Arsenal 2 - 3 West Ham United
0 - 1 Reo - Coker (25)
0 - 2 Zamora (32)
1 - 2 Henry (45)
1 - 3 Etherington (80)
2 - 3 Pires (89)
Henry sets new record for being highest scorer in League matches (151)
OK basically there are only two things in life that can't be swopped for something else - my kids and more importantly, Arsenal FC. Now I'm not sure that my wife will be too happy about being lumped into the "things that aren't permanent" category but that's life.
Which makes the current state of Arsenal Football Club all the more vexing. Commercially the club seems to be on a sure footing, provided of course the business plan doesn't rely on Ashburton Grove being sold out every week. Hopefully the Powers That Be were able to afford the new ground on an average of 45,000 each home game - the current gloom about performances on the pitch may reduce the initial optimism from 60,000 quickly.
Quite why Arsenal are turning in such shabby performances on a collective and individual basis is not easy to fathom. OK so there are injuries - Cole & Clichy is a big problem with only Lauren looking even vaguely comfortable at left back. But the whole point of the squad system is that cover is available when injuries or loss of form arises.
The senior players have to take responsibility for a lot of the current malaise. Ljungberg is now a shadow of his former self. If he was working next to you in the office, you'd swear he was applying for other jobs with his body language and apparent distaste for the fight. Sol Campbell, who reportedly left Highbury tonight having been substituted at half time for a exceptionally poor performance, has not recovered from his injuries, at least mentally. To be honest it was so awful, next week's Fantasy Points ought to be including 2 assists for Campbell. Pires is similar to Ljungberg but at least he's openly admitted that his Mr 15% has spoken with other sides - Valencia are reportedly favourites if he doesn't sign a new deal. And until such times as a new deal is signed the constant speculation must be detrimentally affecting the club as regards Henry's future, although it is difficult to criticise his goal return so far this season.
Ultimately though it is Wenger who is responsible for the current situation. The departure of Vieira is commonly held up as the major reason for the loss of form this season. Personally I do not believe Vieira the midfield player is as much of a loss based on his performances last season. One game he would be the dominant player on which his reputation is rightly based but too often he would be another journeyman in the centre of the park. What is undisputeably missed is the Leadership - the ability to grab a player by the scruff of the neck and shake the complacency out of them. And this is the area that Wenger needs to address most seriously. For all of his fine footballing qualities, Henry does not appear to possess this quality and throughout the clubs history, a strong leader is the core to success - McLintock, Adams and Vieira all fulfilled this criteria. Looking at the successful teams of the moment, they all have strong leaders - Terry at Chelsea, Puyol at Barca, Ballack at Bayern. How Wenger fills this gap is unclear for there is not a similar type of player at the club at present and how Henry would react to be stripped or asked to relinquish the captaincy is by no means certain.
I believe this to be the first real crisis of Wenger's tenure at the club. The recent signings of Adebayour, Diaby and Walcott are unlikely to resolve the problems immediately, the hope being that 4th place in the League is not too far out of sight by the time form is rediscovered. His policy of signing younger players is admirable in that it gives a team a chance to grow together but this is detrimental in respect of the absence of wise heads to guide the younger players through the learning curve. Last weeks announcement of Martin Keown coaching at the club seemed to be a step in the right direction until you learn that he's been there since October so no immediate improvement is expected to result from this area. Not that this is Keown's fault - would that he were five years younger holding the centre of the defence together in Toure's absence. Which begs the question as to whether or not Wenger is the man to resolve the problem. He certainly is the right man to nuture the younger players. He certainly is the right man to guide the team to play in an attacking style that no-one had seen before or will in the foreseeable future. But is he the man to lead them over the top in a battle. The answer will be known in the next few weeks.
Todays Tune:
Below is a Paul Weller song that goes down well at home - well, me and the boys like it. I say they like it, I take it as a positive that they don't tell me to turn it off when I stick it on the noise machine. A live track from Los Angeles in 2005:
Paul Weller - Come On, Let's Go
0 - 2 Zamora (32)
1 - 2 Henry (45)
1 - 3 Etherington (80)
2 - 3 Pires (89)
Henry sets new record for being highest scorer in League matches (151)
OK basically there are only two things in life that can't be swopped for something else - my kids and more importantly, Arsenal FC. Now I'm not sure that my wife will be too happy about being lumped into the "things that aren't permanent" category but that's life.
Which makes the current state of Arsenal Football Club all the more vexing. Commercially the club seems to be on a sure footing, provided of course the business plan doesn't rely on Ashburton Grove being sold out every week. Hopefully the Powers That Be were able to afford the new ground on an average of 45,000 each home game - the current gloom about performances on the pitch may reduce the initial optimism from 60,000 quickly.
Quite why Arsenal are turning in such shabby performances on a collective and individual basis is not easy to fathom. OK so there are injuries - Cole & Clichy is a big problem with only Lauren looking even vaguely comfortable at left back. But the whole point of the squad system is that cover is available when injuries or loss of form arises.
The senior players have to take responsibility for a lot of the current malaise. Ljungberg is now a shadow of his former self. If he was working next to you in the office, you'd swear he was applying for other jobs with his body language and apparent distaste for the fight. Sol Campbell, who reportedly left Highbury tonight having been substituted at half time for a exceptionally poor performance, has not recovered from his injuries, at least mentally. To be honest it was so awful, next week's Fantasy Points ought to be including 2 assists for Campbell. Pires is similar to Ljungberg but at least he's openly admitted that his Mr 15% has spoken with other sides - Valencia are reportedly favourites if he doesn't sign a new deal. And until such times as a new deal is signed the constant speculation must be detrimentally affecting the club as regards Henry's future, although it is difficult to criticise his goal return so far this season.
Ultimately though it is Wenger who is responsible for the current situation. The departure of Vieira is commonly held up as the major reason for the loss of form this season. Personally I do not believe Vieira the midfield player is as much of a loss based on his performances last season. One game he would be the dominant player on which his reputation is rightly based but too often he would be another journeyman in the centre of the park. What is undisputeably missed is the Leadership - the ability to grab a player by the scruff of the neck and shake the complacency out of them. And this is the area that Wenger needs to address most seriously. For all of his fine footballing qualities, Henry does not appear to possess this quality and throughout the clubs history, a strong leader is the core to success - McLintock, Adams and Vieira all fulfilled this criteria. Looking at the successful teams of the moment, they all have strong leaders - Terry at Chelsea, Puyol at Barca, Ballack at Bayern. How Wenger fills this gap is unclear for there is not a similar type of player at the club at present and how Henry would react to be stripped or asked to relinquish the captaincy is by no means certain.
I believe this to be the first real crisis of Wenger's tenure at the club. The recent signings of Adebayour, Diaby and Walcott are unlikely to resolve the problems immediately, the hope being that 4th place in the League is not too far out of sight by the time form is rediscovered. His policy of signing younger players is admirable in that it gives a team a chance to grow together but this is detrimental in respect of the absence of wise heads to guide the younger players through the learning curve. Last weeks announcement of Martin Keown coaching at the club seemed to be a step in the right direction until you learn that he's been there since October so no immediate improvement is expected to result from this area. Not that this is Keown's fault - would that he were five years younger holding the centre of the defence together in Toure's absence. Which begs the question as to whether or not Wenger is the man to resolve the problem. He certainly is the right man to nuture the younger players. He certainly is the right man to guide the team to play in an attacking style that no-one had seen before or will in the foreseeable future. But is he the man to lead them over the top in a battle. The answer will be known in the next few weeks.
Todays Tune:
Below is a Paul Weller song that goes down well at home - well, me and the boys like it. I say they like it, I take it as a positive that they don't tell me to turn it off when I stick it on the noise machine. A live track from Los Angeles in 2005:
Paul Weller - Come On, Let's Go
posted by Yogi's Warrior at 11:50 pm
1 Comments:
You have an outstanding good and well structured site. I enjoyed browsing through it » »
Post a Comment
<< Home