You’ve seen the experts do it, Paul Fletcher, Caroline Cheese et al. Well now i’ll be giving it a shot.

This weekend i’ll be blogging live for the first time, between 2PM and 5PM. Hopefully some of you will tune in and we can get some topics debated while the action is running.

I’ll be focusing mainly on the Premier League games but will be giving some mention to other important games.

I’ll also hopefully have abit of software up and running that lets everyone join in and discuss with me.

Be there or be square. Don’t let me spend my Saturday afternoon talking to myself!

Robin Van Persie will travel to Serbia for special treatment on the ankle he injured against Italy.  The procedure, approved by Arsenal’s training staff, involves massage with placental fluid.

The treatment is purported to boost healing, though cursory google searches only reveal it in connection with Van Persie.

Well, at least there’s a small chance the placebo effect will be beneficial.

Salut à tous,

Le Podcast numéro 3 de Footballwrite . com est désormais écoutable . Au sommaire, long débrief du match des Bleus, avec à nos côtés Thomas Galharague , journaliste sport à la web radio , Radio-zenith … L’équipe de France, Domenech, L’Equipe, Thomas ne mâche pas ses mots, et parle comme un vrai passionnée de Football . En deuxième partie, c’est William , rédacteur sur le site de Pkfoot.com qui nous donne ses pronostics quant aux issues des 5 championnats majeurs européens ! Comme à chaque podcast, nous attendons vos critiques, positives comme négatives, qui nous permettront de l’améliorer au fil des mois …

[daylimotion id=xb5tx8]

Rédaction Footballwrite

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has matched his ferocity on the pitch by being aggressive in giving: He recently pledged 3 million pounds to a school in his native Ivory Coast: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1227047/EXCLUSIVE-Chelsea-striker-Didier-Drogba-pledges-3m-build-hospital-Ivory-Coast-homeland.html

Finally there is an official statement from the club on the extend of RVP’s injury and it’s 6 weeks. That’s a total of 11 matches that the Dutchman will miss. 8 Premier League games, 2 Champions League games and 1 Carling Cup game (which I doubt he will feature in anyway). That spate of matches includes Sunderland (A), Std Liege (H), Chelsea (H), Man City (A), Stoke (H), Olympiakos (A), Liverpool (A), Burnley (A), Hull (H), Villa (H) and Portsmouth (A). Of the entire sequence, the squad should be able to win the rest while I would’ve prefer RVP still to be available for the 2 crunch games against Chelsea and Liverpool.

With that there ends RVP’s on-pitch involvement in 2009. As I look back over the last 10 months ++, it has been resoundingly his most successful one yet. After the horrendous injuries after injuries, RVP never got the chance to cement his place in the first team even with the retirement of Dennis Bergkamp and the departure of Thierry Henry. But he took his chances with both hands last season and gave Wenger the reward his faith deserves. Many questioned Wenger’s choice when RVP was first unveiled as a new signing. An unproven and slight winger from Rotterdam and seemed to court more trouble off the pitch than most. However, once again Wenger proved his ability to spot talent was second to none. RVP was very raw when he first arrived but has since did his part by first bulking up and then learning to take care of his body.

By my book, RVP will return at the start of 2010 in the FA Cup third round, not much dissimilar to the Eduardo comeback last season in the same competition. In a way, this short period of rest will also do him no harm what with the World Cup looming in the horizon. It will help to recharge his battery cells and help him through what would be the next 1.5 years of non-stop football.

Which brings us to the next burning question. Will Arsenal still be in the fight on all fronts when RVP returns from his injury? I sure hope we would be. The Carling Cup aside, we have more or less secured our place in the knockout round of the Champions League, which leaves us with only the Premier League to focus on. Another man’s loss is another man’s gain. Eduardo is set to benefit the most from this unfortunate ankle injury of RVP. Not since 2 years ago have we witness Eduardo in continuous starting line-ups for Arsenal. That was when the Brazilian was in the form of his life when everything he touched turns into a goal. One would hope that the sequence of games that he will prominently feature in will help him recapture back that form that made him one of the most fearsome striker in the league.

Eduardo’s presence in the line-up will offer something diverse from what we have been accustomed to thus far this season. I do not expect him to challenge and win headers or drop deep to initiate attacks but with him in the side, it somewhat frees Arshavin and Nasri/Rosicky to drive for the byline and try to get something into the box. This will be where Eduardo is at his predator-ious best. Provided there is an oppourtunity within the confined space of the penalty box, Eduardo is bound to be lurking there. His knack of being there at the right time is incredible as seen in Croatia demolition of Liechtenstein last Saturday.

With Bendtner, Walcott and Vela waiting in the wings, Wenger is not short of option on RVP’s replacement. Tactics may have to change but one thing’s for sure, we will definitely be thereabouts when the Dutchman returns (I hope).

RvP’s ankle knack is going to keep him out for six weeks the club has confirmed today. In keeping with Arsene’s luck over recent years, this means he will miss around 10 games since the injury occurred in the last international break of the year. A month earlier and he would have missed about half a dozen games at most although no doubt his national coach would have called him up for a squad even though he it would have been patently obvious that he was not fully fit, leaving him to suffer another injury on top of that. Anyhow enough cynicism for one day.

As international week drags inexorably to its mindnumbing conclusion around the globe, it just would not have been the same without a Cesc to Barcelona story or two. Despite the player confirming over the weekend that he is not Mystic Meg and does not know what the future holds five years from now – or twelve months for that fact – the media has decided that the Catalans are going to offer the chance for Arsene to get his Yayas out with a Krkic. Presumably they will be offering a few vowels alongside this deal so that Arsenal can maximise their commercial revenues although no doubt any shirt with his surname on it would be a limited edition when the K’s ran out in the club shop. Alternatively, there is a view that Arsene is going to offer Fabregas for that pair although I think that someone, somewhere got the wrong end of that particular transfer stick and I hasten to add that having read that particular story three times, it wasn’t me.

Angus Kinnear, the Arsenal marketing guru, knows a thing or two about career progression. Step one is a bit of brown-nosing:

I think the board were very judicious in making sure that they appointed somebody who had an absolute understanding of the values of the brand and I think all the fans’ groups would testify that Ivan has demonstrated that straight away

Kinnear speaks of ‘the Arsenal way‘ and one hopes that the marketing department will not lose sight of that. At present, the whims of a single owner are not encountered and Wenger is able to set the agenda for pre-season tours. Kinnear acknowledges that it is a marketing opportunity lost purely in revenue terms. At the moment, the fact that Arsenal is a football club has not been lost sight of. That may come if commercial pressures change drastically, as they surely would were the plurality of ownership to end.

The article is interesting but throws out a curiousity, one that has slid by but in many respects is alarming. Kinnear states:

The 51,000 seats we have on top of those 9,000 are just a bonus

The 9,000 referred to are the middle tier. Does this mean that so long as the premium seats sellout, the rest of us do not matter? Mind you, the speed with which the ground empties before the final whistle, the players probably already know what the atmosphere would be like if the normal seats were unsold.

The club finances are not so strong that they can dismiss 51,000 people so readily. Surely he meant to say the 9,000 were the bonus not the other way around? Such slips can be forgiven but in my mind, it does undermine somewhat, the earlier protestaions that the Arsenal way was all that matters to the club.

Away from that, the deals with Emirates about shirt and stadium sponsorship are almost glossed over, despite highlighting the fact that the deals have been dwarved by the revenues earned elsewhere. The Emirates sponsorship helped build the stadium, something that was necessary and it is difficult to compare any deal signed in isolation and subsequently, by a rival when Arsenal were looking for a package at the time. Yes, the moneys may not be as extensive but likewise there is no evidence that they could have obtained more at the time the deals were signed.

’til Tomorrow.

Thinking Big: Mike 'Pies' Ashley

I’ve ripped the title for this week’s Microsoft Paint Story Of The Week straight off the DVD covers of popular US sitcom Friends. That is to say I’ve copied the style of the show’s episode titles. I am obviously not insinuating that there is an episode out there in which the tubby Newcastle United owner moves in to share with Joey, resulting in an initial mutual appreciation for each other’s appetites, but spiralling out of control when Ashley decides to turn Central Perk into New York’s biggest Sports Direct store. No, sadly that episode doesn’t exist. It probably should though.

However, there is every chance that your local coffee shop is being turned into a Sports Direct as we speak, such is the expansion of Ashley’s no frills empire. Newcastle fans can relate to that. A week or so ago, the tat-peddler announced that their famous football stadium would no longer be called ‘St. James’ Park, but ‘Sports Direct.com @ St.James’ Park Stadium’. Yes, that’s right, it’s the first time in the history of football that a stadium has been given an email address instead of a name.

The Newcastle fans don’t like it, but this name change got me thinking last week. Where next for The Magpies? I mean, clearly this man has the shell of an armadillo. He sits through thousands of people abusing him every week, accusing him of not leaving them any of the pies (in a roundabout way), and has turned a tiny sports shop in Maidenhead into one of the planet’s most recognised sports retail outlets.

With that in mind, would you put it past the portly magnate to turn up the heat even further on this branding exercise? Well, this week I sent my finest reporter in the field to have a little snoop around Ashley’s office for clues. Successfully gaining access to the building by posing as the Krispy Kreme delivery man, our reporter found the following sketch tucked away under a Dominoes menu in Ashley’s drawer. As not to raise suspicion, he left Big Mike’s blueprints where they were, and instead decided to reproduce them with his typical flair in Microsoft Paint.

Yes, that’s right, Newcastle fans. Not only has Mike Ashley decided to name your stadium after his chavtastic sports emporium, but it also now looks as though he is going to use the Newcastle United playing staff to flaunt his tat. He’s obviously given it some thought though, as he appears to have picked exactly the right players to model each of his brands.

You will see that Joey Barton is now the new face of Kangol and Lonsdale. Well I say ‘face’, but given that the target market for those two brands is the UK’s world-famous ‘Hoodie’ population, then it is unlikely that you’ll be seeing much of Joey Barton’s mug from now on. It’s now more likely to feature on a grainy, pixelated image taken from a shopping mall CCTV recording, and played back on Crimewatch. Not that Joey will have to familiarise himself with that of course.

The image depicts Barton, clad in Kangol and Lonsdale gear (or perhaps ‘clobber’, I’m not really sure what a Hoodie would call it) nonchalantly kicking a coke can across the pitch, whilst texting his mates to organise the ambush of a pensioner after the game. You get me blud?

Meanwhile, as a striker who decided to move into midfield to look for a few more fights, Alan Smith is perfect to promote Sports Direct’s main boxing brand, Everlast (although I’m sure that Ashley will be kicking himself that the club let Lee Bowyer go). As you can see, he’s doing a smashing job, and has even started to get into character by calling himself ‘The Smudger’. Expect Smith to continue his transformation by starting to hold pre-match press conferences, in which he trash talks the opposition’s midfield players, calls their wives ugly, and frequently refers to himself in the third person.

Acquiring the Dunlop tennis brand was also a major coup for Ashley, and he must be over the moon to have at the club a ready-made model for his tennis gear in Jonas Gutierrez. Offering the sort of long haired, dark-skinned, Latin flair that is a relative pre-requisite for becoming any good at tennis (apparently the LTA are still unsure how Andy Murray got through their ‘fit and proper person’s test’, which involves being a tennis coach for 6 months and sleeping with at least 6 rich housewives), Gutierrez can be seen here going for a cross field passing shot into the path of the ambling Joey Barton. In contrast to Smith, expect Gutierrez to hold his press conferences post match, in which he will speak mono-syllabically, refer to ‘my game’ in every sentence uttered, and show no sign of a personality whatsoever.

Finally there’s manager Chris Hughton. Acutely aware that Hughton doesn’t sit very high in the estimations of many of the Toon Army, Ashley has decided to go all Tyra Banks on his gaffer’s ass (girlfriend) and give him a new look. Having spent hours mulling over the shop’s extensive range of tracksuits, trainers, and cheap socks, Ashley had his lightbulb moment – he would attract more young Geordies to the club by turning his manager into a skater.

Dressed from head to toe in ‘No Fear’ clothing, Hughton appears pleased with his new look, and clutches his board as he barks out orders from his technical area. In a few months time, when he’s honed his skills and learnt from the 14 year olds at the local skate park, Ashley plans to ask his manager to jump a Sports Direct logo during the half-time of each home fixture, with the logo increasing in size as the season progresses. This being the case, expect words like ‘gnarly’ and ‘epic’ to gradually start creeping into Hughton’s press conference terminology, and for him to be ’stoked’ after each Newcastle victory.

So, Newcastle fans, it sounds like it’s going to get worse before it gets better then. However, with a free pair of Donnay socks with every beer you buy, it’s not all doom and gloom now is it? You’ll be drunk, have warm feet, AND you’ll be able to watch a grown man crash a skateboard into a giant logo! Sounds like a good afternoon out to me.

Our regular Guest Contributor, Ted Harwood, takes a look at Cesc Fabregas’ secret weapon, Alex Song, and his emergence this season as one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League. Song’s form is directly related to Cesc’s performances this season of 10 assists in 10 league matches, just one less than the total that led the league last season, as well as his 9 goals in all competitions. His confidence going forward is down to his confidence in Song. You get the sense that he is inspiring the same sort of confidence that Flamini did 2007-08, and it also shows how important the DM spot is to Arsenal’s style of play.

Alex Song is a player that has shown lots of potential since arriving on the scene at the Emirates in 2005.  He made sporadic appearances during his first year before going on load to the Addicks at the start of 2007.  Upon his return to the club in the fall of 2007, Song began to log significant time at both central midfield and center half in the Carling Cup and the Champions’ League.

Despite being named in the African Cup of Nations best XI in January of 2008, many Arsenal supporters remained unconvinced, some claiming that Song was too slow for the Premier League, some claiming that he was not confident enough, many saying that the club should have sold Song rather than Diarra (hopefully those same folks have at least changed their stance on that, now).  This season, at only 22 years of age, Song has really settled well into the defensive midfield slot of Arsenal’s new 4-3-3 formation and has been playing the game with verve, gaining much of that confidence that was perhaps a worry a couple of years ago for him.

With the help of the superb resource that is The Guardian Interactive Chalkboards, I took a look at all of Song’s performances in the league this season so far (every match bar the Pompey triumph).  The chalkboards confirmed what I had seen with my eyes and tried to piece together in the shoddy, ramshackle cabin that is my memory: Song has been, with one or two unfortunate exceptions, rock solid in front of the back four.

One of the areas in which Song has really stepped up his game is his passing.  His ratio of completed passes to failed passes is in the 10:1 range for every game, sometimes even better, and in all areas of the pitch.  We had caught glimpses of this in the encouter with Blackburn last year when he provided the final chipped pass for Eduardo’s insane outside-of-the-left-peg strike.  This year, he has been efficient in distributing the ball to Cesc, to the wings, or to the back four when creative options weren’t immediately available.  His razor of a through ball for RVP to control and slot home versus Birmingham City shows that, when placed in an advanced position (an increasingly rare locale for Song), he can provide the proper pass for the forwards.  He almost never makes weak passes in dangerous positions, a potential area of concern a couple of years ago.

Clearances have been a bit of a problem, with The Guardian’s staff deeming many of Song’s  clearances to be “unsuccessful” (it is unclear what this means, exactly), but further investigation revealed that this has been a bit of a concern for the entire team, not just Song.  I’m sure that Wenger will have seen this in film review, and will take steps to make sure that when in danger, Arsenal do a more effective job of putting the ball as far away as possible.

Song’s tackling has been excellent, and, like his passing, he’s been nicking the ball away from opponents all over the field, left, right, and center.  On a couple of occasions (e.g. the Tottenham match) he has lost challenges in delicate positions, and the unfortunate penalty (if one can call it that) at Upton Park could maybe have been prevented with an earlier challenge by any number of Arsenal players .  Overall, Song has been the team’s best and busiest tackler.  In the Wolves game last weekend, things were pretty hairy for the first 20 minutes, and when Song came in, one could sense that Ramsey in particular relaxed, relieved of the heavier of his defensive obligations, and began to play his game.

It is this last point that is most important; Song has seemingly gained the absolute confidence of his teammates.  It is no secret that the creative players in a 4-3-3 need to have faith that if they concentrate on setting up attacking moves, should something go wrong, there is a player nearby who will help them to sweep away the danger.  Much of the success that Cesc, Diaby, Ramsey, Eboué, and Rosicky are enjoying this year is due to the reassurance that Song will at least slow up and at most destroy any counterattacks that may come down the field. Song’s impact on the side was plain to see in the Wolves match when Arsenal struggled for the first 20 minutes until he came on.

The 2010 edition of the African Cup of Nations presents a new dilemma for Wenger with regards to Song.  In 2008, Wenger compounded the effect of Song’s absence by also selling Diarra, which left Arsenal a little thin in defensive positions behind Flamini at times and perhaps factored into the teams’ growing misfortunes as the season progressed from there.  This year, Wenger will no doubt have learned from 2008.  The fact that he did not bring in cover for Song’s absence in the August window may tell us something.  Transfer options, though, would appear to be limited or unrealistic; surely Yaya Touré would not come to Arsenal to plop back onto the pine as February rolls around.  Vieira remains, as always, a sentimental choice, but playing time is crucial for him as well in advance of June and the World Cup.

As in central defense, the problem is that one has to find a player who is better than the backups we currently have but not worried about being on the bench when Song returns.  Internal options would appear to be more realistic, if not necessarily preferred, although the options we have are perhaps better than people think.  Although Denilson is a different type of player, he achieves similar results to Song with his passing and breaking up of play via interceptions and the occasional tackle.  His form may still be a slight concern in six weeks’ time, though, and Wenger may see him as a forward-thinking central player at this point.

Another intriguing option, although it is hard to imagine Wenger doing this, is moving Vermaelen into Song’s position and placing either Senderos or Silvestre in the back four.  I am not convinced that this is an option, really, as Wenger will no doubt see Vermaelen’s aggression as key to the back four’s attitude this year.  As much as Vermaelen seems to offer going forward, if it were a larger part of his job, it is hard to judge whether he would pull it off.

Craig Eastmond played very well versus Liverpool in the Carling Cup tie, but may lack for experience.  This has not always stopped Wenger in the past, though; Ramsey, for instance, played in the defensive slot for the first time in my memory on Saturday, so we cannot say that Wenger would not try Eastmond there at some point (although, to be fair, Ramsey has more big-match experience).  And Wenger may just try Ramsey there again.  He seems to have eliminated Diaby from his defensive plans, admitting that the Frenchman has a bit of a nose for goal, and that this causes him to neglect his holding obligations from time to time.

Song’s form this year will be difficult to replace during his absence, but Wenger will no doubt have anticipated this problem this year and have any number of options in his mind.  One thing is for sure, though, and that is that Song is quickly developing into one of the better defensive midfielders that Arsenal have had since Vieira left, and hopefully this (at one time, anyhow, pleasantly surprising) development will carry over to other young players in the squad.

]]> http://fantasysport.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/kontuzji-c-d/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:53:19 +0000 fantasysportmen http://fantasysport.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/kontuzji-c-d/

Nie tylko NBA ma kłopoty, także w Premier League mamy kontuzje. Podczas ostatnich zgrupowań i meczów towarzyskich do klubu z kontuzją wrócił F. Lampard, którego zobaczymy na boisku dopiero w grudniu i R. Van Persiego, który może mieć nawet cały sezon z głowy. Z całą pewnością nie zagra przez najbliższe kilka miesięcy. I jak tu planować zespół …

pawel

Had thought of writing about a ManU victory.

Liverpool won though, and as always it was Torres who proved that if it were not for his fitness problems, he would be out and out the most feared forward in the world. If we look at the conversion rate of clear chances into goals, he must be amongst the top.

Also, over the weekend, Xabi Alonso scored 2 goals for Spain, further bringing agony to Benitez’s already disturbed sleep. With Liverpool near the middle of the table, people have begun to doubt whether the Anfield club has what it takes to maintain a sustained challenge. With Stevie and El Nino out, the team has looked as if it were a mid-table club. The Anfield loyal are still there though, and always will be it seems. And when Gerrard gets back, the club will put all doubters to rest. However, the issue remains that Liverpool need a big player, a midfielder, who can replace what Xavi Alonso used to do. During his time at Anfield, Alonso was never given enough respect for what he contributed to the team, because all the attention was lavished on Gerrard and Torres along with the defensive unit marshaled by Carragher. Now even Gerrard has admitted that selling Alonso was a huge loss for Liverpool, one which the club is yet to make up for since Aquilani has been unable to get his fitness up and running just yet.

However, there is still hope, more than half the season is still left. However, Chelsea’s bench-strength will ensure that they always finish in the top 3. ManU will be somewhere there, however, it is Arsenal which is turning out to be the fairytale which finally is coming true.

During the past few seasons, Arsenal has always promised so much and delivered so little. A club which is so rich in young talent, with the likes of Fabregas already being considered a veteran.  The forward line has the likes of the prolific Van Persie, Eduardo, Bendtner, not to mention a talent such as Vela who is yet to make a place for himself on the starting line-up. A midfield constituting Fabregas, Arshavin, Nasri, Rosicky, on the creative side, Theo Walcott, to ravage the right wing. And a ‘so-called’ defensive line of Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Gibbs, who score more goals combined than the forward line of some clubs. The team has finally shown signs of emulating the Arsenal sides which used to have Viera, Pires, Henry showing that they can score against any opposition doing nothing but just dancing on the field.

If it were left to me to pick a side which would win the Premiership this season, it would be Arsenal. That’s how high I rate their current crop of youngsters.  Let us see how they shape up in the remainder of the season.

Good news from the bad news for Arsenal fans. Robin van Persie, striker for Arsenal and Netherlands, got injured during the international friendly match against Italy on the weekend. He only lasted 15 minutes in the game, since the tackle from Italy defender Giorgio Chiellni forced him to be out on the pitch. He suffered teared ligament on his right ankle.

It was first reported that van Persie maybe out for the remainder of the season or at least three months. But, it turned out that he will be out for four to six weeks. This means that he will be back in next January, the second half of the season.

However, it is still a huge loss for Arsenal. In fact, Arsenal already lost Danish striker, Nicklas Bendtner for two weeks. Croatian striker Eduardo and Mexican prodigy, Carlos Vera will be the only attacking option for them. But I am not sure that these players can fill the gap. So far, van Persie has marked incredible stats in this season: 7 goals and 7 assists in 11 league games. One attacking points per game shows that his contribution to the team is huge.

To tell the truth, van Persie is already known for ‘injury-prone’ among football fans. This season, again, injury has come to bother him. However, statistics show that whenever he is healthy, he can make goals and assists. I do not know exactly when he will return, but I am sure that Arsenal will play more dynamic and exciting game with Robin van Persie.

Da jeg i øjeblikket har adskillige bolde flyvende rundt i luften, har det været svært at få tid til at opdatere bloggen, så heldigvis er jeg blevet “velsignet” med en landskampspause, så jeg kan få ordnet et par efternølere.

En af de efternølere fandt sted sidste weekend, hvor mellemvægter braget mod Wigan fandt sted på det nydøbte DW Stadium.

Kampen var ikke så meget at skrive hjem om for Fulham, der i høj grad var heldige (og dygtige) med at rejse hjem med et point i bagagen.

Efter en Wigan-domineret start fik Fulham dog kampens første store tilbud, da Erik Nevland ramte opstanderen med et glimrende hovedstød, der efterlod målmand Chris Kirkland måbende på sin streg.

Wigan svarede hurtigt igen, og bragte sig på tavlen allerede i det 14. minut, da Paul Scharner, i kamp med to Fulham-spillere, fik headet bolden videre til en umarkeret Emmerson Boyce, som med et velplaceret spark passerede Mark Schwarzer i Fulham-målet.

Hjemmeholdet fortsatte deres stormløb, og var det ikke for Schwarzer, kunne Fulham hurtigt være sunket længere ned i sølet, da den australske ankermand holdt fremragende forsøg fra Charles N’Zogbia og Hugo Rodallega ude.

Og mens det lignede cruise-control fra hjemmeholdets side, nedlagde Titus Bramble, Clint Dempsey, i feltet, og den amerikanske elegantier eksekverede selv sikkert fra straffesparkspletten til pausestilling 1-1.

Anden halvleg var i høj grad målmændenes 45 minutter of fame, da begge ankermænd holdt modstanderholdene fra fadet med fantastiske redninger en masse.

Et ganske tyndt kampreferat, men ikke desto mindre er det dét, jeg har tid til denne søndag eftermiddag (mi scusi).

Roy Hodgson blev forresten udnævnt til månedens manager i oktober, men mere om det i næste uge!

Kamp Stats

Wigan Kirkland, Melchiot, Boyce, Bramble, Edman (Sinclair 78), N’Zogbia, Thomas, Scharner, Diame, Rodallega, Scotland (Koumas 90).
Bænk: Pollitt, Amaya, Cho, Gomez, De Ridder.

Kort: Edman, Bramble.

Mål: Boyce 13.

Fulham Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hangeland, Hughes, Konchesky, Dempsey, Baird, Greening (Etuhu 79), Duff, Zamora, Nevland (Gera 85).
Bænk: Zuberbuhler, Kelly, Riise, Smalling, Dikgacoi.

Kort: Etuhu (90,f).

Mål: Dempsey 39 str.

Tilskuertal: 16,172

Dommer: Phil Dowd

Weaver Stadium

Breaking news…

Nantwich Town’s Weaver Stadium has been selected as a potential training venue for England’s 2018 World Cup bid.

The stadium and facilities have been chosen as a possible training camp to host one of the 32 competing football nations if England wins the bid to host the cup.

Club officials said today it was a “great honour” to be selected. It’s one of four clubs that Manchester is putting forward as part of its bid to stage games in the World Cup.

Michael Chatwin, Nantwich Town Business Manager, said: “To think that we could have the world’s best footballers from Brazil, Argentina or Germany based at the Weaver Stadium us fantastic.

“We can all be proud that Nantwich has been selected as a training base.”

Roger MacLaughlin, Northwest Regional Development Agency, said: “The facilities at Nantwich Town are very impressive.

“The pitch, the stadium and the location is likely to be of great interest to one of the participating countries if the World Cup comes to England.”

The £4 million Weaver Stadium, which opened in 2007, already has Premier League accreditation to host Stoke City reserve games.

Arthur Moran

Nantwich Town Cllr Arthur Moran added: “This is terrific news and would really put Nantwich on the map.

“The football club has worked hard to build up its facilities for the local community. And if we did host one of the competing World Cup nations, it would be a further boost to the local economy.”

I know, if I’m gonna start talking about the Arsenal v Wolves game, the Chelscum v Manure match or Liverpool’s embarrassing draw with Birmingham,  you’d all be probably thinking this post is way long overdue. So I’m just going to skip reliving the goals and moments in those matches and just maybe talk about the eventful week in football that has been (aside from the boring international break – I know at least 90% of you agree with me).

Yup, there’s been a lot happening and I feel it’d be best if I break down all these stuff and look at them one by one to, you know, ‘judge’ or rather ‘opine’, whichever way you look at it.

Title Chasers

Let’s rewind a bit to last week. On Saturday, it was crucial for Arsenal to bag full points at the expense of Wolverhampton because rivals Chelsea and Man United were going head to head the next day. And when Arsenal, though not at their best that night, managed a 4-1 win, all eyes were fixed on the result of the Blue v Red match. Of course, many Gooners were hoping for a Man United win – however rarely that may come, but Terry’s decisive winning header gave Chelsea a 5-point gap lead over both Arsenal and Man Utd, which still currently maintains.

True, if Chelsea had lost that match, Arsenal had a realistic chance of moving top with our game in hand but our position would still have been 3rd going into the international break. So with Man Utd losing, the bright side is that we’ve overtaken them for second spot, which I’d say give our Arsenal lads much confidence and fans something to cheer about. And now we know that should we play well and take full points next week (Sunderland), then the game against Chelsea at the end of the month will determine whether or not Arsenal can be seen as real title challengers this season. True, we’ve done well so far and critics have been shamed by their underestimating us from the start, but winning against Chelsea will convince even the strongest doubters around. And I don’t see why we can’t win against Drogba & co. Anyway, that match is still not here yet so taking one game at a time, I’m sure the team and manager are focused on Sunderland.

The FA and AF

If you’ve been following the back section of newspapers the past week, then I’m sure you’ve came across the never-ending relationship between the FA and “Sore” Alex Ferguson. The United manager called referee Martin Atkinson’s decision to award the freekick that led to Chelsea’s goal “absolutely ridiculous”. Now even the whole Man United team feels like getting involved, Darren Fletcher particularly. Yes, the latter apparently dragged Mr. Wenger’s name into the Man U vs FA midweek saga and I honestly feel it was unnecessary for him to do that. Here’s what he said, “It was clearly not a foul (referring to the free kick given from which Terry scored). I back-heeled the ball and Cole jumps up in the air and the ref gives a foul. I think we are starting to see Mr Wenger’s comments starting to influence referees, which is a shame really.” With that, I think the FA will have punishments laid out for the Scot, along with Wes Brown and O’Shea, although their manager might have been let off easy this time. Funny how they don’t complain when they seem to get decisions favoring them.

Ngog – 1. Diver, 2. Cheat or 3. Saviour?

Well, all three of them really, if you ask me. If you ask one Liverpool fan, he’d probably tell you the third of those three, whilst silently admitting that he’s no. 1 and 2 as well. C’mon, even Benitez didn’t think it was a penalty. Having said that, I thought of Eduardo’s dive against Celtic and Ngog’s recent much-more-blatant-dive, and I’m starting to think these players are actually waiting to be tackled, and once there’s contact, they hurl their bodies to the ground – and that’s fine when there’s actually contact, because the ref can decide to call it a penalty or not, but when there isn’t, that’s when they’re labelled as divers and this practice is becoming increasingly ordinary on the field. I remember Rooney bending his knee and going to ground before Almunia touched him but he was deemed to be fouled by the keeper because there was contact afterwards??? Enlighten me. All I’m saying is, maybe it’s a bit too harsh for the fans and media to target Ngog as they did Eduardo because it’s not just these two who made the mistake of ‘diving’, they’re just the two who were unfortunate enough to be caught obviously doing it. Having said that, I strongly agree that ‘diving’ is an act of cheating and I’m sure no football fan will appreciate it.

The International break – Results and Injuries

Here are results of this week’s international friendlies:

• Italy 0 – 0 Netherlands

• Spain 2 – 1 Argentina

• Northern Ireland 0 – 1 Serbia

• Brazil 1 – 0 England

• Wales 3 – 0 Scotland

For those of you who couldn’t care less about the results above and you’re just probably more worried about the injuries that might come out of those matches, well, I hate to confirm that on-form Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie has injured himself while playing against Italy and initial reports say that he may be out for 2-3 months. Bummer!!!! With Bendtner out with a groin injury as well, there will be room for Eduardo to impress during this period.

Before I leave you, here are some recent news that you might be interested to know:

• Carlos Vela and Fran Merida looks set to extend their deals at Arsenal.
• Barca’s president Joan Laporta, midfielder Xavi and defender Pique has expressed that they would love for Cesc to move to Barcelona someday.
• Jack Wilshere hopes to recover in time to face Manchester City in their Carling Cup fixture.

That’s about all and since it’s another few days before we move back to some exciting Premier League football, I wanna hear what you readers have to say about issues from this article and RVP’s injury. Do so on my Facebook Group Page or the comments section here. Thanks and have a good day (“,)…

]]> http://aculturedleftfoot.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/rvps-senseless-injury-in-pointless-international/ Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:02:00 +0000 Yogi's Warrior http://aculturedleftfoot.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/rvps-senseless-injury-in-pointless-international/

If FIFA wonder why supporters of Premier League clubs hate international weeks, especially those that are for meaningless friendlies, then they should look at the case of Robin van Persie. Off the top of my head, I can think of one other occasion when he has suffered serious injury wearing the orange of The Netherlands. van Persie is not the only player that this has happened to, others have been struck down through pointless games being played to assuage the egos of national associations. Little wonder that Arsene resents the interference in the domestic season that these interruptions bring.

At this moment in time, no definitive information is available as the length of his absence. Estimates range from two to twelve months. Only one media outlet that I have seen refers to this as the moment that Arsenal’s season falls apart – step forward Mail on Sunday hacks – and it would premature to assume that this is the case anyway. The outcome of x-rays and specialist opinions will no doubt drive whether Arsene dives into the January transfer window, completing a deal on day one rather than in the closing minutes.

With Bendtner out, the short-term options are limited. Whether or not those away on loan can be recalled is one thing, the deciding factor will be whether Arsene believes that he can work with the assets he has to hand. The most obvious replacement for van Persie is Eduardo. Suspect though his fitness has been this season through niggling injuries, the Croat is the most natural and experienced finisher in the first team squad not currently knocking on the door of the medical rooms at London Colney.

Having squared up to Thomas Vermaelen some time ago when the Belgian played for Ajax, it seems that Chellini was intent on furthering his Arsenal credentials with an agricultural tackle in a match that was only significant for the 100th cap awarded to Buffon. The mentality of the player is questionable, especially since barely 15 minutes had been played.

The injury overshadowed other international performances ranging from the ugliness of Arshavin’s display for Russia, the good in Vermaelen scoring and Cesc’s cameo for Spain and the beauty of Aaron Ramsey’s domination of the Scottish midfield. The Welshman was simply outstanding, at the heart of everything good about his country’s display, creating two goals with incisive and intuitive passes, capping it all off with a superb solo effort that showed guile throughout and muscle at the end to create the finish. A heartwarming sign of growing maturity.

van Persie’s injury cuts one tale of transfer speculation off at the knees before it had even started. News of the World rumours about a £10m bid for Eduardo from Liverpool were risible to begin with, now they are terminated in a bitter manner. That is before anyone explains how the fee was being funded. Still, Arsenal needs another midfielder and the same hacks put forward a new name – Maicosuel. Ten out of ten for originality but the rumours don’t seem to be funny this morning. Elsewhere it seems Philippe Senderos is not ruling out leaving Arsenal in January nor is ruling out staying. It is called keeping his options open apparently.

I think I’ll join Arsene in trashing a case of Italian beer whilst crying into my Oranjeboom. ’til Tomorrow.

There it is. I just knew it was going to happen soon. This one problem could derail Arsenal and Gooners hope for silverware this season. Will the decision not to replace the Togolese idiot come back to haunt Wenger? Or will someone rise from the misfortune of his team mate and stake a claim for his place? So many questions and so few answers.

Another round of internationals went by us yesterday. Most of it meaningless but it dealt a cruel blow to our title challenge this season. Robin Van Persie was stretchered off of Holland’s tie with Italy in only the 15th minute with what was suspected to be an injury to his ankle ligament. I’m still waiting to hear the official comment on the extend of the injury but from the initial prognosis, it could be from 3 months to rest of the season. I cannot reiterate any more how crucial RVP’s presence in the squad is. The 7 goals and 7 assists he has contributed already this season tell it’s own story. Sigh.

Luckily for the others, there’s a clean bill of health so far. Song played the full 90 minutes as Cameroon seal their place in the finals. Eboue also completed the full game even though his country, Ivory Coast has already booked their slot in the finals prior to this game. Aaron Ramsey inspired Wales to a comprehensive hammering of Scotland with 2 assists and a goal to cap a fine individual performance. He came off midway in the second half with the Wales’ camp claiming he wasn’t that fit to start with. There might be repercussions for Arsenal I suspect.

Belgian captain Thomas Vermaelen scored for his country in their 3-1 win over Hungary. While our own captain, Cesc Fabregas came on with half an hour of the game remaining to ensure Spain’s continued they good form going into the World Cup finals with a solid 2-1 victory over Argentina. William Gallas and Bacary Sagna played the full 90 as they helped France secure a slender 1-0 lead over Ireland. Both were very solid in defense and the few times that oppourtunity presented itself, Sagna produced several good quality crosses from the right flank. Just a small note, anyone notice Henry’s freekick delivery and corners getting better?

Meanwhile, Andrey Arshavin also completed the whole game with an assist to boot as Russia sneaked past Slovenia in their first leg playoff. He looked lethargic throughout the game and made many unforced errors like passing to the opponent. At an important stage of the qualifying like this, he doesn’t look to be too bothered. Typical of him.

In respect to RVP’s injury, more importantly for Arsenal is the news that Eduardo scored 2 goals for Croatia last night. Granted, the opposition was just Liechtenstein but it as a striker a goal is a goal no matter who the opposition would be. Judging from the earlier matches this season, Eduardo is Wenger’s preference to replace RVP in case of injury or purely just to rest the player. More will be expected of him and the streak of continuous games that I anticipate he will play for Arsenal in the coming months (well, at least till RVP returns anyway) will only serve him in good stead.

We all saw how good the Brazilian is when given a run in the first team. If he returns to his prolific form before the leg break, then maybe just maybe, we won’t feel so much the loss of RVP. God knows how much we need that now.

Recover well and fast Robin.

Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie was injured playing for the Netherlands against Italy. The injury’s severity is not known, but he may face an extended absence. His loss could cripple Arsenal’s chance for a trophy this season.

Yet more testament for the stupidity of mid-season international friendlies.

UPDATE: According to Arseblog, Dutch TV is reporting that RVP tore ankle ligaments.  He is expected to miss 2-3 months.

There it is. The interlull curse strikes again. Did we really think we would come out of this break unscathed? Every thing was going too well. And now a player who is key to our entire club’s fortunes looks set to be out for a while and will definitely miss our upcoming match against Chelsea, and for what? A meaningless friendly? Disgusting.

A typical international week thus far. Injuries dominate the headlines and judging by the numbers of fallen at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will be struggling to put out a side at The Emirates in a fortnight’s time. A lot of suspicion should surround these reports since it is highly likely that most of their walking wounded will make the biggest comeback since Lazarus, being fit and ready for action once kick-off comes.

For Arsenal, you know it is quiet when the headlines concern the one-armed girlfriend of Nicklas Bendtner. The usual denials of leaving and pledges to sign players abound from other clubs. This time though, the players themselves are being quiet, except for Fran Merida who emphasised his involvement with the first team, leaving the backtracking from his Mr20% to be put down to the “falsehoods” which “abound in football“.

FIFA is tackling this problem head on. Their solution? Stop regulating agents. It has been a pretence all along and explains why clubs such as Barcelona can run around tapping players up with impugnity. For the media, it is manna from heaven. The complaints from Arsene about the unsettling effects on his charges likely to be put down to querulous behaviour on his part as the rill of spurious claims becomes a raging torrent portrayed as the truth. Summer’s may have seemed so peaceful in the past.

Bacary Sagna’s determination to stay at Arsenal was made clear on his behalf by a “source close to the French international” who spoke suspiciously like his Mr20%.

Wenger should have little concern about his current players though. Kieran Gibbs believes that the Academy borne from the Frenchman’s vision of the future is bringing to fruition the improved technical abilities of English players. Has this boy not read the media or listened to football’s administrators? Wenger is the Devil incarnate, evil for bringing foreign youngsters to the club whilst discarding native talent.

Gibbs observations mirror those of Merida in that Wenger and his staff are bringing through generations of technically adept players, eager for first team action and generally speaking, ready when called upon. Perhaps better prepared than any other club in England. Their development does not stop there however.

Robin van Persie emphasised the continuing improvements that the manager seeks in training with the first team:

The coach (Wenger) is particularly keen that I add something to the tactical play of the team, both offensively and creatively, that I use and combine with the players around me.

Talking of his own position in the team, the Dutchman observed:

I don’t see myself as a true out-and-out striker. Guys likes Torres and Drogba, they are real killers. I feel I play between a target striker and a supporting striker – I am a combination of both and that’s just fine. I try to bring my own dimension to the forward position.

The obvious comparison is with Bergkamp, a role model whom van Persie does not deny basing his game upon. However, the advanced nature of his play this season in terms of position on the pitch makes him more of a composite Pires / Henry than fundamentally creative like his compatriot. van Persie recognises this:

In the league I have now contributed seven assists and I am just as proud of these as the seven goals I have scored. I find it crucial to be effective in both spheres for the team.

Pires famously said that he derived more pleasure creating than scoring. van Persie is not so content with that element but he is perhaps the new style of centre forward that football craves at the moment.

Fans demand a 30 goal per season striker but whilst there is a place for that type of player, more effective for Arsenal this season will be a central forward who scores 20 or more and creates a similar number. Wenger has an abundance of creative talent that demands someone put the ball in the net. van Persie making space allows the midfield as a whole to strike their share, more than compensating for one striker doing that as is the case with other teams.

Whilst each side has a major goalscorer, Arsenal has numerous, evidenced by the number of games where multiple goalscorers have found the net. It is advantageous in that opponents struggle to contain them yet how will it function if a drought occurs. That is when the depth of talent available to Wenger will become apparent, with the bench able to provide a similar threat. Provided injuries do not intervene of course.

’til Tomorrow.

Det handlar väldigt mycket om pengar i dagens fotboll, och det talas om att man måste spendera för att vinna. Men om man tittar på min nya favorithemsida så har de en lista på de mest effektiva klubbarna om vi ser till pengar spenderade i relation till matcher vunna och poäng plockade (i år). Nu har det visserligen bara spelats 12 matcher av Premier League såhär långt, och i ärlighetens namn säger väl den här statistiken ingenting. Men vi älskar statistik så här kommer den.

Om vi tittar på kostnad/poäng så är Burnley laget som leder, de har betalat 805.172 £/poäng. Topp tre ser ut såhär: (lag/kostnad per poäng)

1. Burnley, 805 172 £
2. Hull, 2 221 764 £
3. Stoke, 2 294 531 £

Det är alltså de tänka bottenlagen som ligger i topp. På plats 17, 18 och 19 hittar vi Liverpool, Chelsea och United. Och föga förvånande har vi Manchester City sist på listan, de har fått betala hela 11 990 525 £ för varje poäng de plockar!

Bäst av “Top four” är Arsenal (Såklart!) på plats elva med 4 576 202 £/poäng.

Ja, det här säger väl egentligen ingenting, det är bara statistik. Men nu har ni något ni kan ta upp med era vänner när ni sitter på den lokala sportbaren och tittar på York City – Ebbsfleet United senare idag, för det ska ni väl?

This has been rejected by the Premier League. It is something that often comes up. No other clubs besides these 2 have won the Scottish League for 24 years! Basically, it’s like having Chelsea and Manchester United permanently playing in League One. When you realise that, you have to have sympathy with the Old Firm. There’s a lack of real competition and a lack of revenue.

It’s a problem for all of the big clubs across Europe. They are all businesses, and their aim is to make the maximum profit. They get that most by playing other big teams. So the best thing for their success and prosperity is a European league of the big clubs and to leave their national competitions. Celtic and Rangers would join that in an instant. But there is a problem that comes from this..

..It’s the problem that afflicts the Premier League. Once you get into that top competition your club makes the most money and gets bigger. And the same is true for the other 19 clubs. So you have 20 successful businesses together and if they leave that league they will lose a lot of money. So much so that the Premier League provides parachute payments to soften the blow.

So what is the problem then? The teams inside the Premier League want to pull up the ladder and keep the competition for themselves, banning promotion and relegation. Of course they want that, it is best for their businesses. But it is not best for Football. It’s only the Football Association and FIFA that are preventing this happening. The clubs would do it given the chance. Probably a closed Premier League, then a European League, then a World League. And only the top clubs in it and barriers to entry from smaller clubs.

Promotion and relegation is what makes league competitions so much fun, and it needs to be preserved. Without relegation from top leagues the top clubs will become slack because they have nothing to fear.

But, maybe a real European League, as the next step above the National Leagues, with promotion and relegation, is the way the future will go.

Hello again. First things first, I apologize if you’ve been checking in and find that there’s no new post or update on the blog (Who am I kidding?, I wonder how many do actually follow my postings?) But if you have, then the only reason I can give is that there is really nothing to update. The international break is really sucking the life out of football bloggers. More so when no Arsenal player made any comment worth taking note.

Ever since the victory at Molineux, the main propaganda that the media has outlined is the possibility that Arsenal will break the 100-goals barrier in a season. This comes after 36 goals scored in the first 11 matches this season. I won’t deny it, this is a very positive point with the goals being shared all over the pitch with RVP the charge with 7 goals already while Fabregas, Arshavin, Vermaelen, Gallas and Diaby following suit. Each with 6, 4, 4, 3 and 3 respectively. Meanwhile Fabregas leads the assist chart with 10 and RVP the closest one with 7. From here it’s easily deduce that Fabregas and RVP are the vital cogs in the current Arsenal squad.

I’m all for attacking and beautiful football but it should not come at a price of conceding. Yes, we may eventually end up with well over 100 goals in the Premiership but it will count for nought if we also ended up conceding needlessly. If we propagate and expand the scores, then we might end up with 124 goals but also conceding 48 goals along the way. Now you don’t need to be a genius to know that no one finishes as champions by shipping out 48 goals in a season. While the final score may look nice with the final margin of 2 or 3 goals, it still worries me that we concede the consolation goal to the opposition.

In only 5 home games, we have conceded 4 goals. That’s almost a goal a game. Clean sheet is beginning to look like a rarity for Arsenal these days. A friend of mine thought, in the aftermath of Craddock’s headed goal, that there seem to be some kind of conspiracy against Arsenal keeping a blank score in the goal conceded column. He may be on to something there but I would prefer to think that it is just the collective approach of the squad in general.

With a commanding lead of 3 or 4 goals, there is no need to chase the game. All we have to do is play keep ball and if we do venture forward in search of the next one, the players themselves must realise the responsibility of defending. Do not overcommit simply because we are not chasing the game. If the strikers in RVP, Arshavin or whoever’s playing the Bendtner’s position wants to have a go, then by all means do. The 3 midfielders’ first and only task is to protect the backline. Too often has this happened for it not to be noticed. Not only Diaby is to be blamed in most cases, but sometimes the captain himself also commit the same mistake.

Wenger said that this group of players are the most creative he ever has. Perhaps he is right. The many different scorers and ammunition suppliers have provided him the impetus to make such a claim. But perhaps the time is also nigh for Wenger to have a closer look at the defensive line and iron out the finer details that once made us the envy of every club in the world.