Supporting Arsenal – Page 4

Where Has All the Excitement Gone?

November 14, 2014November 14, 2014TotalArsenal

And what does Arsenal need to do to get it back?

It has all gone quiet on the blog. The double disappointments of our games against Anderlecht and Swansea and the lack of club football for a couple of weeks have silenced almost all of our regular bloggers. Just a few hardened BKers are holding the fort, and I must admit I felt a need for a break away from Arsenal as well.

We know we have been in a similar state of mind before many a time, and we also know that under Wenger we have always come good again at some point. And despite the large number of injuries and the apparent structural issues we have in our defensive abilities, only a fool would write off Arsene’s ability to get us up and going again. He will, but it is likely to be more of the same: a hard fought for top-four finish and maybe another good cup run.

This has become the annual ritual and there are eighteen clubs in the PL who would be very happy with such an outcome this season. Manure because they are in transition, Liverpool and Spuds because they are hopeless in turning themselves into a regular top-four club, and, except for the Southern and Northern Oilers, who are now reaping the benefits of their astronomical cash injections during the last ten years or so, the rest can only dream of claiming a top-four spot, let alone doing so year after year. This will, whether we appreciate it or not, always be one of Arsene’s biggest achievements.

But we are sensing a lack of forward movement and experience annual ‘déjà vus’, and this is making us restless and discontented with the club, and especially the manager. Despite being the envy of many other clubs, BoDs and fans alike, we Gooners are deeply dissatisfied with this lack of progressing to the next level. Patience is thin and supporters are getting tired, and unfortunately in some cases, angry.

There is a list of things that Arsene should have done, and be doing, better; and we all have our own criticism of him. Of course, if things do not go to plan it is easier to highlight those criticisms and feel vindicated. And let us never forget, it is immeasurably easier to manage the club from our armchairs than it is in the real world.

Fact is that the club will not sack Arsene and neither will he just walk away, at least not in the middle of the season. I fully understand those fellow Gooners who have had enough of Arsene and want him gone asap, but it is not going to happen. And unless the club would land a top quality manager straightaway, it really would not be worth the risk. A new manager would of course be very exciting, especially if given good money to strengthen the defence and DM position in midfield. But the BoD have to consider a lot more than pumping back excitement into the club through changing the manager, right now. And if you were in their shoes, I bet you would not get rid of Arsene mid-season either…

However, renewed excitement is required right now. At least till January, the club will not be able to achieve this through diving into the transfer market. Many key games await us before we can replenish, and it all remains to be seen whether the right players can be bought and whether they would have the desired effect on our progress/excitement levels this season.

So, how can the club get excitement of the supporters back short term: which practical steps should Wenger take?

Over to you Fine, Fellow Gooners. 🙂

Written by: TotalArsenal

Calum in Torture Chambers | Dreaming of Arsenal’s Best-11

November 10, 2014November 11, 2014TotalArsenal

Yesterday’s defeat against Swansea hurt less than the draw against Anderlecht, even though the former is a lot more costly. Somehow, I am getting used to Gunners-disappointment – I might even be finding some inner-peace around it all.

Yesterday’s team v Swansea (well done 17HT for getting it spot on!):

I thought the team fought hard and with discipline for a long time, and although our play was far from a compliment to the eye, I was still enjoying it. The goal, a well worked counter-attack between Ox, Wellbeck and the deadly Alexis, fell at the right time, as, of course, it was important to score first.

After that, it was a matter of either absorbing pressure and play counter-football or to keep playing on the attack in order to score the all important second goal. Key is to make a choice and stick to it….

This is easier said than done, especially after giving a three nil lead away against Anderlecht. Nerves played a big role and tactical indecision – on the pitch and on the touchline – proved to be very costly. It also does not help that the only defensive player on our bench is a young, promising, but highly inexperienced, FB: Bellerin. It became very quickly squeaky bum time, and it got worse. 😦

Ramsey had been ineffective: eager yes, but without focus and much control, which is so vital in the b2b/CM role (what was it, hey?). About time to dump the tennis shoes as well…. what is next: sheep and cow patterns?

Flamini, our man of the match by a mile, had been protecting the defence with an aggressive yet disciplined performance. For once we looked solid through the middle of our defence. But on the right flank we were vulnerable and there was very little we could do about it: the chink in the armour was gaping and our RB was imprisoned in his very own torture Chambers. Paradoxically, the opposite flank of Swansea was their most vulnerable area, so it made some sense to keep Ox on the right…

But Chambers, who simply has been playing too many games for a 19 year old, does not appear to deal well at the moment with speedy wingers who like to sprint to the by-line in order to cross into the box (I reckon fatigue is playing a big role here). His latest ‘Tormentero’, the impressive Montero, knew he had the better of the young Englishman and skinned him ruthlessly time and again. This is a real worry for our nr.2 RB, but more about this during the week. Ox still has a lot to learn defensively, and it is fair to say Chambers did not get much quality support from him; and the BFG is not going to help him much either when it comes to outrunning attackers.

Swansea’s equaliser was a chapeau-moment. The wall looked wobbly, but Sigurdsson’s free-kick was simply unstoppable. Nothing was lost yet; in fact, I was convinced we would bounce back from this. But Swansea smelled blood and their manager made the right substitution: the chink needed to be cracked open. Montero got the better of Chambers once again and produced a good cross into the box and a big, fresh CF, Gomis, is there to pounce home. It was reminiscent of a Drogba goal: Gomis out-jumped and out-powered the sorry looking Nacho and Ramsey, leaving Szczesny no chance at all.

We made substitutions and had the game lasted another half an hour we might well have drawn or even won it, but we all knew the game was lost.

Afterthoughts

I wrote about our soft underbelly after the Anderlecht game, and we all know we need to reinforce our defence and midfield in the middle with steel, speed, skill and character. So let’s not go over this again. The TW is 50 days away and we have a hell of a lot of games to play between now and then. And there might be no suitable players available come the start of the new year. Having said that, Flamini played well and the triangle of Flam, BFG and Nacho held strong for a very long time, allowing Swansea very little in the process.

Having watched Arsenal against Burnley live last week, I reckon we need to give more weight to the number of first team players we have been missing for a long period now. We looked ordinary for a large part of the game; in fact, I have not seen Arsenal lacking so much class throughout the team for a long, long time.

Welbeck really is nowhere near as effective in our team as Giroud. Chambers has to learn a lot to become as solid as Debuchy. Santi is significatly more limited in his attacking play than Ozil. Ramsey, out of form this season, is nowhere near as effective as Jack or veteran Arteta at the moment. Ox has moments of promise, but is still so raw and technically/tactically undisciplined compared to the ‘previously arrived’ Theo. Nacho works his socks off but is only half as good as tiger Koz.

This does not mean that the ‘stand-ins’ are rubbish: far from it! They are all decent to good players who would play well in a team that had very few injuries to their main core. Arsenal can cope with a couple of first teamers out, maybe even three. But there has been such a drop in overall quality over the last few months; and, in my view, this is down to the sheer numbers of injured first teamers. All teams have a core of first choice players, and if too many are injured, sooner or later this will show in their performances.

No Ozil, No Giroud, No Koz, No Theo, No Debuchy, and No Arteta and Jack for the last few weeks – easily £100-120m transfer value – is an incredible bloodletting for any team, and certainly for Arsenal. Too many stand-ins have been too much – or should it be too little – for the team, especially when we play them about twice a week as well.

To me this is the obvious problem – in combination with our lack of defensive cover, of course. Just imagine we can play the team below week in week out for a while, whilst adding a proper DM and a quality CB in January:

We would do a lot, lot better…no doubt about that!

The PL title is lost, but the season is not. The Chavs are rampaging on, and although I can see weaknesses in their team, we are not going to make up the 12 point gap this season.

We have to hope to see our team get back to full strength, or there about, as soon as possible. Add steel in defence and/or midfield in January, and see where we go from there.

In the meantime, Wenger and Bould have to work hard to get the current squad into a solid, confident unit which will see us through this challenging period. The international break has come at the right time, it seems. For once, no Arsenal football for a couple of weeks feels like a relief.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

No Jack, Santi/Nacho/Ramsey to start, Alexis in hole? Swansea Preview & Line-up

November 7, 2014TotalArsenal

Swansea City – Arsenal Match Preview: Response Required, Right or (w)Rong

Tuesday’s twenty ticks of terrible tame tripe must be eradicated, erased and eased into the rear-view with a resolute, rampant and resounding response Sunday at Swansea City (Sity). If not, the alliterative alternates for this assemblage of Arsenal acolytes cannot help but turn into a wild wall of wailing wassails against one (won), Arsene Wenger.

As I said, in the comments of the previous thread…Apologies in advance…

At least we have a match to play. If this one goes wrong it’s a LONG two weeks off until Man United (and then Dortmund) in front of the (most-expensive in all of Europe) ticket-buying crowd. Where’s that emoticon that can shudder at the thought?…

Let’s get to it then…

Swansea away has actually been a good fixture for us in recent times. Last season, goals from Serge Gnabry and Aaron Ramsey–well booed for being a Cardiff lad–were enough to secure the full points and make a late goal from Ben Davies a mere consolation. The previous season we won there (2-nil) at the front end of our Spring run, which saw us make up a 7 point deficit on Tottenham to secure (another season of) Champions League football.

The most interesting element of that match, however, might have been the man between the sticks who kept the clean sheet. Lukas Fabianski will play again on Sunday, but not for Arsenal. Instead, it will be the man for whom he stepped in, Wojciech Szczesny, who will have to marshal a makeshift defence against a team who has been one of the surprise packages in the early part of the English season.

Of course, it will be more than a battle of keepers, even if we probably should expect an open match with both of them well tested. Swansea, under new manager Gary Monk, have been steadily testing the “bigger” English clubs, and even bested Man United at Old Trafford to ruin Louis Van Gaal’s managerial debut. Given the relative state of the two teams, this will not be an easy match by any stretch of the most optimistic Gooner’s imagination.

Fabianski, solid at the back, has been one reason. Another has been Wilfried Bony using all his muscle to soften defences while Gylfi Sigurdsson, back after an unhappy season with Spurs, has been the main man in the midfield. Bafetimbi Gomis, a fine pickup from Lyon, Ki Sung-Yueng, Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge have also contributed to a well-balanced attack. A consistent back four in front of Fabianski–Angel Rangel, Federico Fernandez, Neil Taylor and Ashley Williams–are distinctly at odds with our ad-hoc group. Unlike the poor start the Swans had early on a year ago, they currently sit a mere two points behind us. If they watched us in midweek (while they rested), surely they must be salivating at the chance to play us and jump above us in the table. We may, however, have caught a break with the sending off of their most physically imposing midfielder. Jonjo Shelvey will sit this one out having picked up a pair of yellows during their nil-nil draw at Everton.

Unfortunately, in addition to playing a good Swansea side, we must also contend with what happened on Tuesday night…

As complete as our comprehensive capitulation (might) come to be characterized, we have a chance to clean the charts with a couple of chancers of our choosing. (OK, I should probably let this go…but…) Chamberlain, Calum Chambers, could continue to contribute. Cazorla could (finally) can a chance. Constant calls for Campbell (might) catch the (curiously) closed columns aimed at Arsene’s aural avenues. If they aren’t, there’s always Atlas, er, Alexis, who appears able to alleviate an amount of the angst anchoring the average angry (and aching) Arsenalista…

Enough…This is NOT a joke, even if many a Gooner believes what we saw on Tuesday was…

In truth, the collapse was (very) bad and the manager must use this opportunity to right the ship. With all the injuries–key first teamers Ozil, Giroud, Koscielny and Debuchy are all long term absentees, while Arteta is a recent addition– we still must gather the remaining group and get a result. Additionally, there seems to be some confusion about how to do so.

Conservative formations have been the way forward in the league but are now (perhaps) unavailable with the latest injuries. Fortunately Jack Wilshere is back in the squad and (maybe) can fill in for the captain, even if Ramsey appears the man Wenger wants in the role. Theo Walcott, who looked very sharp late on vs Burnley, must be eager for a longer outing even if Tomas Rosicky and Lucas Poldolski were favoured as subs in the debacle on Tuesday. Some may call for changes at the back, but surely if Wenger didn’t choose them for that one, I can’t see him making them here. Most will argue for a bit of a shake-up, but dropping Cazorla or Welbeck when they need confidence is not Wenger’s way. Oxlade-Chamberlain shouldn’t be the one to make room just because he actually scored. Here’s my best guess:

Subs: Martinez, Bellerin, Wilshere, Rosicky, Walcott, Podolski, Sanogo

Have at it with your own choices, of course, though, in my opinion, it really doesn’t matter who plays. Football is a team game and we, as a team, need to put our ghosts to bed. No matter what happens, we must respond. Referee Phil Dowd brings a measure of experience to the proceedings and generally is unmoved by crowd pressure. Still, if he blows against us, we must come back. If he whistles for us (and we’re able to take advantage), we must not become complacent. If their Pole in goal makes saves, we must continue to test him until he cannot. If ours makes a pig’s ear of things, the outfielders must pick him up and do what they can. And on and on… (Isn’t a pig’s ear something an East-ender would cry into?…) That’s what we (as Gooners) really need to avoid… more tears.

Go on then…

Written by: 17HighburyTerrace

We ARE The Arsenal And That Was Unacceptable

November 5, 2014November 5, 2014TotalArsenal

Soft Underbelly Allows Three Costly Wobbles

We have known and been talking about it forever: Arsenal have a soft underbelly, and it is right in the heart of our defence and midfield. We strapped it over recently with the veterans of Flamini and Arteta playing in front of the vulnerable CB pairing of BFG and Nacho, and it somehow did a job against the lesser teams of Sunderland and Burnley.

But last night our swinging undercarriage was laid bare by a team the equivalent in Europe to the likes of Burnley and Sunderland in the PL. It was embarrassing and painful to watch, and with Arteta possibly injured for a while again and Le Coq on loan (WTF!?), and Koz out till at least after the break, we can only dream of a solid six-pack for quite a while.

The question is will Wenger ever accept this and buy properly, or will we continue with patching over the continuous softness? The answer my friends, is blowing in the window (which will not open till the new year, of course).

It is true that we seemed to fall apart as soon as Arteta left the field, but we should also not forget that we had looked vulnerable at the start of the game, when he was actually on the pitch; and we could have easily conceded a goal if the Belgians had been a bit more lucky/deadly. I also witnessed defensive weaknesses against Burnley during the first half, for which we were not punished.

The lack of organisational leadership with players like BFG, Flamini and Nacho on the pitch, which resulted in giving away a three nil lead at home, was simply unacceptable. Now I don’t think these players are at all lazy or careless; I am sad to say they probably just lack the qualities (physical and tactical), although I would love to be proven wrong on this. Or maybe, it is just a lack of tactical organisation and preparation, for which training sessions and trainers are to blame… You tell me…

We gave away a three nil lead at home, against CL minnows Anderlecht. We can analyse it to bits, we can find all sorts of excuses, but we still gave away a three nil lead against Anderlecht in twenty minutes of football, at the home of football. How does it make us feel? Like somebody just buried, with full force, their hairy-knuckled fat fist in our underbelly.

What do you do when that happens? You fecking fight back. Swansea should be scared, very scared. Or should they?

The one big positive (other than another master-class by Alexis and good performances by the FBs):

I was delighted to see the Ox score a goal he has been threatening to produce for quite a while. I loved the venom and precision in his bended shot, and it was great to see the master Alexis giving the young Englishman his approval of the finish.

Unfortunately for him, this will not be the one big thing we will remember from this game.

Bring on The Jacks on Sunday and let our players show why they are still worthy of wearing the shirt. We are The Arsenal!

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Anderlecht Preview & Predicted Line-Up: Starts for Bellerin & Ramsey?

November 3, 2014November 3, 2014TotalArsenal

Three Wins on the Trot and Now Anderlecht at Home–How Should Wenger Rotate the Squad?

Taking results for what they are, Arsenal are in their best moment of the still young season and ideally placed for a Tuesday evening match against Anderlecht which would secure another trip to the Champions league knock-out stage. Although we struggled, mightily, against the young Belgian outfit, less than two weeks ago in their stadium, snatching the late victory surely gives us a leg up returning back to our home turf.

Given the uptick in our recent fortunes and the fact that we play an early-season surprise team in the English Premier League next Sunday, Swansea City, this match might represent an opportunity to gain a further rise in individual and collective confidence while resting a player or two who may be headed towards the dreaded “red zone.” Add in the return of core players like Aaron Ramsey (fighting illness after returning early from a hamstring injury) and Theo Walcott, who finally got a run out with the first team, and others who have looked promising in smaller roles, and it all adds up to a tantalizing sense that we might be able to put the nadir of the season behind us and head on towards our truer place in the sun…

That, of course, might be painting things with too bright a brush, especially as the days are only getting shorter, meaning what little sunlight there is comes from low on the horizon and hardly warms us… Unless you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, of course. Please, please, Antipodean Gooners (and those from the equatorial areas)–please chime in here at Bergkampesque if you retain any warm feelings for your club. If not, chime in anyhow to let us know exactly what sort of false dawn we’re imagining and what further darkness lays beyond the immediate horizon…

Personally, I believe it’s far too early to believe that we’ve rounded the corner on the various early season troubles we’ve experienced. Injuries to key players Ozil, Giroud, Koscielny and Debuchy have been mitigated somewhat by the emergence of a small phalanx of stand-ins. Alexis Sanchez, who actually was left out of a couple of starting 11s before the previous international break, has proven a true thoroughbred willing to carry the weight of the club–wire to wire and match to match. Calum Chambers who looked a good buy as a youngster who could fill in at right and center back (and possibly, eventually, as a defensive midfielder) has now begun to contribute with key assists and his first Arsenal goal. The insanity of playing Nacho Monreal at Center Back (due to inactivity in this area over the Summer) looks less mad with each clean sheet. Likewise, the dual defensive-mid pairing of Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta, doing the job many hoped a single big money Summer signing might have done, while not exactly inspiring oohs and ahhs, seems also to offer a measure of stability in the center of the park.

The better results, however, don’t mask the fact that several players who are getting protracted runs in the first team are failing to produce. Santi Cazorla, while continuing to take up amazing attacking positions and fire balls towards the target (or the stands behind them…), has yet to find the back of the net and may have even lost his nearly perpetual smile. Meanwhile, the guy with perhaps the best first touch amongst all our midfielders, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, has been very slowly working himself back from a fairly disastrous performance in front of the home crowd vs Hull City. In that one, over-ambition resulted in too many cheap turnovers, enhancing the primary tactic of our opponents–time wasting. In more recent outings he appears to have simplified his game, committed to working the touchline a bit more and put in many a dangerous ball. Still no assists (nor goals) have resulted. Danny Welbeck, a tireless worker and a good foil for the movements of Alexis, has yet to truly find his feet as the man to lead our line, despite being perfectly placed and executing a deft finish to salvage a point in the Hull match.

In that one, it could be argued, the late substitutes, Joel Campbell and Lucas Poldolski were key in improving the result. They made an even bigger impact helping to overcome a deficit in the Anderlecht away game with Poldolski’s goal being the winner. Surely, just as we can still feel the rattling of the post struck by Lu-lu late on vs Burnley, these two need continued opportunities. And then there’s the pace of Theo Walcott which appeared intact in 10 minutes late in that same match and (even faster, if you believe the reports) Hector Bellerin, who’s looked almost as good as the other 19 year old, Chambers, in his couple of starts (both coming in the Champions League group matches). Tomas Rosicky, the most forgotten man of them all, likely still has something to offer the group. And that’s without even mentioning Jack Wilshere, whose “very short term” bruised knee has now caught the same virus which relegated Aaron Ramsey to a substitute role in the last two…

How then does Wenger approach this one?

While many might call for wholesale changes, I believe the confidence of the squad remains very fragile. Cazorla, Ox and Welbeck, in particular, need another match to continue to try and find their best games. Ramsey, having watched 70 minutes of Flamini in the box to box, central role, shouting instructions and filling spaces, and then playing the remaining 20 alongside the man himself, might be ready to take that role back. Mikel Arteta, returning from injury himself, perhaps needs a calm and commanding 90 minutes in the sitting mid-field spot. At the back, can Wenger rest any from a group which has kept the clean sheets? Probably not, but Bellerin did start (and played well) in Belgium, while Gibbs had a worrisome hip issue and required a sub in the 2nd to last match up in Sunderland. Up top, could this match be the spot where the Atlas, er, Alexis, role (“Get on my back and let me carry the weight of the world”) might get spread around a little? I’m not sure if it’s a good gamble and possibly the team could use more match time to watch the great man himself at full-speed (the only pace he knows…) so as to present better options if he judges the moment right to spread the wealth. Ideally he might take an earlier sub and allow Walcott a slightly longer 2nd outing after the big ACL injury.

Wenger, with Captain Arteta alongside, has already addressed the press, informing my line-up below. Of course (WTF) does he (or I) know?… If YOU were the manager who would YOU play and who would pick-up the mysterious (but very short term…) knock or illness and take a match off? (Or maybe you’d rather assign a longer term knock, you know, if you’re actually dropping someone in the pecking order rather than merely giving them a rest…) How would you choose to use this match to get the win while building towards Swansea on Sunday and far tougher matches after the next round of internationals?

Here’s my best guess as to what the manager might try…

Subs = Martinez, Gibbs, Flamini, Poldolski, Campbell, Rosicky, Walcott

Written by: 17HighburyTerrace

When I met Terry Mancini

October 13, 2014October 14, 2014TotalArsenal

Retsub, my brush with fame.

Having penned my first blog entry on my abject failure to ever see Arsenal win anything physically, I was bombarded with compliments from well wishers. Although I never received any royalties of film offers, I was offered a number of holiday destinations, should our beloved team qualify for a final again. It’s nice to know that I am so well regarded that people suggested some really interesting places such a Timbuktu and the North Pole. Such was the strength of the support I received that I decided to write another entry.

Initial thoughts were ‘My life as a football Hooligan’, but in truth I was too scared to get involved in any trouble and usually ran away.

“Chelsea always running, Tottenham running to, so’s The North Bank Highbury running after you”; with the exception of me, because I was windy.

Then I thought I would talk about my collection of pristine Arsenal programmes, which I carefully stored under my jumper at each game to keep them flat. However, my daughter recently announced they were the property of my first Grandson (not even on the horizon yet). Probably a good thing, as I would have bored everyone to death.

So, I decided on a subject not Arsenal-specific, but one that may drum up some interesting Arsenal specific responses. I titled it Retsub, my brush with fame.

In my banking career (yah boo hiss) I came into contact with a number of well-known celebrities at corporate events etc, but I wanted to share with you my stories of how I met with footballing greats (OK greats is pushing it a bit) on a personal level.

My elder brothers were schoolboy friends of a Charlton player called Phil Warman; I think I may have spoken with him once or twice. This meant at School I could say I was best buddies with a pro footballer: stardom indeed at an early age.

At secondary School I was coached by Lenny Lawrence (along with 700 other kids) who went on to manage Charlton. We also had Keith Weller for a while. Not that it did me a lot of good. Having left School, some friends and I formed our own team. First season wasn’t a great success and we narrowly avoided relegation. Thinking back, I don’t think it was possible to get relegated anyway. Worst moment was at the awards, when were awarded the ‘fair play trophy’ much to our embarrassment. Still, greatness was to come: and I became a hero the next season, when I was the first player to be booked. Huh no more fair play awards for us. I still proudly display my Eltham and District Division 2 trophy, mainly because it was the only one I ever won.

But greater things were to come. Not necessarily in chronological order.

In the early 1980’s my girlfriend (who became my wife) and I were holidaying in Ibiza. Sitting in the bar one night I got talking football with a guy who announced he was Les Cartwright and played for Coventry City. I think I knew of him, but he certainly wasn’t an A-lister. It was, however, an interesting insight into the life of a professional footballer. Serendipitously, thirty-five year later, Gerry of Bergkampesque fame referred to Les affectionately….

I once took a girlfriend to Highbury for the first time. I was pretty full of myself on the journey to Highbury, explaining about The Marble Halls and the only team with an underground station named after it. And how the star players all had big flash cars, and if we were lucky we might catch a glimpse of one or two at the players’ entrance. In truth, Arsenal were having an awful season and were in danger of being relegated. So, we are on the tube and I look up, and sitting opposite me complete with his kit bag was………an Arsenal megastar: maybe Charlie George or Alan Ball? I have to be careful not to offend a fellow Bergkampesquer, but the megastar was none other than Terry Mancini. Now Terry was playing that day and he was travelling to the match on the tube, classy huh? I was going to be flash and say “alright Tel”, but chickened out. I remember he was a great header of the ball, but not the most gifted player with the ball at his feet. He had been purchased from QPR to try to save Arsenal from relegation. During that period we probably had the worst team I can remember. We didn’t get relegated that or any other season. Mancini was eventually shipped out to Aldershot. Did he really get a hair transplant?

In July 1983 my wife and I married and honeymooned on a far way Island paradise….. OK it was, Majorca. One day I was sitting on the balcony and glanced across at the next hotel. There, lazing on their balconies were the great Brian Clough and his assistant Peter Taylor. I thought about shouting over “alright Brian” but chickened out.

A few days later I was playing head tennis with two young lads in the pool. Like all kids do they were pretending to be their heroes and shouting out the name of Nottingham Forest players. This was great, Forest supporters in the pool and their manager in the hotel next door. I took great pleasure in telling them that Brian Clough was next door, and probably exaggerated a bit and told them that I had exchanged pleasantries. This would no doubt be fantastic news for them that their manager was only a stones throw away.. But no, their response was “ He’s our Dad”… hmmm felt pretty foolish, but I will still claim I taught Nigel Clough a thing or two.

A few years later, my wife’s uncle was part of a team that installed the first giant screen at the back of the South Bank. They obviously didn’t know he was a Spurs fan as they rewarded him with a number of tickets which he duly passed on to me. So my wife, my Mother in law and I find ourselves sitting in or around the Directors’ box at Highbury. Can’t remember who we were playing, but I was sitting just in front of Paul Mariner who was injured. I thought about introducing myself but you know the story by now. Highlight of the day was Charlie Nicholas appearing as a sub. Suddenly Charlie is warming up, clad from head to foot in a bright red tracksuit. My Mother in law exclaims in a really loud voice “ Who is that great fairy?” . We escaped but only just. Another chance of fame had slipped away…

And finally, (to collective sighs of relief) my final story. I was sitting in the bar of the Intercontinental Hotel in Bahrain enjoying a beer on a Thursday evening. For those not familiar with the geography, Bahrain is an Island attached to the Saudi mainland by a causeway. Saudi is a dry country (no alcohol), so every Thursday evening hundreds of Saudi’s drive across the Causeway to enjoy the pleasures denied to them on the mainland. When they drive back it is probably the most dangerous road in the world. It was fairly early and the hordes hadn’t arrived yet. Suddenly two really beautiful blonde girls approach me and we begin chatting. It turns out that they were the cheerleaders for The Arizona Cardinals who were in Bahrain to entertain the American troops based there. Now this was pretty amazing, and ten minutes later about 20 further girls were surrounding me. OK I have exaggerated before, but this really happened. If I had a camera I would have bragging rights for ever. But no such luck, and ten minutes later about 50 randy Saudi’s arrived and ruined any photo opportunity.

So endeth my claims to fame. Hopefully it will stir up some interesting stories from fellow BK’ers! 🙂

Written by: Retsub.

No Debuchy, Giroud, or Ozil, 9 Points Behind Chelsea: Season Over?

October 8, 2014TotalArsenal

Bollox! 🙂

The season is underway for two months now and, to use a cliché, it has been a roller-coaster of a ride. It is always hard to predict how a season will go, but it is made even more difficult when the summer preparation period is cut short as a result of our stars’ world cup endeavours and a number of key signings have to be assimilated into the team. We are in October now, and to be fair, I have not got much more of a clue how it all will end for Arsenal come May.

It all started well with beating MC convincingly – and in style – in the Charity Shield and qualifying once again for the CL group stage (by huffing and puffing though). CL qualification proved to be an energy-sapping, nervy exercise for players and manager, which has had an impact on our results in the PL. We did not lose any of our games during that time, but we dropped valuable points in Leicester and Liverpool. Drawing at Goodison Park is of course nothing to be ashamed about, and so is drawing against MC and Spuds at home. However, losing against the Chavs is always painful; but again, in a competition of 38 games, this is not a disaster as yet.

The one thing that will be constant, however, is the high level of expectations across the Gooner-family. Winning the FA-cup and finishing in the top four once again last season, and not selling our key players (well except Mr Reliable who now heats up the thighs of Les autres former Gunner benchwarmers) and buying a number of good quality players during the summer, have raised our expectations to a very high level.

We all know that having high expectations for almost anything in life is usually a recipe for disappointment, sadness and anger, but most of us just cannot help ourselves. Having high hopes is still very different from high expectations, but so is the impact on our state of happiness during the season.

The problem is of course that Maureen and his expensively assembled troops are flying at the moment, having created a gap of nine points between us and them already. This hurts and makes us feel that we can forget about this year’s PL title after just seven PL games. And yes, if the Chavs keep this up then nobody will catch them, including us. But let’s not give up till the very end: karma might settle the bill sooner or later with the Southern Oilers and their self-adoring manager. We will need a mini-miracle, though.

On top of that, our injury voodoo continues to plague us (what have Arsenal done to deserve this?). The loss of OG was massive. Love him or hate him, he is the first player on the team sheet in attack in Arsene’s current version of Wenger-ball. I reckon we missed him tremendously from a systemic point of view. Welbeck has done a very good job, though. He is a different sort of player than OG; and especially against the top teams we have missed the French Lighthouse and ‘Midfield Enabler’ a lot.

Theo’s seemingly never-ending injury has hurt us a lot as well, and the initially out of form and now injured key midfielders, Ramsey and Arteta, have also left the team weaker. On top of all of that, our experienced signing for RB, Debuchy, is another long-term injured first team player; and Gibbs and Monreal seem to exchange the injury-bug between them constantly…. And now, yes would you fecking believe it, Mesut is also out for up to three months….

So to sum it all up, and I am not doing this to make us feel sorry for ourselves, we will not have available for a few weeks till a few months (and those that will return sooner will still need to settle back in and stay injury free): Ozil, Arteta, Ramsey, Giroud, Debuchy, Theo and a few others like Monreal, Sanogo etc.

Reason to despair or throw in the towel? Of course not!

Let’s look at it like this: those who are left behind will be able to play a lot and nail down a starting position for the time being, maybe even for the rest of the season. The likes of Chambers, Welbeck, Jack, Gibbs and even Santi, will all have a great opportunity to put their stamp on the team (again). Grab it boys, grab it!

On top of that, we can start a new phase all the way into January, with a series of winnable (but never to be underestimated) games in which the team can put their teeth and fight for every three points on the ‘OGAAT’ basis.

And that, my fine fellow Gooners, is what we need: a succession of winnable games, a passionate and highly skilled team with their backs against the wall, and a PL points gap that needs closing. Tick, Tick, Tick.

It was my plan to write a post about how we have to be able to fit in all three of Jack, Ozil and Alexis; but with the latest Ozil news, this has become more or less superfluous. The team almost picks itself now, which I reckon will be a good thing for the next phase of the season.

I am still disappointed that we lost marginally against the Chavs, even though the players and manager did us proud on the day imo. I wish we had drawn fewer games in the PL until now. I am simply flabbergasted at the number and duration of our first team injuries, and I remain disappointed that we did not buy a proper DM once again this summer.

But, no regrets, not false sentiments, no self-pity: instead, forwards and onwards!

I cannot wait till this inter-lull is over and we start anew. Take the bull by the horns and let the likes of Szczesny, BFG, Koz, Gibbs, Flamini, Chambers, Jack, Ox, Welbeck, Alexis, Santi, Rosicky, and whoever joins the core-team from the overpopulated sick-bay and youth ranks, to go on a run and do the shirt proud.

Forget about titles and silverware.

It is time to put our sleeves up: to plough, to sow and to plant – to find the inner-team animal and fight for every point. That is what football, and being a Gooner, is all about: the here, the now: the (bi-)weekly battles, the fight, the passion, the joy, the support, the beauty, the victories, the disappointments, and the hope rather than the expectations of winning something in the end.

‘Men talk about Bible miracles because there is no miracle in their lives. Cease to gnaw that crust. There is ripe fruit over your head.’ Thoreau

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Time To Reveal The Sad Arsenal Secret

October 7, 2014TotalArsenal

Everyone has their dark secrets, some of which are buried very deep and best left there.

It is only since I discovered Bergkampesque that I have managed to search my inner self and analyse my problem. Sure I tried other blogs, but none of them made me feel at home. Some of the blogs are so clique, you just get ignored. Some are downright hostile. I once suggested Arshavin was a lazy sod and nearly got lynched.

Then Bergkampesque: a friendly, knowledgeable, sometimes odd collection of Gooners who made me feel at home from day one, and even threw in free Dutch lessons. They even let me lead the UMF league for a week after I managed max points; some even said they would follow me, but week two ended in zero.

Anyway, enough of this pre-amble and back to my sad secret: I have supported Arsenal for over 50 years. At school, I was surrounded by hordes of glory hunting Manchester United fans. There were about three of us and thousands of them and we hadn’t won anything in years. Still, in a school set in rural Lancashire, you would expect this mix of fans. But hold on, I went to School in South East London. Technically, Palace, Millwall and Charlton territory. But my Dad was a lifelong Arsenal fan, so it was genetic.

In 1966 Arsenal sacked Billy Wright and we all waited for a big name replacement. No foreign managers then, so Arsenal decided to appoint their physio, Bertie Mee. The physio??!! We hadn’t won anything for years and we appoint the physio? But with Don Howe as his able assistant, things picked up.

A team that hadn’t won anything for years suddenly began to show form. Maybe we could actually win something.

Sorry, rambling again. During the 50 plus years I have attended literally hundreds of games, mainly at Highbury, a good number of away games and a sprinkling of Cup Finals. Prior to the latter years at Highbury, no one on the terraces had season tickets, you just turned up and paid.

Below is my list of some of the important games I have attended:

1968 League Cup Final Wembley.

Leeds United – lost 1 – 0.

Possibly the dirtiest team I have ever seen, Jack Charlton flattened the Arsenal keeper at a corner and Terry Cooper rifled the winner home. My first visit to Wembley.

1969 League Cup Final Wembley

Swindon Town lost 3 – 1 AET

This was it Swindon Town from the old 3rd division against the mighty Gunners. This was going to be a walkover. My Dad had once again got two tickets and once again we set off to cheer on our beloved team. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until we reached the game that we realised we had Swindon tickets. It didn’t really matter though because Arsenal fans didn’t have a lot to cheer about. Three main factors for our downfall that day were:

1) The pitch. Take a look at the the clip below, and remember this is Wembley.

2) Don Rogers, a Swindon legend along with 10 other country bumpkins played their socks off.

3) Ian Ure, who my Dad thought was great, but I always thought was a little clumsy, didn’t have his best game. Although Bobby Gould equalised in the last minute, we went on to lose 3 -1. Wasn’t a lot of fun going back to School after that .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4oQTUv37nU

1971 Winning the league at White Hart Lane – Spurs 0 Arsenal 1

Last game of the season: we needed to draw 0 – 0 or win to win the league. A real nail-biter, but the lads did really well. Then in the final minutes a young Ray Kennedy rose and headed Arsenal ahead. Not necessarily a good thing. We were cruising to the 0 – 0 we needed; now we had upset the Spuds even more. Referees didn’t advertise how much added time back then, and those few minutes seemed like hours. But I and thousands of other Gunners were soon celebrating in the streets of Spudland.

I also had a cup final ticket that year. Unfortunately, it was a single Scouse ticket. No way Pedro.

1980 FA Cup Final

V West Ham Wembley – lost 1- 0

Surely, my first Wembley Victory against 2nd Division West Ham. A truly forgettable game. In fact, I can only remember two events. Trevor Brooking scored the winning goal with a header. Although many of us felt that it rebounded off his head. Then, in the final moments, a young Hammer broke through on goal. This was history in the making: if he scored he would be the youngest goal scorer in Cup Final history. Then, a moment that has been called ‘a game changing moment in British football’. The Arsenal centre back Willie Young not known for his delicate touch, scythed Paul Allen down and was only booked for his trouble. After collecting his winners medal, Allen burst into tears: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKemltpQMgA

The list goes on. I was at Wembley when Gazza scored that free kick. I was also there when we lost the League cup final (I always forget what it’s called these days) to Chelsea.

By now you may have noticed a trend.

Other than the Spurs game, every trophy winning game I have ever attended has ended in defeat. Hang on a moment though, I was shut out at Spurs and listened to the game on a tranny radio.

So my problem, in over 50 years of supporting Arsenal I have never physically seen them win anything. Not a sausage!

If by any chance we reach the champions league final though…. anyone got a spare ticket? 🙂

Written by: Retsub.

Arsenal v Spuds and the art of happily supporting our team

September 29, 2014TotalArsenal

We all live our lives as good as we can, and if we are lucky then large periods of it are lived relatively worry free (and many of us are not going through a nice period at the moment – maybe the injury of our very own nr.14 earlier this year was an omen of what was to come this calendar year?).

When I was thirteen, during a moment of contemplation (and realisation that classical education was not for me), I came up with the five ‘V’s’ of happiness and aims in my life:

Vriendschap – Friendship
Meisjes/Vrouwen –Girls/Females
Vrijheid – Freedom
Voedsel – Food
Voetbal – Football.

Voetbal has always been a great source of happiness and had a central place in my life from as long as I can remember. It still amazes me how so many people have made this sport so central to their lives.

I spoke to a colleague the other day about her dad who is fighting an unwinnable battle with cancer. He was taken to a hospice in December last year and she feared his life would be over soon; but he has an iron will, and his love for sport and football in particular, keeps him hanging on. When I spoke to her last week, she said he had lost so much weight and hardly ate any food any more, but he was in good spirits because the Rider Cup was on over the weekend and his beloved Man United were playing. That made me quiet, realising once more what deep power sports have over the happiness of people.

Football, and for us in particular, our club Arsenal bring so much joy and ‘hope for better’ and often, subconsciously, functions as a surrogate for our hopes and dreams in ‘real life’. And we all suffer disproportionately if and when our team does not live up to our (often unrealistic) expectations. I understand how a defeat, or even a hard-fought for draw against the Spuds, can make fellow Gooners feel down. I would be a liar if I said it did not affect me.

But we cannot let this happen. We played a League game and there are 32 more to come, and we have to take the rough with the smooth. In two months time this result will not look so bad any more and other teams will drop points against the Spuds too (whose manager will get them more and more to play his way).

There is not too much to say about the game, which I only saw on quite a bad stream. They set up to play us on the counter and we dominated them for most of the first half. Our midfield was trying to find the gaps and it only seemed a matter of time; and then came the injuries to the two more defence minded players, which put us out of our stride. It took us time to get back into the game in the second half, and then they scored a goal that could/should have been avoided. But that is football – it isn’t perfect all the time.

The crowd comes once again to life and the players find the inner-animal to fight back. We manage to put them under pressure but their defensive shape is impressive and they seem to hold out. But then comes the scrappy equaliser and we fight on for the three points. Ten more minutes and we might have done it. One more substitution and we might have done it (but they were all used up). So it ends in a draw and we feel disappointed because this Spuds team was there for the taking.

But this season, as every previous season, will have many twists and turns and key is to keep believing and supporting, whilst enjoying the ride as much as desperately wanting our expectations to be met.

Supporting Arsenal in a happy way is becoming more and more of an art these days. And we should all take a bow to Terry who buried his fine farther last Friday and still manages to cheer us up. Now there is a Man in Full. 🙂

Come On You Rip Roaring Gunners! Let’s make The Canon roar and take on the Turks with passion, power and deadly precision in two days time.

This is The Arsenal – By Far the Greatest Team and we supporters support you.

A Mere Papering of Cracks? Villa v Arsenal afterthoughts

September 21, 2014TotalArsenal

On the heels of Arsenal’s first defeat since (Everton away in) April, many an observer–even would be supporters–have trotted out the usual narratives. Wenger has lost the plot, we’re playing the wrong players in the wrong positions, there’s no tactical flexibility, our record signing Ozil(shaven) can’t be arsed and the sky is–literally–falling.

We’re entitled to these reactions and living in the moment, but scanning my science blogs, I could find no evidence that the sky was–literally–descending upon us. Could it be that daylight is waning and the weather merely getting a bit worse in on our part of North London? It may, of course, have something to do with the calendar. Still with only a single match remaining before the official start of Autumn, the trip to Villa Park loomed larger, perhaps, than it might at another time of year. That we couldn’t match their current point total in the league–no matter the result–also did not bode well.

Admittedly, the defeat at Dortmund did feel a comprehensive one and many suggested the 2-nil score-line flattered us. Another narrative is that Arsene’s Arsenal simply cannot play against the bigger teams. With Villa having beaten Liverpool at Anfield and having the week off (whilst we took our full body blow), nerves amongst Gooners were understandable. Looking at the table alone (which, I’ve been told, “does not lie”) they had to be considered as one. With our next two league matches being derbies–Spurs at our place, Chelsea at theirs–the result, at the very least, seemed, er, rather consequential.

Here in the mountains of California, the smoke from our annual wildfires only barely clearing with a little lucky wind, I awoke to a line-up I liked. Alexis Sanchez, even if he’s already become a huge fan favorite, was rested in favour of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Santi Cazorla came in for Jack Wilshere (who took a knock late on at Dortmund). Calum Chambers, recovered from his sore throat (tonsilitis), was the preferred 19 year old at right back (over Hector Bellerin), and both Kieran Gibbs and Mikel Arteta (both just back from injury and/or a respite…) kept their places.

Danny Welbeck, who had spurned scoring opportunities in his first two matches for Arsenal, also remained the point of attack. Curiously, younger forwards, including Yaya Sanogo, Chuba Akpom and Joel Campbell and the all-purpose defender, Isaac Hayden, called for by many a Gooner in the wake of the Dortmund disaster, didn’t even find a place on the bench. Perhaps in the Capital One Cup to be played in midweek?… On my television feed, the line-up was even listed as a 4-2-3-1 rather than the much maligned 4-1-4-1 we’re (supposedly) playing even if Ozil persisted on the left of the 3 (Santi in the middle, Ox on the right) and Ramsey was the player (nominally) brought back to help out the Captain. I’m not a stickler for formations and I tend to buy the idea that the number of players at the back is (more or less) all that matters and all else flows from there. I’ll leave the discussion of what was actually played to others. To borrow my favorite English saying (heard mostly in the Tube…) “Sorry…”

The match itself started with Villa on the front foot and Arsenal struggling to string passes together. Ramsey looked a central figure but first touches appeared overly aggressive if not just plain heavy. Additionally, the air in Birmingham looked lighter than the players favour and several long balls flew into touch. As such, as in Germany, possession was lost cheaply and Villa looked to be creating more menace throughout the opening stages. That several corners were conceded (the source of the last league goal scored against us in the league) did not help settle nerves. Another set piece provided their most dangerous moment (in the 23rd minute), after an unwise challenge from Calum Chambers, which earned him a yellow for his troubles. The cross sailed over all defenders and allowed a well taken chance for Kieran Clark with a diving header. Szczesney moved out of his goal mouth but maintained his feet and used his entire frame to block with his left leg and right hand. A pivotal moment, especially given the way the opponent kept Liverpool at bay a week ago after an early goal.

The truly pivotal moment happened nine minutes later. Playing the ball deep out of our own half (Chambers protecting the ball like a more experience player and exchanging passes with Mertesacker began the move) a series of lightning fast one touch passes between Ramsey, Cazorla and finally Welbeck sprung Ozil off the shoulder of the Villa highline and he finished calmly with his better foot.

Now Villa had to attack, and the 2nd goal came almost instantly. The camera was actually on Wenger as Gibbs took possession and passed smartly to Ozil who one-touched to Ramsey before receiving a lovely return ball out wide. Scorer and assist maker reversed roles with an inch perfect cross from Ozil and an easy finish (no shin this time) from Welbeck to break his (Arsenal) duck. Ozil in the center, Ozil on the wing: the record signing who just doesn’t care, suddenly everywhere?

Narratives turned upon their heads as well as points secured. Villa, shocked by the turn of events were still unable to get back to work. Kieran Gibbs, who was key in dispossessing Villa to start the lightning move on the 2^nd, again played a key role, poaching another pass even deeper in their territory and crossing to rampaging Ramsey at the far post. Defender Cissoko, caught, needed the most precise of clearances, but found his own goal instead. 3 nil.

That would be all the scoring in the match but Arsenal would secure the points through possession and trying for more. Our best 2nd half chance was likely a throughball from Oxlade-Chamberlain to Ramsey but the latter’s first touch was a near whiff. Late on, after gorgeous one touch work on the left from Ozil, Cazorla and subs Jack Wilshere, Lucas Poldolski and Tomas Rosicky–What? 3 attackers subbed in when we have a score-line to protect?!? — I guess Wenger felt the need to get more attackers involved (and we have far more of them healthy as compared to defenders) and, maybe, the score-line was doing the protecting–of the manager–in this case.

So, a result to freshen the spirits after the poor showing in Europe or a mere papering of cracks?

That’s for my old friends, a certain blogger who confuses Cookies and Monsters (and knows his cracks, amongst other things) and the one who demands Victory Con Cordia… It’s a bit of a no-win for the club despite the fact that we’re still looking up at Villa in the table. They (and early season surprise club, Swansea City) lost today but they are traditionally a mid-table club (at best) and it all could have been a whole lot scarier if their early aggression had led to an opening goal. Our goal scoring happened so quickly that it’s almost hard to appreciate them and they can’t possibly suggest that our problems have been ironed out. Bigger tests await which will “prove” if we’ve turned a corner or merely gotten a fortunate few points.

Amongst the players there could be some realignment of opinion about our record signing, given that he both scored and assisted. Our newest signing might also gain a measure of confidence having done likewise. Already (previous post comments), we’ve seen some debate about the relative contributions of Ramsey and Oxlade-Chamberlain. I’d give a shout out to the emerging right hand partnership of Chambers and the BFG and the two Spaniards who performed their duties well and showed a bit of their “technical superiority,” especially as the match moved on. Kieran Gibbs and Koscielny on the (much) pacier (left) side of our defense (American spelling there…) also had good matches. Szczesny stood tall in his one moment of true examination. Best of all, maybe, is that we appeared to finish the match without any fresh candidates for the physio room.

Of course, that’s only amongst the players who actually played. (Abou Diaby even looked alright after a full 90, even if it was only on the bench…) A new group will surely come in for the midweek cup match to reveal further truths about the depth of the squad… Do we move on to predictions for that one or continue to breathe sighs (of relief) or dissect this one?

What say you Fine Fellow (maybe not Freaking Out–if only for a moment…) Gooners?

😀

Written by: 17highburyterrace