A View from the Away End

April 27, 2011

Written by Gooner in Exile

Easter weekend brought Gooners to Lancashire in their droves. We took the whole end of the ground, upper and lower, the normal allocation is 3,000 but that is, I believe, half lower tier and all the upper. I would estimate the travelling ranks were closer to 5,000 on Sunday.

For a change I waited around the players entrance for the team bus to arrive to give the team the support I think they need. The entrance was lined with Arsenal fans young and old, not one player stopped to sign an autograph for the youngsters eagerly awaiting their heroes, a few, Song, Theo, RvP and Jens, acknowledged the fans with a small hand gesture. The rest were listening to their music of choice in their own little worlds. You could argue this was the look of focussed players, but to me it came across as a tense team, one under the cosh and you would have thought for all the world they don’t like each other, and would have preferred to be anywhere else than playing football.

It also struck me just how young this group of players look as they walked along, carrying the hopes of so many fans on their shoulders is a big burden for these lads.

And so into the ground we went curious as to whether there had been a bust up pre match or whether the players were just in their pre game routine and therefore not in the business of being friendly until the job had been done.

The Easter Bank Holiday brought a fair few more families than you would normally see at away games, despite being dispersed across the whole end the fans managed to make a good deal of noise pre match, and as the PA died down you would have thought Bolton had 3,000 fans in as the Arsenal end was full of noise, belief and arrogance that we would sweep aside all before us. This has to be the default mindset at away games as the fans cheer and sing despite the scoreline.

The game started well with us having a good deal of possession and a few chances, Theo’s penalty appeal was met with groans from the away end, being too far away to judge it, it just appeared that he had been dispossessed with too much ease. Groans from the away end, I am afraid that the negativity had come to the North West with the extra travelling numbers.

I was unfortunate enough to be stood next to two particularly negative fans. One stood right behind me complained that Szczesny should have been wearing a cap as he “fumbled” two crosses, which for me was garbage as I turned to him to point out that the sun was coming from the other side of the ground and that both balls had come along the ground and therefore had nothing to do with the sun.

To my right another fan was having all manner of hissy fit which was amusing a few more seasoned regulars around them, now I know it is often said that some fans don’t know what they have got or how lucky they have been to witness the achievements of this team in recent years, the two lads were probably no more than 22-25. I caught the eye of one guy who was probably in his early 40’s and there with his two lads he just rolled his eyes and smiled at the guy in front who was literally acting like a spoilt brat in front of him.

In terms of the game we failed to capitalise on early pressure and Boltons confidence grew as they realised they weren’t as bad as last weeks Semi Final suggested and they started to play with more conviction, it is true that Owen Coyle has attempted to create a more attractive side but on Sunday they reverted to type of long ball to Davies and win the knock ons. Sturridge gave the centre backs a hard time whilst Davies was running and attacking many aerial balls with great success.

This culminated in the goal at the end of the first half which led to a bit more discontent within the massed ranks.

After the break Djourou was penalised for the tackle on Sturridge and this brought more ranting from behind me, I turned and looked the guy in the eye and in no uncertain terms told him to stop shouting so much rubbish and to perhaps support the team a little bit more. To be fair he looked at me a bit incredulously and then shut up which was a relief. Szczesny saved the weak penalty and almost immediately the side was lifted.

Soon after Van Persie was breaking the Bolton resilience with a great bit of interplay with Cesc which led to a low drive into the bottom corner.

Despite so much pressure in the second half we the fans could not will the ball into the net, and the players could not however much they tried break through for a second time. Bolton conserved energy without possession sitting deep and blocking any shots and runs, whilst Arsenal players wore themselves out by overworking the ball when shooting was the plea of the crowd. However in the players defence when you look at the goal we scored and the amount of bodies in and around the eighteen yard box it is no surprise they don’t shoot, in most instances it would be a total waste. But there were times when you felt the trigger could be pulled, Jack for example ran into the box and if he had the confidence to use his right foot should have shot, another couple of occasions came and went, it seemed like the goal would not come but on the other hand I did not feel like we were going to lose either. Silly me.

Unfortunately my fears have been confirmed, maybe it was the number of fans at the  Reebok  or worse the away support has also begun to lose faith.  On the goal Arsenal fans poured out the exits, some stayed, not many waited to applaud the players off the pitch, but then few players came to the fans at the end, Sagna, Jack, Szczesny, Theo and Eboue were the few that came over to applaud the travelling horde.

I awoke Monday morning to a quote from Arsene Wenger accepting that he is to blame, will this man defend the players to the end, and will it be that loyalty that costs him his jobs, yes he picks the team, but his players in who he places so much trust have failed to do simple things well, and to score goals when so many chances have been created. When the players play we can score for fun, at the moment too many are suffering a mental block in front of goal.

My criticism of Wenger is that he is relying too heavily on a core of 11-13 players, those players are stagnating and tiring together, however it is hard for him to use the squad players as they have rarely done enough to convince him or the support that they can do the job required. Our squad rotation is limited, he needs to understand that occasionally for the benefit of the team an ordinary player must start in order to give the better player a rest or to freshen things up. We started the season with options in every position, we have ended it with an tired first eleven, and a group of squad players bereft of confidence.

Its time for this group of players to start enjoying football again, but its also time for them to start repaying the enormous faith that Wenger has put in them.

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

Wenger Should Go – And Here’s Where To…

April 26, 2011

Yes, that’s right: a quiet beach a million miles away from the hurly burly of Premiership football and the unforgiving scrutiny of the media.

A blue sky, a blazing sun and a long, golden beach as empty as Abou Diaby’s head.

Obviously Arsene shouldn’t go there right now – that would be rude. He should at least wait until we’ve played our remaining games.

But when his team has kicked the final ball in yet another season of flattering to deceive, he should give the players, the board and the media a cheery wave and head off with a small suitcase containing only his Speedos and that bottle of sun cream that Phil Brown left behind in the away dressing room at The Grove last year.

And while I know his many critics will hope he never comes back, I beg to differ.

What our manager needs is some time to get his head straight and take stock. I mean REALLY take stock.

And to do that he needs to detach himself from the day-to-day craziness of his job. There are so many immediate demands on him that there is no possibility of him ever getting perspective on the big picture.

He is known to make decisions over every aspect of how Arsenal is run, from the colour of the loo roll in the London Colney toilets (white, with a cock-and-ball logo in blue as it happens) to the aroma of the massage cream in the club morgue treatment room.

Plus, we’re always reading how even on his ‘days off’ Arsene is to be found glued to a TV, watching some game in the Azerbaijani Third Division. Well that’s got to stop too.

He needs to go to his deserted beach for three whole weeks – with no Blackberry or mobile phone, without a lap top and with no access to television.

There have to be no calls from agents; none from journalists; no texts from Emmanuel Eboue with links to funny videos involving chickens. It needs to be total media silence.

Yes, he might miss out on a transfer opportunity or two while he’s incommunicado. So what? There is no point doing transfer business until he has fundamentally decided what he needs to do to turn Arsenal into a trophy-winning club again.

He also needs a complete break for his health and sanity. Personally I think the media have been over-egging the ‘man on the edge’ stuff lately because it fits the narrative they’ve chosen for Arsene (when Ferguson rants on the touchline it’s passion; when Wenger does it it’s a mental breakdown). But even so, the pressure and scrutiny must take its toll and he has looked frustrated at times.

I’m not going to speculate on what conclusions he might reach while his hammock sways from side to side with the calming monotony of Denilson’s passing range.

Oh alright, I’ll speculate a little: maybe it will involve re-thinking the youth policy; maybe he’ll decide he needs a proper defence coach; perhaps he’ll conclude that certain players need weeding out (and I mean weeding – not the full-on napalm attack that some of the more excitable web sites are demanding).

Other areas he might ponder are whether 4-3-3 is worth persevering with; whether to go all out for the domestic cups again or revert to using them as a training slope for the up-and-comers; and, perhaps most difficult of all, whether he has the heart to carry on.

I hope he does all this, because I firmly believe that he can make us great again. And when he does, I want to be there to watch the media lickspittles shovel humble pie down their gullets until they burst.

RockyLives

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

Mr Wenger, Please do me a Favour……?

April 25, 2011

Written by Harry

All I ask of you in my hour of need, after the unexpected defeat at the hands of Bolton, as I sit here distraught and frustrated, even angry at the events of this season, I ask that you address the faithful the hordes of fans that support and follow this club of ours as soon as is practical…….

What do I want to hear?

  1. Admit you have made mistakes.
  2. Admit that you have been restricted in the transfer window since our move to the Emirates, but now you have the funds available to make the moves you truly want and if needed you will pay what it takes.
  3. Admit that some players that you have supported vehemently have let you down.
  4. Admit that we do have specific areas of concern that need fresh players in to improve us and take us up a level.
  5. State categorically that you will address all of the above points, that we will keep all of our star players and have a real and proper title tilt next season………

Hands Up, My mistake……

In the aftermath of the defeat today which ends any lingering hopes that we had in winning the title this season, it is so hard to put into words the events of the match, and how I am feeling……..

The Blogosphere is awash with AMG’s, Fire Him, Sack Him, Walk now, Do the right thing, I understand the frustration and indeed I have anger inside, but I believe we are so close, to being what we all want that we must manage our expectations and get behind the boss and the team that he has built, as I stated above he has made some errors and needs to address certain areas……….

So today started with a real belief that we had an outside chance of still winning the title, some doom merchants will crawl out saying we never had a chance and it was all over before today, well mathematically there is still a 150/1 chance even now, but even the most optimistic fan knows, that the silver polish will not be needed this season……

The match started bright and the team seemed to start with the same vigour that they tackled the Spuds with, Walcott seemed pivotal to our day, but after the first few attacks, Bolton’s resolve not to lose seemed to take hold and they harried and fought, giving little space for our players to exploit…….

I don’t want to dwell on the match too much but will just give detail on the key moments@

On 38 Mins:  Bolton took the lead when Cahill lost his marker Alex Song as a corner come over, his header was cleared from the goal by Nasri, but straight to Sturridge who just nodded in from point blank…….1-0……..

On 45 Mins: Fabregas flashed a 30yard low drive against the left hand upright to see it deflect back away from danger……..

We had other moments in the first half, but failed to counter Bolton’s aggressive pressing game……Sturridge and Davies were proving to be a handful…..

On 46Mins: No sooner had we all sat down ready for the 2nd half, Sturridge turned Djourou and pushed into the box from the left, Djourou was unlucky to see the Ref point to the spot as Sturridge fell over with no contact made…….

Kevin Davies stepped up and hit a poor penalty just to the right of centre, Szczesny held strong and saved well with his legs, the ball for once went to safety……..Game on? Well the players did seem to up their game……

On 48mins: Van Persie comes in from the left and touches the ball into Fabregas, who feeds back, Van Persie, curls a sweet shot into the bottom left  hand corner of the goal……1:1, game truly on?

Arsenal now really stepped up and created numerous chances that should have been converted, Nasri and Chamakh missing gilt edged chances……..

On 89 Mins: Another set piece sees Tamir Cohen nod in a glancing header at the near post……….2:1….Season over, 5 minutes of injury time, just prolongs the agony……

Ratings:

Szczesny: 7.5 …Saved a penalty and two other saves of real note, so did well but fumbled a few……..No chance for either goal….

Sagna: 7…I thought he did well defensively, but could do more in advanced positions……

Djourou: 5… Truly shocking, he is a liability at the moment, I have stuck up for JD many times and still have high hopes for him, but he is struggling at the moment……numerous mistakes, weak and poor positioning…….

Koscienly: 6…Steady but still learning to deal with the premiership, will develop, needs a bit more aggression for me…..

Clichy: 4…The root cause of our defensive fragility, harsh to blame one in all entirety, but I wanted him dropped weeks ago, he has no positional sense, slow in thought, restricts our play constantly and cannot cope with any pressure……..

Wilshere: 7…Jack tried and had some good moments, needs to be more selfish in front of goal, he has a great shot with minimal backlift needed, but never uses it…..Subbed first…

Fabregas: 7…Had a good game, but just not quite influential enough to get us a result, but at least he was having some shots, key role in the Van Persie goal……..

Song: 5…Has regressed alarmingly since about Christmas, but he has struggled with injuries, perhaps it has restricted hum?

Walcott: 7…Tried and looked good early doors, when the team was playing to his strengths, but as Bolton pressed, the team stopped trying to put Theo through…..

Van Persie: 8…A new record of 7 away games in a row with a goal, so well done to Robin, did well and dropped deeper when Chamakh came on and set up some good chances…..Didnt deserve to lose…..

Nasri: 7…Played well until when near the goal where his goal-den touch seems to have deserted him…

Subs:

Chamakh: 4….Poor, Poor. Looks lost of any belief…….

Arshavin: 6…Better, but still he is a wasted talent…….

Ramsey: Not enough time

Manager:

Wenger: 6: I thought he selected his best team (aside I would have dropped Clichy) for the start. But again his use and awareness of substitutions was lacking. I would agree some players have let him down today and through the season, but rightly so, arsene retains a responsibility to sort this out…..

Overall:

I do understand people’s thoughts on why they feel time has come for a change and not for one second do I see mediocrity as acceptable, I don’t think 3rd or 2nd can be truly seen as a successful achievement, So do I feel we have improved this season…?

Maybe, a little, but maybe we have a regressed in some areas..? But do I feel, Wenger for now is the one who I think should be allowed to continue to lead this team…..?

As long as  he heeds the advice at the beginning, by making the necessary changes, then yes, as disappointed as I am, he should continue with our full support………

.

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

Always Outnumbered, Never Outsung

April 24, 2011

A trip up to the north west beckons our weary team and our magnificent travelling support.

Some would say we’re a team traumatised by recent setbacks in the league: the loss of a two goal lead last time out, the late, late penalty equaliser against the ‘dippers last weekend and the pair of home nil-nils against Blackburn and Sunderland.

Suffice to say on paper the results don’t suggest a team brimming with confidence. Having said that it can be argued that save for the last thirty minutes of the NLD our attacking and midfield play showed genuine endeavour and self-assurance, even if the defensive frailties continued to persist.

It is fortunate that a feature of previous league campaigns is that most trips to the north west would be in the bleakest portion of the season where a trip to Lancashire would be about as welcome as a cold shower to start the day, however travelling to Bolton will, for the outstanding travelling Gooners, not be an arctic affair on this occasion.

Traditionally most Bolton games have been bruising encounters, who can forget the game where we had player after player stretchered off after the good old British values of “getting stuck in” got their due reward?

Of course this was in the halcyon days of Big Fat Walrus-face Sam, Jose Mourinho’s successor in waiting. It has been said that Owen Coyle has been attempting to get his team to use the grass on the pitch a bit more, rather than the air above it exclusively and in one way Bolton’s last game against a team with a manager that makes Allardyce look like Pep Guardiola, Stoke, showed they couldn’t compete with a “robust” approach as they crashed out of the FA Cup 5-0 to Pullis’ pugilists.

Form wise prior to the FA Cup semi Bolton beat West Ham convincingly at home (3-0) but lost away to Birmingham city (2-1) and before that a narrow loss at Old Toilet to ManUre 1-0.

The Bolton striker to look out for is Chav loan player Daniel Sturridge, who has scored six goals in eight appearances, and the reasoning for the loan is obvious when you look at the performance of Bolton’s other striking options: Elmander (one goal in thirteen) and Kevin “Elbows” Davies (one goal in eighteen).

Just to show that Davies has not changed his ways there is only one player in the Bolton squad with more than his seven yellow cards for the season, namely Paul Robinson, with nine yellows. This constant feature of Bolton’s play at least reassures us that even in a rapidly changing world some things just don’t change, and for that we must be thankful.

League wise, while Bolton sit in eighth place and we are third, they have scored twenty goals less than our sixty six yet have let in nine more than our thirty four so in theory an away win is a formality, right?

Turning to our beleaguered boys in red and white we have, barring the Verminator, pretty much our full complement of first choice players available, so in my opinion the match will hinge on whether the desire of the Trotters to bounce back after their drubbing at Wembley last weekend is greater than our wish to avenge the surrendering of two points to Stratford Spurs.

Not only must we enter the last quintet of fixtures fighting for a win to avoid our season fizzling out but it may well be vital we finish second to avoid the potential need to play a pre qualifier to the Champions League group stages should we stay third, as there are mutterings that that only the winners and runners up of the premier League will automatically go to the group stages.

Selection wise I have a dilemma for midfield as a few weeks ago Jack would have been an automatic pick; however Diaby’s last two performances have made Jack a less obvious pick. Having said that, Cesc must have Song with him if Diaby, less defensive in nature than Jack, is to play.

Up top is the question of whether Nasri should play left wing or Arshavin, with neither player being especially consistent recently. Right wing should be Theo’s place but hopefully with licence to play through the centre to give the Trotters something to think about.

In my opinion a free flowing, flexible formation playing at a high tempo is the best way to approach this Bolton team so for that reason, and reasons of sentiment, my team would be:

On a tenuously related matter, if any Gooners are looking for an IPL (Twenty20 cricket) team to follow can I suggest Kings XI Punjab as their owner is a passionate Gooner and he specifically ensured their jerseys were as close to Arsenal’s home strip as possible, they are even both sponsored by Em****es Airlines.

They also have another owner who is worth attention, Preity Zinta, but that’s just me doing my Cosmo Smallpiece impression.

A final point, listen out for the magnificent away support, they consistently do us proud time after time; always outnumbered, never outsung.

COYRRG !

Charybdis1966

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

Finishing the season strong

April 23, 2011

This was going to be a very involved, well researched post about how many times we’ve clawed victory from the mouth of defeat this season or what happened to one nil to the Arsenal? But the sun is shining and although it was a lucid articulate article at 3am it still needs to much work and time is running out.

We used to be the team that clawed victory or a draw from the mouth of defeat but now we’ve become the team most likely to lose or draw in the final minutes of a tense game.  I used to be certain that we could hold onto a 1 goal advantage gained in the 80 something minute but these days it seems that the only certainty is that other teams know we might crumble if they apply the pressure.

Many have cried out for the ‘smash and grab’ that we used to see regularly, three goals up at half-time and then exhibition stuff for the second half. I actually like the roller coaster ride and coming back from being 1 or 2 goals down always feels very satisfying if a little scary. I always knew we would score ……….. not now though 😦

Although the season isn’t over, to see out the remaining games as if it is would be a waste of a season that has promised so much. There are five games to show that we have the fighting spirit, the mental strength and the players to snatch a few points from the remaining games.

As Arsène is fond of reminding us, we were written off at the start of the season and have spent the most part of it in second place!!!! Yes, we have underachieved, as the Carling Cup should definitely be shining bright in our trophy cabinet but maybe the disappointment of losing that final was just too much for this group of players.

Five games, fifteen points from these will let us finish four points ahead of last season and we can still mathematically win the league. The season isn’t over yet, I hope our boys aren’t already on the beach.

Have a nice day in the sun all.

Written by peachesgooner

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

It’s Time To Right The Wrong

April 20, 2011

Written by CarlitoII

Memories of singing, dancing and grinning from ear to ear at halftime on November 21st 2010 have been plaguing me and many other supporters ever since that fateful second half when twitchy switched it around and we contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. It was the start of a recurring theme this season, and it was started by our greatest rivals- “them from down the road”.

I put it to you, Gooners and Goonerettes, that tonight’s game is the most important of our season. Not because it could take us to within 4 points of the league leaders, not because we have to get the bragging rights back, but because this team needs to prove to themselves, to their manager and to us that they have it in them to redress the wrongs of that game and subsequent seismic jolts of this season. That is where the doubt set in, and doubt is like a thief, it steals the possibilities from your life.

The players doubt, the fans doubt. It’s all over twitter and the blogosphere. To those who doubt I offer you this:

“A person who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks of his enemies and bear arms against himself. He makes his failure certain by himself being the first person to be convinced of it.”

Alexandre Dumas (French Novelist)

In other words- doubt the team and you might as well support the Sp*rs! I know there are many Gooners who prefer to spend their energy supporting the good guys than hating those “cock n ball”s from the less salubrious parts of North London. But today, those emotions go hand in hand. We need to strike a counterblow for our good and their bad. We need to settle the score. In short, tonight is about REVENGE!

Arsène Wenger did not give a press conference yesterday, much to the chagrin of the journalists who make their living by spinning his words. And I know why. Because Arsène knows… that this is about retribution and he could never allow himself to say that in public, to the press. The fact that this morning’s papers are full of exactly that kind of spin on a straightforward Cesc interview perfectly justifies his stance.

Revenge is a mighty motivator, make no mistake about this- we will turn up tonight because every one of these players is playing for belief- in themselves, from their manager and from the fans.

And I can give you other (concrete) reasons for carrying that hope through your day and into tonight’s clash: Our key defensive men are all back and aside from Sagna have had a match to play themselves into a bit of form. Big Johan made us look like a different team with his assuredness at the back and I never panic with Szczesny in goal. I feel for Eboue after a generally decent performance in regulation time on Sunday, but Bac isn’t called “Mr. Reliable” for nothing.

As long as they can keep their heads in the cauldron of hate, I believe they can repel anything thrown at them. Ahead of them, Song is also available and I believe he will play. I know not everyone shares my faith in him, but we are a far more solid and coherent team defensively when he plays.

But my main grounds for optimism are this: we are playing away. Our away form is considerably better than our home form. The inflexible and recently derided 4-2-3-1 system works much better when the other team try and win the game, and there is no chance the Spuds will sit back against us on their own turf. I think it’s also significant that our away support makes almost as much noise as the Emirates does- sometimes even more!

It is also worth stating that, despite having some fantastic players, most of their team are not in great form, in particular Defoe has had a very poor season by his standards.

So, with hope and belief in my heart, my team for tonight would be:

I think Wenger made an error in starting with Walcott on Sunday and bringing on Arshavin as a sub, I hope he will do the reverse at WHL so Theo can terrorize them in the second half. Wilshere will probably come off after 60” for Diaby (who finally looks like he’s plinking* TM RockyLives).

For pride and victory…

Come on you rip roaring gunners!

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

The U-Turn Wenger Must Make

April 19, 2011

I bet you’ve never heard of the period in Rembrandt’s career when he gave up painting portraits and turned instead to singing bawdy ditties for a living (it’s generally referred to as his ‘blue’ period).

Or the time Luciano Pavarotti stepped away from the rigours of being the world’s greatest tenor and tried, briefly, to succeed as a tap dancer, much to the consternation of seismologists everywhere.

Or Charles Darwin’s stint as a pest control officer (and his subsequent memoir, The Extermination of Species).

And here’s why you’ve never heard of them: they never happened.

Strange as it may seem, people who find they are very good at something tend to achieve long term success by continuing to do what they are good at.

They don’t wake up one day and decide to do it all differently.

So what happened to Arsene Wenger?

In his first six years at Arsenal his teams netted three League Titles and four FA Cups, playing a brilliant brand of 4-4-2 football that combined pace, power and skill.

Now we play a very different style of football – in a 4-3-3 or, as some would say, a 4-5-1 formation which, so far, has achieved no silverware and does not look like achieving any this year either.

We are often referred to as the best team to watch. The neutral’s favourite. The armchair viewer’s wet dream.

But, being harsh, our style has actually become quite boring.

The drama in football is all in and around the goal – the shots, the headers, the saves, the game-defining moments. Yet most of our play is based on lateral movement outside the opposition’s penalty area, usually in front of their back four ten.

We play from side to side and back again, like a bunch of crabs at a line dance.

Our eventual forward thrusts usually start well (some quick passes and one-two exchanges), but such is their intricacy that inevitably one pass goes slightly astray or one run doesn’t quite come off and the move breaks down against the packed ranks of defenders.

At the very least, most teams have learnt how to counter our current playing style and it’s only the teams whose managers remain resolutely cavalier (like Ian Holloway at Blackpool) that end up getting a good pasting.

So, in simple terms, 4-4-2 was successful for us; 4-3-3 is not (so far, at least). With 4-4-2, Arsene built two great teams.  With 4-3-3, he has built a great-looking team that hasn’t won a bean. So why did he change that successful formula?

After the Invincibles were broken up there was a transitional period when we continued to play a more-or-less 4-4-2 formation with Adebayor as our lead striker, but there were many occasions on which Ade played as the lone man up front. It was part of a gradual move towards the way of playing with which we are currently familiar.

The main theories for this change appear to be:

  • Arsene had long been an admirer of the Ajax/Barcelona style and wanted to build his own team in that image.
  • The financial constraints of the stadium move meant Arsene knew he would have to build a team from within and, if he was going to do that, it was an opportunity to train all the teams, from youth level up, in the style of play to which he aspired (youth players being less stuck in their ways than seasoned veterans, who might find it harder to adapt to a new system).
  • Arsene decided that, in Cesc Fabregas, he had one of the greatest midfielders we will ever see, but to release his talents fully required 4-3-3.
  • After TH14 left, Arsene has not been able to find (or at least afford) the kind of world class striker who could lead a 4-4-2 (even though Adebayor flattered to deceive for one season).

It’s probably a combination of reasons (particularly the first and third), but as this season heads for yet another disappointing end, it may now be time to call a halt to the experiment.

It has not been a failure. It has kept us competitive in all competitions for years and maintained our presence in the Champions League despite the lack of cash available for star signings.

But it has not proved capable of getting us over the finishing line in any competition, not even the Carling Cup.

I have enjoyed the ride – the attempt to be the British Barca – and I respect the courage and sense of ambition that have driven it. But now I would like Arsene to return to what he’s good at: building a championship winning group of powerful, skilful players who operate in a devastating 4-4-2 formation.

It doesn’t even need a major overhaul in personnel, although a top out-and-out striker is absolutely vital (an established big name, or another gem unearthed by the boss).

It just needs an admission that the current approach is not good enough, not in the English Premier League, and that there is no shame in returning to something that worked in the past.

RockyLives

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

Saint Self Destruct strikes again.

April 18, 2011

Written by Wonderman

It was encouraging to learn the team news by way of sky sports as I came out of Highbury and Islington station. Both Szczesny and Djourou had been restored to the starting line up as had been hinted earlier in the week and Song was passed fit.

I was concerned with the new found confidence of Carroll and Djourou was just the ticket. The only bad news was  that Sagna was still injured, but after Eboue’s performance last week I was not overly concerned ( how ill judged that would prove).

Before the game a minute silence was impeccably observed in tribute to the late Asrenal Director Danny Fiszman and those Liverpool supporters who died at Hillsborough.

We started with Szczesny in goal, Eboue, Djourou, Koscielny and Clichy in defence. A midfield of Cesc, Diaby and Wilshere, with Walcott,Van Persie and Nasri up top. The first couple of minutes saw us trying to get our passing going with mixed success. We were either passing the ball to the opposition or under passing leaving our players at risk of injury.

Liverpool had set up defensively with the view to counter, a tactic that everyone except Barca bring to the Emirates. They were trying to use Reina’s  massive kicking ability to get in behind our defense, but Djourou was not having a bar of it. He set his stall out early and Caroll was pretty ineffective whilst on the pitch. In the 6th minute Suarez took a free kick but hit it straight at Szczesny. Arsenal continued to attempt to penetrate Liverpool’s defense but they were compact and aggressive, ensuring that the danger areas that we liked to exploit were negated.

In the 15th minute Kosser had a header hit the bar with Reina in no man’s land. The 19th minute saw great interplay between Cesc and Nasri which ended with a fantastic cross from Nasri which Reina did well to pluck out of the air before Walcott was waiting to pounce. A similar move in the 23rd minute on the other side between Walcott and Cesc had the same result. Two minutes later the ball was in the back of the Liverpool net through a trademark Cesc/Van Persie combination, but Robin was correctly adjudged to be offside.

Suarez and Caroll were trying to combine but we kept them dysfunctional and ineffective. It was apparent to me how bereft of pace the Liverpool front line was and we were containing them comfortably. By this time we were dominating possession Robin chased the channel followed by Reina but was unable to keep the ball in play with the goalie way out of his goal. The final 10 minutes of the half saw us enjoy what must have been 70% possession but creating  no clear cut chances.

At half time, I felt it had gone exactly as I thought it would, except I had expected more of a threat from Caroll and Suarez. I was pleased with Diaby’s contribution, he was incisive and effective, no dawdling or pirouettes and early passes meeting their intended destination. Djourou and Kosser were in control. Eboue was causing real concern to Liverpool along with Walcott on the right hand side.

In the second half Liverpool looked to have a willingness to attack with more intent and continued to try to catch us on the break but not without neglecting solid defensive play. The 54th minute saw Eboue’s achilles trodden on in one of their attacks and he went down like he had been shot leaving their left midfielder to advance.

We continued to probe without success and a clash between Carragher and his right back left him semi unconscious for what seemed ages, which didn’t help preserve our momentum. He left on a stretcher and luckily wasn’t seriously injured .  So here we were with two novice teenagers playing full backs and their main leader / communicator off on a stretcher replaced by the pony tailed one , bloodbath time you would presume….wrong in the 71st minute Walcott and Wilshere were replaced by Bendtner and Arshavin.

Arshavin immediately injected that urgency that our attacks had started to lack, he ran at defenders, committing them attempting to disrupt their two banks of 4 with some success, but I thought our movement in reaction to this was poor and in some cases non existent. Robin rarely threatened the near post and Bendtner out wide right is a mystery to me. By the 80th minute Diaby was beginning to revert to type, probably through tiredness and was correctly replaced by Song .

The crowd were beginning to show signs of nervousness and the Liverpool away support were getting louder than our 55,000 plus fans. The removal of Walcott was like a shot in the arm for the Liverpool defense. Gone was the worry of the ball over the top, gone was the worry of road runner coming at them at 900mph. In the 82nd minute a good delivery from Clichy saw Robin glance a header goalwards, but no danger . Two minutes later Clichy to Cesc to Nasri to Robin again all one touch saw the gilt edge chance we had been waiting for, but Reina earned his corn and stood big.

We then broke again but Cesc made the wrong choice of pass, frustration/ nerves were beginning to kick in. Shortly after Suarez got in with a blindside run behind Clichy with no midfielder tracking him and rather than cut it back to two Liverpool players who surely would have tested the goalkeeper or even scored he blasted high, wide and handsome. We continued to press but my concern was the gaps Eboue was leaving behind and his poor recovery runs to get back, all of Liverpool’s attacks were exploiting that space. Because of the injury there were 8 minutes extra time signalled.

In the 96th Cesc was brought down in the box after some cute footwork Penalty ! Van Persie despatched it coolly followed by a feeling of absolute relief/jubilation in the stadium 1-0. BUT it was at this point that we rubbed our little magic lamp and summoned St Self destruct. Straight from the restart Liverpool desperately tried to shoot. Szczesny parried and was closed down by Suarez forcing him to pick up. Suarez then turned his back on the goalie giving him the chance to take the ball to the opposite side of the box and use up some valuable time. Instead he kicked the ball to the half way line back to Liverpool whilst the defence were still pushing up.

Liverpool then went long with 3 players against our 4 defenders and Meireles running past the non reacting Bendtner. Song had two chances to clear, Kosser had a chance to clear both unconvincing, the ensuing scramble saw a free kick correctly awarded for a foul at the edge of the box. Suarez hit the wall with his effort and it ballooned to our right where Lucas was closely followed by Eboue running towards the corner flag with his back to goal. From where I sat 110 metres or so at the other end of the pitch, it looked like Eboue had put his hand on his back and then fell on top of him, stonewall penalty, to make it worse after protestations of innocence  Eboue had that ridiculous grin on his face. Kuyt despatched his penalty 1-1 ….the stadium began to empty almost immediately

 

Ratings

Szczesny – 7  Looked assured and was safe in his handling. Kicking still requires some work and he needs to add ‘game craft ‘ to his locker

Eboue -6 Did not have a bad game but made a very bad decision that cost us 2 points to do what he did was just typical of us this season. Still has the tendency to make injury seem worse than it is which annoys the hell out of me.

Djourou – 8:5 My man of the match I shudder to think what would have happened had he not recovered from injury today. Carroll knew he was in a game today

Kosser – 8 did not do much wrong but still has a tendency to try and win an unwinnable ball , but what a first season

Clichy -7 Energetic as usual and got forward well, but still worries me when he has time on the ball in our defensive third

Diaby – 8 pushed Djourou hard for MoM put in a very good shift today linking play quickly and efficiently, was subbed at the right time but should be pleased with today’s work

Wilshere – 7 not his best game as there were many stray passes today. But the sign of a class player is one who always wants the ball no matter how many mistakes he makes. Kept going until he was subbed

Cesc – 7.5  almost identical to Wilshere but was instrumental in winning our penalty

Nasri-7 not his best game and is beginning to look battle weary

Walcott- 7 was no where near as effective as I expected , especially playing against an 18 year old novice. Is not a winger

Van Persie – 8  battled all game usually against 4 defenders, had balls of steele to take our penalty at the 11th hour

Arshavin – 7.5 Looked dangerous when he came on and tried to raise the tempo. Perhaps should have started bearing in mind his record against Liverpool

Bendtner -7 is not a wide player, does not look or play like one, so why do we insist on putting him there ?

 

Song -7.5 Solid return from injury

In closing, there is continual talk of buying this player or that player but  in my opinion no matter who we buy or who plays, when we continue to commit such fundamental errors of judgement life will always be more difficult than it needs to be. Mathematically the title is not absolutely dead as I still think there will be a twist or two, but whilst we remain unbeaten in the league this year we don’t appear to have the required momentum  to be champions…but I could be wrong

St Self Destruct strikes again !!

 Wonderman   

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

Sing up for the Arsenal – L’pool today

April 17, 2011

It seems an eternity ago that Reina scored an own goal following a Chamakh header in the 90th minute to gain our first point of the season. It was to be a pre-cursor to the season  – Arsenal have all the play, the opposition score a superb goal (without question Ngog best PL goal) and we have a player (Koscielny) sent off by an insane referee.  Liverpool went on to have a dreadful few months and looked in deep trouble until the return of King Kenny.

Much water has flowed since those days. January gave Liverpool an belated Xmas gift when they swapped a misfiring Torres for two fine young attackers. I fear for our CB’s today because Liverpool have once again  formidable attacking options. Carroll has terrorised us before and scored at the Grove this season, Suarez looks a fine player and Kuyt has found his scoring boots. Thankfully they remain shaky at the back and are suffering from a minor injury crisis. No Gerrard is a plus but Meireles has improved enormously and against Man City Liverpool’s midfield totally dominated.

If Liverpool play the same expansive game at the Grove as they played at the weekend, this will be a terrific game. With only Sagna definitely out we have almost a full squad to choose from and AW will be racking his brain to sort out who starts. Should he play Diaby in light of Carrol’s height? Should he play Bendtner to take advantage of Liverpool’s frailties? In my opinion, No, to both 🙂  We must play our game and see how Liverpool cope.

My team:

I expect a tight game, much will depend upon us stifling the supply to the front men. A concentrated Song is essential as Blackpool exploited us through the middle thanks to Diaby’s poor positioning  – he isn’t a DM and it showed. As ever Theo’s pace will be a big threat and more of the long balls from Cesc to RvP would be good – he is sure to score from one of them.

Let us hope for a strong referee to curb the excesses of the mad Carragher  (I used to have a dog that had Mad Carragher’s Disease – it got put down soon after the diagnosis).

Should we win today the League is still on, the confidence gained will boost the side ahead of the trip to the Lane, and renewed belief will build in the Grove. To those who are lucky enough to have tickets, please make some noise and show the team the support they deserve. This game could be tight and nerves may fray, don’t take it out on the players – start singing and then sing some more.

You can will the team to victory.

Remember 26/5/1989.

Today be the 12th man ……

COYRRG

Written by BigRaddy

A message from peaches

My very beautiful number 1 daughter Rachel is running the London Marathon today on behalf of the National Autistic Society. As a family we have a lot to thank the NAS for as my youngest was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, a condition on the Autistic spectrum, when he was just four years old. We spent years battling the education system to get him support and learning how to teach him to be a sociable young man. The information that the NAS was able to pass on to us was invaluable. There is a much better understanding of all Autistic Spectrum disorders now and that is due to the gathering of information by this extremely hardworking worthwhile organisation.

We’ve flagged up a couple of charitable causes in the last few weeks but if you feel you would like to support Rachel and her Marathon Run for the National Autistic Society you can go to her giving page here. The Marathon Run is a pretty mega thing to decide to do and I’m immensely proud of her, even more so because she said it was fine for me to go to football on Sunday. What a girl huh!

Only, last night she hoped I would be at the finish and so I’ve given my ticket to Rasp for the game but hope to catch up with the second half at The Tollington on my way home.

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

Happy Arseday To You: A New Annual Celebration for Gooners Worldwide

April 16, 2011

Ladies and Gentle Arses I have a proposition.

One of the finest things about supporting the world’s greatest football team is that it makes us part of a vast tribe of like-minded people.

Whenever I see a stranger walking along the street wearing Arsenal regalia I feel a surge of pride and pleasure.

And even though I will probably never exchange a word with that passer-by, I know that I have a bond with them: they will have shared my joys and sorrows; they will have cheered when I cheered, wept when I wept.

And this bond goes worldwide.

Britain once had an empire on which the sun never set. The same can now be said of Arsenal’s support. When the Aussie Gooners are going to bed under their red-and-white duvets, the Californian ones are waking up and pouring coffee into their cannon-embossed mugs.

So it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to devote one day a year to celebrating our international kinship.

We might call it Arseday.

And on Arseday we might do the following:

  • Every Arsenal supporter would wear something with the club colours and emblem. If you have strict uniform rules at work – for example if you’re a policeman, a barrister or a bishop (don’t laugh – the former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, is an ardent Gooner) – then an Arsenal pin or tie may be appropriate, even a pair of Gunners undies or socks.
  • Supporters should endeavour to meet with like-minded people (other supporters) for a social gathering.
  • Where possible the social event will include a fund-raising element to generate funds for Arsenal’s chosen charity of the year (for example, an Arsenal quiz night, a screening of the Invincibles season highlights or of the full game at Anfield from 1989 or the 1971 Cup Final).
  • All present will raise a toast to: “The Arsenal: By Far the Greatest Team the World Has Ever Seen.”
  • Maybe we could even send ‘Happy Arseday’ cards to each other!

I love the idea that on Arseday you would be on the lookout wherever you went for others wearing their Arsenal regalia. You would be able to give them a knowing nod and share a moment of togetherness, without anyone else having the faintest idea what on earth was going on.

The next big question (and I’m sure you’re ahead of me here) concerns which date should be chosen for Arseday.

There are some simple options, like the first or last day of the season, but I’m sure that we Gooners can come up with something better. Here are some possibilities:

  • December 11th: the day, in 1886, when Dial Square (who would go on to become the Arsenal) played their first game.
  • September 2nd: it was on this day in 1893 that the newly named Woolwich Arsenal played their first match as a professional club.
  • September 6th: In 1913, this was the day we played our first game at Highbury.
  • December 25th: in 1886, the first time the word Arsenal was used in our club’s name (it was changed from Dial Square to Royal Arsenal).
  • January 19th: Herbert Chapman’s birthday.
  • October 22nd: Arsene Wenger’s birthday.
  • May 26th: the date, in 1989, when we clinched the most dramatic league title of them all.
  • May 8th: the day we completed our first Double, by winning the FA Cup in 1971.
  • St Totteringham’s Day. The day on which it ceases to become mathematically possible for Sp*rs to finish above us in the league.

Some have obvious problems: December 25th has already been claimed by someone else; St Tott’s day (hard though this is to credit) is not actually guaranteed to happen every single year; any dates in May run the risk of being overtaken by the drama of the business end of the season; and using AW’s birthday is all well and good – but what happens when he retires?

Perhaps we should have a poll to see which date works best?

Anyway, there it is: a modest proposal. What does anyone think? Is it a waste of time or would it actually be quite nice to have one day a year where we just celebrate being Arsenal?

Would the Arsenal blog world get behind the idea?

Over to you…

RockyLives

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

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »