Villains to Heroes ….. it’s been worth the wait!

March 23, 2010

Be honest with yourselves fellow gooners – how many of you at the start of the season would had expected to be in with a real chance of winning the premiership and have the mouth-watering prospect of playing Barça in the quarter finals of the Champions League. Not many I would guess, and if you’re in the mood for confession, how many amongst us have expressed serious doubts (in some cases vitriolic character assassination) over some of our present squad? I have, I’m ashamed to admit.

Song, Eboué, Diaby, Bendtner and Denilson are 5 of the 6 that have come in for the most flak; I shall come to the 6th later.

These 5 players were bought for less than £10m and probably have a combined worth in excess of £50m and rising – not bad business! Let’s look at them one player at a time.

Alex Song: made his debut in September 2005, scored his first goal against pool in January 2007; later that month he went out on loan to Charlton Athletic until the end of the 2006/2007season. From 2008 onwards he has featured in the Carling Cup and been integrated into the first team. He is now first choice holding midfielder. This player has probably caused more disagreement amongst fans than any other, but the quality and consistency of his performances this season have won over even his harshest critics.

My verdict: I can honestly say, I always felt he needed time and would become a great player. I wouldn’t swap him for any player in the world in his position.

Can he get better? – YES

Emmanuel Eboué: joined Arsenal in 2005 for a fee rumoured to be £1.5m. In 2006 he became the first choice right back. In the 2007/2008 season, Arsène announced that he wanted to move EE into right midfield following the signing of Sagna. He has made himself unpopular with some fans due to occassional diving and ‘Drogba-esque’ protest for seemingly innocuous challenges. The low part of his career came when he was booed off the pitch by a section of fans in December 2007.  Since that day, with the sensitive management of AW, he has rebuilt his popularity with the fans (the other players have always loved him) and become a key player at both right back and in the midfield.

My verdict: I had my doubts about his ability to play in midfield but he’s proved me wrong.

Can he get better? – if  he can further reduce his ‘histrionics’ and work on his finishing – YES

Abou Diaby: signed for Arsenal in January 2006 for a fee believed to be in the region of £2m. He had an early setback to his career suffering a broken leg and a dislocated ankle in a match at Sunderland on 1 May 2006. He made his return to first team action as a 74th-minute substitute in Arsenal’s 6–3 victory at Liverpool in the League Cup at Anfield on 9 January 2007. Diaby made progress through the 2008/9 season but lacked consistency and his tendency to dwell on the ball and sloppy passing often let him down.

My verdict: Even at the start of the season I had a few doubts, but he has moved up a level and produced some scintillating performances. His defending is more assured, his reading of the game has improved and he looks very dangerous going forward.

Can he get better? – YES, I expect him to be a world class player in 2 years.

Denilson: errrrr….. next…. No, I jest. He’s come in for some serious abuse at times. If a player is picked for his side and does his best, we should not criticise. He’s not going to say to the manager “sorry boss, I don’t think I’m up to it” His apparently amazing stats have infuriated bloggers who don’t get the same picture watching him on the pitch. He was thrown in at the deep end when injuries gave Arsène few other choices, but he has a great shot and is not afraid to let loose and he works his socks off.

My verdict: with the current crop of players, he’d be a valuable ‘bench player’ for most games. Ramsey would have overtaken him in the pecking order for the midfield slot. He needs to improve his strength in the tackle.

Will he get better? – YES

Nicklas Bendtner: joined in the summer of 2004 and made his debut on 25 October 2005, in a League Cup match against Sunderland. His first prem appearance against Everton on 29 December 2007 was marred when he was sent off for two bookable offences. In the 2007/8 season he was very much 3rd choice striker behind Van Persie and Adebayor who he clearly didn’t get on with as was evident when they had a much publicised dust up in the 5:1 defeat to totnum. This season, he has become something of a cult figure, missing easy chances but never giving up. His work rate and self belief has seen him prove many critics wrong and his goals have come at important times.

My verdict: often has a poor first touch, not always pleasing to watch and obviously needs to improve his strike rate.

Can he get better? – YOU BET, I think he will be a £20m striker by the time he’s 25.

The aforementioned players have all been bought for very little money, had the unwavering support of the manager and battled through adversity, criticism from the media and periods of poor form to become the HEROES who have got us to this unlikely stage of the season………. which brings me to the 6th, and in my opinion most important ‘villain’ – Manuel Almunia.

I am no great fan of the affable Spaniard as a keeper. He lacks the authority to be world class. His poor communication, indecisiveness and propensity to ‘flap’ have made our defence look vulnerable and jittery at times. He is the only one of our regular first teamers not to have played for his national side at some level. But oddly, he has the opportunity to be the greatest hero of them all. He has started with the penalty save against Wham. Can he make up for the howler in conceding the 2nd goal at his near post in the 2006 CL final? Of all the players mentioned, he is the one we need to see step up and prove the detractors wrong (myself included) if we are to pursue the dream of a prem and CL double.

My verdict: I really want to be proved wrong. We need Manuel to play the best football of his life for the next 2 months.

Can he get better ….. can he?

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Luck of the Draw? – don’t kid yourself

March 19, 2010

Whatever we write about today will be overshadowed by the news of our quarter final opponents in the Champion’s League draw due to take place this morning. So this week’s Rant Friday will focus on the big news of the day.

Inspired by some ‘revelations’ from fellow bloggers yesterday, I want to examine the possibility of some ‘manipulation’ of the choice of opponents in the final stages of the CL.

The chances of us getting manu or Barça are 7:1, as is the case for all scenarios in today’s draw. What is the chance that there are  powers working behind the scenes that would wish to influence the outcome?

There is corruption in football. The examples cited yesterday of bizarre far eastern gambling patterns, floodlight failures at significant points in games, prosecutions in Italy, Spain and Germany proving that officials and players have taken money to influence results, all substantiate the fact that there is a level of corruption in the game. The rumours of corruption in English football have been bubbling below the surface for years. George Graham was one scapegoat, who probably took the rap for many others. It was rumoured that Brian Clough only escaped action due to his ill health, and of course the Artful Dodger of the prem, ‘Arry Redknapp is yet to face charges for some dirty dealing.

In 2008, UEFA submitted a 96-page report to Interpol alleging that 15 football matches were fixed. The games are believed to have been in the Champions’ League, Uefa Cup and Intertoto Cup.  As the European governing body convened in Lucerne for today’s draw for the Euro 2008 finals, an official said: “It’s all based on betting patterns, nothing else, and this is what we set up our early warning systems to look for. Those ‘early warning systems’ have been ringing loudly for years now.

So how could the draw be fixed – and do we care? The 2008 quarter final draw was predicted correctly in advance by a thread in the Liverpool Echo newspaper and bookies stopped taking bets on the outcome. The mechanics of fixing a draw are various. The obvious one is to alter the feel of the balls, possibly chilling or heating them, but I’m sure David Blaine could come up with a dozen different means. The system can never be fullproof.

It is more than likely that the fortunes of Arsenal have already been influenced unfavourably by some form of corruption. Abramovich’s millions have not prevented them going out of the CL two years running courtesy of some rather dubious refereeing. In addition, we ourselves were subjected to bad refereeing decisions in 2008 against Liverpool.

Could it possibly be that whichever players are fit, whoever our opponents are chosen to be, however well we perform, we will be affected by forces beyond our control ………or is that one conspiracy theory too many?.

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Fans leave early …. Supporters stay to the end.

March 12, 2010

This is the second edition of ‘Rant Friday’. Last week some new bloggers mistook the piece for an attack on Arsenal. It is simply an opportunity for anyone with a gripe to write a paragraph and get it off their chest.

Rasputin’s Beef

On Tuesday night we witnessed possibly the most entertaining and uplifting display of ‘Arsenal Football’ in the short history of The Emirates Stadium. A game in which the ‘experts’ had said we would struggle.  A game that followed Ramsey’s horrific injury and Niklas Bendtner’s profligacy in front of goal the weekend before. The team were magnificent, everyone played their part. After the fourth goal, a carnival atmosphere enveloped the ground ….. so why oh why, with 10 minutes to go, did thousands of so-called ‘fans’ start streaming out of the ground?

They missed the drama of the penalty and Nik scoring his first hat-trick, but more importantly they didn’t stay to do their duty as supporters and clap our boys off the pitch. The goal celebrations showed how important this game was to them – it had nothing to do with earning £60k a week, it was about playing superb football (and being allowed to play as is seldom the case in the premiership) and winning the Arsenal way. I can have some sympathy for anyone with young children who wanted to avoid the crush, but to the rest who left early I say, shame on you, you are not worthy of our team.

Livers’ Beef

Right first rant and I know this is only speculation but it’s been brought to light that Roma are over here trying to get Gallas on a pre contract agreement, this caused as we know by Arsene’s policy of only giving an extra year extensions to players over 30. Now, in some regards this seems sensible in that players will have to earn a new contract each year but it does make me wonder if this should be extended to players of say 33 or over.

If a players “peak” is 27, 28 then 2 years later they are over the hill or past it? No not really and not in the majority of cases. Players that Wenger inherited when he first came like the back 5 and Ray Parlour were all hitting 30 or already over 30 and they played some of their best football past this age. More recently and the one that hurts the most was Robert Pires who I think we have never replaced. Granted this season he’s in cameo roles for Villareal and not at his best or ok, maybe past it. But it was 2006 we let him go with Wenger ok with this because we had Hleb. Now both have gone and Hleb, for all his trickery and ball control was never as effective as Sir Bob.

We let Campbell go on a free so he could play abroad…….all the way to Portsmouth. Sure his head wasn’t right but are you telling me we couldn’t have done something about it and not wasted 5 years to get him back… oh we’ve not won anything in 5 years right? Even Sol won the cup in 2008. Which now brings me to Gallas. Gallas has turned his career around at Arsenal and plays extremely well with TV so why won’t we just this once give a player over 30 a 2 year contract and if he’s still quality after that then issue the 1 year extensions. I bet Aluminia has 8 years left on his contract…….

All these players that possibly leave on a free because of our policies and there are more than I named (The Dennis 1 year extensions became a joke) leaves me to wonder why it’s such a problem. This never happened in David Deins day…..

Second Rant and a small one.. European games v League games. What are the frigging rules for time added on? 6 subs in the Prem is 3 mins. 6 in the CL is 1 min ..WTF ?

tommystout’s beef

My rant is not about  the Arsenal in particular but the way we are treated by that abysmal radio station Talksport and other associated broadcasters. Adrian Durham in particular has riled me over the years but needling away are the likes of Brasil and Townsend. Please Gooners don’t phone them up and give them the time of day, if they have no one ringing up and defending Arsenal then they will get the message. After all what would a radio station have to talk about if they have no Arsenal to talk about, they’d maybe have to turn on their beloved Man IOU or upsetting other supporters instead, this goes for Liverpool fans too who have had their fair dose of negative air time especially over the past year. Boycott the phone calls and they’ll target someone else, their loss, Arsenal are big news and an easy target, for now!

I’m addressing Talksport because I’m a glutton for punishment and listen to their “white noise” most days, but it isn’t just them,  Alan Green for 5 live has his two penneth. Then there’s Gary Linneker and Alan Shearer for the BBC and then we get to Sky; Smug faced Richard Keys and old hat Andy Gray to name but two, they look for any chance to stick the knife in. What’s difficult to comprehend is that Sky want the viewing figures and the neutrals and lovers of pure football want to watch Arsenal but these “pundits” always do their best to condemn us. Work that one out.

Until Arsenal TV get themselves into a position back on the Satellite medium, where they can screen all of their games live, until that time I will remain a sky sports customer…. Then Adios Amigo!


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Why does Wenger make his job so difficult?

March 5, 2010

At a time when Arsenal seem to be under attack on a weekly basis, it would seem ridiculous to join in with any criticism of our own – so, being obtuse, that’s exactly what two of our bloggers have decided to do on ‘Rant Friday’.

London’s Beef

Wenger doesn’t do himself any favours in his attempt to get referees to give our skilful players more protection. The task is profoundly hindered by his tacit acceptance of Eboue’s amateur dramatics. I am, of course, being generous here; Eboue is cheating, as we all know, when he rolls around on the floor feigning injury.

Bearing in mind just how much of a cheat Didier Drogba is, it would be easy at this juncture to make a sweeping generalisation about the mind set of all Ivory Coast players but then, completely contradicting the assumption, they have someone who I doubt has ever feigned and injury in his life: Kolo Toure is one of the games true gentlemen.

Not knowing the Ivory Coast and leaving myself open to accusations of bigotry I, nevertheless, can’t help but wonder if the country is divided into a culturally French part and a culturally English part. Anyway, the fact remains that while Wenger allows Eboue’s cheating he makes his job much harder which in turn makes the likelihood of a Ramsey type injury to yet another Arsenal player even greater than it needs to be.

Rasputin’s Beef

I agree totally about Eboue’s histrionics. I have seen him on more than one occasion writhing in ‘virtual agony’ when we are a goal down with just a few minutes to go – time wasting for the opposition! My rant for Friday would be on a broader topic.

My issue is with Arsenal’s training staff who have consistently failed to improve (let alone eradicate) basic flaws in some player’s games.

They couldn’t stop Lazybarndoor straying offside. A lot of the time when Henry was offside it was a clever and deliberate ploy; defenders never knew where he would be, he’d even hide off the pitch or behind the GK.

Why can’t our training staff drum into our goalkeepers the importance of communicating loudly and decisively with the defenders? It’s simple, if they fail to do so, get them to stand at opposite ends of the pitch and shout to one another – or don’t they share the same language?

Why on earth, when we had a week to prepare, was there no player who had been instructed to cover the back post when Stoke took a long throw? Why is it we must lose possession more than 50% of the time when we take a throw in because players aren’t showing for the ball.

Why is it a high percentage of our corners don’t get beyond the first defender?

What is the point in bringing Theo back to defend corners? It would be better to get him to stand on the halfway line thereby tying up 2 or even 3 of their players and trying to clear the ball out to him quickly so that he can use that blistering pace and be attacking the opposition goal before they know it.

Can no-one really spend time (an extra hour after training) to improve Sagna’s crossing? I thought one of the things we prided ourselves on was that we develop players – so why can’t we develop Sagna’s offensive game?

Anyone would think I don’t love our club with that long list of moans, but it’s just that I really don’t understand. We are characterised by the intelligence of our manager and the integrity of the club, yet it is just not very clever to accept failings that it should be possible to cure.

The often quoted view of those who love to criticise us is that we think we are above the more grubby aspects of the game, but as Arnold Palmer put it many years ago “The harder I practise, the luckier I get” ….. Success is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. I think a few of our players may need to work a bit harder at some aspects of their game and the training staff should be held more accountable when things don’t improve….. but then what do I know?

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Saint Ryan slain by Satanic Frenchman – and Aarons Road to Recovery

March 3, 2010

Three days on since the events at the Britannia and the debate rages on as to who is the villain and who is the victim. As any Gooner could have predicted, having the experience of Dan Smith and Martin Taylor’s interventions on our players (“Tiny” Taylor’s being especially unequivocal) to draw on, it would take very little time for it to be established by the agenda-driven media hog-pack that the victim was the leg breaker and the villain the manager of the leg breakee.

Chief peddlers of Arsenal hating utter crap being the paragon of virtue Stanley Victor Collymore ably aided and abetted by the likes of Puliss, Lou Macari, Derek McGovern and other sub-species of pond life however this is was not the first thing that occurred to me as soon as I heard of the completion of our grisly hat-trick of leg snaps.

Our young welsh mid-fielder has a long road of rehabilitation in front of him and having been in the position of recovering from major surgery I can empathise with what he will go through in the next six to nine months.

Exactly five years ago I was given what in medical parlance is called a “Cabbage”, a Cardiac Artery Bypass Graft – major surgery of a different quality to that of repairing a double leg break but both instances involve a long period of rehabilitation. In my case it was a solo effort and while Aaron will have a big medical team around him ultimately he will feel equally alone while he works his way back to fitness via hours and hours of rehabilitative exercises and therapies.

Initially major surgery results in a loss of confidence in a number of ways – you may feel too weak to want to exert yourself in any way or to test the part of you that was broken. The doctors can assure that it is acceptable to walk with your repaired leg or, in my case, put weight on you chest, but this loss of confidence meant I would fall asleep on my back for months as I subconsciously felt my chest would cave in.

Everyone will react to post operative trauma differently and perhaps Rambo will have no such fears but the loneliness of training on his own, when he would be with the rest of the squad normally, will be a different challenge that he has to face.

“I am lost to the world

with which I used to waste so much time,

It has heard nothing from me for so long

that it may very well believe that I am dead!

It is of no consequence to me

Whether it thinks me dead;

I cannot deny it,

for I really am dead to the world.

I am dead to the world’s tumult,

And I rest in a quiet realm!”

Based on a text in German by Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866)

I apologise to any students of German poetry but I thought of the above quote when I read comments questioning the wisdom of presenting Eduardo to the crowd at Ashburton Grove as he made his long slow painful recovery to fitness. I was there to see our Crozillian palpably moved by the crowd’s reaction and to my mind that is the type of encouragement that a player needs when he is training alone for long periods. To feel he is still part of the team, the squad and the larger Gooner diaspora is vital and so the same approach is needed for Rambo. When my two sons ran up to my bed in the ward a few days after my chest “cut and shut” it was a lift to the spirits similar to that Aaron will get when he takes his first steps on crutches onto the turf of the Grove.

We can all play some part in getting Aaron’s rehab off to the start it deserves, those of us lucky enough to be going to see the Burnley game can by singing his name out loud and make sure it’s sung every game till he’s back so he knows he’s not been forgotten.

There is the fear that Rambo will never be the same, as Diaby and Eduardo have suffered from a series of niggling injuries un related to the leg breaks but significant enough to hinder their progress. Time will tell just how well these three players of ours recover their abilities, skill and confidence on the pitch.

Sadly, going back to Saturday at the Potteries, we know this could all have been avoided had referee Walton applied the rules regarding dangerous and reckless play, however would we then have got the galvanising effect, admittedly at a potentially unacceptable cost to a teenagers career, on team spirit that resulted?

And that, as they say, is the hell of it.

By Charybdis1966

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Our Way is the Right Way

March 2, 2010

We’ve had 2 days to digest the events of Saturday afternoon. The emotions have calmed and the parties involved have stated their case. Every Tom, Dick and ‘Arry has expressed an opinion. These are simply my conclusions.

The tackle was not malicious if you believe as I do, that Shawcross did not intend to break Ramsey’s leg. He was late, he missed the ball and used excessive force. A combination of over-aggression, lack of ability and poor decision making. The responsibility for the injury lies totally with Shawcross as he chose to enter into a challenge where damage to his opponent was a distinct possibility. In any other walk of life, under current Health and Safety laws, Shawcross could be prosecuted for the act.

A message to the Stan Collymore’s of this world who repeatedly trot out the line that “football is a contact sport”. The rules have changed. Tackles from behind have been outlawed. Two footed tackles are not allowed. Tackles with the studs up are not allowed.

The rules stipulate: – careless tackles are not punished; reckless tackles are a yellow card; excessive force is a red card. Shawcross was correctly given a red card because his ‘tackle’ contravened the rules. Those rules are in place to prevent players from suffering injury.

Football is not a contact sport like boxing. It is a game of skill where a level of physical contact is allowed, but that level should fall below the point where injury occurs. Would the fools who justify breaking the rules of football as a means of combatting more skillful play also advocate shoplifting if someone is short of money? – it’s an equally ridiculous attitude.

Thomas Vermaelen is a tough, physical competitive footballer, I can’t remember a single instance of him jumping in with a two footed, over the ball challenge. In fact I can’t ever remember the likes of Adams, Keown or Bould producing such crude challenges – perfectly timed slide tackles maybe. Defending and tackling are skills which didn’t require the opponent to get injured even in the ‘good old days’ that the Collymore’s of this world refer to.

The post match interviews and subsequent statements by Tony Pulis and Arsène Wenger were pretty much what you’d expect. I don’t think Pulis is a bad manager or a bad man. He sets his sides up to maximise their limited ability by creating a narrow pitch and rehearsing set plays that are hard to defend. He can’t afford to buy players with a high level of skill so he settles for brawn as it means he has a reasonable chance of getting enough points through a more physical approach to keep them in the premiership, but therein lies the problem. Arsène has built this squad on an equally low budget but managed to put the emphasis on skill by virtue of his ability and vision.

Arsène feels a huge sense of responsibility for his players and to see one of ‘his boys’ receive a career threatening injury for the third time in five years was extremely upsetting for him. I’m sure he is disappointed that football in England seems to have gone backwards rather than aspiring to the more sophisticated approach at the highest level on the continent. He must see the extreme irony in the view that some correspondents have expressed actually blaming him for the injury because he has made his players vulnerable by concentrating too much on skill.

Cesc said it all when being presented with the MotM award….

“You could ask yourself, we are not protected enough – I think so. You speak to the referee, ‘play on, play on’, I know it is England, I know it’s a great game, I know we all love this kind of play, but sometimes there is a top you cannot pass and we are sometimes victims”

– actually, a bit of an understatement I’d say!

Cesc has been systematically targeted by opposition ‘hard men’ all season. The horror tackle on Ramsey could just as easily have been against him. He has not been protected by referees and has received cards himself for seemingly innocuous tackles.

This debate must not be allowed to subside. It is a shame that so much focus is being placed on Stoke since it is actually the referees who have the power to avoid such situations by applying the rules fairly and consistently. Some referees seem to subscribe to the theory that it is OK to kick Arsenal players otherwise we have an unfair advantage due to the greater technical ability. The referee’s job is to protect the players. On many ocassions, they have failed to carry out that duty when officiating games involving Arsenal.

The players have learned from the experience of two years ago. They showed a resilience and determination after the injury that they lacked in 2008. That was due in no small part to the immense character and leadership of Campbell and Vermaelen as well as Cesc.

Every supporter would have traded the win for Ramsey escaping injury, but somehow the injustice has created an energy and will to succeed that has made even the most hardened sceptic believe we really can win the league. Justice for the good guys, for football and for a club that places the important values above winning trophies.

With the exception of our London rivals and fans of the other top four clubs, Arsenal is the team most supporters want to see win the league. We’ll win it our way or we’ll just keep trying because our way is what makes Arsenal unique and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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We won … but can we win?

February 21, 2010

On the face of it a victory and 3 points gained on manu courtesy of a 3:1 defeat by Everton was just what the doctor ordered – so why was the atmosphere at the game subdued and the walk home to the station characterised by head shaking and hushed tones? The answer is simple; playing like that, we’re not going to win anything.

The team selection was positive, with Almunia back in goal and Ramsey featuring in midfield in place of Denilson. The inclusion of Eboué was greeted with enthusiasm by fans who a year ago would have groaned in disbelief – and he didn’t disappoint.

The pattern of the game was familiar. Sunderland had set their team up with negative intent. Same old boring tactic, pack the defence and try to get lucky on the break – and it almost worked when Kenwyne Jones got through one on one with Almunia and should have equalised but pulled his shot wide. Craig Gordon was timewasting when taking his goal kicks from the start but unsurprisingly managed to execute them much more quickly once they went a goal down. Darren Bent was wasted playing out wide and hardly featured in the game.

We had plenty of possession and created a few chances, but lacked the cutting edge up front. We really need a striker who can spearhead the attack, Chamakh will be most welcome. Players were receiving the ball out wide but crosses seldom found an Arsenal shirt often because there wasn’t one in the danger area.

The exception was Emmanuel Eboué who gave one of his best performances albeit peppered with the occasional sortie into am dram. He was quick, direct and threatening whenever he received the ball. The way he battled to squeeze the pass through to Bendtner for the first goal was typical of his performance throughout the match. The Dane should be very grateful for such an easy tap-in as his first touch had deserted him a few minutes earlier when in front of a virtually open goal and lost vital seconds only succeeding in finding a defender instead of the beckoning net.

The pattern of the second half was much the same as the first up until the all too familiar last 15 minutes when Sunderland actually showed some endeavour and gave us a few  tense moments. At this point, I, like a lot of fans around me thought that 1:1 was the most likely outcome. Thankfully we could relax when late on Cesc ran towards the box and invited a rash challenge by Campbell. It looked like a soft penalty and may have even been outside the box, but we are overdue a touch of generosity from a referee!!! The resultant penalty was dispatched low into the bottom right corner by our captain. Three points secured.

I do not propose to give player ratings but would make the following observations:

Almunia – did OK but does not inspire confidence and once again was indecisive and hesitant when coming for the ball on occasion.

Clichy – had a much better game, kept it simple and concentrated on defending.

Sylvestre – coped for the most part with a poor Sunderland side, but give me Sol any day.

Nasri – he is a very clever and skillful player and provided a lot of the quality on show.

Eboué – my MotM, without his contribution I doubt we would have won.

Cesc – he worries me. He played well but seems to have lost some heart. He needs quality players around him otherwise his talent is wasted and may be lost back to his home country.

Bendtner – he worked hard but often drifted wide and left the middle unattended. He still lacks confidence in front of goal.

Arsène – good team selection, but it was ridiculous to bring on Denilson with a couple of minutes to go. He wasn’t up with the pace of the game and just added an extra nervy 30 seconds to the injury time.

Apologies for this hastily thrown together report, it was going to be written by another author but sadly events have made that impossible. There’s plenty to disagree with – it’s only my opinion. I’m delighted we won, but realistic that we need to improve on this performance if we want to be in contention for the title at the end of the season.

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A Manager of Two Halves ……..

February 10, 2010

 

Arsène Wenger, OBE born 22 October 1949 in Strasbourg

Arsène Part I

Joined Arsenal on the 1st October 1996 having previously managed Monaco and Nagoya Grampus Eight.

1996/97 Season – 3rd in the Premier League. Qualified for the Champions League

1997/98 Season – won the Premier League and FA cup double making up an 8 point deficit on Man United. Qualified for the Champions League..

1998/99 Season – came second in the Premier League losing out by 1 point to Man Utd on the last game of the season. Qualified for the Champions League.

1999/2000 Season – came second in the Premier League, reached the UEFA Cup final losing to Galatasary on penalties and the FA cup final losing 2:1 to Liverpoool. Qualified for the Champions League.

2000/01 Season – came second in the Premier League. Qualified for the Champions League.

2001/02 Season – won the League and FA cup double for a second time under his management. Qualified for the Champions League.

2002/03 Season – 2nd in the Premier League and won the FA cup. Qualified for the Champions League.

2003/04 Season – won the Premier League and made history going the whole season unbeaten. Qualified for the Champions League.

2004/05 – 2nd in the Premier League, won the FA cup beating United in the final on penalties. Qualified for the Champions League.

Significant signings: Vieira, Anelka, Petite, Ljunberg, Kanu, Overmars, Henry, Pires, Wiltord, Edu, Gilberto, Van Bronckhorst, Fàbregas, Touré, Campbell, Reyes, Van Persie, Flamini

Achievements off the pitch: sold Anelka for £23m and built a ‘state of the art’ training facility admired the world over.

Arsène Part II

February 2004 – construction work started on the construction of The Emirates Sadium

2005/06 Season – 4th in the Premier League, reached the final of the Champions league.  Qualified for the Champions League.

July 2006 – moved into The Emirates Stadium

2006/07 Season – 4th in the Premier League. Qualified for the Champions League.

David Dein leaves Arsenal

2007/08 Season – 3rd in the Premier League. Qualified for the Champions League.

2008/09 Season – 4th in the Premier League. Qualified for the Champions League.

2009/10 Season – ????

Significant signings: Hleb, Eboue, Diaby, Adebayor, Walcott, Rosicky, Nasri, Arshavin, Vermaelen

Achievements off the pitch: presided over and had major influence on all aspects of the building of the magnificent Emirates Stadium.

So there you have it:

Part I –  9 seasons of scintillating football, winning the Premiership 3 times (the double twice) and the FA Cup 4 times.

Part II – 5 seasons (if you include the present one) in the footballing doldrums.

The only characteristic that both eras share is qualification for the Champions League every year.

I have included the building of the Emirates Stadium, David Dein’s departure and the new players signed in the timeline because they are often cited as factors in our change of fortunes.

Is it fair or even accurate to evaluate Arsène’s tenure in these terms?

Has HE changed or just reacted to changes in our financial position and the insane economics of world football?

Is he obsessed with a mission that appears to have failed and is losing support from even his most ardent admirers?

Is he stubborn or just willing to be a fall guy for the Board?

Has he lost the plot, or can he really be that brilliant that sometime soon it will all come together as he predicts and ‘project youth’ ultimately succeeds?

Or is he just a business man who has consistently produced a healthy profit for his employers?

 

Your answer to these questions will define what side you are on in the ever widening divide that separates Arsenal fans. It is undeniable that the ‘it’s time he went’ lobby is growing and as a result the ‘trust him, he knows what he’s doing’ believers are becoming marginalized and more aggressive in their defence of his actions.

I can’t bring myself to want Arsene gone, but I do feel he needs to prove his point by the end of this season or accept that there is another way and reinforce the squad significantly in the summer (hold on, didn’t I say that about the same time last year!)

I hate to hear our manager who was previously lauded for his footballing ethos and integrity being ridiculed in the press and on the radio. He has been mocked. Fans who support him are labeled as deluded. The team is viewed as ‘not serious competition’.

Today we play the dippers. Make no mistake, this IS a must win if we have any hope of winning the title. With Villa playing Manu and Everton playing Chelsea there are two possible scenarios. If all results go our way, we would be 6 points behind Chelsea and 4 behind Manu and 8 points clear of pool. If they don’t, we could be 12 points behind Chelsea, 10 behind Manu and have pool breathing down our necks only 2 points behind us.

Let’s match pool at their game and beat them with ours. If we defend well, we will win.

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Posted by Rasp

Le Crunch …….

February 7, 2010

We need to win this one to keep the dream alive. This was the year when we felt that the boss actually believed we could win something. We’ve been cruelly hit by injuries and although they’ve reduced in number, it seems we still occassionally produce performances that are inexplicably lacking in desire and belief – those favourite words we so often hear Arsene quote. Not many of us would put our houses on a win at Stamford Bridge today, but one thing we do know about our team is that they perform well when the underdog. The players have the talent. Brain must outwit brawn. Nothing less than total focus and commitment from kick off to final whistle will suffice.

The passage below is from Raddy’s excellent article yesterday, we’ve reproduced it because it describes everything about the set-up for the side that needs to be said.

Following our poor display last Sunday, I have little idea of the team AW will play. Almunia will start only because there is no real alternative. The Back 4 pick themselves. Can TV/WG  keep out Drogba and Anelka?  Seeing Anelka’s goal celebrations always upsets me, AW could and definitely should have re-signed him, and Drogba seems to love a goal against us. Malouda and Cole are improving, whilst our full backs are looking shaky. Clichy has to find his form, and Sagna remember that we play in Red & White.

Chelsea have a formidable midfield even without Essien. Fat Frank and Ballack are highly intelligent players, and Cesc will have problems escaping the returning Obi.  In my opinion Denilson has to rest for this one. He must be mentally shattered after his recent mistakes.  I am hopeful that Eboue plays, his power and defensive abilty will be important against Anelka who likes to cut in from wing positions.

I look forward to Arshavin going back to his natural position and Bendtner starting. Nik got the usual 20 minutes returning from injury and should be available to start. I expect him to play and  Theo to come on  after 70 minutes. I want to see AA humiliate Cashley, I want to see Nik hold the ball up for the onrushing Cesc prior to our Spanish genius sliding the ball under the hapless Cech. I want to see Song bully Ballack and Obi, showing that he is The Man, and not the young apprentice.

Despite the pessimism all over the Arsenal blogsites, this game is not lost pre-kick off, our team has not gone from winners to losers in one poor game. A win would be a huge boost towards our run in, and it is not beyond the realms of possibility.  Should our players find the touch that has been missing and eradicate the silly errors, we can win.

By Big Raddy

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Posted by Rasp

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