December 9, 2009
Michael Owen. The title typifies the Man United striker. Many had written him off then as he spearheaded a understrength United team he bangs in a hatrick. The third goal especially shows everyone what Owen is (still) all about. Pace, although half of what it used to be, and a calmness in front of goal. This one on one chance i remind you came after he had missed an earlier chance to score. How many striker do you know who would have scuffed the shot wide.
Im pleased for him, he has taken a hell of a beating form the press and Fabio Capello has looked over him several times. He is perfect to have sitting on the bench in the World Cup and then to bring on in the last ten minutes when the game is stretched. I know being English and all we shouldnt mention it but ….. penalties. I would like to remind you that he can take a decent penalty.
On the subject of penalties Matt Le tissier has offered his expert knowledge on England’s problem. His record speaks for itself. One miss in 49 penalties. Unbelievable I say sign him up Fabio every little helps.
Tonight sees Arsenal’s youngest ever squad travel to Greece. This is a chance for use to see what the fuss is all about Wenger’s young guns. Several reserve team regulars are going to play and i cant wait to see how they get one. It is a baptism of fire really. Firstly they have to play a champions league team who are desperate for a win and secondly they have to play in Greece where the atmosphere intimidates anyone.
If anyone comes through it looking well then surely Wenger has to consider them for the first team. All the pre game talk is that it will be a massive gamble but why not test them at the highest level to show off their qualities or even better test their resolve. Hopefully they will respond positively and seize their opportunity.
I will go out on a limb and predict a two one win to the Gunners. Walcott and Vela to score.
December 2, 2009
Arsenal are out of the Carling Cup. The kids just didnt have enough to overcome a multi million pound squad littered with internationals. The odds were stacked highly in Man City’s favour and to be honest Arsenal didnt disgrace themselves, well too much.
Two individual mistakes and a superb wonder goal is what lost the game not a substandard performance. We looked lively and dangerous when we went forward but just lacked a sharpness to our attacking blade. Carlos Vela was close to breaking the deadlock and Merida thundered a drive against the bar.
We played fairly well i dont want to blow it out of performance but the Gunners played worse against Fulham earlier in the season. the kids were no overshadow and we should of really taken more advantage of the twenty minutes we had Man City on the backfoot.
If’s and maybe’s are all well and good but they dont win quarter finals do they now.
I thought Ramsey and Vela both looked very assured and played some decent football. Vela just needs a bit of beefing up and he will be something very special indeed. Silvestre changed my mind about him tonight as well he was a one man brick wall at the back. I think it’s about time he let Adebayor out of his pocket.
It’s not all doom and gloom. Two 3-0 defeats in a week isnt ideal but it could have been worse. Lets be positive people!
Man u v Man city will be a pretty tasty semi final. I wonder what team Fergie will play. i have a hunch he will go all out for an away goal at City then a more youthful side at Old Trafford.
November 30, 2009
Chelsea showed at certain times almost ease at brushing aside Arsenal yesterday afternoon. They had less of the ball and took their chances when they came along. This is hard to say especially being an Arsenal fan but we never looked like scoring ( minus the goal we did actually score). Eduardo looked off the place and was frankly played out of position. Eduardo needs a partner to thrive off, he is someone to pick up the pieces, a fox in the box you might say.
Sorry that was a bit off topic, back to Chelsea, have they actually won the league already? To be honest i wouldnt be surprised.I initially thought at the beginning of the season that whoever finished above the Blues would win the league. They have strengthened while teams around them have got weaker. Man united lost Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool lost Xabi Alonso and Arsenal didnt set the world on fire with their summer transfer activity.
How can it go wrong for the Blues? The African Cup of Nations I hear you shout at your screen. But no! They have fixtures against Hull, Sunderland, Birmingham and Burnley. They could easily win them without Drogba and co.
Where Chelsea are going to drop points is the key to the rest of the season. We may have to just hope for them to repeat their performances against Wigan, but i cant see it happening, draws maybe at the best.
I dont wish to seem defeatist here and purely be spulrting out a knee jerk reaction but they have beaten Liverpool, Arsenal and Man U already this season, all the evidence points to the title returning to Stamford Bridge.
Returning to Arsenal now and Rosicky has pointed out the importance of the next league match. I agree with him completely we need to stuff Stoke to give all the doubters a wake up call.
Finally i was on the Mirror website and came across this.
Honestly i think Stan has a point. I dont think buying him will be the best option but a short term loan with a view to buying him would be pretty decent. he is someone we can throw on to change a game. A plan B, pretty much a brute upfront to whack it in the net. It would good to get your thoughst on this. Feel free to comment.
November 28, 2009
The news which will break every Arsenal fans heart broke this morning. Robin Van Persie will be out f
or 5 months. Apparently the initial diagnosis was incorrect. So to put it simply Van Persie has buggered his ankle completely. This has ruined Arsenal’s season. RVP was a vital clog in the way the Gunners have been playing recently, not only scoring goals but setting others up.
With the January sales approaching quickly, surely Wenger will spend big on a quality striker to get our season back on track. Can you honestly say you would be willing to let Eduardo and Bendtner lead the line? Given time they may be able to do it but i would much prefer to see an experiecned striker standing at the front of our front three.
The main reason i would like to see some big signings is that the gap between Arsenal and Chelsea and to a certain extent Manchester United will certainly grow larger. Chelsea are expected to blow everyone out of the water by spending obscene amounts of money with their transfer ban looming.
If wenger doesnt act now then we will miss out on various transfer targets even if they are young potential superstars. Even with Van Persie’s injury a defender is top priority. We have seen this week that all panic buttons have been pushed with Gallas’ swollen eye. Who can replace him? Silvestre maybe? Senderos? or would you prefer a shiny new defender?
Wenger has shown that he doesnt have to spend in order to build a decent sqaud Gibbs appeared from nowhere to replace Clichy and Song has become one of the best midfielders in the premiership, but if Sunderlands performance is a glimpse of the near future than please Wenger buy buy buy!
November 26, 2009
I know what your thinking. Im going to reveal some wonderkid or superstar who has slipped under the radar, but you will be mistaken in thinking this.
Fulham’s signing of the season is Roy Hodgson.
Yes thats right their manager is the signing of the season. Hodgson is close to signing a contract extension warding off any potential suitors for the multi lingual manager.
The former Swiss international manager has been a revelation at Craven cottage since taking over from Lawrie Sanchez in 2008. He successfully steered the club away from relegation and then followed that up with finishing seventh in his second season. He finished above Tottenham, Man City and West Ham and only two points below Aston Villa.
Having qualified for Europe Fulham were expected to struggle in both competitions but they have lived up to high expectations with a comendable draw against Roma and they sit a comfortable tenth place in the league.
Hodgson has brought his brilliant tactical genius to Fulham (he has made them a hard team to beat, just ask arsenal) and his ability to spot a bargain in the transfer market. Who had heard of Brede Hangeland before Roy decided to invest in him?
The thing that has impressed me most about Hodgson is his ability to get the best from his players. Aaron Hughes, who is a pretty ordinary centre back, has sometimes played out of his skin for his manager helping to form a solid backline with the previously mentioned Hangeland. Erik Nevland has risen form the ashes to prove himself a Premiership goalscorer, Clint Dempsey has improved beyond belief. I could go on for ages talking about what Hodgson has done.
When Roy finally puts pen to paper Fulham fans should be rejoicing in the streets.
November 25, 2009
Tonight saw Man U finally lose at home in Champions League after 23 matches unbeaten. 23! Thats a record to be proud of. But as always with football there is divine justice, so when United embark on another long stretch of unbeaten games we will always be reminded that they were beaten by Besiktas. Happy days.
Tonight also threw up a result which did surprise me. That was Bordeaux’s two nil win over Juventus. I know Italian teams arent what they used to be but Bordeaux seem to be a bit of a force in this years competition. I can honestly seeing them upsetting some of the big boys in the same way that Porto did under Mourinho. They have already beaten Bayern home and away in the competition. With a squad that consists of players such as Yoann Gorcuff and Marouane Chamakh they are surely a team people will wont to avoid in the next round.
Going back to my predictions for last night. Well i wont talk about them i will let you be the judge. Although this is the case I did place a bet on lower league teams and won an earth shattering £10.30.
An update for you on that Raheem Sterling story. Reports now suggest instead of heading up north, the English wonderkid will settle for the short trip over to the Emirates to join the highly successful production line. Also from the Arsenal camp it has emerged that Alex Song has signed a new contract.
A rumour that is flying about is Wenger is preparing a summer bid for Gabby Agbonlahor. The lightening quick striker will cost about 17 million. Personally i would wuite like to see the English at the club. His pace and direct play could add another dimension to the attack. We have seen from performances for Aston Villa that he strong enough to hold up the ball and has awareness of when to play pass. Plus he has lead in his boot. Sign him up Wenger!
A bit of an Arsenal bias post here sorry about that. So i will leave you with some more bad/good news about Manchester United. In the link to the gabby story is also one very interesting one about Vidic. Apparently he wants to move to southern Europe for a hotter climate because his wife doesnt like the weather in Manchester. Whether it is true or not is another matter but it has been circulated for a while now and hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
November 24, 2009
Here are my predictions for the Champions league games tonight:
Arsenal to win 3-1
Arsenal at home are almost unplayable sometime ripping through teams at will. Standard Liege seem to lack any backbone, and are likely to concede a few at the Emirates. But as we all know Arsenal are pretty much always going to concede a last minute goal through some shoddy defending. I also reckon that Vela will start and net a goal.
Liverpool to win 2-0
Somehow, always somehow Liverpool win in Europe. Considering that victory is vital for the reds and they are playing the weakest team in their group i cant see anything but a Liverpool win. I think though Fiorentina will beat Lyon in Italy eliminating Liverpool in the process.
Rangers to scrape 2-1 win
A last minute goal is all the bet they can hope for. This prediction is more hopeful than anything. Lets say a good luck charm. Rangers are something of an enigma in Europe. A 4-1 loss one week and a battling 1-1 draw the next game. Stuttgart are a good team and shouldnt be underestimated by any means but the Ibrox faithful may prove to be the deciding factor.
Finally Inter Milan V Barcelona to be a ANOTHER bore draw
Both teams want to save face and not lose to a giant of the game. Draw written all over it.
On a side note within the last couple of minutes it has been announced that Paul Hart has parted company with Portsmouth. I will link to the BBC and leave you in their more than capable hands.
November 24, 2009
Again Ryan Babel has expressed his desire to leave Anfield. The player who promises so much but delivers so little is voicing his concerns over his world cup place. He clearly feels that he deserves a starting place in Liverpool’s squad and I wouldnt argue he gives them another dimension. Pace is very hard to defend against and he has that in abundance.
It looks like Carlton Cole is going to stay put at least until the summer. Zola is confident that his star striker wont venture to pasture new. It would be a hammer blow ( excuse the pun) to West Ham’s season as everyone in their team seems frightened of scoring goals.
Manchester City’s plans to ruin another young career seems to take a step up as they pursuit 14 year old wonderkid Raheem Sterling. The QPR youngster has had rave reviews for Rangers staff. The money may tempt Sterling to the City of Manchester stadium but the amount of competition standing in his way may be a stumbling block, plus if proves to be a flop they can go and buy another one with their endless funds.
And finally Cesc Fabregas has dismissed any speculation of himself going Barcelona. The Gunners skipper has pledged his allegiance to Wenger’s team. The young spaniard claimed he “never thought about going”. For the Premierships sake lets hope he stays, and from an Arsenal fans view Thank God!
November 22, 2009
Having woken up from a sublime nap on saturday afternoon, I gazed upon Soccer Saturday and to my horror the score Sunderland 1 Arsenal 0 flicked up. Instantly I thought thats it, its over what proved to be such a promising start to the season is now over.
As the day turned to night I finally came to my senses one poor performance wont cost us the title, plus there is still the Champions League to play for. To be honest im not fussy about what Arsenal win this season as long as we win something.
The team that played yesterday left little to the imagination. Nasri and Rosicky both drifted infield and looked off the pace. Eduardo upfront on his own didnt seem to work, this may be a very unfair judgement. Robin Van Persie took a long time to settle into the role and look at what happened goals galore.
Ramsey is improving with each match but i dont think he should be employed in the same role as Cesc. With him bombing on it forces Fabregas to hold back a little and blunt his attacking abilities.
The season is a learning process and once the injuries have cleared up i think we can live with any team. Plus when browsing the internet this morning i came across this gem. We have all heard the first half before but the bottom half is very interesting, can we expect more from our little Russian wizard? I certainly hope so.
Also i stumbled upon this. It wasnt very hard to find but i thought i would draw your attention to it. We cant keep thinking our home form will take us all the way. Its a simple fact that we have to play half of our games away from home. As soon as we click away from home we can dominate.
May 9, 2008
With England not travelling to this summers tournament i have decided to support Spain. I’m backing the perennial underachievers to finally conquer Europe. With a strike force consisting of Fernando Torres and David Villa they can hardly go wrong for goals. Iker Casillas in goal they have a pretty steady backbone. Puyol and Sergio Ramos will be marshaling the defence. Just to top it off they have Cesc Fabregas and Xavi pulling the strings in a wonderfully talented squad. They just don’t seem to have a glaring weakness. One factor pulling for them is that Raul won’t be making an appearance. The so called Golden boy of Spanish football brings extra expectation which is very much unwanted.
It is about time that they deliver a major honour to the people of Spain. They are always tipped as the dark horses in pretty much every tournament they play in. With no one expecting them to win they can go out and play with freedom. They have momentum going into the tournament with notable wins over England, Italy and France. There should be nothing stopping them.
The group in which they have to qualify for the quarters is pretty much as easy as they come. Group D consists of them, Greece, Russia and Sweden. These teams shouldn’t prove too testing for them and they should cruise through. Hopefully we seem them lift the trophy come the summer.
