Kings Arsenal were reduced to just four players on Friday afternoon as they prepared to face Team Choc Ice.

A plaque of knee injuries and withdrawals have left captain Mark Tinklin and livewire striker/keeper Luka Tinklin trawling their contacts for at least one more player.

Arsenal fans James Payne and Deep Dasgupta are off to the Emirates to see the Chelsea game on Sunday and Paul Jenkins is out of town.

Phil Foster is going to Newcastle this weekend while Chris Trewhitt, Dave Foster and Julien Ramsey have all been ruled out with knee injuries.

In fact Dave and Julien could both be out until the New Year.

The raft of withdrawals leaves Kings Arsenal down to just four players at present: Fabricio Mazzola, James Britton, Mark and Luke.

However, Kings Arsenal are confident they’ll be up to their full quota of five players in time for the 5.40pm kick-off on Sunday.

Second place Team Choc Ice lie in wait, a team the Kings battered 11-4 at the end of last season.

Goalkeeper Ivan Banovic was booked after rescuing a pitch-invading cat during a top-flight match in Croatia…. From BBC News. Full story

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Kings Arsenal battled to a hard fought 5-4 win over newly promoted Millennium on Sunday evening.

Millennium went into a shock lead and Kings Arsenal made hard work of leveling the scores before half-time.

The timely arrival of Chris Trewhitt gave Kings Arsenal added impetus through the middle and Kings Arsenal finished the first half the stronger, but let in two slack goals at the start of the second period as Millennium surged ahead.

The reds were creating chances but failed to convert as Mark Tinklin was relegated to the bench after failing to land a successful pass.

With Fabricio unavailable Luke Tinklin went in goal and made some superb saves once he remembered that he was supposed to be keeping the ball out of the net.

Struggling with a knee injury, he had a Roy Carroll moment in the first half, dropping the ball behind him and spinning round to grab it before it crossed the line.

It did, but the referee allowed play to continue.

Kings Arsenal surged forward to get back into the game and it was new-boy Deep Dasgupta, making just his second appearance for the Kings, who got an all important equaliser.

They were soon ahead, but in true Kings Arsenal fashion that lead didn’t last long as some slack defending at a corner allowed Millennium, boosted a couple of debutants, to tie the scores once again.

However, a foul on Mark, who finally managed to get back on, allowed Deep to put a freekick in the danger area that goal line hero Paul Jenkins tapped in.

James Payne also played and may have got one of the goals.

The victory was Kings Arsenal’s first of the winter season and leaves the Reds in fourth place with a goal difference of 0.

Kings Arsenal now have a chance to put a string on of wins together starting with Cheung Ki Koks Warriors next week in a 6.20 kick-off.

Sunday’s match was f0llowed by a hastily arranged friendly against Championship mid-table outfit Imber Milan, which Kings Arsenal ran out convincing winners.

Once a goalkeeper always a goalkeeper, of that there can be no doubt. So we  goalkeepers have to stand united and fight for what is a very important cause. We are talking about equal opportunity to win the most prestigious award in Western Australian football, the McInerney Ford Gold Medal for the player of the year.

The Gold Medal started back in 1961, yet no goalkeeper in close to 50 years has ever won this prestigious award.

If we look at the Football Writers Footballer of the year award in England as this has a longer history than the PFA version – which is voted on by the players – since starting in 1947/48 four goalkeepers have taken out the award, Bert Trautmann, Gordon Banks, Pat Jennings and Neville Southall.

Based on the average of this award a goalkeeper should be in the frame every 15 years or so.

However, it has become apparent that the referees tend not to think of awarding votes to goalkeepers, as after the game they do their 3-2-1 votes for the best player and then also vote for the best goalkeeper. As one said on the Gold medal night, ‘I never consider the goalkeepers as I give them a separate vote.’

So that comment would imply that a goalkeeper will never have a chance of driving away with the car and the Gold Medal, which seems more than a little unfair when they can determine a team’s success and failure as much as a striker.

Hopefully the voting on this issue will be reviewed for next season, to make the award all inclusive. If not the unofficial goalkeeper’s union may well have more to say!

Kings Arsenal will be without two first team regulars on Sunday for the clash with newly promoted Millenium.

All-action forward Phil Foster and acrobatic stopper Fabrizio Mazzola are unavailable for selection.

Jorge Campos wannabe Luke Tinklin will play in goal, despite nursing a knee injury, while Mark Tinklin returns from illness to play in attack.

Defensive linchpin Chris Trewhitt is back while there is a welcome return for Deep Dasgupta, assuming he’s not called into work on a Sunday again.

Regular trio James Payne, James Britton and Paul PJ Jenkins complete a strong looking line-up.

Both sides opened the new season with a defeat, but whereas Kings Arsenal were unlucky not to beat the undefeated league champions Millennium went down 6-2 to the inconsistent Team Choc Ice.

The clubs are the last two winners of the Championship and share a record of two wins, two losses and a tie from their last five meetings.

Kings Arsenal squad to face Millennium in a 5pm kick-off on Sunday: Tinklin, Tinklin, Payne, Jenkins, Britton, Trewhitt, Dasgupta

Keeper Carlo Cudicini has been injured in a motorcycle accident in the UK. According to police reports, he has sustained injuries to his wrist and pelvic area which are potentially “life changing”.

We’re all praying for you Carlo.

[Image Source: Mirror Football]

Higgs... contract extension.

WHEN Simon Grayson swooped to sign Cheltenham Town goalkeeper Shane Higgs in the summer, few eyebrows were raised.

After all Higgs had been with Cheltenham for nine years and all he had to show were two Division Three play-off final victories – surely a club of Leeds’ stature should be looking at a bigger name with Championship experience at least? Though to be fair to Higgs he did have a brief loan stint at Wolves towards the end of last season, but didn’t make any appearances.

We were all aware Grayson was after another player between the sticks to add competition for Casper Ankergren, but seriously, Shane who?

Now just a few months down the line Higgs has established himself as the regular number one and has been rewarded with a new one-year contract extension which takes his deal till the summer of 2011.

Higgs has kept six cleans sheets so far this season, but his good form has recently been halted by a thigh injury, allowing Ankergren to stake his place for the goalkeeper’s jersey.

Ankergren... backup keeper?

Grayson cannot be praised enough for the signing of Higgs and the competition it has developed in what has previously been a troublesome area for the Whites. Grayson said:

“We’re delighted to have Shane for another year. He has done well since he came in, and it’s good to have that competition with Casper. Shane did well in pre-season, got his opportunity, and he took it with some good performances and some good saves. He is out injured at the moment but is making good progress. Casper has come in and he has done well and I am pleased with the competition we have there because we have two good goalkeepers.”

I’m sure that when Higgs does recover from his groin injury he will be thrust straight back into the fold, regardless of Ankergren’s form, as Grayson tried to do in the Norwich game.

Hopefully Higgs’ 100% play-off final record won’t need to be mentioned this season – but with more astute signings from Grayson and Higgs between the sticks, maybe next season it will.

Just read about German goalkeeper Robert Enke’s tragic demise .

Its really sad to hear about the waste of such a promising life . First his daughter and then him .  Professional sport can sometimes be  so pressurising , with all the related media attention , hype ,hoopla  and the constant pressure of being in the spotlight  !!

Really sad ,, and makes us all ponder !

Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke has died after being hit by a train in an apparent suicide, police confirm.

Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/8353733.stm

Robert Enke, the Hannover and Germany goalkeeper has died after being hit by a train close to a level crossing near his Hannover house. He was 32 and was regarded as the favourite to be Germany’s No.1  at next year’s World Cup in South Africa.

A statement from German police released following the incident read,”The victim is apparently national team goalkeeper Robert Enke from Hannover 96. The first police indications are that it was a suicide.”

Jörg Neblung, Enke’s agent and close friend said it was definitely suicide. Jörg said, ”I can confirm that it was suicide,” Robert took his own life shortly before six o’clock. A press conference in Hanover on Wednesday will reveal more details.”

Hannover’s president, Martin Kind, said the goalkeeper had been “unstable” recently but it had not been publicly noticed. “You expect many things, but not something like that. I do not know how and why it happened, but I do not think that it had anything to do with football. This is a tragedy” King added.

His doctor Valentin Markser revealed Enke had an acute fear of failure and had been treated for depression since 2003 following a difficult transfer to Barcelona and subsequent loan to Turkish side Fenerbahce.

The Cologne-based doctor said Enke had visited him six weeks ago, suffering from a deep bout of depression — around the same time he lost his place in the Germany team through illness.

The crossing was not far from Enke’s Hannover house and his car was near the scene, unlocked, with his wallet on the seat. The two train drivers reported seeing a man on the tracks and applied the brakes while travelling at about 100mph but could not stop in time, the police reported.

Enke death has left those closest to him both personally and professionally in total shock. Hundreds of fans lit candles and placed bouquets of  flowers outside the Hannover stadium in memory of their captain who had been with the club since 2004. “We are all shocked. We can’t find the words,” national team manager Oliver Bierhoff said from Bonn, where the national team assembled. Theo Zwanziger, German Soccer Federation president voiced a similar sentiment. “We are speechless.” said Zwanzigar.

Enke had recently come down with a bacterial stomach illness which had ruled him out for nine weeks and had returned only 11 days ago to to play for Hannover in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Hamburg – his last game before his untimely death. Although he had not been selected for the Germany’s friendly matches against Chile and Ivory Coast next Wednesday Germany’s Coach Joachim Löw, had said Enke – who won eight caps after making his debut in 2007, the last of them against Azerbaijan in August – remained the leading candidate to be his No1 in South Africa.

Enke who was an understudy to Jens Lehmann at Euro 2008 was in line to secure the starting place after Jens Lehmann’s retirement but was set back by a broken hand, increasing the chances Rene Adler of taking his role. Enke made 196 Bundesliga appearances and also played for Borussia Mönchengladbach after starting his career in East Germany with Jena. He also had spells at foreign clubs: Tenerife, Fenerbahce, Barcelona and Benfica.

Barcelona observed a minute’s silence in his honour before their Copa de Rey match against Cultural Leonesa, while Tenerife in paid tribute to their former player. A statement released by the club said,”Tenerife want to convey their condolences and sympathy following the recent death of the German goalkeeper Robert Enke, who played for the team during the 2003/04 season.Tenerife will have a minute’s silence in the next game against Sevilla and will wear black armbands.”

Enke’s daughter Lara had died in 2006 of a rare heart condition when she was two and he is survived by his wife Teresa, and their eight-month-old daughter, who the couple adopted in May this year.

Germany has canceled their friendly against Chile as a mark of respect to Robert Enke.

German goalkeeper Robert Enke has been found dead, having committed suicide. He tried hard to keep his depressed condition secret and has apologised for hiding his mental state in his final letter. He feared their adopted daughter Leila would be sent away if his illness became public knowledge. He had struggled to overcome the death of his daughter in 2006; she was suffering from a rare heart condition. Enke walked into the path of a train near his home having left a letter.

Ever since this story broke over the internet yesterday I’ve been following it meticulously.  It’s truly harrowing.  I’m shocked, saddened and extremely upset by the news, seeing as it’s a subject matter I can relate to first-hand. I doubt for one minute that Henke was hoping to gain notoriety, but unfortunately that’s how I believe he’ll now be remembered.

It just goes to reiterate the sheer power of depression.  How it can creep up on you in an almost calm manner, turning normal, rational thinking young men into aloof, tormented, tortured souls who hate living.  Like a bolt from the blue it hit me, too.  Insidiously eroding away at my psyche, it wasn’t long until I, myself, felt trapped in a world I didn’t like living in.  Unfortunately though, prevention is better than any cure so I’ve never bothered to look for a remedy.  I just live with it, which, in turn, equates to the occasional relapse.  Psychiatrist and psychologists.  I’m sorry, but I don’t need someone I don’t know telling me what my problem is.

Thankfully though, I’m still here to tell the tale.  It’ll be a cold day in hell before Chris admits defeat.  I’ve had it all.  The desolation.  The despair.  The disinclination to get out of bed.  The loss of appetite.  Compulsions to live like a recluse.  The suicidal tendencies.  The anger.  The hate.  I was the King of Hates!  And unless you’ve actually suffered from depression, then you’ll never be able to vindicate your temperament to those who haven’t.

In all honesty, I’m not actually too sure which way I’m headed with this.  I guess it just hit home like no other news story this year.  Plus, seeing as I’m now resigned to the fact that I’ll have my demons for life, it scares me that one day I, too, might say fuck it.  Enough is enough.  I’ve had some seriously dark days in recent years.  I just hope that it don’t ever come down to the day when there isn’t anymore light at the end of one.

In fact, I’m struggling now.  I’m trying to suppress the solitary tear trickling down my cheek as I take a quick time out to read a little more about the story.  Seriously, how can it transform someone’s state of mind into believing that throwing yourself under a train at 100mph is the correct thing to do?  I can’t even begin to imagine what his wife is going through at this moment in time.  Having to identify his body simply doesn’t bear thinking about.  The gruesome manner in which he took his own life is truly disturbing.  I’m also sparing a thought for the poor train driver.  Let’s not forget that, as well as Enke’s own personal suffering, the poor driver and his family will now have that transferred onto them for the remainder of their days.  All in all, it’s a real eye opener.  Suddenly everything else in life seems secondary.  See you on the other side, sir.

“People do commit suicide – it is the most common form of death among young men.”

Blaine Larsen – How Do You Get That Lonely

It was just another story printed on the second page
Underneath the Tiger’s football score
It said he was only eighteen, a boy about my age
They found him face down on his bedroom floor

There’ll be services on Friday
At the Lawrence Funeral Home
Then out on Mooresville highway
They’ll lay him ‘neath a stone

How do you get that lonely
How do you hurt that bad
To make you make the call that having no life at all
Is better than the life that you had

How do you feel so empty you want to let it all go
How do you get that lonely and nobody know

Did his girlfriend break up with him
Did he buy or steal that gun
Did he lose a fight with drugs or alcohol

Did his mum and daddy forget to say I love you son
Did no one see the writing on the wall

Now I’m not blaming anybody
We all do the best we can
I know hindsight’s 20/20
But I still don’t understand

How do you get that lonely
How do you hurt that bad
To make you make the call that having no life at all
Is better than the life that you had

How do you feel so empty you want to let it all go
How do you get that lonely and nobody know

It was just another story printed on the second page
Underneath the Tiger’s football score

Oliver Bierhoff, the German football team’s general manager, leads tributes to Robert Enke after the national keeper’s death…. From BBC News. Full story

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HANOVER, Germany, Nov 10, 2009 (AFP) – German international goalkeeper Robert Enke has been killed after he threw himself under a train at a level crossing, police said on Tuesday.

“There has been fatality at a level crossing at Neustadt am Rubenberge,” police spokeswoman Martina Stern told AFP.

“He threw himself under a train and died of his injuries. It was definitely suicide,” she added.

FILES – Picture taken on August 20, 2008 shows Robert Enke, goalkeeper of the German national football team, shouting during the Germany vs Belgium international friendly football match in Nuremberg. (AFP)

Jorg Neblung, a close friend and advisor to the six-times capped goalkeeper, also confirmed it was suicide.

“I can confirm that it was suicide,” he said.

“Robert took his own life shortly before six o’clock (1700GMT).

“A press conference in Hannover on Wednesday will reveal more details,” he added.

The 32-year-old Germany and Hannover 96 goalkeeper – who leaves a widow and a daughter of eight months who they adopted in May three years after their two-year-old daughter died of a heart illness – had been suffering from an intestinal infection.

He pulled out of the Germany squad two days ahead of their 4-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Azerbaijan in early September.

However, recently he had professed himself delighted to have returned to training last month.

“It has been a long time, almost a quarter of the season. However, once I resumed training I felt really well,” said Enke, who played his last match for the club in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Hamburg.

His death left those closest to him both personally and professionally in total shock.

“We’re in shock. I don’t know what to say,” said national manager Oliver Bierhoff, who along with national coach Joachim Lowe informed his fellow international team-mates – who are preparing for a friendly with Chile this weekend, of the tragedy.

His club president Martin Kind was left stunned.

“It is a total catastrophe. I am finding it hard to understand,” said Kind.

Later around 300 of the club’s fans and several of his club-mates gathered outside the club’s offices as a mark of respect with some laying down bouquets of flowers and lighting candles.

Enke was understudy to then first-team ‘keeper Jens Lehmann during the 2008 European championships and had been in line to fill his boots before being taken ill in September and October.

During that time his rival Rene Adler increased his chances of taking over the role in the national team who have qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals.

Enke had also at one time been linked with a move to German giants Bayern Munich where the former German Under-21 international Michael Rensing had not impressed in his first season between the posts.

However, Uli Hoeness, Bayern’s general manager, had made clear they were not interested in paying the 10million euros transfer fee.

Several people had advised Enke, who had previously had spells at Benfica, Barcelona and Tenerife, to leave Hannover for a more prestigious club and one that was playing in European club competition so he would improve his chances of becoming German number one.

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If you have read an earlier post of mine, you would know that I am a big fan of playing the goalie out as far as possible. When the ball is in the offensive third of the field, I have no problem with the goalie being at the edge of the kick-off circle. Besides making the goalie feel more a part of the team and of the action, playing the goalie that far out will prevent a number of breakaways on goal, and thus keep the opposition from scoring as many goals.

Some of you may recall that when my son was playing in goal, I always told him that I would pay him $100 if an opponent scored from long distance because he was playing too far out. Not once did I come close to paying him $100. But I know his positioning prevented dozens of sure goals from being scored.

So you can imagine my concern when I heard that a college player scored a goal on a 95-yard shot. Was the goalie too far out from goal? Had I been coaching him, would I have been out $100? Look for yourself.

As it turns out, my $100 would have been safe. It turns out that while the University of Tulsa goalkeeper was standing at the top of the penalty box, he was not playing far enough out. Had he been standing approximately 30-yards from his goal line when Ryan Rosenbaum of Southern Methodist University kicked the ball, he would have been able to easily catch the ball. He would have also been in a better position to stop breakaways if any were to develop. As it turns out, he was caught in no-man’s-land and gave up a needless goal which eventually cost his team the game.

As a goalkeeper, don’t be afraid to play up as long as you know the ball can’t be kicked over your head.

Seven names grace the match day squad for Kings Arsenal’s first game of the new mini-season against reigning champions Rosie Fc.

Fabricio is back from his Scottish vacation to play in goal while Phil and Chris also return.

James Britton hopes to be involved after missing out last week.

Regular trio James Payne, Mark and Luke complete the line-up, but PJ is unlikely to feature because the Victoria line is down.

Rosie FC won the league last term without losing a game and beat the Kings 8-5 in the two sides’ only previous meeting.

Kings Arsenal started that game with just four players (plus one terrible ringer) and struggled in the first half only to run rings around Rosie when up to full strength in the second period.

Kings Arsenal squad to face Rosie FC on Sunday at 5.40: Mark, Luke, James P, Chris, Phil, James B, Fabricio.

Valiant Kings go down 8-3 on final day

Kings Arsenal lost their last game of the Pitch Invasion Wandsworth Autumn mini-season but stayed out of the relegation places after other results went their way.

A six-man squad became just four only minutes before kick-off leaving Jimmy Payne, PJ, Mark and Luke in goal to battle a team fighting for the title.

Luckily a ringer was salvaged to bring the Kings up to the full five players.

Kings Arsenal made a strong start and could have taken an early lead only for Mark to miss the first of many chances for him to score during the match.

However, soon the normal Kings Arsenal defences errors raised their heads once again and Non-Sensible Soccer took an early lead.

Despite some trademark Kings Arsenal interplay Non-Sensible Soccer ran out 8-3 winners.

PJ, Jim and Luke got the goals as the Non-Sensible keeper made a string of saves to stop the Kings getting beyond three goals.

Premiership survival was assured before kick-off when bottom placed QGC Heroes were awarded a 3-0 win over Shaftesbury, who were then unable to catch Kings Arsenal in the standings.

Kings Arsenal finished the season in fifth place with a record of two wins, two draws and three defeats.

The Premiership title went to Rosie FC who remained unbeaten for the entire season, even though we outplayed them in the second half of our meeting.

The new mini-season will kick off this weekend although the fixtures have not yet been released.

If we can get a full team every week we are more than capable of mounting a championship challenge.

Every World Cup draw is accompanied by a new ball, and media speculation is never far behind.  The draw for FIFA 2010 on December 4^th will focus attention on the ties in South Africa in next year, but I have some thoughts on what people are likely to be saying about the ball. Goalkeepers are invariably those asked for comment: Jens Lehman, Germany’s maverick goalkeeper said before FIFA 2006,

“It may be good for the outfield players and for the crowd, but not for the goalkeepers….it gets very slippery and flutters in the air.”

Last year during the semi-final 2nd leg of the Champions League (Arsenal 1 Man Utd 3), Lehman said of Ronaldo’s amazing 40 yd free kick to beat Almunia, “…from that distance the ball is moving and speeding up…”  What is it about footballers and the 1st law of thermodynamics? Doesn’t he know that for a ball to speed up in the air it would have to disobey the laws of physics? Mind you, I think I know what he means: as an experienced goalkeeper he uses player cues and the early part of the trajectory to predict where the ball will be when he tries to save it at the goal face.  If the drag force acting on the ball was to suddenly drop or ‘flutter’, as was implied by the press in FIFA 2006, then the ball would travel faster than expected, the goalkeepers prediction would be incorrect and the ball would end up in the back of the net.

So, assuming that Lehman gets to commentate in South Africa, just what is he likely to say?

I think that the key issue for the World Cup in South Africa is going to be altitude.

Johannesburg, the location of the final on July 11^th, is at 1,743 m (5,718 ft) while half of the venues are in locations over 1,200 m (around 4,000 ft).

Figure 1. Soccer City in Johannesburg

And the effect? Most people know that air density reduces at altitude – remember all the athletics records attributed to the thinner air at Mexico City in 1968? Air density is a function of atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and altitude.  A 10°C increase in temperature reduces the density by around 4% while a 50% increase in humidity reduces density by only 0.3% (most people assume wrongly that humidity increases density, but the atomic weight of water vapour is 18 g compared to 29 g for air and adding water vapour reduces density).  The biggest change by far, though, comes with a change in altitude –  the air in Johannesburg, for example, is likely to be around 20% less dense than that at Cape Town during the World Cup.

So, in South Africa there will be 8 groups at the tournament indicated by letters A to H, and 4 teams in each numbered 1 to 4.  Focussing on just a couple of teams for the moment, we can make a prediction on how altitude might affect their games across South Africa.  Team D1 starts at sea-level in Durban on 13^th June, playing again at sea-level in Port Elizabeth on 18^th June.  Their final group game is in Johannesburg on 23^rd June at 1,743 m.

Table 1.  Games for teams selected on December 4th as D1 and F1 (Temperatures and humidities from BBC Weather).

Table 1 shows the likely temperatures and humidities during D1’s games and the likely air densities which decrease from about 1.18 kg/m³ in the sea-level games to around 0.93 kg/m³ in Johannesburg – a drop of 22%.  The change for team F1 is even greater:  they will find the air density dropping by 14% and then 28% in their 2^nd and 3^rd games.   The key point is how this will effect play. Consider a non-spinning 18 m free kick (about 20 yds) hit a-la Ronaldo at about 60 mph (94 km/h). A trajectory program, assuming no wind, calculates that the ball would take around 0.82 s at sea-level in Durban or Port Elizabeth.  The same shot would take about 2 hundredths of a second less time in Johannesburg. 

Put another way, the ball in Jo’burg would be around 41 cm ahead of the ball in Durban.

Does this matter?  Goalkeepers know that finger-tip saves can make all the difference and a ball that is over two diameters ahead of where they expect it to be will really test their skills.  I think 2010 will see stories in the press of unpredictable shots and criticism of the high speed of whatever ball is produced by adidas.

Table 2.  The likely effect of altitude on a 60 mph shot for teams selected as D1 and F1 on 4th December.

So what advice would I give to the England manager?  Well, firstly, Capello might consider getting the England goalkeepers to practice against free-kicks at the correct altitude, in St Moritz, say. Secondly, he might like to keep an eye on the World Cup draw on 4^th December.   If we get games at altitude he might like to make sure that he puts on big hitters like Lampard, Gerrard and Beckham to maximise the speed of our free-kicks.

Figure 2. Beckham could certainly do well at altitude in the final in Johannesburg on 11th July 2010

Goleiro Japonês Burro!!! hahaha

It’s the final day of the latest mini- season on Sunday and there is still a chance that Kings Arsenal can get relegated.

Despite being as high as fourth place, a draw against title-chasing Non Sensible Soccer and wins elsewhere could see the Kings make an immediate and unjust return to the Championship.

It’s unlikely but a win for ALL three teams beneath us would see us plummitt to second bottom in the standings and the abyss.

It will probably take a massive conspiracy or a supernatural event for that to happen especially as two of the sides involved are playing first and third.

Our match sees second play fourth and kicks off at 5.40pm.

We boast a six-man roster and should be confident of getting a good result.

Jimmy Payne returns from exile while PJ and James Britton are back in action.

Daz is going to make his second Kings Arsenal appearance while Luke is taking on the goalkeeping mantle for this important game (despite leaving his new goal gloves at the Hammersmith Apollo).

First choice goalkeeper Fabricio is visiting Scotland and Chris and Phil are unavailable.

In our five previous matches against Non Sensible Soccer we’ve only one once but that was a comprehensive 6-1 victory.

However, the last time we met back in June we got beat 10-1.

If we play like we did last week then that score line will not be repeated anytime soon.

Predicted line-up: Luke, James P, James B, PJ, Mark, Daz.

Unavailable: Fabricio, Chris, Phil, Dave.

David “Dudu” Aouate (דוד “דודו” אוואט) was born on October 17, 1977 in Nazareth Illit.

The 6′1 goalkeeper has played numerous for eight teams and has collected 45 caps with the Israeli National Team.

Currently, Aouate is the starting goalie for RCD Mallorca in Spain’s La Liga. Before this he played for Deportivo La Coruna and Racing Santander in Spain, as well as Maccabi and Hapoel Haifa back home in Israel.

The 32 year old has since 2006 been, along with Yossi Benayoun and Tal Ben Haim, one of the first names in the starting XI for the Israel National Team.

His leadership and communication has been key in Israel’s defense keeping strong against the opponents, and he is very quick on his feet, and has been known to make great saves.

Some of his saves have kept Israel in some games, although he is not perfect, and some mistakes have let easy goals in the back of the net.

Overall he is a top talent for Israel and should stay between the pipes (to use a hockey term) for the Nivcheret (National Team) for a long time.

….and the few after it? Evening Gooners. I hope you are feeling a lot better 24 hours or so later. My disappointment of our Sunday performance was tangible. So much so that I forgot to talk about the goalkeeping issue. However after applying some bonjela , following yesterday’s write up, it is time to discuss this.

Poor Mannone. I’ll be amazed if you didn’t sympathize with the Italian as well. In a way he is a victim of his oustanding game against Fulham. We’re living in a world, where we crave for instant heroes. We live in a world where we give out prizes even when nothing substantial has been achieved. And Mannone is another example of this.  He was already given the honorary title of junior Buffon after one outstanding performance. Heaven forbid a couple of errors later he isn’t labelled the new ‘Taibi‘.

Yes you can highlight the mistakes he made. 3 of the last 5 goals conceded were avoidable had Mannone had the tactical nous and mental determination in perfect symphony. Yet the truth is and (it comes in a series of conditional if-clauses), if Fabianski was fit, despite his high profile mistakes last season, would have got the nod ahead of Mannone in all of those games. If Almunia’s illness had cured then Mannone should never been in the line up against Birmingham, Alkmaar and West Ham. And then there is the question of whether Almunia was ill after all.

This isn’t the first time Wenger has experimented in this crucial position. In Vieira’s final season at Arsenal, there was a period when Almunia and Lehmann only displayed consistency with their howlers. In the end Lehmann won purely on the basis of his reputation in that invincible season. And this goalkeeping merry-go-round surfaced again two seasons ago.

Almunia’s sparring partner Lehmann may have left the club but the Spaniard has more sparring partners now. None of them are better than him but that doesn’t stop him from showing shocking lapses of concentration and poor decision making.

Perhaps Wenger grew tired of seeing the owner of the number one shirt giving anything but the best. Or perhaps he just took the easiest route and made Almunia a scapegoat for our worst ever defensive start.

Either way his experimentation for the man in goal should have ended against Birmingham or Alkmaar. The look on Almunia’s face when the cameras focused on him during the Birmingham match for me suggested a man more than a little bemused by his non-selection. Who knows what thoughts are racing through his head now after being on the bench for another two games?

If a poll was conducted right now, most of us would welcome Almunia and forget his inconsistent performances instantly. On paper he is our number keeper with the most appearances. Experience is priceless, and at 32, the Spaniard is approaching the peak of his abilities. Yet is it so straightforward as that?

In two days time we play Liverpool in the Carling Cup. I’m almost certain Almunia won’t start that game. That is just not Wenger’s style. Instead you will most likely see Fabianski or even Szczesny in the starting line up.

After the Liverpool game comes probably the game of the season on Saturday afternoon against Spurs. Not many times do games in October assume such significance. And considering the closeness of the league it shouldn’t do. However unlike the West Ham game, there is more than local pride up for grabs.

And in an ideal world, you would want to have the issue of the number one shirt sorted sooner than later.

A stunning win for Kings Arsenal and a fabulous debut from Brazilian goalkeeper Fabricio.

Kings Arsenal finally came of age in the Premier League last night by crushing Team Choc Ice 11-4.

After struggling for a full team in recent weeks the Kings boasted a seven man roster featuring new goalkeeper Fabricio and a welcome return for Chris in defence.

Team Choc Ice raced in to a shock lead, but that was as good as it got for the opposition.

Soon the Kings were intercepting their balls forward and launching counter attacks in waves.

PJ soon equalised and it was one way traffic from then.

With James Britton battling in midfield, putting in his best Kings Arsenal showing, and Chris dominant at the back, Luke and Phil were free to cause havoc in the opposition third.

Anytime the Choc Ices broke through Fabrico, playing his first game of football in three months, was ready to make a spectacular acrobatic save.

Fabrico even got an assist when he floated a delightful pass out to Luke who took one touch before firing home a stylish half volley.

Team Choc Ice scored twice from corners but never got close to reigning in the relentless Kings.

Mark and PJ bagged a hat-trick each with Mark scoring a sensational solo goal, outfoxing  a defender on the touchline before lifting the ball into top of the goal.

The win, Kings Arsenal’s first non-walkover victory of the season, takes the Championship champions up to fourth in the table, two points ahead of the (assumed) automatic relegation places with one game to go.

League leaders Rosie FC are just six points ahead meaning we could certainly mount  a title challenge next season with a regular turn-out, if we stay up.

Next up is perennial Premier League challengers Non Sensible Soccer who currently lie in second place, in a 5.40 kick-off.

They’ll be pushing for the Premier League trophy and we’ve only beaten them once in five attempts, but they have already lost twice this season.