Emery Knows

May 29, 2019

I woke up yesterday morning thinking I was remarkably calm considering we have a European Final on Wednesday. This morning I awoke with a nervous energy not felt for many a moon. The hours until kick off  going to be very long. I have bought a 9 pack of Tuborg Green (we Danes are hard drinkers and 6 packs are rare!) and a couple of bottles of a cheeky Italian Dolcetto to make the time go faster and numb my pre-match nerves.

Baku is awash with intrepid Gooners, people who have sacrificed much to support their team. Can the Arsenal give them the victory they deserve?

My first emotion when we made the Final against the Shed Boys was a cloud of negativity – “Chelsea are too good”, “Hazard’s last game”, Chavs have more experience and Big Game players” etc etc. I am sure many of you will have shared those thoughts. But I find today I am far more positive – this is a winnable game. All we need to do is perform as we did earlier in the season when we annihilated the Chavs at the Emirates. That’s all.

Can we? Of course we can.

Now I know there is many a slip twixt cup and lip and Arsenal have royally effed up many big games in recent time (Brighton/Palace etc etc) but Emery Knows 😀

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The media are expecting a Chelsea win and the betting odds are against us but how can anyone gamble against a side with our front two? They are special and above all they are winners.

Do you think Mr Emery will pick Mesut to start? I don’t know either. I dither, changing my mind on a hourly basis. Had Mhki been available then No, but given his absence Yes, I would start Ozil. However by the time I finish writing this PM, I may well have changed my opinion.

Cech or Leno? We had a poll and Leno won but we all know Cech will start. The man has been great for AFC. I recall when he signed how excited I was that we had a safe and secure GK after the two flaky Poles (both of whom have developed in top GK’s). I wish him well in his final game.

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And what of Iwobi? Will Mr E. choose a more defensive model and leave Alex on the bench?

Who is sure to start? Cech, Koscielny, Sokratis, Kolasinac,  Xhaka, PEA and Laca. The rest remain in doubt, even Nacho.

If we play 3 at the back then, given his recent form, I would trust Mustafi but Nacho is so reliable and so experienced.

Could AMN start? We will need pace to counter Hazard, Willian, Pedro etc.

And in midfield, will Douzi be picked ahead of Terrier? I hope not though a midfield of Xhaka, Terrier, Douzi and Kolasinac is quite likely.

Cech

Mustafi    Kos   Sokratis

AMN   Terrier   Xhaka   Kolasinac

Ozil

PEA    Laca

My concern with this side is the reliance upon AMN and Wardrobe to get forward thereby allowing space  behind for fast counter attack by the excellent Chelsea wide players. As always, midfield discipline must be maintained.

For Chelsea, well mostly I don’t care but I will be very upset if  OG scores. Very. Hopefully Kante will be injured as he is a wonderful player.

VAR will be used tonight; much discussed, I believe VAR assists the game though some decisions remain open to interpretation. Referee is Rocchi, an Italian with much experience, we must hope he hasn’t been gifted a house or two by Chelsea’s owner

Last night I was over in Malmo Sweden  alongside West Ham Bob watching another Malmo victory. He sat on the fence but hoped for an AFC win. Like many his head says Chelsea but his heart is Gooner. For us it is simple – Death or Glory. If we are to lose I do not want to look at any AFC player and think they could have worked harder – mistakes will be made, they are human, but to win tonight will require 100% effort and concentration.

A European Final as the final game is way beyond my season expectation. Win or lose the team have had a successful campaign but how wonderful would it be to lift the trophy?

Come on boys, you can do it.

COYRRG

 

 

 

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Posted by Erik the Red

Arsenal’s remaining season: what’s the point?

February 16, 2019

I’m writing this on the back of the Bate result with all the despondent reactions still ringing in my ears. Now I don’t want to sound like I’m high as a kite on false hopium, BUT, pre-season, and on the back of a new manager, most Arsenal fans were pretending to show a more mature and patient side with getting back to being a top four side as step one.

We are currently sitting in 5th, with just one point separating Utd in 4th and Chelsea just below us in 6th. Hardly a time to chuck in the towel.

Beyond the League (although this post is about the League), in the Europa most think we’ll get past Bate, and we recently beat the bookies favourite, Chelsea.

Ok, the remaining League fixtures:  much will be decided by how each of the 4th spot contenders perform against the lower sides as that’s the majority for each’s remaining games, however much will depend on encounters between us, so here they are:

ARSENAL
Totnum a
ManUtd h

CHELSEA
Totnum h
Liverpool a
Man Utd a

TOTNUM
Chelsea a
Arsenal h
Liverpool a
Man City a

MAN UTD
Liverpool h
Arsenal a
Man City h
Chelsea h

I haven’t included City or Pool because they are not in the race for 4th , although interestingly, City have only one fixture left against a top six side, while Pool have three.

I have included Totnum because they are more than capable of spectacular implosions.

Some of these could end up effectively being the classic six pointers.

Can we make it? Stranger things have happened.

mickydidit89

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Posted by Bongo Hedge

Back in Business – Arsenal v Chelsea Ratings

January 20, 2019

No Mesut in the starting line-up. Could the team raise their performance without him after last week’s dismal showing in Stratford? You Betcha.

First Half

It was Blitzkrieg in that opening period of the game. The only disappointment was having only Laca’s wonderful strike to show for it.  We retreated a little just after the goal as if the team couldn’t quite believe it was actually winning in a first half. Pedro’s dink over the keeper was the only real moment of extreme danger, though.

We still had the better chances in the remainder of the first half including a bullet header from Kos straight at the keeper’s face. When almost exactly the same chance came again, Kos decided to use something he’d practised in training, a  no-look header (© fgg).  Fooling the Arrizabalaga that he was going to power a header again, he deftly deflected the ball off his shoulder, cushioning it into the far corner. The keeper stood as if he’d watched a magic trick. It gave us some vital breathing space before half time.

Getty Images

Second Half

Chelsea huffed and puffed but failed to really get up a decent head of steam against Arsenal’s well-organised defensive structure.

Kos even took one in the orchestra stalls blocking a pile-driver. You can see the after effects here.

OG came on from the bench and got more respect in a few minutes than he ever did while playing for the Club.

A third goal looked possible on a couple of occasions but wasn’t to be.

Conclusion

A different team performance altogether from our recent away efforts. Everything worked perfectly on the day, so a time to bask in beating our West London rivals.

One shot on target from the chavs in the whole 90. Emery using Ramsey to cut the supply lines to Hazard was a masterstroke. A superb defensive tactical display from the Arsenal and a clean sheet to boot. Not often we say that.

Reuters

Ratings (extra point for everyone for beating the chavs)

Leno – one shot on target from Alonso, saved comfortably, competent elsewhere … 8

Bellerin – such a shame just as he was regaining form and importance … 8

Koscielny – majestic in defence and cunningly brilliant for his goal … 9

Sokratis – shame he couldn’t find the net with his first half header, solid throughout …8

Kolasinac – almost looked an accomplished defender in addition to being a wardrobe on wheels … 7

Torreira – still not sure if he knows 100% what his role in the side is but he worked really hard throughout, tiring a little in the second half … 8

Xhaka – only the odd sloppy pass but generally a rock in midfield … 8

Guendouzi – perpetual motion, which sometimes make him look like a schoolboy chasing the ball over the field, ten out of ten for youthful exuberance … 8

Ramsey – excellent in that first period where we could have run away with it – the pressure’s off for Aaron, so hopefully he can have a massive positive effect on the rest of our season … 8

Lacazette – magnificent finish at the near post the like of which we have seen before from him – tireless and willing … 8

Aubameyang – A couple of belting chances not snaffled up in the first half, though the bicycle kick was unlucky … 7

Subs

Maitland-Niles – a couple of really important challenges – with Hector out, it’s time for him to push on … 8

ElNeny – tidy, and helped in the second half rearguard display … 7

Iwobi – didn’t see much of the ball up top but helped out in his own half … 7

Managers

Emery – does this make up for the West Ham debacle? – yeah , go on then, one game at a time … 9

Wagner – out thought, outplayed, lovely … 5

chas

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Additionally we have an FGG assessment of yesterday……..

Without a doubt, my favourite performance of the season.

Obviously we all enjoyed the Spurs game at home, but we’ve just beaten Chelsea without our goalkeeper making a single significant save. Tactically we were absolutely outstanding and you could see that Emery had looked at the opposition and had decided that stopping Jorginho was the way to stop that team hurting us. Ramsey dominated him for 60 minutes and then Elneny came on and stood next to him for the last half hour. We allowed them space out wide knowing that they could couldn’t hurt us with crosses, and the performances of our CB’s was a joy to watch. If we had more players who cared about the job they do as Sokratis then we would win the league. He may not be the best player, but he was absolutely immense today and you can see he cares about defending. We haven’t had a player like that for a while. Everything the Greek lacks in technical ability though, the guy stood next to him absolutely makes up for it. Koscielny oozed class and gave a defensive masterclass in positioning and guile. What a performance.

I’m not going to pretend this makes up for the last few performances, but I can see that with the right players, Emery has the tactical nous to take us forward. We just need the right players to implement what he’s asking.

Absolutely loved that 2nd half and watching the last 15 minutes knowing that Chelsea had zero chance of scoring was a rare treat. Let’s hope it continues.

Interesting to listen to Keown’s comments after the game. He seems really frustrated that Ramsey played so well today but won’t be with the team moving forward. I’ve also seen a lot of comments from Merson recently about Arsenal letting players go on the cheap. Whilst we all agree that certain things have been awful behind the scenes, I don’t understand the total negativity that comes from these people.

Personally, I believe that getting rid of players like Ramsey and Özil will see the club move forward. Emery has his own ideas about the squad and if he believes that the £350k we pay Özil and the probable £200k+ we would’ve had to pay Ramsey can result in us signing 2 or 3 players then I’m with him. Don’t get me wrong, the club could’ve handled the contract situations of Wilshere, Ox, Ramsey, Özil and Sanchez so much better than they have, but in reality, I look at that list of players and wonder how many of them really would be moving our club forward right now. Four of them have been out injured for the last month ffs, how often was that a problem for Wenger’s teams!?

Comments from FGG

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Posted by Bongo Hedge

Arsenal FC – Our record against Chelsea

January 18, 2019

Some of Chelsea’s origins.

Chelsea FC was formed on 10 March 1905 in an upstairs room at the Rising Sun pub, Fulham Road. Among the founding directors were millionaire owner Henry Augustus ‘Gus’ Mears, his brother Joseph, their brother-in-law Henry Boyer, publican Alfred Janes and his nephew Edwin. In 1904, Gus Mears acquired the Stamford Bridge athletics stadium with the aim of turning it into a football ground. An offer to lease it to nearby Fulham was turned down, so Mears opted to found his own club to use the stadium.

The club, the brainchild of another founder, Frederick Parker, would be started from scratch to fill Gus Mears’s ambitious stadium, being built across the road at Stamford Bridge by the architect Archibald Leitch. Scotland international Jacky Robertson was engaged as the fledgling club’s player-manager. In collaboration with Parker, who also engineered Chelsea’s admission to Football League Division Two, Robertson built a squad that included their larger-than-life 23 stone goalkeeper Willie Foulke; the club hired football’s first ball-boys to emphasise his presence.

The first game was away on 2 September 1905 at Stockport County in front of a crowd of 7,000. William Foulke, known as ‘Fatty’ became the first Chelsea goalkeeper to save a penalty, but in the melee that followed a wayward County shot was deflected into his own net by Robert McEwan, resulting in a 1- 0 loss.

Here is our entire league record.

Our overall home record against Chelsea has been positive but we have only won 3 of our last 14 games – W3, D6, L5, GF14, GA18.

Memorable home victories in the Prem

27th December 2010 Arsenal 3 Chelsea 1

Goals from Song, Fabregas and Walcott in the 10 minutes either side of half time blew the chavs away. Petr Cech was in goal that day and our only survivor for tomorrow is Kos.

24th September 2016 Arsenal 3 Chelsea 0

Mesut and the dog fancier ran riot two seasons ago. Sanchez and Walcott scored in 4 glorious minutes at the start of the game and Mesut wrapped it up five minutes before half-time. We could field the same team tomorrow minus Le Coq, Santi, Walcott and the dog fancier, which is quite surprising.

Chelsea are 6 points ahead of us therefore losing would put us 9 points behind with only 15 games remaining – and if Man U win or draw against Brighton we would drop into 6th place. A must win game for sure.

GunnerN5

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Posted by Bongo Hedge

Wembley Beckons – player ratings for Carabao Semi part two

January 25, 2018

First half

The chavs came flying out of the blocks, high press, overloading the centre backs with Hazard, Pedro and Willian confusing the whatnots out of Koscielny and Mustafi. Thank Dennis their early goal was cancelled out by Nacho’s crazy double kiss header, else the game could have run away from us.

Our midfield was all over the place with no-one quite sure what they were supposed to be doing as the ball flashed past them.

Gradually we got a toe-hold and had the two best chances in the rest of the first half; a Granit fizzer from a free kick and Mesut’s deflected right footer just before the break.

Second half

So much better second half, even without the cones! Chelsea began to play for the away goal counting after extra time. Their rotational fouling was not penalised by the lenient Oliver. Granit must have had a nose bleed being in the chavs’ six yard box but there he was, at a ridiculous altitude at precisely the right moment; almost as if it was pre-ordained. Alexander missed a chance to put the game to bed which, being kind, was probably harder than it looked. No major scares in the last ten minutes – job done, off to Wembley.

Ratings

Ospina – Busy Doing Nothing – 2 shots on target for the chavs didn’t leave our Colombian much to do ….7

Monreal – Pinball Wizard – Magnificent commitment throughout, his goal came at exactly the right moment ….9

Mustafi –  Working in the Coal Mine – always tries hard, improved as the game went on….8

Koscielny – Leader of the Pack – seemed to be fighting his injuries even more than usual but still imperious  ….8

Bellerin – The Way You Look Tonight – quiet, didn’t do much at all ….6

Xhaka – Road to Nowhere – summed up Arsenal’s performance, chaotic but Johnny-on-the-spot ….6

Wilshere – Push It – barely got a touch in the first half, an inspiration in the second ….7

Elneny –  Nowhere to Run – covered every blade at the apex of the upside down midfield triangle ….8

Iwobi  – Back Door Man – most tackles, most misplaced passes, bizarre  ….7

Ozil – Pretty Beat Up – the man with the weave decided kicking him was the only way to lessen his impact ….7

Lacazette – So Lonely – even less support than normal with the dog-botherer gone and an extra body in midfield ….7

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Posted by Bongo Hedge

Cheating Costa to get his Comeuppance?

September 24, 2016

What would we do without the comedy villain? In the past it has been Shearer, then Sheringham, Van Nistelrooy or Keane, Shawcross etc. I guess it has always been such as we construct our narrative about our favourite game. Chelsea are unusual insomuch  as they have two.

And we all know who we want to get a good shoeing and a red card this afternoon.

Diego Costa is a player whom I would love to see in the red and white of Arsenal, he is a horrible but efficient, destructive player. I suspect that off pitch he is a really good bloke but on-pitch he changes. We do not have anyone like him and perhaps we are the lesser team because of our “niceness”. Perhaps Xhaka will change this.

Of course ,the other villain is the ageing and possibly missing JT . Be honest – if he had been in the Arsenal shirt and under the tutelage of Mr. Wenger for the last 15 years we could have been a legend; instead Terry is a boor.

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We need to win today, we need to beat Chelsea and get this monkey off the back. Me-rinho has gone but we still haven’t beaten them in too long, much too long.

Let’s be clear, whatever they do Chelsea will always be in our shadow. Arsenal are the biggest club in London and no amount of illicit money will change that. Yes, they have won more silverware in the past 10 years than we have but so what? We have history, Chelsea have Russian money.

I still admire Fabregas. Bear with me, this is a man who desperately wanted to return to his home club in Barcelona, got binned and saw the error of his ways. He wanted to re-sign for Arsenal but Mr Wenger decided we  had better, it wasn’t Cesc’s fault that we signed Ozil and Cazorla. Why castigate the poor chap who has to pull on that repulsive Blue shirt? Isn’t that enough punishment? Imagine the pain every time he has to walk into the dressing room. I think the chap deserves our sympathy not our dislike.

We go into the game on a strong run of results and must be confident. The Alexis experiment is likely to continue and I expect AW to pick the same team which won at Hull

My Team:

Cech

Bellerin    Mustafa    Koscielny    Monreal

Cazorla   Coquelin    Iwobi

Walcott    Sanchez    Ozil

One of the most interesting aspects of today’s game will be how Mustafi copes with the aggression of Costa, let us hope he can control himself better than Gabriel!

Also, how will Hazard play? If he is on-song the man is a potent weapon and will certainly stretch our defence.

It should be a cracking game, especially if Chelsea  and Conte choose to attack.

I see no reason why we cannot win against a team who, quite frankly, have besmirched our wonderful sport since the days of the execrable criminal Ken Bates. We are the men in the white hats waiting for the outlaws to arrive. let’s give them a thrashing and send them home crying.

Let it be so

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

We lost …. Reaction …. not Over Reaction

January 25, 2016

These are a selection of the comments posted yesterday in reaction to our home defeat to Chelsea

Big Raddy ……

5 minutes of naivety cost us the game.

Fairplay to Chelsea they defended very well and we did not create a single clear chance

We were really good in the second half and perhaps deserved a draw.

The return of Sanchez will be important and just because we lost today it does not mean we are out of the title race but today’s defeat hurt … a lot

Fatgingergooner …..

I thought we played well with 10 and you cant accuse the players of not trying. The sending off ruined our chances. poor decision by Merts. If we go 1-0 with 11 we still have a great chance to win the game.

It was tough to take but Sanchez looked good and Burnley next week to help get over it.

Gooner In Exile …..

The second Sanchez came on the pitch we had another dimension, Ozil came alive knowing there was at least one more he could work with at that level that very few can, both Alexis and Ozil draw defenders in and mainly keep it. The thing that Ozil does so well and that probably highlights the weaknesses of others is knowing when to release it and how to release it. He rarely plays a pass blind whereas so many others seem to judging by where the pass ends up, sometimes it’s better to keep the ball and try another angle than force a pass where one doesn’t exist.

So up side from the game is Alexis is back, upside from the weekend is we are still within 3 points of the leader and have both teams above us to play. So it’s in our hands.

We need to get out of this dip and go on a run of four or five wins.

Next 5 games, Southampton, Bournemouth, Leicester, United, Swansea. We will soon find out if we have the stomach for the title challenge.

Rockylives …..

We actually created quite a few half- and there-quarter chances even after going 0-1 down, but we didn’t have the composure to make the most of them.

Mesut picked a bad day to have a rare poor performance and Fabregas, who has been poor all year, looked much the better player.

Shard …..

Frustrated, but with some pride as well.

I don’t think we played very well. We played well enough to win, if we hadn’t been stupid for 5 minutes. Where was the midfield, why was Kos languishing rather than busting a gut to get level, and why did Per dive in? I would add that Costa went down without a touch, and that Clattenburg hence got it wrong, but that is besides the point.

Theo. Not a very good way to celebrate being captain. Once again a poor performance, and his lack of tecnhical ability is a real issue at times. Now that Alexis is back, I’d drop Theo, unless he’s playing through the middle. Poor Giroud. I wouldn’t have subbed him off, but the logic of going for speed over a target man is sound. I was furious that we conceded just a minute after that substitution. That piece of defending really annoys me. If we’d kept it at 0-0, I think we would have won even with 10 men.

Did anyone see a replay of the handball appeal we had just before the red card? I didn’t, and to me that signifies something fishy, because that is what used to happen earlier. Wrong decisions not shown on replay.

MickyDidIt89 …..

Completely agree with the importance of getting Coquelin and Sanchez back

If anyone had told me when those two first went injured, that two months later when they were returning we’d be level on points with City, and three points behind leaders Leicester, a. I’d have they were bonkers and b. I’d have taken it in a heart beat

Very disappointing today, but very much all to play for.

Also, I don’t think it will damage confidence one bit, as the team will understand the significance of those returning, and also the uphill mountain faced by any team going down to ten men so early in any match.

Peachesgooner …..

That was a very sad game of football although it’s fantastic to have Alexis back and amazing how Ozil and Alexis find each other.

Usual scummy tactics from Diego Costa. Per had already made me worried in the opening minutes where I’m sure his brain knew what he wanted his legs to do but somehow they couldn’t keep up with his train of thought 😦 Anyone think Gabriel would have started ahead of Per if there hadn’t been the history?

I’d love us to hold onto the ball better when moving forward, we just waste too many passes at the moment but hopefully Coquelin will steady the ship when he gets back.

Ozil ran and ran and ran, he must’ve be shattered.

On another day Flamini would have been a hero and scored one of his chances.

Still in the top four and three points off the top, all good really 🙂

LB …

I want to cry.

….. If you’ve got anything to add to those observations, join us in comments and have your say ……..

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Posted by Rasp

5 Years, What a Surprise.

January 24, 2016

Who would have imagined that with less than half the season remaining Leicester would be 22 points ahead of the Champions Chelsea?

Chelsea’s season has been what my Colonial friends call a “train-wreck.” They cannot even make injuries their excuse for this comedy.The fitness coach, the demise of Fabregas and Hazard.The football world’s’ recognition that Costa is a nasty, cheating Spazilian. Mourinho, defeat after defeat. Schadenfreude at it’s finest..

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However, in the midst of this they beat us at the Bridge. It still wrankles – that imbecile of a referee cost us three points and an opportunity for Mr Wenger to smirk at the Portugese slimeball. Can Mr Wenger’s injury-ravaged team beat Chelsea this afternoon and gain some kind of revenge?

Hiddink seems a decent fellow. Never met the cove but I like the cut of his jib. With luck he will take Chelsea on a long flirtation with relegation. Three points for the men in  red and white would help him in his quest for fame, because Mourinho and Hiddink to take Chelsea down would guarantee their place in football folklore, an ambition Gus must find highly attractive

Do you want to me talk players, tactics, injuries etc? No, I thought not. It is all available elsewhere. Instead I will get personal….

Many years ago I joined a stream of chaps clad in red and white scarfs on a noisy walk down Fulham Road with the intention of arriving at Stamford Bridge full of song and bonhomie. Not far from the ground we were attacked by Chavs. I wish I could say that I stood my ground and fought with tigerish aggression – I didn’t. Thankfully, running was one of my innate talents and I dashed away from the scene with a turn of speed which I am convinced would have won a podium position in the Olympic Games 400 meters.

Once inside the ground we were assailed with whatever the neanderthals could throw at us. The police were noticeable in their absence and I recall the St John’s Ambulance service being very busy. In those days there was room for a fleet of ambulances by the side of the away supporters – they were often needed.

In the home stand there were hundreds of men raising their arms in Nazi salutes! Can you imagine how I feared leaving the ground and it’s relative safety? Fortunately we had a police escort back to the tube station.

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They must love having a Jewish Owner

Strangely it didn’t stop me going back the following seasons.

Bringing us to today; Chelsea remain a hateful club. From their highly-dubious owner to their morally bankrupt club captain they are a club with no history and no honour. Sure they have silverware in the recent years but it is tainted – bought with (be careful of libel Raddy) questionable money. It was not jealousy that had the whole world laughing at JT’s penalty miss in the CL Final – after all his miss allowed the repulsive Mancs to win the cup. No, it was delight that a mate’s-wife-shagging racist (legally proven and thus not libelous) shitehawk like Terry made a dog’s arse of himself in front of billions.

Back to today ….

We have not beaten Chelsea for 5 years and we haven’t scored against them for almost 500 minutes  – it is time to break this hoodoo. Players are returning from injury, we will need them if we are to remain fighting for the title and a win today is important. Spurs and Leicester are  – I cannot believe I am writing this – a genuine threat

A  Giroud hatrick would fit the bill nicely.

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

Ramsey is The Man

September 19, 2015

Chav. Know what it means? It is an acronym for Council House And Violent used by police on charge sheets. Gone are the days when Chelsea fans really were Chavs, nowadays they have been priced out of the ground. For all his wealth Mr Abramovitch has still allowed Stamford Bridge to have the 4th most expensive tickets in the PL.

What do the real diehard Chelsea fans think about their team? Are they sad that the club squander money on big name players who do not perform (Cuadrado, Falcao and the scores out on loan) or do they exalt in the fact that Chelsea are Champions? I know that I wouldn’t give a donkey’s butt about the balance sheet if Arsenal were to win the PL and I guess the Chavs don’t either.

As to this afternoon, I don’t accept the notion that Arsenal will be lacking in confidence following the midweek fiasco, 6 of the players are like to be dropped and those coming back add hugely to the team. Nor do I accept that Chelsea are over their problems because they beat Maccabi at home – as they should.

Will Chelsea be undone by the injuries to Willian and Falcao? Of course not. Will Fabregas have his best game of the season? Of course he will. Will Mourinho behave like a spoilt brat? You know the answer. Will Mr. Wenger shake his hand? Who cares apart from the media.

We know Chelsea have a fine team who are struggling defensively, they failed to buy the CB they wanted but still have Zouma, Terry, Ivanovic, and Cahill to choose from! Luxury (written with a Lancashire accent). A midfield of Fabregas, Oscar, Matic, Ramires and Obi One Kanobi is sure to gel at some point. Up front Costa is a petulant child (though I wouldn’t say it to his face!) and for this reason I hope Mr Wenger picks Gabriel. We know how fantastic a player Hazard is and AW must be gutted that he failed to sign him.

The Arsenal team?  I am sure it will be one which started against Stoke (unless BFG is fit).

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It becomes increasingly clear what a vital cog Ramsey is in the team. I have said this before and will say it many times, Ramsey is a better Ray Parlour.

Cazorla has been struggling of late. Could AW play the OX instead and bring Ramsey more central alongside Coquelin? He has tried to get Ramsey to play deeper in the past and it has not worked but that was alongside Arteta, Coquelin’s defensive discipline may be a better fit.

Once agin we have the Giroud/Walcott debate. Against the sluggish Terry/Cahill combo Theo is the obvious choice but I would certainly give OG at least 15 minutes. Or can we trust Campbell in such a big game?

I have to say that despite what has been written on AA this is NOT a season defining game; when was the last time we won at the Bridge? The bookies odds are against us and so are history and the experts. If we win it will be massive and send Me-rinho into the relegation zone with 6 games gone – effectively finishing their chances of winning the title. But ……

I have never enjoyed games at the Bridge – either I was shit-scared thanks to their knuckle-head Nazi fans (in the days of Yore) or because their team have comprehensively outplayed us. There have been great moments – Kanu’s hatrick, Nigel’s thunderbastard, the magic 5-3 which included a hatrick from some Dutch bloke and the JT faceplant, but they are few and far between.

Can we win? Of course. Will we?  I wish I could be positive about this one but I am not. We have scored just twice in 7 games against them and have not won for 7 games, Me-rinho has never lost two successive home games as a manager. On the plus side, we have won 7 and drawn one of our last 8 away games and Theo is on fire (11 from 11).

I would be delighted with a draw.

I am 34% positive.

COYRRG

Written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Bellerin or Debuchy?

April 26, 2015

I used to like them. I used to like the fancy-dans of Kings Road. I liked John Hollins, Charlie Cooke and Ossie and even Terry Vegetables. I enjoyed watching Ruud Gullit and Vialli and Pat Nevin, They had swagger, class and style. They were Chelsea but post the Russian have become The Chavs. New money, new ethos – efficiency over character.

If I were a Chelsea fan would I be happy? Of course I would but I know I would hanker after the Glory Days because football is not just about winning – it is also about entertainment.

A team with Hazard, Costa, Fabregas, Oscar, Willian etc should be able to get bums off seats, instead they are tailor-made for a mid-afternoon Sunday nap on the settee. You know what to expect – they do enough to win and no more. What happened to that wonderful team which hammered all-comers at the beginning of the season? Same players but totally different entertainment level.

Unknown

Chelsea fan mid-way through the first half

Why? The rot starts at the top, filters down to the horrible oik of a manager then to the dreadful team captain and onwards to the team.

I will not ruin your day by spending any time writing about the manager; suffice it to say that he is successful and charismatic – so was Stalin.

What of today’s encounter? First vs Second (well it was on Friday!). A win today takes us back to second with a game in hand on MC & MU (and 11 points ahead of the N17 neanderthals). Can we finally beat Mourinho?

To start with, Ramsey has to play. Whomever is to play right back will have to cope with Cesc, Oscar and Hazard. He will need the additional security of a tackling “winger” rather than Theo.

Bellerin or Debuchy? We discussed this briefly mid-week with the majority pointing out Bellerin’s fine run of form and his extreme pace; my inclination is to start Debuchy. Bellerin makes the odd mistake which is inevitable with such a young man, Debuchy may not be as pacy or as much of an attacking threat but he has the experience. That said, Debuchy did not excel at Wembley.

Then there is the battle of the Franks – Francesc vs Francis. Le Coq has excelled in recent weeks but Cesc is a level above all the MF’s he has faced. Whatever your feelings about Fabregas the man, he remains a wonderful footballer – the best in his position in the PL (IMO). Would he improve the current Arsenal team – possibly not, but who would you rather see in the Red & White, Cesc or Aaron or Santi?  All of them is my answer!

The teams seem evenly balanced and I expect the result to depend upon which side makes the least mistakes. If our defence can concentrate for 90+ minutes with the midfield backing up both FB’s we should win because we have better forwards. I know Hazard will be Player of the Season but in my opinion Alexis has been better. Ozil and Giroud are better players than Oscar and whichever lump plays upfront for Chelsea today.

BFG or The Archangel? If fit, Mertesacker has to start, though Gabriel seems to have pace and excellent abitliy in the air which could be vital against a team with such big CB’s. Cahill, Terry and Ivanovic have scored 15 goals between them!

My Team:

Ospina

Debuchy    BFG (if fit)   Koscielny   Monreal

Cazorla    Coquelin

Ozil

Ramsey     Sanchez

Giroud

Other changes could be Welbeck in for Ramsey as Mr Wenger may choose to be more attacking in a home fixture – somehow I doubt it. The bench is possibly the strongest in the PL. We have so many fine players in the squad. When The Ox returns will he find a place in the current first 11 or even the bench?

Matic worries me. The man is a beast and exactly the kind of player Mr Wenger should be buying in summer. Sadly this type of player is rare and as such hugely expensive. The physical battle between Matic and Le Coq will be interesting.

Courtois. This chap is fantastic, everything I wish TPIG could have been. Let’s hope he has a disastrous evening.

As to the Mourinho/Wenger hoodoo. It is just history – as irrelevant as our FAC Final win over the Chavs in the Ray Parlour final. That said it would be wonderful if we could win today to stop another tedious media narrative.

We have won 9 games in a row, are at home, have a fully fit team and bench. We can win.

I am 51% confident

written by Big Raddy

 

 

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Posted by Erik the Red

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