Is it time to release the Lion of Flanders: TV5 as DM?

TotalArsenal

One of my favourite Johan Cruijff sayings is: every disadvantage has an advantage and every advantage has a disadvantage. Although the loss against the Chavs still hurts, there could be an advatage to that ‘disadvatange’, as we are likely to be extra motivated to get back to winning ways on Satuday.

That ‘keenness’ should translate itself in our figthing spirit – never say die attitude – which will be an absolute prerequisite to overcome the currently confident – nothing to lose tomorrow – Hammers.

I have not seen much of West Ham this season, but the one thing I am certain about is that tomorrow’s meeting will turn into a very physical encounter.

The inclusions of Mertesacker and Giroud seem inevitable, and once again our midfield will hold the key in taking control of the game. With Diaby out, Coquelin still learning the ropes, and Arteta having to play his third game in seven days, I am worried about both our ability to dominate the midfield area and avoid further injuries.

Ooh, how different I would feel if we could start the departed Song on Saturday: this encounter is crying out for him. Alas, Song’s gone, and what’s done is done, and this game will tell us everything we need to know about our strength in depth in the midfield area.

I reckon we need muscle and height in our midfield for this game, and if there ever is a game in which we could/should try out TV5 as a DM then it is this one.

The Lion of Flanders (naming rights belong to LB) has been rightly criticised for his mad-dog, testosterone over-dosed performances recently, although we should take into account that he was most probably instructed to do so by Wenger/Bouldozer.

TV5 has got drive, stamina and all physical and footballing attributes to help boss the midfield against WH. Combined with either, and ideally, Arteta, or Ramsey, we would be able to gun the Hammers down in midfield.

I know it is unlikely that Wenger will go for it tomorrow, but I certainly hope he will. Whatever he does, he will need to make sure that our two deeper laying midfielders are up for the battle. And I will say it again, the key for success lays exactly in that area tomorrow.

Predicted line-up: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Arteta, Coquelin (but I hope TV5), Cazorla, Gervinho, Giroud, Podolski.

COYRRG – we need a win!

Total Arsenal.

32 thoughts on “Is it time to release the Lion of Flanders: TV5 as DM?”

  • Hi TA,

    In case you missed my comment at the New Post cut off, I am copying below! 🙂

    TA,

    I pinched this from ‘Dummies’ Word Press:

    How to Set the Date and Time in Your WordPress.com Blog

    On the WordPress.com General Settings page, you can control the way the date and time is displayed.

    To set up your date and time, or to make changes to date and time settings on your WordPress blog, follow these steps:

    1 Click the General link in the Settings menu to load the General Settings page in your WordPress.com Dashboard.

    Use the last sections of the General Settings page to set your local time, so that your blog posts are published with a time stamp in your own time zone no matter where in the world you are.

    2 Scroll down to the date and time options.

    Set a time zone, and choose your date and time formats.

    3 Click the Time zone section.

    Choose your UTC time from the drop-down menu. This setting refers to the number of hours that your local time differs from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This setting ensures that all your blog posts and comments left on your blog are time-stamped with the correct time.
    For example, if you’re lucky enough to live on the frozen tundra of Wisconsin, which is in the Central time zone (CST), you would choose –6 from the drop-down menu because that time zone is 6 hours off UTC.
    If you’re unsure what your UTC time is, you can find it at the Greenwich Mean Time Web site. GMT is essentially the same thing as UTC. The Timezone option doesn’t update automatically for daylight saving time (DST). If you live in an area of the world that practices DST, you have to update the Timezone option manually when it occurs.

    4 Click the Date Format section.

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    WordPress.com gives you four basic date formats to choose from, and also provides you with a way to customize the display of the date on your website by entering custom date formats.
    For example, The date format of F j, Y (F = the full month name; j = the two-digit day; Y = the four-digit year), gives you the output of January 1, 2008.

    Select a different format by clicking the circle to the left of the option.

    5 Click the Time Format section.

    Select how you want to display the time.

    WordPress.com gives you three basic time formats to choose from, and also provides you with a way to customize the display of the time on your web site by entering custom time formats.

    For example, the time format of g:i a (g = the two-digit hour; i = the two-digit minute; a = lowercase ante meridiem and post meridiem, or a.m. or p.m.), gives you the output of 12:00 a.m.

    Select a different format by clicking the circle to the left of the option.

    You can also customize the date display by selecting the Custom option and entering your preferred format in the text box provided.

    6 Click the Week Starts On drop-down arrow.

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    If you don’t click Save Changes, your settings aren’t saved, and WordPress reverts to the previous options.

    Might help!

  • Good Post TA, 🙂

    I like the idea of TV moving into midfield too, as it will release him from his CB duties which he obviously finds difficult on occasion.

    My concern would be that he sometimes is clumsy when tackling, especially in midfield, and he does give away freekicks.

    An alternative, which I have previously touched on, is to put Johann Djourou into midfield, He is 6′ 4″ tall, powerfully built and fast for a big man. He would add real height when we are attacking corners, and again, given a free role to defend in midfield he would not find that as difficult as the discipline needed at CB.

    Of course when defending corners or where we are coming under constant pressure, his height and physique, especially against the Mad Allardyce type teams would be a great asset.

    I will have to have a word with AW, I don’t know why he has ignored me on this!! 🙂

  • Hi Ta. I’m usually most comfortable when were due to play the appy ammers, but after watching them perform last Monday I think we are in for a real test tomorrow.
    Big Sam will instruct messers Nolan/Collins/Carroll to attack our defence at all times when we concede corners or free kicks around our box. This is an area that Mr.Bould still has not sorted out, and if we are still without the unwell BFG we will be severly tested in this area.
    Giroud will almost certainly get a start in this game to help with the obvious physicality that West Ham have at their disposal.
    Fingers crossed you and your Father have access to a tv to watch this one. Is he a fellow Gooner by the way?
    Dispite my apprehension with the outcome of this fixture, I have still predicted an away win on my coupon. Here’s hoping.
    COYG

  • Like you, VCC, I am suffering trepidations about our CB’s if they play like they did against the Chavs and Olympiakos.

    But that is being negative and not giving Stevie B credit for sorting our defence out, so I am going to think positively from now on!! 🙂

  • Hi Total
    You will exhaust yourself with all these posts !. hahaha
    I`m not sure about Verm as a DM, I actually question his stamina, as I have watched him a few times in the past struggle with exhaustion to get back quickly after one of his raids upfield !.
    Hope you have a great time in Holland. What team does your dad support ? and how does he feel about you being a Gooner ?.

  • Hi RA, JD is also not a bad call. I seem to remember Arsene selecting him in midfield once before: against Blackburn or Bolton, or Stoke perhaps?

    Hi VCC, my dad loves footie and introduced me to the game many years ago as a little (friendly of our home town team Roda JC against Liverpool….). He has never had a strong allegiance to a particular team: he treats footie like a loose woman! 🙂

    Because he knows I love Arsenal he will try and watch as many games as possible of our team, but that is as much I can hope for.

    Hi Herb, I definitely think he has all the skills needed for that role, and it would allow either Arteta or Ramsey to do the linchpin role… What do you think?

  • Hi GLiC, my dad supports nobody in particular, just loves good football and wants the best team to win. He watches almost everything and in Holland there is a lot on offer. 🙂

    TV5 not enough stamina?! Too much I would say, GLiC, too much!!! 🙂

  • I honestly don’t know,.Total, I’m not a big fan of our formation anyway. Playing players out of position is always a gamble, and we’ve seen enough of those backfire. Whilst logic dictates we should win tomorrow, West Ham have been a bit of a bogey side for us down the years. hopefully Merts will be back to keep Carroll quiet and we can come away unscathed with 3 precious points.
    If you’re about Redders, I did respond to you on the last post.

  • Hi Herb 🙂

    I expect it to be very tough tomorrow and I am more hoping than banking on three points. Good players should be able to play in more than one position, andVermaelen has learned at Ajax how to play in different positions. I really think we need to add power and energy in the midfield tomorrow.

  • Using my intuition, I have solved TA`s problem without using a 1000 page manual.

    This was posted at 20:09 or 9:09pm hahaha

  • haha cheers GLIC

    6.28 AM

    I’d like to see how he goes there as well tbh. But like GLIC i’d be a bit worried about his stamina. I think not being used to that position + being captain he would try to do it all (get to every attack/cross, then sprinting back to help out in defense). It would give us some steel that’s for sure.

    I feel it’s Coquelin’s time now though. He deserves his chance alongside Arteta. And Arteta can have his rest when Jack + Diaby come back. Is it international week again next week? If so, there you go Arteta, Fifa Manager Oz will let you rest then…enjoy family time!

  • TA,

    I meant to say, yesterday, that the date and time are shown on the comments when I used my iPhone, so probably just a small change needed for the settings.

  • Hi Oz 🙂

    I think Vermaelen has great stamina but I can see your point re his composure and discipline in the DM position. But to be fair, if Vermaelen would not be able to stick to the game plan and his role, he should not sport our red and white colours!

    I know Arteta will have a two break after this game and that’s when he can have his rest. Obviously, the big decision Arsene has to make is whether Arteta is at risk of getting injured today (his age, intensity of game/role, three games in a week). But that is more your area of expertise….. 🙂

  • 15:30pm @ 06/10/2012………Secret Agent glic sneaks onto rendezvous site looking for other agents, their situations have been compromised.
    @ 15:31pm……. Agent glic discreetly retreats from the scene !.

  • Now that was some game! 🙂

    Cazorla was simply immense. I cannot understand why Barca or Real did not sign him up years ago. Brilliant. Scored the best goal of the game too.

    Theo took his goal splendidly. Superbly taken goal!!

    BTW, don’t worry about Secret Agent Glic! I placed a mousetrap at the end of the keyboard and I can here him squeaking in there as I type. That’ll larn him!!!!! 🙂

  • Squeak, squeak ……………… let me out, I promise to be a good boy and tell you the date and time when I comment, and I won’t molest your birds!! Honest!!

  • Hi Redders 🙂

    I watched the game with my dad and what a battle it was!! I agree with you on Cazorla: what a work horse and what a quality player. I also thought Ramsey was a man tonight and Giroud got his reward for this continuous hard work with a fine finish. And what about the Mert: eine Panzerstelle!!

    The game needs further analysing but this is the sort of win from which we can draw a lot of confidence. Grinding out results and overcoming stubborn opposition in away games is a prerequisite for success this season. We are not there yet, but this win means a lot to us.

  • Hi TA, 🙂

    I know people will say ‘it was only W Ham, but the overall control, interpassing, pressing and scoring were first class, irrespective of the opposition.

  • Sorry RA, I don’t know what happened there! Hope it will be a one-off! 🙂

    Who is saying it is only West Ham? I fully expect other big teams to struggle there this season. We really NEEDED a win yesterday – as a result of the loss to the Chavs – and that’s why we managed to do it. I am convinced that if he had beaten the Chavs last week, we would not have had the fight in us to win last night.

    We did indeed score three different, yet all beautiful, goals. In the second half, football won and we were simply too good for them.

  • Yaay, TA, spot on!! 🙂

    Others WILL struggle at WHam, our goals were brilliant and we probably needed a wake up call last week!!!!

    All the team, including the Theo deserve high marks, (if you will be doing ratings tomorrow). The only slight ‘mark downs’ would be Mannone [6] and the Gerv [6].

    Cazza, Arteta and The Corp Jenks deserve at least 8’s.

    AW cannot drop Giroud now.

    Really great performance and to think we have so many NOT in the first team starting against West Ham (Sagna, Le Coq, Arshavin, Santos, Kozzer, Rosicki, the OX, Szcesney, Djourou) then that is a great squad developing!! 🙂

  • Hi All,
    very impressive result and performance to go with it. I like the fact that we have a German organising our defensive line, and for me, Mertersaker would have been a perfect choice for the captaincy.
    We have a busy November with MU and Everton away as well as Tottenham at home, so it’s essential to get some momentum going.

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