The Lost Art Of Tackling

Arsenal 1 - 1 Bolton Wanderers

0 - 1 Nolan (12)
1 - 1 Gilberto (90)

OK I'll admit it, I got it wrong although on another day against a lesser determined team, I'd have still got it wrong - we'd have won by seven. Seems that my assessment of Jaaskelainen was correct. He may well have played himself into an Arsenal shirt if Wenger decides to go after a new keeper in the summer. Quite simply, he was superb.

It was pleasing to see Gilberto score - in this respect, he and Vieira are very similar. They should both score more! He has taken time to win over most fans but I believe that despite the critiscism he has had this season for sub standard performances, he is a player who we miss more than most and have done so for the last eighteen months. A fully fit Gilberto has a tremendous ability to break up the opponents play and set off an attack with a simple short pass.

The game itself was one of those afternoons - in the first half, we never really found our attacking fluency. Might one suggest that the choice of Reyes over Pires was not a good decision particularly as Pires had an afternoon to suggest that his services might be worth retaining. He was the hub of all things good, having several efforts saved and creating more for others.

As is becoming commonplace in the game these days, the two - footed tackle is the talking point of this match. If Faye was lucky to stay on the pitch, Flamini was even luckier. Faye jumped in with both feet up, studs showing, taking the ball first - only because Reyes hesitated - and caught the Spaniard on the follow through, with a feared broken leg as the outcome. Flamini never even got close to ball, having overrun it in the first place, and fortunately Gardner came out unscathed. The two footed lung is also bringing harsher punishment as Essien found out earlier this season after the West Ham game, although both Flamini and Faye will probably escape further punishment as the Referee dealt with the incidents on the pitch. Only if he changes his mind and advises the FA that he should have sent either player off can they take further action.

As Big Sam bemoaned afterwards that the art of tackling, in particular taking pride in the timing of a good tackle, is being lost and that this type of tackle wouldn't have happened in "his day". For that read, it wouldn't have happened as someone would have broken the culprits jaw - it was a man's game, y'see. It would be interesting to see the whole of that interview to see which one he was talking about, Faye or Flamini, or whether he was referring to both as he did not look impressed, choosing his words carefully and thoughtfully. If it was his own player, presumably he will be reminding him, and maybe even show him, how to make a tackle. If it was Flamini, then he handled the situation well knowing that Wenger enjoys nothing more at the moment than complaining to the media about Bolton, his new bete noir for this season at least. Why Bolton? They are our nearest rivals, along with Tottenham, for fourth place.

Noticeably, neither Mourinho nor Ferguson mention Arsenal at all partly through the fact that they have uneasy truces with Wenger and also because, quite simply, we are not a rival this season through our consistent performances. Consistenly inept, that is.

This weekends quote of the day, heard on Radio 5Live's "Fighting Talk" in response to the question, "If you could have a face transplant to look like a famous Sportsperson, who would it be?" - the response, "Jose Mourinho - he's got two so he could give me one and not miss it".

Todays tunes are from a band who seem to be what called be loosely called, "a popular beat combo". They remind me of the post - punk era of the 1980's and it seems unfair that they have missed out on being on an indie label based in Skegness, pestering John Peel for a session, which is what their true calling should have been.

The Editors - Munich (Live)

The Editors - Bullets (Live)

Trotting Along

The next 2 games in the Premiership will go a long way to defining Arsenal's League season - Bolton at Highbury tomorrow and Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday, a re-arranged match from earlier this season. Six points from these two games will mean a top three finish is attainable; the eleven point gap is too wide for us to catch Manchester United, even winning our game in hand and victory at Old Trafford in April will still leave 5 points between the two sides. A minimum return the team should be aiming for is four points from the six, a tall order given Liverpool's home form and Arsenal's abysmal performances away from Highbury this season.

Bolton, currently two points behind Arsenal with a game in hand, are what would be termed as a typically English side - a more sophisticated version of the teams that this country regularly produced in the twenty to thirty years ago. They are capable of playing football well, with smooth passing movements but are physically strong and more than able to hold their own in a battle. Rather unfairly, they are depicted in the media as "kick and run" merchants but one suspects that the combustible relationship that their manager has with various Hacks and Scribes is the driving force behind this reputation. Indeed, they should be held up as an example to Championship teams as to what can be achieved on a consistent basis, taking over that mantle from Charlton. There are perhaps only two or three players at the club who I consider could hold their own at a higher level, e.g. Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea, being Stelios, Jaaskelainen and Okocha. Even the last one is moving towards the end of his career and that chance may have passed him by. Stelios has been linked with Liverpool over the last two summers but nothing has materialised whilst Jaaskelainen is a consistent keeper whose contract wrangles may well have placed him on Wengers watch list as a possible interim replacement for Lehmann.

The team have in recent years been a bogey side for Arsenal gaining a couple of creditable draws at Highbury but in the main it has been at Bolton where we have had most problems, exemplified this season with a 0 - 2 and 0 - 1 defeat in the Premiership and FA Cup respectively. Team news from Highbury indicates that they have a good opportunity to record their first Premiership win at the ground in what will be their last appearance there. Campbell will now be out for two or three weeks so the only fit defenders seem to Senderos and Dhjorou who acquitted themselves reasonably at Birmingham last weekend, augmented by the return to fitness of Alex Song. Kerrea Gilbert appears to have started training again but Wenger has admitted that he is probably not yet match fit.

Even with these problems defensively, I expect Arsenal to be too strong for them in attack and to claim a two goal margin of victory. It will interesting to see if Walcott makes his debut, having been on the bench at Birmingham. There should not be any concerns about the physical side of the tackling. Having seen some Championship football this season, the cloggers of the Premiership have nothing on their lower League counterparts.

Arsenal have asked that supporters with seats in the front 10 rows arrive at the ground earlier than normal tomorrow. This is so that they will be able to put on their waterproof clothing as El-Hadji Diouf has returned from the African Cup of Nations and may be in the starting line-up.

The Clubs website notes that this game is potentially the start of the final countdown to the end of Highbury, with this being the tenth last match at the venerable old stadium. When I first read that, it seemed to me that there was an awful long way to go in the season and why therefore, was I being pessimistic about our final League position being so dire? Well, reading the article we find that this is only in the final ten if we beat Real Madrid, which even though they've been on the wrong end of a 1 - 6 thrashing this week (and it was a thrashing - even Power Rangers schoolmates would defend better than Helguera did in Zaragoza), is by no means certain. I hope that the noise I hear in the distant is not the sound of fowl creatures being counted too soon.

Todays tunes - some indie bands from my past, creeping back into the aural spectrum. The Husker Du song featured on their Concept (shudder) album, Warehouse Songs and Stories, and was as strong an opening track that I've heard. As for Buffalo Tom, I'm still not sure that I've entirely forgiven them for their version of Going Underground which was frankly dire. Honestly, it was worse than anything Westlife, Atomic Kitten, Boyzone, Gareth Gates or Paul Young ever concocted. Steer clear of it. If there was a criminal offence for it, they'd have been guilty of murdering a perfectly good song. But Tangerine is very good, this being a live version from 2000.

Husker Du - These Important Years (Live)

Buffalo Tom - Tangerine (Live)

Ron Greenwood - RIP

At a time when the current incumbent has brought the position into disrepute with his ageing lothario antics, the sad news of the passing of Ron Greenwood brings a stark contrast into focus. A gentlemen from yesteryear, goodness alone knows what he thought of Eriksson and the noteriety that his overactive libido have gained.

His managerial career began at Highbury where he was Assistant Manager from 1958 to 1961, when he moved to Upton Park and took over the role of Manager. During his spell in charge, he guided his team to victories in the FA Cup Final in 1964 and the Cup Winners Cup in 1965. Appointed General Manager in 1974, he saw John Lyall's team reach Wembley again in 1975, beating Fulham 2 - 0 to win the FA Cup and then in 1976, they were outclassed by Anderlecht in the Cup Winners Cup final. It was West Ham's golden age, with a number of England internationals at the club during this time, notably Brooking, Moore, Peters, Hurst and Greaves.

He took over as England manager in 1977, following Don Revie's decision to book a prolonged holiday in the Middle East. During the next 5 years, he would guide England to the European Championships in 1980 and the World Cup in 1982. There was a certain symmetry in his England career, beginning inauspiciously with a 0 - 0 draw against Switzerland (fielding 7 players from the dominant Liverpool team of the era) and ending with a 0 - 0 draw in the Santiago Bernabeu against Spain. During this time, England won 33 of the 55 games he was in charge, drawing 12 and losing 10, only 3 of which were at Wembley.

The 1980 European Championships qualifying was straightforward, with the only dropped point being in 1 - 1 draw at Lansdowne Road. England won the group comfortably by 6 points in the days of 2 points for a win. The campaign included a 4 - 3 win in Copenhagen and a 5 - 1 win in Belfast, something the current squad could only dream of. The other notable moment was Glenn Hoddle's first England goal in a 2 - 0 win over Bulgaria at Wembley where for once he lived up to the hype, sidefooting a volley into the roof of the net from the edge of the penalty area. The finals themselves were not a success, memorable only for the violence off the pitch and Ray Wilkins goal against Belgium. That match finished 1 - 1 and the subsequent 0 - 1 defeat against Italy rendered the final group game against Spain meaningless, other than to restore some pride with a 2 - 1 victory.

The 1982 World Cup Qualifyers started with 4 - 0 thrashing of Norway in September of that year. A 2 - 1 defeat in Bucharest and 0 - 0 draw in the return, a 2 - 1 victory over the Swiss in between, threatened to derail the campaign. A dire performance in Basel led to a 2 - 1 defeat meaning that England had to win in Budapest 7 days later. England found their feet, Brooking left the ball in the stanchion and a win was sealed, 3 - 1, over the team who would go on to top the group. Just when it seemed England were back on track, defeat in Oslo (with the dire comments on Norwegian TV - yeah, our boys took a hell of a beating but yah boo sucks to you, we made it to the Finals) placed England's fate in the hands of the footballing Gods. They smiled as Romania failed to win any of their last 3 matches, leaving Greenwoods team needing a win over Hungary at Wembley which arrived courtesy of Paul Mariners tap in (for some reason, I recalled him falling over and prodding the ball into the net with his nose but in reality, it came off his shin. Personally, I prefer my recollection over the facts...).

The Finals got off to a flyer with Bryan Robson scoring inside 30 seconds at the start of a 3 - 1 win over France in Bilbao. The Czechs and Kuwaitis were also seen off without conceding a goal leaving England in the Second Phase with Germany and the hosts, Spain, for company. Two goalless draws later and England were out, England having been undermined by injuries to Brooking and Keegan, who would miss a sitter against Spain. Greenwood able to take comfort from the fact that he is the only England manager to lead an undefeated team in a World Cup held on foreign soil.

The opposition chosen for friendlies was on the whole tough, Brazil were played twice (1 - 1 & 0 -1), Spain twice (2 - 0 in the Camp Nou & 1 - 2), Germany (1 - 2), Holland (2 - 0) and Argentina (3 - 1). Indeed only 3 of the teams played in the 5 years of his reign could truly be called weak, namely Australia, Iceland and Finland.

As a player, he was most notably a member of Chelsea's 1955 Championship winning side. May he Rest In Peace.

Today's tunes are from a group who were bottom of what I considered to be at the time, the best line up for a gig ever - The Smiths, supported by Billy Bragg and The Redskins. Given that the gig was over 20 years ago, I can still recall the anticipation and the event itself today. It still ranks in the top 5 gigs I've been too - The Jam at Wembley in December 1982 still ranks as No. 1:

The Redskins - Young and Proud (Anthem Of A Mistake)

The Redskins - Levi Stubbs Tears (Live)

Let’s Do The Timewarp Again

Bit pushed for time today so here's an updated version of an article I wrote for The Gooner earlier this season.

Thanks to The Gooner, I have been able to re-live my fifteen minutes of fame by re-reading Issue 30 from 1991 which contained what could loosely be described as a eulogy to Gus Caesar – for those who had the misfortune not to witness his unique skills, think of a slower, less talented version of Pascal Cygan. But the one thing that struck me about the whole of that issue was the fact that almost fourteen years further on and the problems in and around The Marble Halls are remarkably similar, indeed those facing football in general. Can it really be that we have not actually progressed that much during this period?

The period 1989 – 1992 was the end of the era of dominance by Liverpool who won their last title in 1989 / 90, neatly sandwiched between two titles that came to London, N5. The similarities between the end of the Liverpool era and the end of the Stretford Disney Glazerbacks dominance of the Premiership are extremely uncanny. In both cases, the season that broke their stranglehold was one of brilliance from Arsenal – 1990 / 91 and 2003 / 04. For a season that is now criminally overlooked because it didn’t belong to the Premiership, it was an incredible achievement to win the league with only one defeat, ironically suffered at the hands of Chelsea. It seems strange to remember that from the mid – 1970’s to the early 1990’s that there was little point in traipsing across to that particularly effluent borough in London as we won there so rarely. The pitch would have then and still does now, shame many a Sunday Park's team and the matches were so generally bad that it bordered on masochism to watch them. I’m sure my memory is playing tricks but it seems that the day we went to The Bridge was always the coldest and wettest of the year which some would say is character building but most recall standing on the crumbling away terrace that had no roof with a complete absence of fond memories.

Liverpool never recovered from the 1990 – 91 season and went into decline from that point onwards, something that is just about showing signs of ending with last seasons European triumph. From seemingly always finishing in the top two for a period of fifteen years, they have never reached such heights again on a regular basis. The same abyss is staring Sir Alex Ferguson’s team although the saving grace for them this time is the lack of quality in the Premiership. Since the inception of the Premier League, this is the longest spell that the Home Counties best supported team have failed to trouble the Engravers of the Premiership trophy and this season shows no signs of being any different.

And what of the Arsenal teams that ended the dominance? The 1990 / 91 squad never reached the heights of that season again. Despite the Cup double of 1993 and Cup Winners Cup victory over Parma twelve months later, the nucleus of that squad went on to finish twelfth as George Graham’s reign at Highbury reached it’s nadir. Without wanting to be a prophet of doom, it is difficult to ignore the indications that the 2003 / 04 team are in danger of failing to capitalise on their extremely strong base. Indeed, the lack of summer signings and the acknowledged lack of strength in depth in the current squad make an uneasy parallel with their predecessors. There is no doubt that Wenger is better at rebuilding and replacing squads but in both cases, it should have been an evolution rather than requiring a revolution.

Off the pitch there are similar problems besetting the club. In 1991 we were apprehensively awaiting the then new North Bank Stand, which had been partially funded by the ill-conceived Bond. Fast forward to the Ashburton Grove and similar issues regarding the funding of a new stadium. A key point in both cases was the impact of the investment upon funding for squad improvements and ticket prices after the building works were completed. A major difference is the impact upon attendances – a letter in that October issue bemoaned the fact that the capacity would drop from 47,000 to 38,000 and how would the club prosper with losing a generation who could not attend the games. Another correspondent rather pointedly criticised ticket prices given that they had outstripped inflation. The bone of contention being that it would most definitely cost more than the £4 the previous season’s match day ticket price for the North Bank.

The 1991 Bond was a PR disaster for the club. Like most fans at the time, I disliked the way that this was handled as it successfully deflated the euphoria of the Championship win. The new Stadium proved that the lessons of the past have been learnt with most, if not all, fans recognising the need for a larger ground and the fact that Highbury could not expand to meet the requirements. Obtaining the funding required for both cases was another example of the club learning the lessons of the past. There can be little criticism of the way in which the Board have managed the process of building Ashburton Grove to the extent that the media non-story about the club being in a parlous financial state were simply not true. This years accounts show a net debt of £150m and have barely received more than a passing mention in the media. Remembering the field day that the burghers of Wapping had twelve months previously, this is a remarkable testament to the Board’s financial policies in recent times.

At the same time, the issue of large cash influxes into the top clubs was looming large on the horizon. In the case of the soon – to – be formed Premier League, the cause for concern was more to do with how those left behind under the leadership of the Football League would fare – as expected, pretty badly – whereas now most concern is about the distortion to the competition that one obscenely wealthy benefactor is having. Quite how Chelsea will fare if something were to happen to this seemingly bottomless pit of cash cannot be calculated. Needless to say, there would be a fire-sale of epic proportions - buy a John Terry for £2m and get a Makele thrown in free! A Lampard sir? That's £4m and todays' special includes a Robben and a Duff gratis. If he were to stay in that scenario and still win the League then maybe we would have to genuinely believe Mourinho was the special one. Never mind 4,000 people voting for him in the Portuguese Elections, there would be a strong case for the Vatican to investigate whether or not Jesus had returned in the shape of a football manager rather than a carpenter.

Fan of the Week in Issue 30 was Baso, he of the half and half kit. Whilst it may not be cool to admit this but I could use his embroidery skills right now as I look at the pair of jeans that needs the legs taking up by about an inch. The one thing he hated about football at that time was “Gazzamania”. Fast forward to the current day and I’m sure that “Roomania” vexes as much. Whether the current version of the semi – literate Northern Yob learns from his predecessor is the subject for much debate but if Rooney plays his part in an England success story then he’ll probably be given the grudging admiration that Gascoigne had at that time. On the subject of semi – literate yobs from the Old Trafford Glazerdome, perennial North Bank favourite Brian McClair was lampooned on the back cover in 1991 in a Rambo pose which is one that could easily be applied to perennial North Bank favourite Roy Keane. Ironically enough Ian Wright graces the cover of both issue 30 and 158 some fourteen years later.

And for my own part, I would like to think that I played some small part in inspiring Gus Caesar onto new heights. Having left Bristol City he went onto Airdrie and Colchester before I believe, breaking into an acting career. The “Caesar Crumple” may yet be seen on a screen near you soon. As for my relationship with the club, it’s no different. It still makes or breaks my weekend as far as the results go – I still pay my cash to them and they receive. Whether it is as gratefully received is not certain – for sure they are less dependant on it. With the next generation of Stratford’s to brainwash into supporting Arsenal as opposed to their Grandfathers’ preference of Swindon, it is imperative that a sensible pricing policy for tickets is drawn up. His dream of seeing top flight football in Wiltshire is unliekly to happen again - well, not in the foreseeable future - thereby robbing my sons of the chance to gloat as I did at his expense on leaving the County Ground at Christmas in 1993 – "Four Nil! We didn’t deserve to lose four nil!" "No Pops – it should have been eight. You’ll be down by Easter."

Today tunes - as I'm feeling all nostalgic - two live tracks from The Buzzcocks at The Longhorn Bar, Minneapolis in September 1979

Harmony In My Head

Promises

Call the Cops - FIFA takes action

In a shock move today, Swiss Police have confirmed that they are planning to investigate the serious injuries that occurred at FIFA HQ when the whole of the disciplinary committee were hospitalised from moving too quickly having made considerable sanctions against Turkey following the "row" at the end of their World Cup Qualifying Play - Off match against Switzerland in November 2005.

The full list of punishments meted out today were:

Turkey to play six games behind closed doors in neutral venue at least 312 miles from Turkish border

Turkish Football Federation fined £90,000 plus £9,000 costs

Alpay gets six-game ban; £7,500 fine

Emre gets six-game ban; £7,500 fine

Serkan Balci gets two-game ban; £2,500 fine

Mehmet Ozdilek gets 12-month ban from football; £7,500 fine

Benjamin Huggel gets six-game ban; £7,500 fine

Stephan Meyer gets two-game ban; £3,000 fine

Dealing with the players first, the bans for Alpay, Emre and Huggel are severe as they will deprive the Turks of their services for the next European Championship Qualifying Campaign. For Huggel, the sanction is more severe. He now misses the World Cup, unless by some fluke the Swiss make the Final. Ozdilek will no doubt make himself busy in the garden for the next 12 months before planning his return to management whilst Meyer will probably still accompany the Swiss squad in Germany although his Physio activities will be curtailed to off the pitch.

The six match ban for the National Team means that they will play all of the European Championship Qualifiers away from home, being no closer that 312 miles from the Turkish border and behind closed doors. The punishments certainly fit the crime and more, although the Swiss player, Grichting, who suffered a crude attempt at a vasectomy may take cold comfort from them.

All of which begs several questions:

1. If FIFA, probably the most incompetent Governing body in Sport, can deal effectively with incidents in the tunnel, why can the FA not do so?
2. If this is a benchmark for punishments, will they have the balls to deal with the racism that is rife in certain continental European countries rather than letting UEFA hand out paltry fines that barely dent the Programme Revenues for away fans.

Todays tune, the some what appropriately titled: Six Sharp Fists by Galliano and the Jazz Renegades

The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum

Which is evidently based at Loftus Road. The mildly entertaining rants of Ian Holloway have been temporarily suspended as he has been placed on "Gardening Leave" by QPR because he has been linked with the vacant managers post at Leicester City and, to quote the club's spokesperson, "we are concerned about recent performances and the effect speculation about Ian joining Leicester City might have on the players". And suspending your manager will have a positive effect on the players? A somewhat odd approach to motivation. Surely it would have been better to give him a “Vote of Confidence” to give the team a Kick Up The R’s? More pertinently, the club have chosen to include the speculation linking Holloway with the vacant managers post at Leicester. Over the weekend, Mike Newell revealed that he had been interviewed for the role. He would certainly be a favourite given his past links as a player and his performance as Luton’s manager, getting them into a very healthy position in the Championship following last season’s promotion. However, there may be doubts as to whether he would take the role and turn down the opportunity to get Luton promoted. If that is the case, then Holloway is by no means a shoo-in for the role but with QPR’s actions they may just make him favourite. Should he be relieved of his current duties, Leicester won’t have to pay any compensation to secure his services given that he would be a free agent. Which makes the Boards actions hard to understand. If Leicester want him, let him go – they won’t pay him off and they’ll get cash in to secure his services. Right now,they are going to have to pay off Holloway, which if the reports of their financial state are correct is something they can ill-afford to do, and get little, if any, money in return to offset against this

Today’s Tune: Given the Lunacy at QPR, what better than The Higsons, "I Don't Want To Live With Monkeys".

Sky Sports are reporting that Paul Merson has been removed from the Walsall managers job. Of all of the players in George Grahams title winning teams of 1988/89 and 1990/91, it seemed that he was least likely to become a manager. Given the various addiction battles he has faced, I wish Merse all the best and good luck in finding a new job.

Obi won can Fergie?

Jon Obi Mikel is rapidly becoming one of the most famous names in football, barely 18 summers having passed in life. And yet for all his footballing potential, the average football fan is unlikely to have witnessed much of his playing career but will have certainly watched with incredulity as two of England's biggest clubs slog it out through the back pages and in the endlessly protracted machinations of FIFA's bureaucracy. That Manchester United have in their possession, a contract which the player has signed is not disputed. That his head has been turned by Chelsea is also a matter of fact. How this mess has arisen is beyond belief. That Chelsea are involved yet again defies belief. Having been rapped on the knuckles individually and corporately by the FA over the Ashley Cole saga, surely they would have wanted to avoid any controvesy over transfers for at least the remainder of the season: but no, in a display of naivety, arrogance or breathtaking stupidity (delete as your mood takes you) Chelsea have blundered or marched head first into a situation that creates a massive problem for FIFA and if his contract with United is ruled invalid, could potentially impact football on a similar scale to that of the Bosman Ruling.

Mikel has claimed that he was placed under undue duress to sign his contract with United and that all he wants to do is play football with Chelsea. Yet this is the same player who claimed that his contract with Lyn Oslo was invalid and that his registration was co-held by some Nigerian agents who represented him. This is not an unusual situation as co-ownership has played a part in the careers of Adriano (Parma and Internazionale) and Samuel Eto'o (Real Madrid and Mallorca) but it is not an ideal as it can lead to disputes. However, both FIFA and the Norwegian courts have ruled that the Lyn Oslo contract is valid so it is difficult to see how Chelsea can have any claim on the player whatsoever, given that the United contract pre-dates any agreement that they may feel that they have.

Whilst the individuals involved are the only ones who know the truth - or at least their interpretation of it - the outcome is going to provide a benchmark for football. If Mikel's future is at Old Trafford, FIFA have no alternative but to comply with United's wish that Chelsea are banned for a time from transfer activity. This will not impact on their squad in the short term but if it were to extend to say, 2 years, may mean that the best players stay with their current clubs or move onto others. Whether this will detrimentally affect them in terms of League or European performance is open to doubt as they are definitely the most consistent team in England and would be hard pushed to beaten on this front in Europe, with only Barcelona, Bayern or Juventus having plausible cases to argue.

Should FIFA merely hand out a fine, or even worse, a rap on the knuckles then the future of football is in even more dire straits than previously suspected. The first issue will be the validity of any contract, particularly those of African players leaving their native lands. How could any purchasing club be expected to trust the seller when out of the proverbial woodwork, an agent could appear to claim he holds registration. This then leads to a further problem of FIFA's making. They are supposed to be a registry and repository of international transfers and player registrations. If they cannot be relied upon to collate this information correctly, then what exactly is their place in the transfer market. Noticeably UEFA have kept very quiet on this matter, letting FIFA dig themselves deeper into this particular hole.

The likely outcome to all of this is that FIFA will rule that United own the players registration with Chelsea having done nothing intentionally wrong. Mikel will then be sold to Chelsea for a fee somewhere between Walcott and Rooney's which will make it interesting for him the first time that he visits Old Trafford. What is wrong that FIFA will have failed to make their mark and stamp on the arrogance being displayed by Chelsea, leaving them to continue to ride roughshod over the rules of the game with the belief that money can buy them anything. Except perhaps love.

This evenings tune is from the late Lou Rawls: You've Made Me So Happy. Enough words have been said or written about his life and career that my inane ramblings cannot do any more than add a nod of head, a tip of the hat to say thanks for it all.

Arsenal Score Twice Away From Home, Henry Doesn't

Birmingham City 0 - 2 Arsenal

0 - 1 Adebayor 21
0 - 2 Henry 63

Henry scores his 200th goal for the club

The first away win since Boxing Day, against a team who would have fancied their chances of "out bullying" Arsenal in the midfield and who had enough aerial power in their forward line to have created the full strength Arsenal defence problems, let alone a patched up one. As it turned out, the defence dealt with them reasonably comfortably with Senderos choosing yesterdays match to remind everyone why Wenger rates him so highly and why he is a regular for the Swiss national side even at his young years. Yes, he has had a tough time in the first team this season but hopefully he will take confidence from his performance and build on it. Obviously the defence were helped yesterday by the fact that Emile Heskey was in the forward line and his impression of Frank Bruno in his prime, i.e. spending most of the game blundering around but ending up on his backside having been knocked down by the lightest of knocks, is uncannily accurate.

In midfield, Diaby is trying to live up to Vieira's reputation and is certainly making a similar start by getting stuck in and picking up a booking or two along the way. Reyes continues to infuriate with his hit or miss performances and cannot be doing his World Cup chances any favours with the indifferent form he is showing. I suspect that he believes the Real Madrid tie is the one that will tip the scales in his favour and Madrid will not have forgotten the match in his last season at Seville (where Zidane commented that "it was like he was on a motorcycle") which ended in a 4 - 1 defeat. See I can clutch at straws as well as Jose Antonio does.

It is too early to pass judgement on Adebayor but a goal on your debut in a team that is struggling away from home cannot be a bad start. He should also take comfort from the fact that he was not substituted by a manager notorious for introducing a new forward between 60 - 75 minutes in most games, even when things are going well. And Henry scored in an away game for the first time since Wigan in December. Hurrah!

The Sol Campbell affair continues to rumble on as it was always going to do so, except that the statement from his solicitor now means that it will rumble on for a damn sight longer than it would have done. To claim that he is not suffering from Personal problems is at odds with his behaviour. It is inconceivable that he is having a strop simply because he was substituted. Whatever the truth of the matter is, he may have effectively ended his England career by proving that he cannot handle the pressure environment that will come with the World Cup in Germany. Having played for England at this tournament before, he knows expectations are high, particularly in the Red Tops. Although it may well be that the managers pecadillos will save the players from too much criticism as the reporters will be mainly aiming their vitriol in Sven's direction but they will, like your average school playground bully, pick on any weakness displayed by the players as well.

My oldest son, AKA Power Ranger, had his first formal training session outside of school yesterday. It was good to see 60 kids between 5 - 11 years of age enjoying being taught the basics of the game properly and having so much fun at a Wycombe Wanderers FC Football In The Community Scheme event. Power Ranger was as proud as punch to be wearing his Arsenal Kit and his first pair of football boots to, in his own words, "play in my first proper football match". If you have any such courses being run in your area by your local team, go to them. The WWFC course is £4 (turn up and pay) for each two hour session and is well organised. Which beats the hell out of £70 going to Legoland. Perhaps the most reassuring thing about the whole event was the round chorus of Boos that met with the notice that there was the opportunity to visit Chelsea and have a tour of the ground. The morning has left a deep impression on Power Ranger, to the extent that he went to bed last night with his Arsenal kit folded over the headboard of his bed with the video of the 2000 - 01 season on the TV, instead of the usual Thomas The Tank Engine. And I know what you're thinking. I've brainwashed him and ordered him to be an Arsenal fan. Didn't have to as the photo shows. Sitting next to Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp is a pretty powerful marketing tool for a 5 year old boy, or for a 39 year old Dad...

Todays Tune:

From a band called Soulive, whom I profess to know zilch about other than the fact that they have toured with The Rolling Stones (is that a recommendation?) recently in the US. A slab of the finest Acid Jazz / Funk as a cure for a Sunday morning hangover.

Soulive - Headphones