
Exciting season, with 6 league and at least 2 CL matches to go.
Enjoy it.
Its all been good.
In those situations though, you never let the ball bounce. You make sure you win the header, and this is where we let ourselves down time and time again – and thus leaving ourselves open to Almunia’s dolly fingers.
The ball comes in, Diaby leaps like a salmon…..and misses the ball by a square country mile. What happens after that is mayhem, eventually leading to that dirty little cross that led to the goal.
Time and time again, these basic tasks prove beyond our players, and as Vibe said, it gets to the point where the referees incompetance goes over your head. At least get right what WE can control.
Diaby leaps like a salmon?
I thought he was INCREDIBLE?!
;)
Easy Mazzerati, everyone misses a header now and then.
Diaby is pretty woeful in the air unfortunately, but to blame his missed header for the goal is nit picking a little. He did well in the air defensively for most of the game I remember him clearing 1 or 2 in the first half.
Overall I thought Diaby had a good game. I have regained lot of confidence in his ability and worth to Arsenal.
he’s INCREDIBLE!
You won’t let that one go will you Stag!
Not a chance.
There isn’t a player on the team, other than Cesc on occasion, that can be described as “INCREDIBLE”.
Diaby has NEVER in his professional career been that adjective.
And I like him as a player.
I’m a little down from our result today, but frankly we’ve struggled to put teams away when we took the lead;
this time we weren’t so lucky.
I don’t want to place all the blame on Almunia, we’ve all identified his shortcomings, so today is no surprise, just a recurring nightmare for our manager (and all of us). Today’s draw, was a team LOSS.
Was not impressed with Arshavin, Cesc, and Bendtner.
Cesc’s carrying a knock, so it’s understandable.
Arshavin, for whatever reasons, has been icy cold in terms of his scoring touch, in recent time. Not just this match.
His clever running still been causing oppositions problems. Yet except from that beautiful goal he scored (forgot which team), his shooting has been below par – by his own high standard.
Bendtner, I’m not sure if he’s not 100% fit or not, just plain lazy IMO.
When I looked at the position he took whenever a cross into the box, it’s very frustrating.
As a center forward, you don’t WAIT for the cross to come to you, you ATTACK the cross. Even if it’s beyond your reach, at least it would unsettle their defense. Or may get some lucky bounce or something.
But he was just stood there most of the time.
U look at how comfortable Hart coming out and collecting the cross. Why? cos there was simply no one went up challenging him. It’s even more frustrating considered this guy is 6 foot 4.
What is even more disgusting is that the 4th string GK for Manu (Joe Hart) is better than our starter.
Last season I christened him with moniker “2 ton balls”, because of his inability to come off his line and command balls in the air.
let’s not be in self denial, we have 3 players in Denilson, Almunia and Silvestre who would not be in the EPL if they were not playing for Arsenal.
Not true.
You belittle our players, but Arsene has faith in them… we are in 3rd place with a chance to win the league, and in the CL quarters…
Almunia and Denilson have been responsible for WINS this season.
Wouldn’t be where we are without them.
Absolutely true Stag despite your dry, crusty, stale, blue cheese sarcasm. It is not even funny anymore.
That is not sarcasm, sorry.
ALMUNIA AND DENILSON… have DEFINITELY BEEN RESPONSIBLE for WINS this season.
You need a village to win a championship.
So when did you start sipping Kool Aid? ;-)
“So when did you start sipping Kool Aid? ;-)”
I noticed that, too. Either someone else has stolen stagg’s account, or someone’s taking…something. ;-)
No, not at all.
Not on Kool-Aid.
I don’t blame the players, and Denilson and Almunia have had some good moments this year.
You can dislike them as players, but you can’t deny they have been directly responsible for a few wins.
They are what they are, and Wenger is in complete control of the team. He isn’t changing, so sit back and enjoy.
Cesc did have one beautiful ball to Nasri, and did seem more energized in the last 20 minutes or so. But, generally, yeah. Not nearly enough. Frankly, the whole team seemed to sleep through the first half.
Thought Sagna had a pretty good game, particularly in the second 45.
We’ve got to keep hoping for that ManUre-Chelsea draw. If we win all our games until then, and they draw, the point differential will be back to what it was before this matchday- 2 behind ManUre, 1 behind Chelsea. Then hope for maybe Spurs to draw with them- or something. (Funny, I wonder if Spurs fans would rather their own team lose those games than aid Arsenal’s title bid.)
A Chavs win in that game wouldn’t be great, but better than a ManUre win. But again, none of that matters if the Gunners don’t win their remaining 6 matches.
I’m expecting the worst, but still hoping for the best. Robin: WE NEED YOU!!!
Back to the scene of the crime and we thought, why not commit some more?
At least Almunia doesn’t have his finger prints on the ball.
Well, we got a point and we are still in the race
for the league title…
Not sure why you folks are all upset really…
we played well, we passed the ball around well at times, played
a good match with good ball movement.
Yes, we failed to put away the game with some good chances, but
that happens every once in a while to even the best teams.
With Vermaelen and Gallas out, the defense played pretty well, pitched a shut out for 90 minutes, just were undone in extra time by
some back luck, and Almunia is the BEST keeper we have.
Arsene sees him play every week in practice, and has watched him
for the last few years, if he is confident, then who are we to question
him? what do you know about football compared to Wenger?
Not much I dare say.
You folks weren’t complaining when he saved the penalty last week, and
thus saved the match…
he giveth and he taketh away.
It wouldn’t have mattered if we put away our chances earlier.
Unlucky not to have won today… but we played well enough to win.
And yes, United won 4-0, and Chelsea 7-1, but they could drop points
on the run in… they play each other next week… someone (or both) will drop points.
Big match against Barcelona coming up, with Thierry coming home.
That should be fun, no matter what the outcome.
Solidly in third, with a chance to get 2nd or 1st in the league, and
in the CL, playing against the best team in the world.
That’s fantastic for the club and fans…
Enjoy it.
Anything could happen.
LOL! Now that’s funny :-D . Was it meant to be?
Manny giveth and Manny taketh away, indeed.
“Leave me alone with that for fuck’s sake”.
Dynamite gem from Arsene.
Yea. Even at a time like this that made me LOL. I do hope it means he has permanently lost his cool over a player or two. But if history is anything to go by, these players usually win him over all over again in training or whatever. I just want the Barca game to come so that I can forget about this (hopefully not replaced by a raping on wednesday)
Almunia is like a box of chocolate.
Problem is – with goalkeeper we want nothing but one word “reliability”. We wanna know what are going to get next.
We want a keeper we be able to depend on on a “regular” basic. And most of all, in CLUTCH time.
Nothing piss me off than seeing all our manager, and players’ effort, good works all season long being thrown away by one crucial mistake at a crucial time by one single player.
See you Almunia. I won’t miss you. I hate say this to any player, but Almunia deserves all the criticism fans pointed at him.
Because… he’s PLAIN.. SIMPLE… NOT… GOOD.. ENOUGH. At least not when you want to WIN trophy.
Cos who knows WHEN will be the NEXT moment he fuck up?
Even if we break into CL final for example, and leading 1-0 with ONE minute left, does anyone TRUST him to be able to carry us over the finishing line?
I don’t.
Last season he cost us the Champions League. This season potentially the league.
He did make a match winning penalty save the previous match. But it all became meaningless now if we were going to lose the title race through this crucial mistake of him.
Sad repeat of the last game at Brum.
Too many fouls by Brum not given.
Work hard to get the lead.
Arsha and Nasri miss great chances to make it 2-0.
Mooney screws up to draw the game.
Hmm, there goes the title? I think so, but all of us have been wrong before this season, haven’t we?
Unfortunately with Chelsea hitting top form I fear this is it really. If Man U wins today, then its done.
Ofcourse there is still hope. But lets face facts, WHO IS OUR KEEPER? Do you trust him?
Exactly.
Manny should get some chances this coming Wednesday…. ;-)
Gutted (of course) and thought when their ball stayed out (miracle) and we finally got our goal (2nd miracle) that luck might really be on our side….but (of course) we needed a 2nd :-(
And I’m more disappointed that our keeper takes pub-team goal-kicks and otherwise can’t distribute the ball or command his area at a top level…and of course we must pray for his health given our #2 & #3 and their CL records….
Yeah, the Vermaelen decision was MASSIVE. Song would have been playing DM and that would have made a huge difference.
A lot of people still ANNOYINGLY say Denilson doesnt play too bad. Its not about that, the problem is even at his best he is NOT a suitable partner in a midfield with Fabregas. In every SINGLE situation, Denilson can not TAKE the ball off an opponent and drive forward. He just is not physically dynamic AT ALL. And Fabregas SUFFERS big time playing in a midfield that contains Denilson.
Other points:
— The ref was an absolute cretin. Moronic decisions from start to finish.
— Nasri should have taken it himself for crying out loud.
Even with the Denilson, referee problems everything would have been OK if we actually had a goalkeeper.
TV5 wouldn’t have stopped Mooney from punching into his own net.
We really need a new GK.
And, as Fred alludes to above, that was hardly Manny’s first blunder of the match. His distribution and positioning continually display no brain for the position. How about running practically to the top of the box, only to punch the ball down at the feet of a B’ham player?
It surprises me not at all when Manny stops a penalty or a shot close to his face. The less time he has to think, the better the outcome.
Complaining about a player’s mistakes is for losers (of points)
Ha. You really don’t get the difference between a complaint about Howard Webb (who I reckon is complained about after every match by every supporter of every team) and a complaint about our GK (who is probably beloved by most opposing fans)?
Well, there are Apples and then there are Oranges. And Oranges are directly responsible for whiffing at the ball as it goes by into our our net.
If Webb is complained by everyone, do you go go tell all those other supporters to not complain? If so, then you are consistent.
He wouldnt, but it would have meant Song playing DM and who would have consequently liberated Fabregas. A liberated Fabregas might have safeguarded a win for us a bit earlier.
Two points throw away at Bham against, just like 2 years ago. Although
Phillips hardly knew anything about the goal but they all count.
However, more upset with the inept ref job by Webb. Webb was just like other recent refs in that fouls against Arsenal went unpunished with no cards yet Arsenal got 2 first half yellow cards for nothing. These small things make a difference. The unwritten rule in the game is that Arsenal’s opponents need to make 10 fouls before they get a warning and atleast 20 before a card, whereas Arsenal’s one foul = one card. Plus Webb called two calls against Arsenal for no reason, one when Denilson was called for nothing and Bham almost scored from that free kick but Dann missed the open net and then when Diaby put the ball in the net, a foul was called on Cesc while it was Arsenal that should have had a free kick. I am convinced that if PV was playing in his prime for Arsenal this year, he would have been sent off in every third or fourth game.
Anyway, Arsenal need to pick up and get a win by two goals atleast vs Barca and then have to be perfect for the rest of the season in the league. That sounds strange as Arsenal already had to be perfect and that was including today but they switched off and a bouncing ball did them in again. Would have been different if AA had put away his tap-in or if Nasri had gotten a second after the beautiful slide rule pass from Cesc.
And as for Almunia. Arsene knows…
And Webb could have called a Yellow against Denilson and didn’t.
The foul wasn’t called on Cesc, but on Diaby for the push that got him the ball, that led to the no-goal.
Small things make the difference. Like Bendy and Arshavin missing chances. Like B’ham missing an open goal.
It’s all part fo the game. Complaining about refs is for losers (of points).
Very true, but we wont even be mentioning ANY of this if Almunia was not a ……. you know what forget it, just mentioning his name gets me extremely angry.
Yes, exactly. So for me, the fundamental reasons we drop points in matches like this are the same old things. Pointing at individual calls by the refs, well, those are things Wenger and the players can’t control.
@Ozi, also agree Webb didn’t have a stellar game. But I factor shit referring into every match at this point.
The frustration I’m venting is that if you’re Arsenal in a nail biter against B’ham, perhaps if different decisions within the Club’s control were made differently, months ago, the inevitable poor referee doesn’t get a chance to play a significant role in the outcome.
“if different decisions within the Club’s control were made differently, months ago, the inevitable poor referee doesn’t get a chance to play a significant role in the outcome.”
You’re right…
Vibe…glad to have you back….Wish the circumstances were better….
Indeed, we look a hair thin at the back….
Thank you, Steve. It was probably a mistake, but I was so frustrated today. (Which makes it more of a mistake. I’m really better just reading, particularly on day’s like today.)
Harold Webb looks a hair thin at the back. ;-)
Very excited about Wednesday. I should just limit my recreational uses of computer to doing things such as learning Italian until then. :-)
It is part of the game. And we’re calling it for what it was. You thought the ref had a stellar game?
No real point whining about it I agree, still, it helps vent the frustration sometimes (for the fans anyway). I only hope that the players would realize that the ref is a moron and consciously decide to rise above it rather than complain. It’s the most productive way to get results. Who knows? Maybe the refs attitudes may start changing.
Even if Arsenal had won the game, I would have still said what I had to regarding the ref. That is because I don’t believe complaining about the ref is only for losers.
If you’re consistent about it, fair enough. My feeling is that when the Manager and the players make no mistakes, that’s when I’ll expect a perfect game from the referee.
There are absolutely issues with the entire system of referring matches in the Prem. But as there appears to be little inclination to do anything about it, it’s becoming like the weather. Just have to play through/around it.
I didn’t know I had to consistently complain about the same points after every game, even though I have been pointing out they have not been over the last few weeks, even when Arsenal won the games.
Also, I don’t believe the ref’s performances are dependent on whether all the players and a manager were perfect. I thought the ref had a job to be neutral and fair regardless of who lines up.
There are absolute issues with the decisions that Wenger and the board have made over the last few seasons. I have stated those issues many times before but I am tired of having to complain about those decisions after every game because there appears to be little inclination on either Wenger or the board’s part to do anything about it.
I suppose it all like the weather. Wenger won’t change. The board won’t change. Key issues won’t be addressed. The refs won’t change. Man Utd will get decisions going their way.
Rain. Snow. Sunny. Cloudy with a chance of light showers. Points will be won, points lost, titles won, titles lost. Why bother really.
I guess I should always talk about the joke that laughs in the face of Arsenal fans while standing in between the pipes. But that is also like the weather. He will not change. He will stop a penalty every now and then and won’t be able to handle crosses or throw ins or anything else. His manager won’t see anything wrong with that. If his manager has not seen anything wrong with that over the course of a few seasons, then why bother now. So he forces the team to play around it. Which is why some players might leave because they cannot stand having to play around the unchangeable aspects of this team. The board won’t do anything then either. But that is just like the weather. Won’t change.
But isn’t the weather supposed to be changing? This climate change thing, what’s that about? Can Arsenal escape that for too long?
“Also, I don’t believe the ref’s performances are dependent on whether all the players and a manager were perfect. I thought the ref had a job to be neutral and fair regardless of who lines up.”
I’m not discussing neutrality or fairness. If you believe the officiating is corrupt and Arsenal, in particular, is being persecuted, I don’t see it. Supporters of every team in every sport I know of claim officials are out to get their team. Fans of 75% of the clubs in the Prem will generally swear the officials are biased in favor of the top 25% of the clubs. “The officials are terrible and they hate us!” It’s the oldest, laziest complaint in sport.
I’m talking about a game Managed, played and officiated by flawed human beings. All of whom make mistakes, some of whom make mistakes consistently.
The Manager has made errors that played in a role in today’s draw, as did some of the players. I don’t understand the suggestion that official’s mistakes are somehow more significant and relevant than these. For every erroneous call that Webb made against us, that may or may have indirectly effected the scoreline, I saw a missed opportunity by a player to have direct and positive impact on the scoreline. (By name Bendy, Arsha, and Almunia.)
So had Arsenal perfectly and we had somehow lost do to errors by Webb , then I would moan about the ref.
Where did I say Webb’s mistakes cost Arsenal the game? I have complained enough about mistakes made by Arsenal players in the past and quite a few of them make the same mistakes over and over in every game. They never learn. it is just that I was frustrated by what the ref did.
I guess you are the self righteous person who can decide what someone can complain about.
“Where did I say Webb’s mistakes cost Arsenal the game?”
Quoting you….
“Webb was just like other recent refs in that fouls against Arsenal went unpunished with no cards yet Arsenal got 2 first half yellow cards for nothing. These small things make a difference.”
So what ‘difference’ were you referring to, if not the outcome of the match? A difference in the weather? The economy? Almunia’s hair?
It makes a difference in that it allows opponents a license to foul without fear. If an opponent is carded early on, then he may think twice about lunging in but Song was put under pressure early on with that card. That ofcourse has no bearing on AA not putting away his chance or Almunia being himself.
And maybe it also makes a difference in the weather but I wouldn’t know as you seem clearly to be the weather man, besides being Mr. Self Righteous.
Quoting myself ..”but they switched off and a bouncing ball did them in again.”
I had no idea I was talking about Webb there. So Webb = bouncing ball. Ok, will remember that for next time.
“. Would have been different if AA had put away his tap-in or if Nasri had gotten a second after the beautiful slide rule pass from Cesc.”
I guess I was talking about Webb there as well. Ok, understood. But since I can’t talk about Webb anymore, no point.
I KNEW Almunia would fuck us all this season, I just didnt know when, but I knew he would. Even in this game he kept on giving lots of signs by utterly messing up his kicks. I hate that guy from the bottom of my heart, his incompetence is outstanding!
But the blame for him should be on Wenger alone. If you are going to experiment with this team, why FUCK around with your goalkeeping situation????? ALL THE WORK OF A WHOLE SEASON CAN BE UNDONE FROM THIS POSITION ALONE … so why FUCK AROUND WITH IT.
Wenger is a fucking punk for having a keeper of Almunia’s standard at this club let alone STARTING! AND GOALIES ARENT THAT EXPENSIVE! A top keeper like Given costs about 6 million.
That Vermaelen decision looks so much bigger now. If he was here, Song would’ve been in mid and we would’ve had better control there. And we would’ve been better defensively. I really hope Wilshere can do us a bit of a favour today
Right.. That small allowance that we may have had.. prolly for spurs away and city home is pretty much gone. Esp if Utd win later on. Tall Order… We need to recover from this pronto!! Impossible otherwise. If we do, then we’re not quite out of it yet. Although the margin of error becomes near 0 I think.
Yes. To have just a SLIM CHANCE of winning the title, we must now win EVERY SINGLE remaining game- and that’s just to have a chance.
Spoke too soon. 1-1. Bye-bye to the title.
Nasri – YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
1-0 Gunners.
Still 0-0… And Chelsea are romping it 5-1. So much for their CL exit tailspin.
Come on, Gunners, this is it. You got 20mins to stay in the hunt.
Chelsea missing a massive chunk of their squad. Happy to see that. Too bad Villa is probably dead on their feet by now. Chelsea have Drogba on the Bench. Missing Ivanovic, Cole, Essien, Drogba, Carvalho. Come onnn you Villains
Birmingham vs Arsenal
Birmingham: Hart, Carr, Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Gardner, Ferguson, Bowyer, Fahey, Jerome, McFadden
Subs: Taylor, Larsson, Phillips, Benitez, Michel, Parnaby, Vignal
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Campbell, Diaby, Clichy, Denilson, Song, Walcott, Fabregas, Rosicky, Bendtner
Subs: Fabianski, Nasri, Eduardo, Vela, Arshavin, Eboue, Traore
Referee: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire)
Manc fan as ref.. Other than that happy with the squad. I have a feeling Walcott is going to do alright today. Hopefully he’ll help pin them back anyway and relieve any pressure on our defence.
Options on the bench. About as attacking a bench as I’ve ever seen. Silvestre doesn’t even make it. Weird…
[…] Match Preview: Arsenal v Birmingham City | You Are My Arsenal […]
DannyT made a great point about those “anti-footballers” in the wake of Ramsey’s injury – they are anti-footballers who play “anti-football” is because they are otherwise “useless” as a footballer without their HONEST tackle.
So true.
Look at where those anti-footballers ended up…. Dan Smith, anyone has a clue where is he now? Surely not with Sunderland anymore.
Martin Taylor. Watford. Dropped down a division to where he belongs.
Let’s see in a few years time, where Shawcross will end up.
Talking of DannyT.. His wish for Arshavin to be benched for this has come true. Let’s hope it pays off.
7 league games against mid/lower table opposition.
5 CL games against the best of the world (Barca, Inter and ManU).
I think it is definitely wise to play your best team today and worry about the CL later on.
Every league game is like a cup final. Every game is tougher than the previous one. Every game is like the biggest game of the season.
I would play Sol today. Whether Syl or Song starts next to him is Arsene’s call. I think he may be tempted to play Song having seen Deni contribute to goals in the last two games.
Whatever it is, these are games when you need everyone to contribute. Mooney made that big save against West Ham and Deni contributed to the last minute goal against Hull. If Syl starts, I hope he can do the same.
It will be a tough game but I see us prevailing in the end. Despite our “easier” run, we need others to drop points. We may as well win all our games but still not win the title. That is a depressing thought, but before we go there, let us make sure we win today.
Thanks for your thorough write-up.
For Arsenal to have a successful run-in, we will need everyone to step in when needed and
exceed expectations. This includes Silvestre and if the manager choses him, then we must
hope to see the wise defender that uses his experience to compensate for a lack of step.
If Silvestre does start, I’d hope to have Sagna at RB, as I believe he’s more disciplined than Eboue and
the CB’s will need strong wing play.
I’ll be looking to see how effective the CB’s play.
How well we defend on set plays.
Almunia – stability or instability in goal.
How effective Denilson and Diaby are defensively and in attack.
Can we take an early lead and build on it.
Can we stretch their defense.
Positive play, no injuries, no red cards, and 3 points are the goals for this match.
I hope your prediction of 2-1 is right, but I’m more concerned about what Stag’s prediction is. I believe he’s correctly predicted the score of the last 2 league matches, no?
Anyways, I agree that if we are patient we should be able to slowly wear them down by playing our game. I just hope the refs don’t somehow screw us over, as they have the last two games. Not sure how many times we can survive playing against both the other team and the officials. What’s annoying is that the refs (with the explicit backing of the FA) have already screwed us for this game by forcing Vermaelen’s suspension through the red card last week. And in the meantime, they serve Man U a penalty on a platter.
Well, come on Arsenal!