Let’s Lay Off The Szczesny Hype

January 17, 2011

To listen to some people you would think our promising young reserve ‘keeper is David Seaman, Peter Schmeichel, Gordon Banks and Lev Yashin all rolled into one.

He’s not.

Right now Wojciech Szczesny is a raw, inexperienced player with bags of promise and the chance of becoming great in the future. A bit like Alex Manninger, Stuart Taylor and Richard Wright before him.

In his performances for the first team this season he has been good but far from exceptional, which is entirely as you would expect for a 20-year-old taking his inaugural steps in the top flight.

All of which makes the fashionable hysteria about his talents premature, not to say ridiculous. It is also potentially detrimental to his progress: I have seen him described as a cert to be the world’s best goalkeeper within two years, which is an awful lot of pressure to pile on a young man’s shoulders, however broad.

So where did all the hype come from?

Quite simply, it emerged towards the end of last season and early this one when Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski were dropping more bollocks than a vet at steer-castrating time. It was like their own private game of dueling banjos…

“Diddle-ing-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding… I can palm the ball into my own net…”

“Diddle-ing-ding-ding-ding-ding-dang-dong… I can hand it to the opposition for a quick free kick…”

And while we watched and groaned and cried bitter tears, a certain young reserve goalie’s stature was growing with every game he didn’t play.

If either Almunia or Fabianski had been making us feel secure would we really have gone so overboard about an up-and-coming youngster? Of course not. But they didn’t make us feel secure, so Szczesny gradually assumed the stature of a saviour in waiting, a prince across the water (even if the water was only Colney Reservoir).

What worries me is what will happen when Chesney (to use his affectionate nickname) has a couple of bad games as he undoubtedly will. He came close to some serious howlers against Ipswich in a performance which included poor kicking, bad decision making about when to come off his line and, once, handling the ball outside of the area. He got away with the latter offence, but if it had been Fabianski people would be screaming about how he’s a disaster waiting to happen.

When Wojciech screws up a few times, will he be next in line for the ironic cheers when he catches a ball cleanly? Will the home support start dumping on him the way they dumped on Fabianksi? And if so, will he have Fabianski’s strength of character to come out the other side?

There’s lots to be hopeful about with the younger of our two Poles. His stature is reassuring, as is his confidence and his willingness to shout at the defence. The way he makes himself big in one-on-ones really is reminiscent of Schmeichel, but there’s a long way to go yet before he can bracketed in that class.

Szczesny may well be a once-in-a-generation goalkeeper who will star for The Arsenal for 15 years or more. I certainly hope so. But at the moment he is, quite rightly, second in line behind Fabianski and it’s time that we, the supporters, stopped putting so much pressure on him.

RockyLives

173 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by RockyLives

Theo crosses Bridge …. Dutch Mastery ….. living up to the form book

January 16, 2011

Written by Gooner in Exile

West Ham 0 – Arsenal 3

This game doesn’t really require a report the stats say it all:

………………………………..WH             ARS

Possession                     34%            66%

Shots on Target              6                 13

Shots off Target              1                 7

Corners                          4                 10

As complete a victory as you are likely to see. With Song, Nasri and Van Persie returning to the starting line up alongside Theo, Cesc and Wilshere the line up looked capable of winning the game. With Eboue still in for Sagna, and Chesney continuing to deputise for the injured Fabianski we were only two players short of Arsene’s first choice starting eleven.

With those players on the pitch there could only be one outcome, couldn’t there?

To say we started well is an understatement, first to the ball, first to the pass, first to the tackle, the players seemed to be in control of the game from kick off and never looked back. Thankfully our early possession paid off within fifteen minutes, a period of possession leading to Theo having all the space and time in the world to pick a pass, which he did to perfection, a gorgeous stepover from Nasri later and Van Persie was burying the ball in the back of the net with his right foot.

Whilst we continued to dominate possession there was an occasional slip or misjudgement at the back that if punished would so easily have undone all the good work.

One of these moments came from a poor back pass from Big Johan which let in Cole, Chesney was very quick to rush off his line and make a great blocking save to spare JD’s blushes. With every game Chesney plays his stock rises, he gives me an overwhelming sense of confidence, he has the one ingredient that all the best keepers possess, belief in his own ability. He seems to be unflappable, something we have not had the privilege of seeing in the Arsenal goal since safe hands Seaman.

The team needed the second goal before half time, just to settle any underlying nerves, Theo duly obliged with a left foot strikers finish rounding off a lovely move involving Cesc, Clichy and Nasri. The great thing about the finish was Theo’s desire to reach the ball before Bridge, moving around him to apply the decisive touch like a true centre forward.

The second half was more of the same, complete domination of possession, Chesney was called on to make another fine save from Sears miscued cross, but the result was never in doubt and the players ran out at a canter.

Van Persie converted the third from the penalty spot after Theo had worked his way in to the area and debut boy Bridge completed a pretty disastrous day by bringing him down.

Nasri gave us something different today and showed us what we were missing against Leeds and Ipswich, a player who is willing to run at and past defenders either with ball at his feet or with little give and go passing. He gave another string to our bow today and he sure knows how to play it.

The early goal helps us, we now need to see that we can play this way for 88 minutes without scoring and nick a game 1-0, then we can start dreaming of trophies.

Player ratings:

Szczesny……….9

Koscielny…….. 8 (calmness personified)

Djourou……….  6 (few tricky moments under pressure from Cole)

Clichy …………. 7

Eboue …………. 7

Fabregas……… 7

Song ……………  7

Wilshere …….. 8 (continues to play with maturity beyond his years)

Nasri …………..  8

van Persie…..   8

Walcott ………. 8

Some may think the 7’s harsh, but I just think they all did what was expected of them no more no less.

75 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Can Arsenal put the Hammers to the Sword?

January 15, 2011

A trip to the Boleyn on a cold January day – what delights the football calendar brings us. It is many years since I last visited that part of East London but I started my working career just down the road and still have many friends who support the Hammers.  More fool them.

There are not many positives with this West Ham team; Scott Parker, the running of Piquenne, Noble can be effective occasionally, Robert Green, but  the current Hammers deserve their current League position. The problem for us is can we get back to winning ways after a poor run of form over the last 2 weeks?

Looking at the WHU side one thinks back to this time last year when there was clammering on the AFC websites to sign Carlton Cole. What a difference a year makes! This season there has been talk of Scott Parker, a man who really is a diamond in the rough. Should we sign him when the Hammers take the inevitable drop at season’s end?  If so, where would he play?

Avram Grant is a strange manager, I cannot see any reason why he has the job. He appears to be a decent chap and has his coaching badges, but what is his footballing philosophy?  WHU have a sorry history with manager’s over the past few years, one which is well deserved because if AW and SAF reigns prove anything, it is that consistency to one’s principles as a club reaps rewards.  The future is bleak both for Grant and West Ham. Fat Sam is waiting in the wings !!

As to our team, I am still in shock over Wednesday’s debacle. AW looked totally exhausted after the game and for once really looked his age. Many more performances like that and I can see him walking away from the Grove because there has to be a point when the physical and psychological toll becomes too much to bear. This is a point I would like to emphasise, Arsenal should be grooming our next manager and at the moment there seems to be only Plan A – Wenger is manager as long as he wishes, but what happens when he has had enough?

My team:

We really have to take 3 points today and hope for a slip up by MU at Spurs (should be a cracking game) if we are to have title pretensions.

Ham was mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086) and the first mention of West  as opposed to East Ham occurred in 1186. Ham, meaning a place between rivers or marshes – in this case the Lea and Thames. Flatlands; murky, damp and without prospect, much like their team … hence the song , “And  like my dreams they fade and die!!”

COYRRG

78 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Erik the Red

Where’s our YouTube Striker?

January 14, 2011

Written by MickyDidIt89

A couple of things have got me thinking a little more laterally just now. One is the presence of Thierry Henry around the camp, and the other is transfer window talk. Lets see. We could buy a Right Back as cover for Sagna or even a top notch Goalkeeper. Maybe another Centre Half. Perhaps a world class leader in as a Midfield Dynamo. However, I have had an epiphany. I have noticed how scoring one more than the opposition can quite often win matches. Unsuprisingly, we have not won a trophy since Henry played for us. Robin van Persie is not an out and out striker, nor is Chamakh, and Bendy may have great hair and super footwear,  but is hardly prolific in front of goal.

I shall get straight to the point. I am talking about the League now, not Cup games. We are over the half way point, and here are the goalscoring figures for the players who are, or have played, the central striker role:

Chamakh 7  Bendtner 2  Van Persie 1

Overall, our “Goals For” tally is very good. This is largely down to the weighty contribution of 9 goals from Nasri.  The “Goals Against” is not so pretty, however this pales into insignificance when compared to the number of “Games Lost”. The presence of TH has made me hark back to the invincibles season. The Great Man scored 30 League goals.

There is much I like about Chamakh, sadly though I believe he is entirely the wrong type of player for us as first choice striker. Apart from his great work rate, he has a marvellous ability to hold the ball up and bring others into play. Therein lies my beef. By the time the ball gets to my striker, there should be no-one to “bring into play”. The ball into him should represent the last pass before the strike on goal. I want someone so utterly selfish when confronted by the whiffiest of whiffs of a goal that he would make my mother in law look charitable.

I am not going into the pros and cons of playing the high line, and the lack of opportunity it gives us to hit fast against smaller numbers on the break , but what it does mean is that many of our goals are going to involve a thread, a needle and the pin point accuracy of a damn good surgeon. Attack is a very effective form of defence, but in football speak, the attack must end in a goal. Playing a high line must not be interpreted as a form of attack, it is not. It is a positional stance. In the same way, sitting deep and hitting on the break is also a positional thing, and not therefore a defensive stance.

Everything about our football says “no” to the high ball into the box. Why drill nine outfield players in the fine art of pass and move, and then employ the tenth whose main asset is his heading ability?

Marouanne was bought to add another dimension to our play, and he does. For a first six months in the premiership, his goals scored figures are impressive. What I have not seen are the “You Tube” clips. The moments of individual brilliance that single handedly turn a dire team performance into three points. With MC, as well as Bendy, it is all about the inclusiveness in the build up play, which cannot be their primary role. TH’s first season was not littered with YouTube moments, so can MC go on and do a TH? At 27, I don’t think so. For all this, I love the man and his attitude. He is not one of our strikers I would be happy to see the back of.

Please don’t think for a moment that because I raise the striker issue, that I am saying this is our sole or even primary concern. I am not. All I am doing is highlighting one of my “lateral” thoughts.

To underline that, I have asked Rasp/Peaches to include this pic of Martin Keown. Firstly, because I got up twenty minutes early to write this, so I choose, and secondly to hint at  my other concern! The bit we are going to need this weekend.

84 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Why did the best team lose? …… answers on a postcard please

January 13, 2011

Once again this Arsenal team have torn up the form book and dumbfounded everyone with their ability to be as mediocre and ineffectual in one game as they can be brilliant and inspirational in another. This was demonstrated in the space of one game in the two contrasting halves against sp**s – but why are we the Jekyll and Hyde of the Premiership?

Two disappointing cup games in the space of  five days against teams that, cup games or not, surely we should beat handsomely. Last night’s away tie against a struggling Ipswich served up an even worse 90 minutes of football than Saturdays’ against Leeds and having started the game with more or less our strongest side it’s impossible to understand why.

After a really dire first 45 minutes in which we created two attempts on goal compared to their seven you would have thought AW would have sent them out second half with rockets up ’em. Unfortunately the rockets didn’t appear until Ipswich had got hold of the umpteenth ball over the top and scored a very nice little goal for themselves in the 78th minute. Eboue was missing again leaving Priskin only Kos and Djourou to beat.

There had been numerous warnings of the ball over the top and clearly Eboue didn’t feel it was his responsibilty as he was caught too far up field each time. He had a stinker and its a real worry that he’s our only right-back cover. He’ll be required to play against West Ham on Saturday and also with Sagna’s suspension, will play the first leg against Barcelona in the Champions League.

With Cesc and Jack starting in mid-field the game plan had to be to score a few and then rest some players, obviously Arsene decided to try it my way for this game and start with a strong side.  I’ve been championing that idea for a couple of months now – every time we’ve played a weakened team in fact – now I’m sorry I interferred, these players have now taken part in a demoralising 90 minutes and who’s to say what the knock on effect will be.

A front three of Arshavin, Nikki and Theo should be able to tear apart any defense but with Arshavin not really in the game, Nikki just not good enough and Theo seeming to be trying too hard there was little creativity and Ipswich concentrated and defended very well. I thought they would tire and we’d lauch an all out attack in the last 15 minutes so how bizarre for them to score in the last quarter.

The Theo van Nasregas formation that was stunningly creative against the Man City dustbins obviously needs all four of the parts to be on the pitch to have any effect. This team just wasn’t balanced – Arshavin doesn’t work hard enough to give Cesc the outlets he needs to spray the passes around. Saying that, Cesc was also not at his game and hardly stamped any authority on the mid-field.

It has to be said that while Chesney did appear to be a little flakey – appearing to handle the ball outside of his area and coming off his line in a rather dodgy fashion – Koscielny and Djourou are growing in confidence as a centre-back partnership. Gibbs was strong and worked tirelessly up and down his wing.

At least the flurry of activity in the last 10 minutes made the stats more respectable – 59% possession with 9 shots on target to their 7. There can be no excuses, although Ipswich defended very well they didn’t park the  bus as evidence of their shots on target shows, so what’s up with our young team? Let’s hope Arsene has an answer and knows how to correct it as we have a rush of games now that we need to win to keep us in contention for the cup competitions and the title.

Will the consolation of beating them in the second tie and winning the Carling Cup be enough to bury these feelings of embarrassment – probably, do they want it badly enough – who knows?

If anyone wants to add some player ratings I’ll attach them to the end of the post.

Written by peachesgooner

70 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Connor Wickham: Will he be a Heskey or a Drogba?

January 12, 2011

Written by Big Raddy

Can you feel the tension? Are you moist with excitement? Breathlessly fearful of the possibility of defeat? Come on …. it is Semi-Final day.

These days do not come along as often as they used to – I recall getting Wembley fatigue followed by even worse Cardiff fatigue, but now a Semi-Final is an unusual event. Am I excited? …… mildly. Yes, I want us to win tonight, and yes, I want us to silence the bleating from the media and glory-hunters, but if we do lift this trophy we will hear a chorus of “it is only the Carling/League/Milk Cup”, and if I am honest, if Sp*rs won it, I would say the same.

But a trophy is a trophy and apart from the Emirates Cup we have been through a few lean years. So let’s start the ball rolling with a rousing victory this evening.

We couldn’t have wished for better opponents; a team lying 19th in the Championship, rudderless, having just removed the odious Roy Keane and leaking goals a plenty, Ipswich could be forgiven for concentrating upon league survival and letting this game go. But roared on by a full house of frozen East Anglian’s they will be trying to impress their new manager and give themselves a chance at the Grove.

One Ipswich player I am really looking forward to seeing is Connor Wickham, a young man who has been attracting Premiership attention. I watched him playing for England youth alongside Benik Afobe and he looks a fine player. Huge for his age (or any age!), skillful, pacy and good in the air, Wickham could well be the first choice England striker of the future. Right now though, he is more Bendtner than Eto’o.

It is a puzzle who will start tonight. Squillaci is out meaning a JD and Koscielny centreback pairing. Let us hope nothing happens to either of them! With hindsight it would have been wise to curtail Kyle Bartley’s loan spell at Sheffield; having watched him at the weekend, he appears to have all the attributes necessary for an Arsenal CB; big, strong, comfortable on the ball and what is more, a natural leader. Bartley would certainly have played tonight.

Who would have imagined at the start of the season that we would miss Wilshere in midfield? Yet his absence was felt against Leeds and young Jack has quickly established himself as an integral cog in our team, he is a shoe-in for Young Player of the Year. I hope he starts as our attacking MF tonight allowing him to show his natural offensive flair.

My team;

Bench: Fabianski  Cesc  Miquel  Bendtner  Ramsey  Clichy  Walcott

I don’t know how many of you have been to Ipswich, but the ground is a classic, cosy English League stadium, a fine atmosphere will be generated, not least by the travelling Gooners who have been exceptional this season.

I expect us to make it difficult and leave with a one goal victory, setting up a 4 goal hammering for Paul Jewell’s men at the Grove

COYRRG

190 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Erik the Red

Messi transfer to North London – AA exclusive: “I need a challenge”

January 11, 2011

Following on from the news broken by Wrighty7 that the former Newell’s Old Boys player has agreed a 5 year contract with the Ashburton Grove team AA has gained exclusive access to an interview conducted with the pocket sized maestro and his agent Jorge Mendes explaining the reasons for his departure from the team newly sponsored by the Al Thani family of Qatar.

“Speaking to Thierry (Henry) when he was with us, he told me how competitive the nature of the Premier league was and it took my breath away; he told me about the fascinating tactics of teams like Manchester City, it was – how you say “Estacionar el autobús” – I very much want to prove myself against teams like these.”

He went on to say “Here in Spain there is only El Classico, after that the other teams are no challenge, my goals against them feel cheap”

“In England every team fights hard in the Premier League and strikers can be tackled, when they tried that against me, when Thomas (Ujfalusi) tried that in the Atletico game, everyone defended me and all of Spain was horrified to see such a tackle. They tried to ban him for ten months but I laughed because I was back playing in ten days! In England I hear the other team’s players lean over you when you are injured on the floor and abuse you? I want to show how strong I can be in a spot like that.”

It also became apparent that Messi is keen on a reunion with a former team mate, Arsenal legend and mainstay Cesc Fàbregas.

“I speak with my good friend Cesc regularly, he tells me what hard work EVERY league game is and what a challenge playing my style of football is in such a tough environment; of course it’s easy in Spain, no one kicks teams like Barca here. We share the same footballing DNA and I am confident I can show my quality away from Spain. I am tired of playing in a two team league. Cesc is right the Primera Liga will soon be like the Scottish premier League. He calls it ‘a pub league’ – what is a pub league?”

It’s no secret that Barca’s manager, and Messi’s mentor, has refused to sign an extension to his current 12 month arrangement and Lionel feels Pep is also looking at a new challenge, quite possibly in the Premier League and what better team to play with than Arsenal with their current coach more than likely retiring at some point during Lionel’s five year contract with Arsenal?

As if there were not enough reasons to make sense of Messi’s shock move the little Argentinian began to explain his disillusionment with the Catalan outfit:

“When we wore the UNICEF badge I was proud of my club for not taking money for advertising on our shirts; now we will have Qatar on our shirts I don’t understand what Barca has in common with Qatar, why…?” at this point Mendes cut him short to prevent any legal complications between his former employers and their new sponsors.

In order to placate his former team, Lionel Andrés was prompted by his agent to say if he would consider a move back to the team that made him once he has proved himself in England.

“Yes, “he grinned “I would like to come back and finish my career with Newell’s Old Boys” – proof positive of the class and sense of humour of the Ballon d’or winner.

Written by charybdis 1966

141 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by ChärybdÏß1966

To Win the Title, Wenger Must Not Repeat Last January’s Mistake

January 10, 2011

This time last year we were on a long unbeaten run and were beginning to hint at the possibility of a serious title challenge.

There was one glaring problem – we did not have a lead striker.

Robin van Persie was out on one of his trademark lengthy injury lay-offs and Nicklas Bendtner was filling the berth next to him in the treatment room.

The result – Andrei Arshavin as centre forward.

I still have nightmares about some of those games where we played the Meerkat as our CF: his little legs scurrying around among the ranks of Jurassic defenders, those brave but pointless jumps to try and win headers against six-foot-plus titans. Sometimes his only viable tactic was to try and run through the defenders’ legs. In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that Arshavin hasn’t been the same player since.

During the January window it was obvious that we needed to strengthen our injury-depleted attack and it was also clear whom Arsene had in mind for the job: Marouane Chamakh.

But the boss felt Bordeaux were asking too much money for the Moroccan international (who had only a few months left on his contract) and preferred, instead, to wait until summer to bring him in on a free.

The rights and wrongs of the Chamakh non-move last January have been much debated so I don’t want to go into them again here. But I do feel that, even if he thought it wasn’t right to bring in Chamakh at that point, Arsene should have looked for other quick fixes to the striking problem. Perhaps a loan deal, or a relatively low-money move for a veteran forward (like when ManUre snapped up Henrik Larsson in 2007 on their way to winning the title).

And so to this year’s January Transfer Window.

This time our problem is at centre back, not centre forward. Our best defender, Thomas Vermaelen, has been out for most of the season and there are real question marks about whether he’ll be back in the short to medium term.

Fortunately Johan Djourou has really stepped up to the plate and both Squillaci and Koscielny have made better starts to their EPL careers than they are often given credit for.

But what if one of those three got badly injured – particularly if it was big Johan? We would be seriously weakened at the back and you would have to doubt our ability to sustain a title challenge.

Yes, we could push Song back into a CB role, but he offers so much in the middle of the park (and has no obvious replacement for that role in the squad) that it would be equally damaging to move him.

So, as they say, it’s déjà vous all over again, only this time it’s a defender we need, not an attacker.

Chris Samba has been mentioned, as has Gary Cahill. Per Mertesacker is being linked with us (I like him a lot but Big Raddy makes the reasonable point that a mid-season arrival should ideally have EPL experience).

I really hope Arsene goes for one of them. I hope he realises that although his failure to acquire a striker last January can’t be said to be the only reason we failed to sustain our challenge, it at least played a part.

To see the same thing happen again would not only be deeply disappointing, it would also be a major faux pas on our manager’s part.

Come on boss. Make that move!

RockyLives

124 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by RockyLives

Holy Johan – We Live To Fight Another Day

January 9, 2011

Ahh, there is nothing like the FA Cup for a bit of spice is there?

 

Anyone expecting Leeds to just show up and enjoy the experience of the Emirates were having a laugh. I have seen a couple of Leeds’ games this season and they are a more than decent unit (their unbeaten run was only stopped by Cardiff in midweek). The term “unit” is important here, while they played like one, we didn’t. And can we really be surprised? They played with pretty much their first XI, while there was massive changes to our side. These were changes Wenger had to make though and I don’t begrudge any of his selections.

Chesney was an obvious starter in goal. Gibbs was coming back from injury and giving Clichy a breather. There was no choice but to play Eboue with Sagna suspended, and the CB pairing was a no-brainer as well. In midfield, I felt Wenger called it right, starting Denilson and Song with Mozart. Arshavin also got a chance to prove he was deserving of a regular starting berth, as were Bendtner and Chamakh.

The performance itself wasn’t bad. We still got our passing game going and created some half-chances, the problem was we weren’t quick enough or fluid enough. And despite there being two or three very rash challenges (Bruce on Chamakh), I personally felt Leeds played and defended very well. Their CB pairing were excellent throughout and the whole side defended as one. They also have a fine young keeper in Kasper Schmeichel – that save from Denilson in injury time was outstanding. Our own ‘keeper produced a fine save of his own from Beechio’s header.

First of all the bad.

What has happened to Arshavin’s first touch? Too often the ball got away from him and too often he just stood there and didn’t bother to try and win it back. We expect so much more from Arshavin and its no surprise to see him slipping down the pecking order. Hopefully he can get a good game under his belt and get back some confidence. He had some touches during the game (including the volley that was saved in the 1st half) that reminds us that he is a top player.

Next was the penalty, silly by Denilson. It was a lazy leg just left there and was always going to be a penalty. Overall I felt Denilson had a good game and was more influential (defending and going forwards) than a tired Song.

Now for the good.

Theo came off the bench and did brilliantly. He used his speed really well and won us two penalties, even though we were only allowed to take one. Great cameo from Feeeeo. Cesc also did well and tried to get the team going.

But the best part of the whole game (apart from the equaliser) was watching Johan Djourou command the defense. Since his return from injury he has done brilliantly and only reconfirmed how good he is becoming yesterday. Any high balls that came in were usually met with his head and he’s not afraid to put his body on the line. Man of the Match by a clear mile and hopefully we get to see him and Vermaelen team up pretty soon.

So off to Elland Road, a replay is not ideal but its better than being out of the cup.

98 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by criochnaithe

Thank you George Graham & David O’Leary. True Gooners.

January 8, 2011

Let’s start back in the late 60’s and early 70’s. The mere mention of Leeds was certain to cause fear in all but the hardest of Gooners. Leeds were as hard as their fans. Bremner, Giles, Charlton, Hunter etc  were without question the dirtiest side I have ever seen, but let there be no doubt, that side could play great football before they kicked two colours out of the opposition. However, Leeds reputation was even more fearful on the terraces. I recall walking down Avenell Rd sometime in the early ‘70s when the Leeds hooligans rushed through the street kicking children, punching women and beating up anyone foolish enough to wear red and white. It was terrifying and as a consequence I have always hated Leeds with a passion.

There is a need to say that the Leeds management did all they could to eradicate the hooligan element but no football fan was sorry to see Leeds slip down the leagues – it was karma.

We had a rivalry in those days. Leeds v Arsenal was a season highlight. Now, following the destruction of the club by infiltrated Gooners (thank you GG and David O’Leary for taking such sweet and delayed revenge), they are recovering from years of financial chaos and come to the Emirates for their first visit.

I should say now that I know nothing of the current Leeds team – we have no coverage of the Championship in Denmark. Sanchez Watt would appear to be injured which would be a great shame for the lad as AW gave him permission to play. Leeds had a fine run in last season’s FAC, beating Man Utd and drawing with the rabble down the road – they will come with high expectations and Arsenal can be sure of spirited opposition.

Arsenal are unlikely to play a full strength team and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Arsene make 9 changes from the Man City team.

My guess:

Bench: Fabianski  Ramsey Eastmond  Koscielny  Chamakh Clichy

The 3rd round of the FA Cup used to be such an exciting prospect but nowadays it is just an enjoyable interlude from the PL and CL. And yet …. Leeds at home does have a certain frisson to people of  “a certain age”

I hope we spank them …..

COYRRG

93 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Erik the Red

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »