Page 4 of 'Working the Ref' by CR7
So those dirty buggers at UEFA decided to make an example of poor Eduardo. Not content with booking him up on one of those holidays with ‘Extraordinary Rendition Ltd’ , they’ve also decided they want to give him a two match ban for an offence that only carries a yellow card if caught. Yes, that’s right… it would have taken Eduardo 2 more yellow cards to get a 1 match ban… and a further 3 yellow cards to get another match ban.
Yes… that’s multiplying the offence by 6 because the ref missed it.
That means if the ref doesn’t see an offence a player can be retrospectively straight red carded!
- What about if the player doesn’t get the penatly and the ref doesn’t book the player?
- What about if the player dives and gets a freekick that is scored, is that 2 matches?
- What about if a goalkeeper dives, the team wins a freekick, two touches and it’s in… does that get a two match ban?
- What about if the ref sees the dive and doesn’t book the player…
What if… ok, I’ll stop now… but your get the point… complicated.com
So many questions need to be answerred, but my main problem is fairness and equality in the matter. My solution to monitor how it goes is as followed…
We need to utilise the network of Global Grovers.
I want you guys and gals to e-mail in incidents of dives that have gone on accross Europe so we can fill up the ‘Dive watch‘ tab… lets see what the prosecution percentage of these dives is after 6 months… if the level isn’t acceptable… Geoff and I will take Uefa to the European Court of Human Rights on six counts of abuse against Eduardo… then we’ll see who is laughing… mwhahaha!
So… if you see a dive in the Europa Cup or the Champions league, e-mail the players name, what minute it happened and who against and I’ll log it in the side bar —>
I’m accepting of the ban… if everyone else is treated the same.
In other news, there is no news… this comment by Patthegooner summed up my thoughts better than my own brain could on the lack of transfer news…
‘I am going to get right behind project youth now. What is important though is that they continue to deliver performances like they have so far. I know we lost against Man Ure, but it was still a performance that was a lot better than last season. Last year we did not strengthen enough but we also did not deliver on the pitch in effort or quality. This year we have not strengthened enough but I have seen a marked improvement on the field.
I have to look for the positives and they are there. Vermaelen and Gallas is the hinting at being the CB Partnership we have missed since Campbell and Toure. Song has developed ten fold, Arshavin (Once fixed) will be here all season. Cesc showed desire and quality again. Eduardo will be our 20 goal a season striker, but only if Wenger stops fucking around playing RVP up front and chooses the more clinical Eduardo (Would like to see Arshavin, Eduardo, RVP). Rosicky is like a new signing (I suppose) Nasri can only get better. Surely Fabianski will be no 1 when he is fit.
It is not all doom and gloom. I am not happy that we did not sign more players, but I can’t do anything about it, so not going to bother being depressed about it until Jan………as long as they continue to deliver on the pitch.’
That sums it up for me, well said Pat… lets enjoy the team, get behind them and give it 100% from a fan perspective. If it all goes down the pan… then we can dissect it all and get angry… but lets give it a chance… because so far, it’s been pretty good and the only reason we’ve lost a game is two ridiculous mistakes (Read Diaby’s take here, he definitely didn’t blame Almunia!).
The old spending league table makes pretty interesting reading once again, click here to have a look. It’s nothing to be proud of, but I don’t feel any team is £100million better than us… which is a far cry from where we were last year.
I don’t know why, but I have a very good feeling about this year (Paul Kaye, ‘I still had a good feeling about the season… but that’s because I’m a f**king idiot!’)… it feels like the 2008 season without the Eduardo leg break… what do you reckon?
Have a ripper today Grovers… and for gods sake… if you’re opening a can of beans, open the can away from your white shirt… especially if you have a client meet in an hour or so…
Merida will be good in the attacking midfield role.
is it me, or do spurs always seem to have a disproportionate amount of money for transfers? not so much in the most recent window, but for a team who haven’t won anything major in a while, and who have never got champs league money.
Yeah Gambon – that’s too much to ask though, if Coquelin was 6’2″ and good in the air then we’d be looking at the best player in the world by some distance let alone DM!! I think he’ll become a better version of Makalele/Mascherano, he’s just so so quick and tenacious, and awesome on the ball too.
I agree about Merida, gonna be hard for him to break into the reckoning, as Ramsey is ahead of him, but I think he’ll play ahead of Denilson and Diaby before long, as he’s a different type of player to both of them.
Yeah Sunu is an interesting one, he’s certainly improving. Dunno about the goals – 2 in 2 so far in the reserves this season! He could be quality out wide though, and his assist for the 4th goal was henry like
freduardo it’s because they’ve got a multi billionnaire funding them!
who funds them A? pardon my ignorance.
Bloke called Joe Lewis freduardo, keeps a pretty low profile so unless you look into it you wouldn’t know, he isn’t a big face of spuds as abramovich or the glazers, hicks etc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Lewis_%28British_businessman%29
261st richest man in the world, 16th in the uk rich list
A, I don’t think he acts like a sugar daddy…
I thought he did Pedro – where do they get all their money from if not?
Lagooner,
Despite you clearly being a tomato head i will answer your questions.
1) No i dont know a club with 5 better players, because
a- We are vastly younger than any club in Europe
b- I dont watch reserve/youth football of other teams.
What I do know is that there are some exceptional talents between 17 – 20 out there, and only Jack falls into that category from the players youve mentioned.
2)What do i like about Arsenal.
- They are my club for the last 23 years
- We had the best ever team to grace the English league
- The chicken tikka in naan with new potatos in club level was quite good, even for £7.
Well well well….Instead of signing a defender or striker we give that money to Bendtner and Denilson. What a joke.
A, I think they sell quite a lot of players as well as buying… and they don’t have loans etc…
Yeah Pedro – they certainly don’t do Chelsea or City sort of dealing, and Keane, Carrick and Berba sales in recent years will have helped them but I’m sure they’ve spent more than they’ve taken in. They never need to sell to buy, but they generally have an ok balance, spending more than they make though?
Bendtners definetly worth it though.
Thanks Gambon-I actually was basing my questions on a few consecutive negative comments and now see you have a more balanced outlook (eg. Denilson).
Considering we reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and Top 4 of the Premier League, I think it’s fair to assume that a regular contributor to the Arsenal first-team squad under the age of 21 would do well at other leading clubs. You only have to look at any comparable team in football (with the possible exception of Barcelona) to see that we have the best group by a country mile. Barcelona is the only team out there who may have 5 players U-21 who can’t break into the squad but who might be a match for our 5 top U21 players.
A, Newcastle did the same though… Spurs charge huge amounts for their tickets I think… and they get big TV revenue as well. I just think Spurs spend what they earn…
I’m trying to hunt out what their defecit… I’m sure when I last saw it it wasn’t any more than £30mill…
Harry Redknapp specialises in bringing clubs to their knees with vast spending, thereby forcing them to sell their assets in later years.
He is a single handed representation of the flaws in Western debt based economy, Economics schools could use him as ‘The way not to do it’
Oh, and he’s got a twitch.
Like a tube of L’Oreal Keyser…
Not sure about Denilson… but he does a job… they can’t all be world beaters.
… and you never know whose going to make a flump do you?
Lagooner,
I have no problem with any of the young players (dont get me started on Eboue)…i just have a problem with the balance.
Our central midfield is Cesc, Nasri, Denilson, Song, Diaby, Ramsey.
Their ages are 22, 22, 21, 21, 23, 18…….i just think if their ages were 29, 27, 25, 22, 21, 21 we would be in a way better position.
There is no doubt we will have a lot of success in the future but what about the now, and what if Cesc, Nasri, Denilson all leave before we get there.
I think he needs to sort out his hair though, they all need Fabregas/ Vermaelen style haircuts.
Bends has good tattoos though… that makes up for the bad hair.
cheers A and Pedro for the info.
Expanding on my last point, i guess what im saying is…
If you took the best XI in the world right now, then looked at them when they were all 21, they wouldnt have even been champs in France.
Think about Ronaldo at 21, a cocky showboat, exploded when he was 22.
Think about Flamini….a player we all wanted rid of.
Think about Henry, lost at Juve
Think about Ronaldinho, talented at PSG but 2 years away from exploding at Barca.
By having a low average age you are by default not as strong as you could be
Gambon… but if 3 players explode… you are always on the verge of something great.
We have some players on the verge of greatness this year… Arsh, Vermaelen, Cesc, Robin… maybe Eduardo.
If it clicks for a couple of the lesser players, like Song, Bends or Theo… Nasri… we could have a great year.
… and I don’t believe we all wanted the Flamster gone… I like him.
What did Bendy and in particular Denilson do to deserve a new contract.
You go on the pitch and play like shite and you get a new contract?
At this rate lets give Silvest a new extention.
Pedro,
Birmingham wouldnt even pay £1m for him, and i remember all Gooners saying he wasnt good enough.
For me younger players should be the exception rather than the rule. With us older players are the exception, although there has been a bit of balance restored more recentley, with AA for example.
At least buy a new goal keeper..they are cheap.
Fair enough, as most players do develop at different stages. For the most part though, all of those players except for Flamini were highly regarded at the age of 21, even if they hadn’t reached their full potential.
That’s why it’s so encouraging to see these players hold their own at the top level of club and in some cases international football. None of them may be the finished article, but they have all shown signs that they can make the leap that Denilson and Song have in the last year or two.
The only player that concerns me a little is Walcott, as he seems to be lacking in close control and technique, something that Wilshere and Vela have in abundance. Fortunately his pace makes him a threat any time he has a little space to operate in.
Gambon… Flamini turned them down… not the other way round. He chose to stay and fight for this place.
I agree that only the best should make it, we shouldn’t have to wait 5 years each time to get a team competitive… and I don’t think we’ll do that again… hopefully.
Gambon the thing is in our squad we actually have a decent balance, it’s just that the injury problems in recent times have crippled our older experienced players!
Gallas, Rosicky, Eduardo, VP all in the side and we’ve got a nice spine of experienced players running through the middle, it’s just that those are the players who’ve suffered long term injuries in recent times!
I think our first XI is well balanced with experienced.
Almunia over 35 years old – over 200 first team games
Sagna mid 20′s again experienced
Gallas – over 30 – loads of Prem experience
Vermaleun – Not that experienced
Clichy – Not yet 25, plety of games under his belt
Song – 21 Not that experienced
Fabgreas 23 Very Experienved
Rosicky 29 Very Experienced
RVP 25 Experienced
Eduardo 27 Experienced
Arshavin 28 Experienced
I make that 8 experienced players and 3 that are not that experienced
Clichy, Song and Vermaleum.
That is not a bad first XI
I’d agree with that first XI, (though almunia is nowhere near over 35?!) but Vermaelen and clichy are plenty experienced, it’s only really Song who isn’t. This season experience really shouldn’t be something that hinders us
Good point Mark C.
Clichy (2 caps), Song (12 caps) and Vermaelen (21 caps) have all played for their country too.
From myprevious post:
Am convinced that wenger did not buy a cover for Song because nobody paid for Sendy. He has lined up Senderous to play in the DM position when Song goes to ACN.
These guys (Board and Wenger) are running the club on the cheap. Make as much as possible from the player assets and buy as little as possible. Its really not fair to guys who pay a lot to watch Arsenal. And to think we rejected a proposal for equity injection?? wtf??? The Board’s only discernable ambition (apart from building apartments)is to be 4th and wenger thinks that with his current team he can get that, so why spend?
For the passionate Gunners who demand more from the club, lets hope that Lady Nina sells her holding to Usmanov to jumpstart a takeover. Once that happens, you will have a proper footy club and all the nonesense will stop. Sadly Stan has shown us that he is not the man to clean up Arsenal.
Confident – I reckon that he didn’t buy cover for Song because it’s far from certain that Cameroon will qualify for the African Nations, and if they do there’s plenty of time in January to sign someone then if necessary, or Coquelin may have impressed SO much during the League Cup run that he’s trusted to step in there.
No point getting into discussions about the scum that is Usmanov but how on earth selling to him would give us a proper football club is beyond me, unless what constitutes a “proper football club” now is being a plaything of a billionaire.
IMO we’re one of the few proper football clubs that are still in existence, i’d hate for us to fall into the hands of someone like him.
There’s several reasons why cover for Song might not have been bought, we’ve got Nasri and Rosicky to come back for a couple.
You don’t have to replace someone like Song like for like to get the same effect, just play Denilson behind Fabregas and one of those two.
Then there’s the younger players like Coquelin and even Frimpong, Merida, Wilshere, at a push Djourou could run around in midfield.
Denilson’s already shown a bit more tenacity, some extra body strength and it could make a hefty difference.
Not to mention Wenger might also be waiting to see if Diaby stays fit, and shows that he’s capable of playing that role whilst Song is away
Exactly, even Diaby, if we play a midfield 3, not one player has to tick all the boxes in the skills required, as long as they complement each other.
I just can’t see Diaby as a defensive player!
Never know choy! He has the physical attributes, and technique, just needs to develop the tactical awareness
I can see arsenal getting better every season and if we bring in Numchuks, Fazio and neven subotic I think we can dominate (centrus paribus). Incase you are wondering about centrus paribus its an ecomomic expression for if everything else stays constant, well that isnt very likely to happen. Its early on in the season but other teams are showing signs of improvement.
He is too attack minded, just can’t see him putting in a defensive shift!…
And his fav position happens to be a second striker!
Spurs finances are a mystery but they certainly are and have been helped out financially by Mr Lewis who recently took a big hit on the exchange which halved his worth. Offshore accounts are apparently notoriously difficult to fathom, yet somehow TH will find £400million + for a new ground. Redknapp is a chequebook manager, like most these days. He was lucky with the youth system at West Ham and the only time he didn’t get given a load of money was at Southampton and he took them down down. I was in Spain a few years ago, staying at a swisher than normal hotel on a press trip. We had dinner with some people and were joined by a worse for wear Jim Smith who spoke about Harry for a long time. It was, shall I say, interesting.
He doesn’t have to be perfect, he just has to be able to work in tandem with whoever will be sitting next to him doing the defensive duties.
Last season, Song looked poorer then he should have because not everyone put in the same levels of effort while defending, leaving him scrambling to make the right interception/ tackle rather than trying to cover several options at a time.
Ceteris not centrus !!!
September
12 Sat Barclays Premier League A Manchester City
16 Wed UEFA Champions League A Standard Liege
19 Sat Barclays Premier League H Wigan Athletic
22 Tue Carling Cup H W.B.A.
26 Sat Barclays Premier League A Fulham
29 Tue UEFA Champions League H Olympiacos
October
4 Sun Barclays Premier League H Blackburn Rovers
17 Sat Barclays Premier League H Birmingham
20 Tue UEFA Champions League A AZ Alkmaar
25 Sun Barclays Premier League A West Ham United
28 Wed Carling Cup N Round 4
31 Sat Barclays Premier League H Tottenham Hotspur
Good shout re Song, when the other players are demanding the ball he has someone to give it to.
If yu look up and see AdeNuff 5 yds offside you turn back and you’re put under pressure.
Look how quickly he releases the ball given half a chance.
A, Keyser
Do you see Diaby as a defensive minded player? You are a brave man. For me Denilson, is more defensive minded than Diaby and tells you a lot.
To promote a jnr player is asking a lot and exposing the young man. I wager it will be shared between Dennilson and Sendy, now that we are not selling him.
There are two major opinions on AFC. There are fans that are happy with the way things are, there are others that are unhappy with the inability to spend money (not stupid money like madrid, but decent money) and also pissed off with all the cunning and lieing uring renewal time. I realize that both of you are quite happy with the club and you are entitled to your views. I addressed the later group and happy to have an open debate about how Usmanov’s proposal will make for a proper football club.
Evenin All…
just quickly in from work…
Geoff i hope youre recovery is going well mate..chin up…
Thx for the post Pedro,,,well done…
Tom
CHOY,you should see the games song is missing for!
veira would of been well worth a punt,beter than nothing
Confidentgoner – Song plays alongside Denilson at the moment it’s not a necessity, if we bring in Nasri, Rosicky or even Diaby, they could replace either of them and all you need is the same work ethic.
It’s got nothing to do with buying players in or spending money, whoever we buy has to fit into the side or be accomdated to get the maximum out of them. Just saying that it seems to have worked for Song quite well.
Keyser…
Am sorry, I don’t think nasri or rosickly or diaby can replace song.. they are very different players!
I don’t see Diaby as a defensive player, but there are 5 months for him to develop into that player before the African Nations, or for a youth player to develop to such an extent that he’s knocking on the door. Or for Cameroon to fail to qualify. If the only reason to sign a back up was cover for the African Nations, then it would be irrational to do so in the summer when that isn’t even a certainty, and is a long way in the future, well after the transfer window reoppens!
Confident please tell me how Usmanov’s proposal would make for a proper football club.
I’m not happy not winning things, but not winning things and being run properly, is better than selling out to absolute scum like Usmanov, who I’m already ashamed of our proud club because of allowing him to get anywhere near the board room.
If a sensible gooner made a lot of money, and decided to invest in the club then I’d support that, but not some gangster like Usmanov. I was ashamed, and worried that the club even listened to his proposal, and didn’t do anything to stop his advances earlier, and was incredibly relieved when it was rejected.
I don’t see how Usmanov and being a proper football club could EVER go together, they’re complete opposites
Pedro i’d read you’d thought of setting up a political blog initially. Congratulation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doNU1EndU8I
Choy – They don’t have to replace each other directly, just the same energy with everyone covering for each other, If Denilson sits in Song’s position, Nasri or Rosicky can work together with Fabregas in front.
We played well enough with Denilson, Fabregas, Diaby against United at home last year, and we should have progressed further from that this year.
Offer me four more years like the last four or Usmanov in control, and I’ll happily sign today for four more.
I’m not that mad about trophies to completely sell the soul of our club.
There must be some Chelsea fans disgusted at Chelsea’s complete lack of class under Roman and Kenyon. Buying of titles, treatment of Mutu, revolving door for managers and (non English?)players.
Nope, that models not for me
Keyser to be fair I wouldn’t be happy with Denilson sitting in Song’s position regularly in big games, Song gives us strength and power that noone else in the midfield gives us, apart from potentially Diaby, and without that we’re definitely missing something.
Against anyone else outside the top 4 in the Premiership though I’d be fine with Denilson, and would expect us to beat anyone.
Forget Usmanov i wouldn’t like Kreonke to be in power either. With the board in power no-matter how much money they make the fans can still call the club theirs. I wouldn’y want Arsenal to be any one person’s plaything.
A do you think under the new system most, if not all, our CBs can be made to play in Songs position?
You know the scoreline and how it ended up
I think so mayank..
Yeah the thought crossed my mind when Sendy was playing there. The only limiting factor would be stamina, since the levels required for the CB position and DM pos. are very different. I’d say Song, Sendy and JD could do it.
The thing for me Mayank is that Song has this quick incisive and simple passing that keeps us pouring forward, as well as his defensive qualities.
For me Vermaelen is the obvious choice for a DM role, I like Senderos but wonder about his mobility in a DM role
A. – Just saying subtle changes can make as much difference as bringing in the supposed round peg players to plug the round holes and then obviously you’d taper it for different games and teams. Unless the players begin to show they can adapt themselves.
I think if you asked Denilson to play in Song’s position this season, we might not get exactlky the same effect Song gives, but he’d adapt to it far quicker now we seem to have a progressive environment, last year both players struggled to cope and a lack of confidence in themselves and the players around them affected their games.
Choy – The home game in the league.
Senderos’s passing ability is pretty good though, don’t know about his mobility though
Yeah Song rarely ever messes up his passes however simple he chooses them to be. He’s like Flamini in that respect.
BTW did no-one hear the song i posted? Or had everyone already heard it beforehand..
Keyser… diaby played up top with nikki b in that game!
he was not in the midfield!
Choy agreed re Sendy’s passing.
Is it really possible that we can see Sendy at CB..?? I’d rather he went in at CB and let Verm step out to DM
Sharkey no! I don’t want to touch the backline for as long as possible.
SS…
I think it’d be better if sendy facks up and has verm and hopefully gallas behind him to cover up..
him and almunia as the last line of defense and i’ll be shitting myself
Just a thought Mayank !!
Sharkey agree with you about selling out.I think the emeritates mortgage free and a first class youth system and maybe{hopefully} a trophy or two will be the second half of wengers legacy.I think he is ok with that.its going to be a lucky guy that takes over from him,especially if uefa bring in this living within your means thing
Choy – He played behind the striker and made up the 3rd man in midfield, plus you had Nasri cutting back inside, it’s not that far of a stretch.
Choy…i sincerly hope that Sendy isnt part of Our future ..he doesnt really fit in…big heart…and i like him,but he doesnt have the quality needed..
i think he will be sold as quickly as possible..and that would make way for someone else..
my guess he’s gone come january…
tom
That would be ok in a 4-5-1 keyser.. but in a 433 i doubt diaby would do well in song’s position.
Lol Choy.
Almunia’s not too inspiring is he !!!
Not a disaster generally, but there’s aways been a small doubt. I’m trying not to go too verboard after his ‘performance’ on Sat, but I’m struggling.
Problem I’ve got is that I’m not convinced by Fabianski eiether, but he’s not too far off…will he flump? I hope so
tom.. maybe just maybe in a DM in a 433 he would be pretty ok…
just a thought though.
I hear ya BK. Long term sustainability is the key…just ask anyone at the climate camp.
I’ll get mi coat !!
SS….He’s like senderos is defense.. you wanna like him and feel confident.. but as soon as the ball is in that area.. you feel like he might screw it up !!
Choy – He doesn’t have to play in Song’s position, he can just make up the 3rd man in midfield, that’s my point, if they all work as hard as they are doing right now for each other, you make up the lack of qualities in one player with another and vice versa.
SharkeySure…
Almunia dont really now what to make of him,ha has the ability to win games..then in a flash he can just as well loose some….personally i think its all down to *confidence* or the lack of it..Fabianski..i agree with you..almost there…but then again not quite…
solution = Akinfeev….and im almost never into buying….but that fella..he’s the new Lev Yashin,,,Gordon Banks..Dino Zoff…Sepp Maier…type..and he is only 23..maybe too young yet…still..have all the quality needed…
tom
I get what you are saying keyser.. but i just feel we need one defensive minded player in a 433.
yaya toure at barca
mikel at the chavs
and song at arse.
I’ve been a big Phil fan dfor as long as I can remember Choy, been willing hm to do well, I accuse everyone of scapegoating him, complain about his rotten luck etc etc etc.
I point to his good spells at various times etc etc etc.
But yeah he makes me nervous, partly I’m nervous for him, cos I can see he tries so hard to do his best for us.
I love Big Phil !!
maybe Choy..
tom
Senderos will come in at DM if Song is off to the ACN…and im quite happy with that…he’s very defensive minded.
Denilson, Nasri, Diaby are not defensive minded at all.
We bigging up Senderos. Great. Senderos for (vice)captain. Thats after he regains a place in the starting XI of course.
Sendy’s even gets that look on his face when he fucks up that makes you feel sorry for him.
He’s a strange one.
TO suggest that the likes of Nasri, Daiby and denilson should share defensive responsibilities is laughable.
We all know how switching roles with Nasri much deeper and Cesc playing in the AM position failed miserable.
It will be Senderos. Or we are in trouble.
SharkeySure
i think most Gooners would agree with you mate,Sendy has a big big heart..he is a team player no doubt…but like you say…he’s trying so bloody hard to be at he’s best…one could actually think that..he’s trying to hard..and that is his downfall…i hope he leaves.but he is the kind of fella you wish all the best..and i think he will stay in Our hearts…
tom
Diaby in Song’s position will worry me. Even if he’s been asked to stay back every now and then he’ll take the ball, run into their penalty area and pass to the oppo.
We don’t have to always follow that though and I think it’ll pay off in the long run, they need to be able to adapt, Chelsea can trade Essien for Mikel and play another man in midfield.
It’ll be better for us if Diaby can build the defensive side to his game, or Denilson can be more aggressive and hold off bigger stronger players.
Even Song at times has shown he can be pretty handy going forward, the way we play, even Toure for Barca, we’ll need him to express himself more at times.
The 12th can’t come soon enough…what a cracking game it will be. I’m feeling a 1-1 or 2-2 result, which will be enough to satisfy both teams.
There’ll be great matchups all over the field.
Adebayor/Tevez vs Vermaelen/Gallas
Robinho/SWP vs Sagna/Clichy
Song/Cesc vs Barry/Ireland
RVP vs Toure
While I can see a score draw, if Arsenal do win it might be down to Arshavin and possibly Bendtner causing havor against Richards and Bridge. Their full-backs might be where they are most vulnerable and we have the players to exploit that.
TV’s biggest test of the season. If he passes this one, then he really is the defensive rock we’ve been waiting for.
havoc, not havor.
Trying too hard makes him shit? Now thats a new one…
I think he cares too much and when we concede (from a mistake by him) he takes it to heart and feels awful. Trying too hard isnt his downfall. Its thinking everything is his fault (and the fans didnt help him either).
Lagooner are you from L.A?
Chelsea can trade Mikel for Essien and play another man because Mikel and Essien are established defensive players.
When Diaby has established his role either as an attack minded player or a defensive minded player he can begin to work on other aspects of his game. This Jack of All trades and master of none mentality has got to stop for once.
TomSt. Ronaldo scoring from 90yds was the single moment that told me Alm weren’t the one
Well back to work again…
have a splendid Evenin SharkeySure,Choy,Keyser,Stu,Mayank,David and all Gooners and Grovers alike…
dont ever forget…Our Beloved Arsenal will be the new Untouchable’s we’re miles ahead of Brazil and only gettin better by the second..:)
laters
Tom
David-yes
What gme was it when wer brought on Cygan as a defensive midfielder and he messed big time, led to a goal and we lost. It was an importnt game.
Almunia was supposed to be a stop gap for Fabianski or whatever. But 3 seasons is too long for him to be considered a stop gap anymore. He isnt good enough, Fabianski isnt ready. I say either get in a better first choice keeper or a better stop gap. Its just a shame that Wenger didnt do anything about it in the window.
lagooner i wouldn’t be at all happy with anything but a win against city! Draw and i’d be pretty pissed off!
LA.G
I juss got back from Arizona…its a heat oven out there….I was going to stop by in LA for a weekend but couldnt get the time.
Are you on twitter?
Stu…for me trying too hard cis a very real problem..
I think Ramsey suffers from it as well
Night Tom
Stu
Im actually more gutted we didnt get a proper striker that can head the ball than a keeper.
I think Almunia will get himself together.
Its best he cocks up nice and early and sorts himself out now than later on in the season when it matters. He’s prob really off form
David – It won’t stop and it can’t, you’re never going to find the perfect player for any particular position, Diaby, Song, Denilson have to adapt and progress as they go along, Diaby just needs a consistent run, if he doesn’t improve after that then there’s not much left for him.
Lol the good thing is unlike last year everyone is not united in what they wanted out of the window. If we’re lucky everyone will be wrong if not everyone will be right.
Mayank
What we are United on is that we needed Signings.
Keyser
Is daiby a defensive player or an offensive one? Cuz sarcasm aside i’ll be honest. i really dont know. Wenger says he’s like Vierra but i dont ever recall any crunching tackle he has made or broken up any attack. Im also not sure that I agree that there is not a perfect player for a position if not you wouldnt have position’s named after some certain players. i.e Makalele, TA, Henry…etc.
David Diaby has always been an offensive player, Wenger’s always said that too. He is an enigma though, so hit and miss. The current system could really suit him much more than 4-4-2, but I still don’t see him ever being nailed down as a first team regular for us even if he stays fit and improves a bit
That depends A
Would you take Diaby at his best..Or Nasri at his best.
Nasri every time David
what about you?
David – He’s probably more offensive, but it doesn’t mean he has to make the choice between one or the other for us to be affective he just needs to improve areas of his game.
Vieira might have put in crunching tackles but half the time his tenacity and his sheer size mean’t he didn’t have to go to ground, Diaby could use his own stature better, as for defensively I feel he just needs to improve his decision making at times.
Also for us, we probably have one of the most fluid attacks and defenses around, players get caught out of position all the time, our centre backs regurlarly push forward, unless the players as good as Makelele in his position we’re going to need them to be adaptable, even then he weren’t a player to build a team around.
Ive said a thousand times that Nasri is going to be our New Zidane.
But id take Diaby at his best.
I asked you lot a question after the Manc game…Where was our 2nd goal going to come from? Where was the 3rd?
Yes we dominated the game..but we needed a goal to finish them c*nts off but failed with a foster save after Arshavin’s magic.
You remember Diaby Almost made amends for his mistake?
Diaby looks like someone who could just attack attack attack.. the defensive duties seem to be holding him back.
He just seems to glide past players.. but when he needs to defend.. he just goes awol
second goal almost game from vp and arshavin, if it wasn’t for foster’s big toe, diaby almost scored right after the og, eboue miscontrolled a chance at the back post before they equalised. VP very nearly played in arshavin as well.
We were far from our creative best, if we had just one of our three creative central midfield players playing I firmly believed we would have finished them off with ease, but with none of them playing it was only arshavin or vp who were going to create something, or a diaby drive through the middle. Even whilst far from our best we were far stronger both in terms of creating chances, and preventing Utd from having chances, and at their place too.
Just about every set fans bar RM and city are united that they need signings. All i was pointing out was that this season no-one is quite sure where they need a signing, at least its not as unanimous as last year.
If only VP had lifted the ball slightly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIlIoUZVQzY
Choy that brings back bad memories. I was thinking we’re gonna win 3-0 at that time.
Night all..
If we are willing to give the likes Denilson and someone else a new contract for doing fuck all id give Diaby a try as well. Maybe im the minority here but Arshavin didnt look half Arsed all game till the ref decided to piss him off.
Eboue isnt a forward. And VanP struggled that whole game.
yeah choy, if only the ball had come to him slightly less in front of him, he had to stretch for it a tiny bit
Choy thats torture, a little to the left Foster can’t reach it, a little to the right Fosters been nutmegged, left and a little higher it goes over his foot or hits his foot and rebounds into the roof of the net.
Arshavin had been carrying a groin injury
Groin injury those are 2-3 weeks i imagine? So we wont have the russian for City?
I didn’t think VP struggled at all, but I agree about Arshavin, he wasn’t particularly active all game, but then again hasn’t been this season. He’ll sort himself out though.
Diaby’s been a first team player more than Bendtner or Denilson for a couple of years, so his contract will be in line with that, whereas Den and Bendy’s were still essentially youth contracts I’d guess
My positives are our fullbacks are class…our defense is class….and even though we are still soft in the middle….we are fighting for it now.
ACN asides…Song is going to get a yellow card a game and will thus miss a couple games due to suspension
I know
so many ifs
Totally depends on the severity of the injury David, but it seems a very minor one, so he’s likely to play against Wales, though they’ll probably play him despite unfit so he’ll injure himself and be out for City!
He might be fit for his international on the 9th.. he’s def out for the friendly this week.
Such is our luck with players.
It is outrageous Song’s development. But my smart money is on walcott this season.
This is a world cup year and Arse Lemmon is threatening to take his place.
Yes Mayank. But he (Sendy) cares. When I sometimes see Almunia, Eboue or Diaby I tend to think that they don’t care at all.
Is walnut at least back after the internationals?
Maciek do you by any chance play freekick?
Song’s only been booked once in 4 games, he does have a habit of silly blocks though that could lead to his picking up bookings.
I agree about Theo, this could really be his season, along with Song, and potentially Diaby, to move from being hit and miss to a real asset on a regular basis.
I don’t think you could fault song though.. its his job…
I would like our forwards creating more fouls right up the pitch though.
Oh choy what a really bad memory that brings
David, do not understand. Please, enlight me. No offense, mate.
talk about a kick in the bollocks,wenger signs one player then denilson and bendter sign new contracts is that supposed to make us happy
its an online game. Nevermind.
We would have officially run out of excuses if we dont win anything this year. SO i expect Silverware…Starting from the CC. Although I wish JET was still available.
JET should be available David, he’s only gone on a months loan, and didn’t play in the league cup for Blackpool so as not to cup tie him
what is the use extending Denilson’s and bendtner’s deals when the new manager would sell them?
So as to make money? I cant imagine they would be worth anymore than 5-8 mill?
Bendtner would fetch around 12 mil or so David, he’s very highly rated throughout Europe, and Bayern and Roma have been interested in previous windows. Denilson probably around 5-8 mil i’d guess
Ok i answered too quickly! Tut Tut Franchise
1. Youre assuming that Wenger would be fired or leave his post at the end of the year or sooner.
2. Youre assuming that Bendy is not class. Heaven forbid you do that.
3. Read number 2 for Denilson.
4. Who is better than Wenger? are you nuts?
5. Are you a real fan?