Arsenal stay focused – bring on Barcelona

February 13, 2011

Sometimes the results of the teams around us go for us, sometimes they go against us and sometimes we just win our game playing fabulous football and I end up feeling that it doesn’t matter what everyone else does because watching us win is the most important part.

Yesterday we needed Man City to take points off of the other Manchester team which didn’t happen so we’re still 4 points behind them in second place and although it doesn’t matter a jot what happens to spuds, its always a better weekend when they lose, that didn’t happen either.

.

Here are some of the things you wouldn’t have known from the 5 minutes granted to us on MOTD.

Some, actually all, of the interplay between Cesc and Jack was magical, they were able to find each other and weave their amazing skills into this game in a way that Arsene could only have dreamt was possible. We saw Cesc’s ability to do this with Flamini and also when Arshavin arrived but his connection with Jack seems to be on another level. How stupid is Capello to want to sit Jack in front of an England back four? He has magic feet and plays so intelligently, shielding the ball, finding the pass. Shearer said that Jack is a proper footballer, well bloody right too, amazing to think he’s only 19.

Our golden-topped Alex Song was everywhere and showed how much we missed him last weekend against Newcastle. There was double-tagging going on to win the ball back and Alex was in the middle of everything. I’m really looking forward to watching him break up play aginst Barca.

Theo got himself into some terrific goal-scoring positions and had three shots all saved by Hennessy who had a great game against us. Arshavin was running his little legs off and I felt that he had definitely turned the corner and was able to have more influence on the game. Theo, Arshavin and Robin did a fair amount of switching positions in the first half which caused confusion for the opposition and I’m hoping to see more of that on Wednesday night.

Djourou slotted straight back where he left off after hobbling off against Everton and his strong head cleared everything that came his way. A great performance again from him and Kosser.

This was a largely stress free afternoon of football, which was surprising considering it followed last weeks disaster at St. James’ Park. The team was the strongest that AW could put out with only Nasri missing. The return of Song and Djourou put smiles on many gooners faces and although everyone needed to be fit for the visit of Barcelona on Wednesday is was very strong team that set up against Wolves.

It was interesting to see Arsene answer questions about the title race. Usually he would say ‘yes, we are still in with a chance’ or ‘it is very open’ but yesterday he was a bit coy, as if his little dream of winning the title might actually come to fruition.

We’re in a great place and on a day when minds might have been wandering to Wednesday nights game what we saw was a team focussed on winning the game they were playing. Mick McCarthy said his team were spanked – Oh happy days, love being Gooner.

Written by peachesgooner

Player ratings by charybdis1966

Chesney – 9, virtually nothing he did was done badly, i especially liked the forceful punch in the first half where he got some distance in a way Almunia never could/would.

Bac – 8, nothing to find fault with,mopped up everything that came his way and got forward with menace and showed he has a terrific engine.

Kozzer – 9, intelligent interceptions and flawless timing of his tackles.

Johan – 8, imperious in the air and composed on the ball although his aversion to hoofing it clear shows and a few times we conceded corners(not always rightly) where he tried to shepherd the ball out.

Clichy – 8, I heard he gave away a few balls in our area later on in the second half but as it was at the opposite end of the ground I, in the manner of Le Boss “didn’t see it so I can’t comment” however a solid performance.

Jack – 9, what a player, patrols the midfield with the grace and power of £30m player but is only 19.

Cesc – 8, the type of world class performance we’ve come to expect from our skipper. Pulled the strings and seemed to have more time on the ball than anyone else.

Song – 8, provided strength and backbone to our midfield. He’ll be vital to our season run in.

Theo – 7, got frustrated with his attempts on goal and perhaps went into his shell later, but his pace frightened the chubby left full back all afternoon.

The Arsh – 7.5, like Theo not everything he tried came off but still showed why is so highly rated by rational commentators, the crowd was buzzing with expectation whenever he got the ball.

The Boy Wonder – 8, took his two goals with clinical precision, gave us an injury scare and gave us a free kick that went close and one that was miles off – a typical Robin performance in other words !

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

The title race …. will Arsenal wait on amber or go on green?

February 12, 2011

Nothing repeat nothing in football would make me happier than for Arsenal to win the title this season, if one could add the relegation of a Mick McCarthy team life would be even more rosy. Add in  the relegation of a Pulis team and my cup would runneth over (is that a naughty expression?)

Like millions of Gooners I was down-hearted at 5 p.m. last Saturday, despairing of my flimsy team and the imbecility of 3 men in black whom I wouldn’t trust to referee a park 5 -a-side. Who would have thought Wolves would cheer us up? Bottom of the table, managed by a Cro-Magnon man (just check his forehead) and playing a team who were unbeaten – no-one could have envisioned the result (though those with hindsight would point out Wolves fine record against the top sides).

Wolves last 3 victories were against MU, Chelsea and Liverpool – this is going to be no comfortable stroll, but if we are to confirm our pretensions to be Champions this game is a must win. No silly mistakes, no retaliation to what will surely be a very physical battle, and above all no drops in application or vitality. Hopefully last week’s lapse is a thing of the past and not a harbinger of a sad end to our season.

McCarthy is “bigging up” Jamie O ‘Hara saying he will have a major influence upon the game. Get a Grip man! This is a player who couldn’t get into the first team of Harry’s Muppets. That said, I expect us to go into the game with a weakened midfield, so perhaps MM will be right.

Diaby’s reaction last week undid the fine work he put in during the first half (despite the lengthy discussion on AA I still believe he cost us the 2 points). It is a shame as he played well for France midweek and today would certainly have started, instead I expect to see Denilson start. Song is just returning from a muscle injury and with Barca midweek he will surely be rested. Same with Nasri and JD.  Had Sagna not been banned for the midweek game I would have rested him but knowing that Messi will be fearful of playing against a rejuvenated Eboue, Sagna starts.

My Team:

This team will hopefully have enough to get the 3 points on offer. Depending on the fitness of Nasri I would play Arshavin, if there is any chance that Samir will not be fit for Wednesday, I would play Rosicky and rest AA who played a full game midweek.

I guess we willl all be tuned into the midday match. I hope for a draw which should Arseanl win would put us 2 points behind MU and 3 ahead of MC with a game in hand. A loss for MC will surely put them out of the title race. Actually, what I really hope for is an abandoned game due to an 18 man brawl with 5 red cards and a 3 points reduction, but if it is not to be I will take the draw.

England’s first ever automatic traffic lights were erected in Prince’s Square Wolverhampton. This is also the home of the mighty Noddy Holder and Slade. One of my early heroes was the Wolves legend, England Captain and Arsenal manager Billy Wright CBE, whom I once had the privilege of meeting. Another of my football faves was the Tipton Terrier – Steve Bull MBE, they don’t make them like him any more (for which Koscielny will be delighted!).

Let this be the continuation of our 8 match unbeaten PL run.

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

Hair-Raising Issues.

February 11, 2011

Written by MickyDidIt

Unbelievably, I think I have unearthed a quite brilliant observation. Now bear with me, and if someone is reading this to you, I don’t mean “let’s get naked”.

Anyone else noticed improvements in the performances of JD and Alex Song this season. Well, I have, and do you know what, there is a common denominator. Yip, you’ve guessed it.  Dramatic change up top in the head fur department. Let’s look at the evidence. Is JD a better player with some colour up top? Yes he is. Has Song’s game improved since he yellowed up? Yes it has. You may think I am being silly, however I have tested this theory out on a person and it is bulletproof. Let’s continue. Freddie Lljungberg: did his development step up a notch with the addition of the red Mohawk. I believe the answer is: yes, it did. Stevie Bould and hair loss. Would we have celebrated his recession with “Stevie, Stevie Bould, Got no hair, We don’t care” with such relish had the lowering of the hair line not been matched by heightened performances on the green stuff.  I think not. Seaman:  poneytail and tash?  Worked for him.  Marouane arrived with a German styley short top, long back, and bingo in they flew. He has since “normalized” his hair by doing away with the back bit, and guess what? The goals dry up. Cesc: George Michaeling his trimmed beardy look, world beater. Bacary Sagna: arrived at The Arsenal with something on his head. It has remained, and he continues to be the league’s best right back. Change should not be considered.

All of this brings me to the serious point about this post and an area of deep concern that it highlights (highlights! Oh, that is so good). Jack Wilshere, without doubt the most talented Arsenal and Englishman of his era,  is but one small tub of gel away from disaster. There are very many performance enhancing hair creations, however I simply cannot stress the dangers that lie ahead of the gelster. I am not referring to the spikey-up version. There is something way more sinister and I am alluding to the wet look comb forward. This is known as the Cretin Cut. It is the chosen look of the wayward lad. There are great dangers that lurk beneath the mop that dons the gel, and it is evident that the Wilshere hair is, how can I say this, forward looking.

At this point, I want to send out a clear message to Rosicky, Denilson, Eboue and the rest of the untreated, and it is simple: get busy upstairs. I am no stats man but the evidence is overwhelming. “Normalizing the thatch” is a means of compromise, moving into the safe middle ground. Extinguishing the flames and blunting the edge. It is not clever and it is not mature.  We need the extremes for our boys. That’s the extra 5%, or the bit that separates the winners from also-rans.  I appreciate there are many football experts with a far superior knowledge of the technicalities than I, but we all make mistakes, and it is easy with all the tactics nonsense in the modern game to overlook the bleeding obvious.

This post could easily bring in the smallest ever number of comments, and I am happy to take the flak, but do you know what, I am above that kind of thing. Ego must not stand in the way of things that need to be said.  I know this post will give us nothing whatsoever to discuss today, but frankly, I think just for once, some of you should get on with some bloody work!

I hate International week.

One of our young gooners has signed up to do the Fun Run for Arsenal’s chosen charity Centrepoint and it would be fantastic if any of you felt you wanted to support her and the charity by donating on her giving page.

The Fun Run will take place at the Emirates stadium on the 19th March 2011. Centrepoint do such good work for homeless young people in London and Arsenal are hoping to raise £500,000 this season to help fund the refurbishment of a facility in Soho.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

To read or not to read – To blog or not to blog?

February 10, 2011

Written by CarlitoII

Fabrication. Bending the truth. Saying that which is not true. Lying. Fantasising. Add to this any number of adjectives that sum up what a football supporter has to put up with in the course of feeding his obsession. It is increasingly difficult to know what to believe. Does anyone really care about the truth?

A good story, as they say, has legs. But the “Fabregas to Barcelona” story of last summer was the most Godzilla-sized millipede ever witnessed. Similarly, the “Cesc disparages ref” story last week was a ridiculously nimble crustacean whereas the astonishing refereeing displayed by the same defamed ref was eel-like in its lack of limbs.

Never let a fact get in the way of a good story, it is said. The yards of column inches in our tabloid press devoted to “definite rumours” of Arsenal signings each transfer window demonstrate this perfectly. I will call out the free gossip rag on the tube for some of the more heinous examples but there are also a number of websites that seem to get a lot of coverage for breaking the ninth commandment as their stock in trade.

And herein lies the rub! We click on these websites or pick up these papers for the promise of the headline, the excitement of the story or the controversy of the author’s standpoint. These actions earn the “news” outlet their money – newspaper circulation and page clicks online attract advertising revenue. A worthy article saying that Mason had written nothing in his match report about any comments from Cesc might get a trickle of Gooners reading it but nothing like the avalanche of eejits who clicked on the “Cesc Ref Rant” headline.

But I can’t stop reading these lies, damned lies and transfer rumours. I want to know everything that’s going on with my club and have had to develop a “nonsense filter”. But now there are blogs (I know they’ve been here for a while but I’m new!) and twitter and facebook groups full of conjecture, speculation and supposition. How good is my filter now?

I have seen it argued recently that blogging is replacing journalism as a true conduit for news rather than rehashed press-statements. I find it hard to disagree that the overall standard of journalism has become sloppier, less investigative and less critical of the powers that be. I also think that in these times when anyone can cast aspersions on a man’s character, the paid journalists have a role to play in protecting the integrity of the information out there and not just picking up every rumour started in cyberspace.

Two articles recently have irked me. One claimed that Wenger was so thrifty because he was financially incentivised to make a profit on transfers. The other claimed that Rosicky was involved in deliberately throwing the Newcastle match. If either of these allegations appeared in a national newspaper they would expect to hear from the club’s lawyers but a website written by an anonymous author with an IP address outside the EU will probably be ignored. Yet some people will believe what they read, wherever they read it.

It obviously doesn’t help when managers deliberately obfuscate the truth, trying to send messages to future opponents, rivals in the transfer market, share holders etc. The number of wailing tweets I see complaining that “Wenger lied” just goes to show how powerful each written word is in fomenting opinion about anyone in the public eye. One of the dangers is the ‘witch-hunting’ tendency of the media to blame everything on foreigners, as has been much discussed on this forum lately.

I was going to end this piece by trying to decide whether it’s better to switch off the antenna that bring me this surplus of distortion and deception? Should I just get my Arsenal fix from arsenal.com, a reputable broadsheet and this fantastic forum of mainly sane people? I was going to ask whether the blogging community serves its purpose unless followed through with scrupulous attention to facts? But in both cases, I think I know the answer! You can fool some Gooners all of the time and all Gooners some of the time. But you can’t fool all Gooners all of the time!

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

A Case for the Defence

February 9, 2011

Written by Gooner in Exile

Yet again after the weekend result it is the defence that has been called into question, the cries of weakness are again heard and the calls for a return to the glory days of the famous four of Adams, Bould, Winterburn and Dixon. Add to those four Keown and yes we had an impressive back line available. Put behind those legends, the one and only David Seaman and we looked unbreakable.

Fast forward to the current generation, our first choice back four, Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, and Clichy, with Vermaelen waiting for permission to rejoin the trenches. I honestly think this defence is one we can build a successful side on. I also believe that in Szczesny we have a keeper who will be one of the best in the world. Suddenly this defence is looking solid, assured and dominant.

The media continue to point to our weak defence for a reason why we won’t be succesful. I think most of us who have seen games this year would agree that Kozzer and JD are forming a good understanding, Kozzer is as fearless as any Centre Back I have seen at the Arsenal for some time, and JD is becoming a considerable force dominating opposing centre forwards for entire games. In Sagna we have probably the best right back in the league and Clichy is becoming a better defender every game (5th most tackles in EPL this season with highest success rate of the top 5 tacklers (78%)).

The team went 4 Premier league games without conceding through January, when we did concede in the league in 2011 it was to a Mason assisted goal by Saha, then came Saturday and our trip to St James Park. Up until then I really believed that we had turned a corner, Szczesny providing confidence and communication to an improving back four, so what went wrong, where did this new found stability disappear to?

We went down to 10 men, but that does not guarantee the opposition a route back into the match, so scratch that as a reason.

JD got injured and on came Squillaci, one change to the back four however hopeless some Arsenal fans think he is (he isn’t by the way) should not cause a problem.

The midfield were asked to defend and dig in……now this is where I think the problem lay and is often a problem for any footballing side, but more often than not for us. Our inability to defend as a team.

I am not talking about the pressing and harrying up the pitch at 0-0, we have done this really well this season, I am talking about when the opposition start to have more possession, and push themselves into our half for long periods. Sooner or later if we are under pressure our midfielders start to give away needless free kicks and so invite more pressure.

This leads to the biggest problem, defending set pieces, this is also why I get annoyed with the criticisms of the defence, as they are not the only ones defending set pieces, watch Chelsea, and you will see Drogba, Lampard, Essien, Mikel, Malouda all doing their jobs in their own box, could you really say the same of Cesc, Samir, Jack, Theo and Arshavin? They will never be able to win a ball in the air against the Premier League giants.

We need to change the way we defend from set pieces, we need to hold a much higher line. For now I’m talking freekicks in the final third, too often we have conceded goals as the players hold the eighteen yard line and just before the ball is struck you will see them drop five yards and invite the opposition into our area and make it very tough for our keeper to come and claim the ball.

Look at the video below, the Newcastle goal and the Chelsea goal over Christmas were the two best examples I could find of this.

For Andy Carroll’s goal the defence takes up position on the edge of the D, by the time the ball is kicked we are already on the 18 yard box, and by the time it has travelled to 10 yards from goal both Newcastle and Arsenal players are in the 18 yard box making it very difficult for Fabianski to come and claim.

Even worse is the Chelsea goal, again the defence hold a position of the 18 yard box but before Drogba has struck the ball we are almost on the penalty spot and the ball can be delivered in to the dangerous area just outside the 6 yard box.

In both situations we would have benefited from holding a much higher line and when I say hold I mean HOLD, not follow runners, let them run offside. For the Newcastle goal if we had taken up residence 10 yards further forward there is no hope in hell that Carroll would have time to reach a ball played onto the penalty spot and stay onside. Again with the Chelsea goal ask yourself whether Ivanovic would make contact with that ball if the line was held on the D, the pace Drogba plays that ball it would be in Fabianski’s hands (hopefully) in a split second, with the whole area free of bodies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znq7tshzDU0

Dropping deep from set pieces before the ball is kicked is a pet hate of mine, I would never allow my defenders to come that deep into my area, it was mine I took responsibility for it, I think Szczesny might just have the confidence to do the same, then we can say goodbye to being petrified everytime the opposition has a freekick in the final third.

Anyway this is a tactical issue one that I think Arsene Wenger and Pat Rice are more qualified to put right, the main reason for my post was to stress that this current defence is not as bad as everyone would like us to believe, sometimes we have to look at the rest of the team (and not just the normal scapegoats) to dig in and help them out on occasion.

Afterall even the great Tony Adams admitted that he had to talk Wenger in the early days to explain that they needed the midfield to provide a screen for them, and break up attacks, they couldn’t do it all on their own either once the shackles had been taken off the rest of the team.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Sunny Times Are Here Again

February 8, 2011

In the course of Sundays blog discussion re the Toon debacle, a committed fan who unlike me, regularly attends games and who felt totally let down by what she saw as a capitulation by the team that day, advanced the opinion that I was too sunny in my acceptance of the team’s performance.

Now leaving aside the fact (if you will forgive the cliché) that I am viewed, rightly or wrongly, it matters not really, as a cup half full man, a Wenger apologist who can see no wrong with the great man and a purveyor of stories of times gone by.

It nevertheless seemed to me that despite the frenzied, put it in row “Z” defending we were practising. What actually undid us was: 1. A debatable penalty; 2 A nonsense Penalty; 3 A volley from outside the area that could just as easily have itself ended up back in row “Z. (remember Mr Rose at the Spuds anyone? and that cool Mr Rooney as a 16 yr old Evertonian perhaps.)

In the last two instances, that single strike was enough to sink us. This time we had three occasions when lady luck could have been a bit more generous, but it seems when shit happens, it happens big time as far as the Arsenal are concerned.

I mentioned during this discussion some famous dark days from yesteryear. Days when we really had come unstuck big time. Leeds, Swindon, Luton, West Ham all infamous days, burnt deep like  branding scars, on the souls of legions of Gooners of  varies ages,  and are now for ever enmeshed in the folk law of our club, that has elevated names such as Gus Ceaser, Don Rodgers and Sniffer Clarke, to infamy in the minds of those who like me were there.

Alongside these now will go the Courteous and diplomatic Mr Barton and poor old Diaby? Whose sending off for a half baked retaliation to a repeat performance, of the kind of tackle that has twice put him out of the game for long periods, (indeed at times we and he wondered would he ever come back, happily he has, but is now viewed with suspicion by a significant portion of our fans as not up for the job) has seen him castigated for being perceived as the catalyst for our so called capitulation.

Personally I felt the absence of the pace and height of DJ was more important as the game was switched by the Toon to an aerial bombardment, which we all know was a problem to us previously, but since the arrival of DJ and Chesney has been largely eradicated.

So sure it was dammed annoying to drop two points  from a position of such strength, was it the end of the world though? What were the net results? Well a draw and a closing of the gap on Man U.  whilst pulling further away from the newly enhanced Chelski. So hardly a disaster and city having played a game more are stuttering at best, should Tevez get injured what will happen to them?

With three home games to come we have a great chance to cement in the minds of the other title chasers the fact that we mean business. Agreed Stoke will be interesting, but we do not yet know which defensive personnel will be available to AW. Hopefully both DJ and Kos, will be fit in which case I see no problems.

Much is made of the Psychological importance of such let downs and the word momentum figures large in the populist presses reports. If this is true, what of the effect on the Mancs to losing to Wolves, invincible’s they aint, and our own loss of invulnerability by the true invincible’s, did indeed take a while to recover from, following Rooney’s dive. So maybe MU luck has run out and they are in for a tough time.

Our players no doubt are smouldering at the injustice of it all, the witch hunt of our magnificent Captain will also I think add fuel to the fire and far from damaging us Psychologically, will instead pull the team together and motivate them to take on the world and win.

So sunny yes I guess I am, why? well in football parlance: football as they say is a funny old game and this indeed, is a funny old season. Saturday was a game of two halves and I prefer to believe that the first half and the marvellous Wengerball that saw us 4 up in 27 minutes is what lies ahead of Arsenal the rest of the season.

In short, I smell sunny times ahead and trophies.

Written by dandan

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Posted by dandan

Why Are Referees Biased Against Arsenal?

February 7, 2011

Yes, you read the title correctly.

I’m not asking IF referees are biased against us. I want to know why they ARE.

On Saturday, at 4-0 up, we saw Phil Dowd do all he could to help Newcastle back into the game. This included:

  • Playing three-and-a-half minutes of stoppage time in the first half because Newcastle were attacking, even though the fourth official signalled for only two minutes.
  • Failing to send off Nolan for a similar (but worse) offence than Diaby’s.
  • Giving a very debatable penalty (the first one) despite there being a host of players between him and the incident.
  • Giving Newcastle the softest penalty in the EPL so far this year (again, from the opposite side of the penalty area).
  • Generally letting Newcastle’s players repeatedly foul Arsenal’s without punishment (Barton and Enrique being the main serial offenders).

In recent games we have also seen:

  • Lee Mason booking Jack Wilshere for his first foul in the game against Everton (after just five minutes), then not punishing Everton players for repeated fouling.
  • Mason, in the same game, mystifyingly ignoring the offside rules to allow Everton’s goal.
  • Mark Clattenburg allowing an Aston Villa goal against us when Carew was standing miles offside and blatantly impeding Fabianski’s view.
  • Clattenburg sending off Squillaci for a ‘last man’ foul 30 yards from goal, but leaving a Huddersfield defender on the pitch for a ‘last man’ foul in the six yard box.

There are many more examples and I’m sure every Gooner can rattle off loads of them.

Too many, in short, to be a coincidence.

At the same time Manchester United get more ‘rub of the green‘ than a self-pleasuring leprechaun: blatant penalties not given against them; physical intimidation of referees unpunished; added minutes always counted in Fergietime if United are chasing the game (like ‘dog years,’ one minute of Fergietime is the equivalent of three ‘real world’ minutes) and clear red card offences ignored.

So the question is why?

I believe one possible answer is a conspiracy among officials. By which I don’t mean that they have been bribed or that they’ve all had a collective bet on Man Utd to win the title: rather that when they get together for their referees’ seminars and the like and talk among themselves, they come to some sort of negative consensus about Arsenal.  And probably about Arsène Wenger too.

If it is a conspiracy it’s a subconscious one, but with obvious roots:

Arsène has a history of claiming that our players are not given sufficient protection. Every time he says this, he is directly criticising not just a particular ref for a specific incident, but every single one of them for the way they officiate week in, week out.

It’s human nature to dislike being criticised and to feel resentful towards the critic.

The referees also read the papers just like everyone else, so they soak up all the anti-Arsenal stories that are trotted out every week (from the utterly contrived Cesc furore this week to the Phil Brown lies and the shameful ‘Eduardo is a diver’ campaign).  You can’t tell me they’re not influenced by this stuff.

Added to that, all EPL refs are British. Arsenal is the most foreign influenced club in the country, both in our predominantly overseas squad and in the way we play football. Culturally, we have less in common with the mindset of the British referee than any other team.

English players like Rooney, Lampard and Terry are known to be chummy with some of the officials once the game is over (I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a lot of Howard Webb relatives with memorabilia signed by the Man Utd players).  I suspect that doesn’t happen with our players (the chumminess I mean, not the dishing out of ManUre tat to distant cousins).

Finally there’s what you might call the underdog factor. We are regularly written up as being the best footballing side in the country. When we play lesser teams I think the refs have a subliminal sense that it’s not fair for all these twinkle-toed little foreign wizards to dance round the lumpen midfielders and defenders in the opposition.

It’s the only explanation I can think of for the fact that we are far more fouled against than fouling, yet we get a higher proportion of yellow cards per foul than any other team. It’s because the officials feel sorry for our opponents.

That’s what I felt happened with Dowd on Saturday. It was evident in stoppage time at the end of the first half when he ignored an appalling off-the-ground lunge through the back of Arshavin from Joey Barton then immediately penalised Diaby for failing to make contact with the Newcastle thug. This was during the well-over three minutes he allowed for added time, even though the fourth official signalled for only two. I’m convinced he played this extra extra time because Newcastle had finally realised that there was a second set of posts up the other end of the pitch and that they were supposed to be attacking them.

It reminded me of when I have refereed kids’ games and one team is getting battered 15-nil. It may be time to blow up, but the losing team finally has an attack so you let them play on in the hope they’ll get a consolation goal.

In a kids’ game it makes you a sentimental old so-and-so.

In a professional match it makes you an embarrassment to your trade.

During the second half, as the Newcastle revival grew following Diaby’s sending off (with which I have no argument), it was like Dowd got all caught up with the excitement of the occasion.

For the second penalty you can see him look at the incident, then turn as if to run away. But then the Newcastle player makes a heated appeal for the pen and Dowd stops and gives it. What excitement! Refereeing a game with a great comeback story! He must have been beside himself.

Even the fourth Newcastle goal shouldn’t have counted, given that it stemmed from a free-kick against us for a non-existent foul. But when Tiote belted in the ‘once-in-a-career’ goal that so many players seem to manage against Arsenal, Dowd knew he would be one of the top games on Match of the Day.

Quite what we do about all this, I don’t know. Arsène Wenger has highlighted the cards-to-fouls stats in the past but it doesn’t make any difference.

I fear that until European referees are allowed into the EPL the subconscious bias against us will continue.

If we do go on to win the league this year (or any time soon), we will only do it by playing better than Man Utd or Chelsea would need to do in similar circumstances (because they do not have the built-in handicap of refereeing prejudice).

We need to go out for every game in the knowledge that we really are, to use the cliché, playing against 12 men.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

The Good, The Bad and The Diaby.

February 6, 2011

Hmmmm where to start with this one? Do I focus on the first half; do I focus on the embarrassing Phil Dowd or do I focus on the much maligned Diaby?

Well, the title works anyway, the first forty five minutes were not just good they were great and certainly the best we have seen since Blackpool at the beginning of the season. Newcastle went in at half time having been ripped apart, totally embarrassed and left for dead or so we thought.

The Bad, yet again dreadful refereeing, two penalties for things that only people who wear special 3D glasses handed out at Old Trafford are able to see.

And then there is Diaby, I hope your leg is alright Abou, I hope there is no lasting damage because your school boy behaviour will certainly cost us dearly by way of points at the end of the season. Bit harsh? The man was charged with holding the midfield together, it was his job to suffer the rough and tumble of that heated battle zone and if you are not hurt, you get up and get on with it. I don’t care how close you come to having your leg broken if it doesn’t snap you get up and carry on doing your dandiest to win the game for your team, the one thing you don’t do is get yourself sent off.

I guess it’s decided then — Diaby catches the lot.

How did the match report become to be so painful to write? This was one of those games that at 3-0 you sat back relaxed with a cold beer and gave your poor old nails a rest from the ravages they have suffered in recent past after being viciously chewed while watching one tense game or another.

This was one of those games when a family member could walk in or someone could phone mid-game and you would speak to them in a calm, pleasant tone. What’s the score? 3-0, GOAL, no make that 4-0, Van Persie has just scored again. Yes, of course, you can borrow some money.

How on earth did it go from that to screaming at the telly, chewing my nails like a demon, kicking the cat and generally being horrible to anyone who was foolish enough to come near me?

I just don’t know, I just don’t have the answer.

As for the game, I could mention what a superb pass it was from Arshavin for Walcott to score, I could complement the Russian again for his second assist inside five minutes by way of the free kick that allowed Djourou to score his first goal for the club, I could praise Theo for the wonderful cut back that gave Van Persie his first; or, of course, I could rave about the quality of the cross by Sagna that gifted Van Persie his second goal but I won’t because you can read better descriptions in the Sunday papers by people capable of describing them far better than I, but what you won’t get in those very same papers is something to read that reflects your pain your suffering and your down right hatred of Joey Barton.

Written by London

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A Dickens of a week…now great expectations

February 5, 2011
Written by Geoff Strong

After a hardfought, but deserved, victory over Everton (no need to spend any more column inches on that one),  our beloved Scrooge Arsène takes his troops to St James’ Park for their 13th match since Christmas. With this workload it is no surprise that we go there with a somewhat depleted squad, major absentees being Nasri and Song, arguably our two best performers of the season so far.

It will be Newcastles’ first home game following the sale of Andy Carroll, how this will affect the home crowd is hard to predict. The club are trying to convince fans that they did not want to sell, however the relationship between fans and the owner has been strained for some time, so I would not be surprised to see some protests. An early goal for us could tip them over the edge.

Newcastle will be without Shola Ameobi, so I expect they will play a very defensive set up, crowding the midfield with the lone Ranger up front. It is a game where we could really have done with Alex Song. The Toons midfield is combative to say the least and I’m sure Alan Pardew will have them fired up for a game against Monsieur Wenger (remember West Ham). We will have to keep our discipline, particularly after the media attack on Cesc this week.

At home, Newcastle have won 4, drawn 4 and lost 4, scoring 6 goals once and 5 goals twice. Their firepower has been greatly reduced with the loss of Carroll and Ameobi but we have to be wary of Kevin Nolan, and Ranger is one of those quick players that sometimes cause us problems.

In the game against Fulham, Newcastle had Nolan standing in front of the goalkeeper at corners and set pieces. I hope we do not put a player in between, crowding Szczesny, but we have to be aware of him on knockdowns, as this is where he scores most of his goals. If we get this right we should win the game.

Diaby is likely to play alongside Cesc and Jack (if fit) in midfield, with Theo and Andre on the flanks, although I would not be surprised if Nicky starts instead of Andre.

Team:

Another must win game, 3-0 to the gunners, 3-1 if we start pulling off players toward the end and lose our shape.

Come on you reds !

.

Announcement from admin……

Today is AA’s first birthday. The site was launched on the 5th February 2010 and began in fine style with an article written by Big Raddy – Stamford Bridge Over Troubled Water. We’ve come a long way in the last year – 374 posts, 623,000 hits, 40,300 comments and a growing team of authors.

AA has been fortunate to attract some great bloggers and recruited 34 talented writers who have provided a diverse feast of nostalgia, analysis, entertainment and sometimes challenging posts for the site. New writers are always welcome to ‘join the club’.

In the main, we’ve achieved what we set out to do and that was to provide a blog that allowed freedom of opinion without fear of abuse – a haven for those who value the friendship of fellow supporters, who appreciate the written word and reasoned debate, and most importantly, share the passion for our wonderful football club – so good we named it twice.

A big thanks to all those who have been involved. COYRRG

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David Moyes’s Tunnel Vision

February 4, 2011

Whatever Cesc Fabregas did or didn’t say in the tunnel at half time during the Everton game, David Moyes’s comments on the issue are pathetic.
Clearly he wanted to distract attention away from his team’s latest defeat and their lowly position (15th) in the EPL.

Apart from insisting that Cesc should have been given a red card for what he allegedly said in the tunnel, Moyes also claimed that any fair minded observer would have felt his team deserved to come away with something from Tuesday’s game.

Well, I’m content to assume that his first comment carries as much accuracy as his second: how anyone could think Everton deserved a point from a game in which they were handed a blatantly offside goal by an incompetent ref then spent the entire second half under siege defies belief.

Whatever Cesc said to the referee at half time, the ref did not deem it necessary to card him.

There are allegations in some newspapers that our Number Four questioned whether the officials were being paid. Leaving aside the fact that, in an age of football billionaires, there must be a temptation sometimes by rich owners to ‘fix the odds’ a little, we still have no evidence that that’s what Cesc said.

Yet the redtops have been taking umbrage like a Harlem hooker taking crack. As far as they’re concerned the allegations are fact.

Strangely, when Wayne Rooney left the field in a Manchester United defeat at the hands of Chelsea and mouthed “12 men” to the TV cameras, there was much less furore despite the fact that everyone had clearly seen him impugn the fairness of the officials.

So Moyes banging on about it smells of sour grapes. And of course there’s the hypocrisy. Moyes was charged by the FA in 2007 for implying that referee Mark Clattenburg was biased after a Merseyside derby. Now he’s outraged that Cesc has (allegedly) done something similar.

Cesc should apparently have been red carded for an offence that none of us saw. Yet the cameras catch Wayne Rooney unleashing insults and four-letter-word tirades against officials on an almost weekly basis, mostly without repercussions.

This is what African referee Jeff Selogilwe said of Rooney after the England charmer had sworn at him during a pre-world cup friendly last summer: “I was very disappointed in Rooney because he is my favourite player. He insulted me. He said, ‘F*** you.’ He is a good player when you see him on the TV, but when you see him on the pitch, he just keeps on insulting the referees.”

Quite.

In January Rooney was booked for ranting at the ref in the Spuds-Man Utd game and there are countless other examples of his boorishness. Strangely these incidents attract minimal press coverage, whereas the Cesc story has made headlines all week.

I know some Gooners are worried by what they see as a petulant, argumentative streak in our captain of late, which has seen him spending a lot of time in the referees’ faces.

For me, this is a sign of a desperately committed man who wants to personally drag his team to glory this year.

And it reminds me of the way we used to pressurise refs in the days of Adams, Vieira and Keown – as well as the way Man Utd players still deliberately target officials to make them give decisions in their favour.

It may not be pretty, but if we need to play rough to win something I’ll take it. I also happen to think Cesc’s outbursts are born of genuine desire and frustration, rather than the cynical approach adopted by the Mancs.

So thankyou David  Moyes for sparking the latest bout of xenophobic Arsenal and Fabregas bashing.

Next time remember that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. And what happens in the tunnel should stay in the tunnel.

RockyLives

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