Rasputin’s rant

I know other bloggers have moaned about this before, but last weekend’s game against Wham was the first time I’ve experienced at first hand, the ‘over-zealous’ behaviour of some of our stewards. We were unable to get our usual seats and found oursleves high up, one row from the top of the stadium. As I took my seat, I surveyed the ‘regulars’ around me and joked that “I hoped I was in the singing section”. They seemed a really good bunch of hardcore supporters and I felt at home in their company – and the singing was pretty good too.

I was aware in my peripheral vision of a steward fidgeting about at the end of the row and apparently conversing with the guy behind me. I turned and asked him what it was all about and he explained that he was being asked to sit down. Since he was in the uppermost row and there was nothing behind him except concrete, I was curious as to why the steward thought he needed to stay in his seat “Health and Safety” was the answer he spat out with a grimace.

“But what happens when we stand up to celebrate a goal” I asked, a resigned shrug of the shoulders was his only response. This sparked a debate at half time and the consensus was that in areas like the new North Bank and Clock End (= behind the goals), everyone stands whenever they feel like it because the strength in numbers means that the stewards are powerless to do anything about it. I don’t want to stand throughout games, but I also don’t want to be treated like a kid if I do take to my feet.

I have some sympathy with the stewards because they are only doing what they are told, but surely the club can ‘adjust’ its policy to accommodate supporters who wish to stand at important points during the game or where there is no risk to life and limb and no impairment to the enjoyment of other supporters. We have been criticised this season for not getting behind the players enough, well then don’t stop us expressing our feelings by telling us to sit down when it’s not necessary.

peachesgooner’s rant
I’m thoroughly fed with how the club take our money for seats but really offer so little service to the buyer. Yesterday’s attempt to buy tickets for the Barcelona tie next Wednesday caused the usual crashing of the web-site and lack of information about the state of play. Having logged in and been held in a queue for what seemed an eternity, I was finally able to buy my tickets (although it was already too late to get adjacent seats) but when I tried to log-in again to buy more for a friend on his number, the site was blocked. Having checked that tickets were still available I logged in again and waited to gain entry to the box office. I waited for an hour and a half before the thin burgundy line had filled its space only to find that the game was now sold out.

I know of several other silver members who also waited for over an hour only to be disappointed – where did the tickets go? I thought the idea of silver membership was that you should be able to get a ticket. I must have been one of thousands of supporters trying to get through.  Surely it’s  possible to put out a STOP PRESS – TICKETS SOLD OUT so at least supporters don’t waste their time waiting online.

Another problem I think the club have not addressed sufficiently well is the problem season ticket holders face if they can’t go to the game. The Ticket Exchange is a very good idea but shuts 48 hours before a game. From the number of empty seats I see at games every week its clearly not possible to always find someone  to take a spare ticket.

Now that the ticketing system is electronic it must be possible to action changes even up to a couple of hours before a game. Season ticket holders should be able to call a number and give their details, their card gets blocked for that game (which is what happens with the ticket exchange anyway) and silver and red members have their cards turned on for the game.

Come on Arsenal FC  lets make sure we fill the stadium for every game.

As we approach the game at Birmingham this weekend, our thoughts return of the near career ending injury Eduardo sustained just over two years ago. His left fibula was broken and there was an open dislocation of his left ankle. Gary Lewin not only saved his career by his quick actions, but aided by translation from Gilberto, actually saved his leg.

His physical recovery was nothing short of remarkable. Who would have thought that just under a year later we would see him return in an Arsenal shirt against Cardiff City in the F.A. Cup? He scored twice that evening in what seemed a fairytale return. Sadly he suffered a hamstring injury later on in the game and after several niggling injuries in the following weeks finally returned to the Premier league line-up for the opening fixture of this season scoring in the 6-1 demolition of Everton at Goodison Park.

Was our fox in the box really back ? Well he has now played 29 times in all competitions (of which 13 were as subs) for a return of six goals, so we are in a position to assess his progress.

He is hard to weigh up as a character as he has a quiet disposition and never shows much emotion, but the more I see him play, the more he appears to have lost that edge to his game which was just developing before he got injured. In fact, I would suggest that mentally he has lost the sharpness that Arsène identified when he signed him, and it is becoming more and more apparent as each game passes. He frequently jumps out of tackles – but can you blame him? Surely it is in the makeup of any decent striker to avoid impact when it is apparent that they can’t win the ball.  I don’t see him attacking the ball in the box as once he did and the goalscorer’s hunger to score at any cost is missing.

Is his perceived loss of sharpness due to a lack of match fitness or as I believe is more likely, down to the legacy of the mental scars from his horrific injury.

I want him to succeed, but with a new striker in Chamakh apparently joining us in the Summer we may never see the potential of Eduardo again.

By kelsey

We had to fight for the right to party at the Emirates yesterday but fight the ten men did taking all three points to send us to the top of the league which was the cue for party songs to begin: say we are top of the league, say we are top of the league.

A confusing team selection: did the threat of West Ham really warrant two defensive midfielders? On the face of it the choice of Denilson over Diaby made little sense. I put it down to Wenger wanting to try the team he has ear marked to start against Barça, either way, it took precisely four and a half minutes for Wenger’s choice of Denilson to be vindicated. The Brazilian found himself in a position on the edge of the box which he is making more and more his own; he played a nice one two with Bendtner before firing a controlled low drive into the corner past the helpless stretched hand of Robert Green.

One nil up early on and Arsenal’s well oiled collective passing game slid into action establishing, after only fifteen minutes, a gulf in class between the two teams of Grand Canyon proportions. We were so superior creating chance after chance that four up after half an hour would not have been unjust. Even the West Ham fans seemed to give up on getting anything from the game and tried to salvage a bit of fun from the afternoon by singing “We hate Tottenham more than you”, this was funny.

But just when we were thinking it was going to be a romp Vermaelen was wrongly adjudged to have fouled Franco in the box leading to his sending off and West Ham being awarded a penalty.  Justice was done when everyone’s new best friend Manuel Almunia made a fantastic save to keep the title dream alive.

West Ham came out in the second half with the silly idea that just because they had an extra man that they might get some thing from the game. It took the Arsenal’s ten men just fifteen minutes to organise themselves into their unfamiliar ranks before realising (and this I thought was hilarious) that our ten were still superior to their eleven and then started pinning West Ham back in their own own half.

West Ham had a couple of quarter chances which made a few ripples but not a splash, although, even at one nil it seemed difficult to imagine anything other than an Arsenal victory , this was made even more obvious when Upson gave away a penalty for hand ball. Why, oh why are there Arsenal supporters that still think he should be brought back to the home of football, Silvestre is better than he is. Anyway I digress, a penalty was awarded and up stepped our Captain to coolly slot it home, it was job done, the party could begin and everyone’s favourite songs could be sung.

Player ratings:

Almunia: I have a theory – there are two Almunias, there is the blond haired one that is crap and there is the dark haired one who is not bad at all. 8

Eboue: a fantastic second half, one of those solo runs is going to lead to a goal that takes our breath away which in turn will raise him to even higher levels of respect. 7.5

Campbell: used his energy very cleverly today enabling him to give yet another very professional performance. 7.5

Vermaelen: although it should never have been a penalty he should never have allowed the ball to get that far. We got away with the pen if we get away with a one match ban we can console ourselves in the knowledge that things could have been whole lot worse. 6

Clichy: a commanding performance. Gibbs and Traore are keeping him on his toes. 8

Denilson: earned his wages this week, made some good tackles, some good passing, some good positional play and scored the important first goal, not the finished article but at 22 there is still plenty of time.

Song: Ladies and Gentlemen I give you the “Black Franz Benckenbaur”; a first half master class in the midfield. 8.5

Fabrégas: no one gives more than our captain in the quest to reach to the promised land known as Silver Ware. 9

Nasri: playing out on the right wing is not his best position and therefore I expected slightly less than usual but nevertheless he was still put in a shift. 7

Bendtner: a quieter game by his recent heroic standards. 7

Arshavin: he is taking this winning the title malarkey a bit too lightly for me; I want to see him absolutely destroy teams like West Ham. 7

Subs

Diaby: he is like a cross between the Harlem Globetrotters and a younger Patrick Vieira the result is a joy to watch.

Sagna: this Sagna – Eboue right back thing is really working, his fresh legs were exactly what was needed

Eduardo: may still yet have an important part to play in our run in.

Wenger: top, top team selection and great substitutions.

Have a great day in AA folks

Another London derby, another vital game in our hunt for the Premiership and another game against opposition desperate for points.

West Ham come on the back of a poor run of form and are struggling to stay in the Premiership. They have suffered a dreadful season both on and off the pitch, but hopefully (for them) the arrival of the porn barons will bring happier and more settled times. The Hammers record at the Emirates is very good, having won two and drawn 1 of their 4 games – with a record like that they could almost be classed as a bogey team. Balancing that is the fact that West Ham have not won away since the first game of the season and have yet to win a London Derby in the last 10 attempts.

If a team plays as a reflection of their manager (which is a great shame for Blackburn) then West Ham should be playing joyous, expansive and intelligent football, but to play that way requires the personnel, and sadly the Hammers financial problems have restricted the signing of flair players. Zola’s team is forced to survive through organisation and endeavour. A decent defence led by ex-Gunner Matthew Upson ( I wonder if he would consider re-signing as our back-up CB next season) has been porous, despite having a potential England goalkeeper. The Hammers strength (if they have one) is in midfield, and in Scott Parker they have a fine midfield general. He scored an absolute pearler last week in the loss to the Chavs, and continues to be a vastly under rated player. Sadly for both Parker and Zola, though not for us, he is injured for today’s clash. A player some Gooners had on their wish list is Behrami, though I cannot understand why, we have at least 6 midfielders better than the Swiss-Albanian. Mark Noble is due to make his return from injury and is a competitive little chap – a Jack Russell sort of a player.

Up front, returning from injury, is Carlton Cole. Another target for some Gooners who were begging AW to sign him in January. A dangerous forward but one who will be meat and drink for Sol and TV (hopefully). Benni McCarthy may make an appearance, his second since signing for the Hammers. Benni is one of my favourite players and I wish him the best of luck, starting next week!

We go into the game with most of our squad available, and AW has a midfield headache. Should he continue with Nasri in the centre, giving Fab a few extra days rest or start with our inspirational Captain? If I were the manager, I would bring Cesc on after 70 minutes, alongside Walcott. That would be enough to scare any team !!

We saw at Hull that there are no easy games, and I expect West Ham to give us problems unless we score early. If we do, there could be a rout. Nik is on fire, AA looks hungry again and our midfield is full of goals.

I have always had a soft spot for the Hammers due in part to the Famous Three (Moore, Hurst and Peters), but also because of “Half-Time Bob”, a good friend who initiated the leaving early epidemic which has sadly spread to large parts of the Emirates. Bob is a West Ham season ticket holder, and as such I can well understand why he developed his early departure strategy

There has been much talk in the press about the colossal signing fee that the late Michael Jackson is receiving (?) from Sony. Quite what he needs the money for I cannot fathom, but despite MJ’s life being chronicled to a degree rarely seen before, his biographers have disregarded one of his major passions.  In 1979 Michael was in the UK to perform on the Jackson 5 tour. Whilst staying at The Savoy, he asked the Hotel concierge “who are by far the Greatest team the World has ever seen?” and of course the concierge being a wise and sagacious man told MJ  that it was the Mighty Arsenal.  The concierge arranged tickets and Michael’s first game was the Cup Final against Man Utd  – Liam Brady’s last game, and one of Wembley’s iconic matches. Alan Sunderland (who co-incidently modelled his hairstyle on the young MJ) scored the last minute goal that cemented Michael’s burgeoning love of the Gunners

You may have wondered why MJ’s coffin was covered in red roses, and why the Brothers wore white gloves. Well, it was because Mr Michael Jackson was a committed Gooner ….. 😉

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?.