Heads Will Roll

Just when Brian Barwick must have been thinking that there was light at the end of the tunnel and the bad publicity his organisation was receiving would soon begin to recede, 'Big' Phil Scholari decided to wreck four months work by turning the England job down in a very public manner indeed. Seemingly the last forty eight hours have given the Brazilian an insight into the workings of the English Media and he didn't like what he saw. Citing the press intrusion over his appointment, Scholari has declined the invitation to take over as Sven Goran Eriksson's successor. Whether this is the true reason or merely a smokescreen diverting attention away from the fact that he wanted more money, only time will tell. Some of the press written has been of a personal nature, and understandably he was not impressed, particularly the comparison of his relationship with his wife to that of Eriksson and Nancy Del'Olio.

The outcome is that Barwick and Co now have to reach for a second choice, probably Steve McLaren whose stock rose again on Thursday with Middlesbrough's incredible comeback to beat Steaua Bucharest, having at one point been three goals behind on aggregate. However, given that scriptwriters Croft and Perry seem to have been running the recruitment process as a prototype for a new comedy show, that cannot be taken for granted. What is probably certain is that we will not be seeing the new England manager announced on Thursday. To do so would lay the beleagured FA Chief open to more criticism, this time along the lines of a panic appointment.

For certain, there has been a lot of negative commentary regarding the choice of Scholari. Professional snipers such as Lineker made it clear that they were not happy with a World Cup Winner being appointed, with facile points such as "anyone could have won the World Cup with Ronaldinho and Ronaldo in the side". My observation is that if managing is so easy, why have these individuals not tried it. In the main, it is because they do not have the requisite skills to do so. It is an easy job to sit and write incredibly negative press - I know, I have done it - but much of the previous days media coverage is bordering on the xenophobic. One of the more salient observations was made by John Barnes who believed Scholari to be a good appointment but more importantly, a credible teacher to bring through the next England Coach probably ready for appointment in 2010. Perhaps the funniest has been from Graham Taylor, ex- England Manager who has slammed the FA as amateurs and acting as a disgruntled ex-employee should. Let us not forget this is the man who successfully guided England to the 1994 World Cup. Missed that one didn't you? Yep, me too.

What is certain is that the media will take their own plaudits for this farce but lay the blame squarely at the doors of the FA. The scribes will no doubt be congratulating themselves for putting the stick through the front wheel of the FA bicycle and causing the rider to go headfirst over the handlebars. It is after all not their jobs to have the best interests of English football at heart, despite their false protestations to the contrary. Indeed, it is in their best interests to wreck the structures and reputations of those involved as it is the only way in which they are able to write. Another example of this is Arsenal's qualification for the final of the Champions League. Instead of congratulating the club and having a positive spin on events, they were handing out brickbats for the performance and in some cases, having half of the squad leaving once the season is over. The journalists in question cannot wait for Barcelona to win so that their demolition of Wengers' team can continue, no doubt dreading Thierry Henry staying as it would make them all look like the incompetent naysayers that they are.

The standard of football journalism is in steady decline. There are very few worth reading, and none in the tabloids where original thought seems to be stifled and replaced by bile and petty jealousy. Not that football as an industry helps itself, with moronic behaviour being seen from the boardroom downwards. It is after all no longer a shock to pick up the papers and see that players are being caught on camera in compromising situations or sold down the river in a kiss and tell spectacular. What is surprising is that players do still get caught out, never seeming to learn from their predecessors.

Back to The FA though. Barwick and his cohorts on the recruitment panel are now in some serious trouble with this appointment. Not that being turned down by your chosen candidate for a role is by any means unusual - it happens in industry regularly - but it is the public withdrawal that hurts them. In particular, this has been a spectacular own goal for David Dein, Scholari's champion. Dein regularly gets negative publicity for his football politics. For Arsenal, he has proven a great director, appointing Wenger and getting the new stadium delivered but also he has got things wrong; the initial bond scheme for the North Bank Stand being part of a steep learning curve in relations with the fans. For England however, he draws stinging criticism from all quarters. The only visible target left at The FA for Erikssons detractors to aim at, he is reviled as the consumate football politician, decried for alledgedly wielding his influence to Arsenal's advantage - not proven, m'lud - he has everything that the hacks wish they could get, a successful business and football career, the ability to shape the game and money. Very few of the dogs could attain that, otherwise they would have done so.

He will no doubt have detractors within the machinations of Soho Square, relishing his discomfort over this appointment but this will be forgotten if England perform well at the World Cup. It is also his escape clause, which seems to have slipped below the radar of the media and footballing community. When England fail in 2008, 2010 or 2012, he will be able to point to todays events and quite rightly say, "What did you expect to happen when we did not get our first choice?". This is going to happen. And no-one can argue with it as it is based on an indefinable argument, namely what would have happened if Scholari had taken over. Not that the Fourth Estate will bear any of that in mind, the rampant egotism that ravages that once proud profession will see to that. It is a sad state of affairs when the journalists believe that they are more important than the subject they cover, robbing them of the obectivity they need to write effectively and shape change for the better. In football's case, this will never happen with the deterioration in the relationship between the pen and the pitch to continue scraping the bottom of new barrels indefinitely.

Todays Tunes come from Raw Artistic Soul, a collective heavily influenced by World Music backed onto some of the funkiest grooves this side of christendom. These are from 2005's album, What About Love.

What About Love

Corazon

Unbreak The Promise

Barcelona it is then on May 17th. Hardly surprising from the result in the first leg although like Villarreal, Milan can feel aggrieved at losing, particularly as Shevchenko's goal looked perfectly OK to me. Of the two, Barca were the team that I most wanted to see in the final and not simply because they are currently playing some of the best football in Europe. More that I think they will give Arsenal more chances to score with Valdes not looking shall we say, comfortable in goal. Milan also have to erase the memories of Istanbul which would have made them doubly determined to avoid defeat. Whichever team got through, Arsenal were always going to be the Underdogs although I find the premature obituaries being written this week somewhat irksome.

One other thing that is going to start building to a crescendo are the "Henry to Barcelona" stories that have already started again in earnest this week. First of all, Samuel Eto'o believed that Henry should join and now former clubmate, Gio Van Bronckhorst has repeated that "plea". Nothing short of the Frenchman signing a new deal at Arsenal is going to stop these stories and I have to say that I do not believe he will stay in London. The gap between the Champions League final and his departure is less than two weeks. It is inconceivable that Henry has not already made his decision nor that he will decide in the aforementioned timescale. I do not believe that the club can show more ambition for him than this seasons European achievements. He knows that the club is rebuilding domestically and gaining more experience as the season goes on. There will be more money available to Wenger in the Summer for bringing in more players. That Henry has not definitively laid his answer out is entirely his choice, one that he is entitled to make freely in his own time and as he rightly states, he owes nothing to anyone. He may garner even more respect if he outright admitted he needs a new challenge, and believes it to be away from Arsenal.

What is believable is that he does not want to deflate the atmosphere at the club by stating that he will not be renewing his contract before Paris. Sad but true. But there is the best part of three weeks to go and some important domestic football to resolve before minds can turn that to particular match, starting with Sunderland on Monday. It is important to gain maximum points from that visit and the one to the City of Manchester stadium one week today, to put pressure on Tottenham in the final match at West Ham on May 7th.

The long running saga of Sven Goran Erikssons successor appears to be drawing to a close if newspaper reports this morning are to be believed. These suggest that 'Life Of' Brian Barwick and his Legal counterpart at The FA are in Lisbon ironing out a deal with Gene Hackman to take over running the England team. Of the names that were interviewed for the role, he has no peers in terms of footballing achievements. Successful at club level in South America, a World Cup Winner and a runner - up at the last European Championships. That is a CV that English born managers can only look at with envy. In fact, very few managers worldwide can do anything other than turn a deep shade of green. If Big Phil takes the role as seems likely, then few can argue on footballing grounds about his appointment. Where much of the teacup's storm arises is in the "patriotism" being bandied around by various pressmen and footballing people. Most notably, the LMA is adamant that the next England Coach should be English, not a surprising view as they are the trade association of managers.

The question should be asked as to why there are no suitable candidates. And this is where The FA have let English football down badly. It should not have been left until Eriksson's appointment for succession planning to be put into place. This is something that clubs have carried out for years, not every single club but a number of them do. Unless an already experienced club manager had been appointed or Eriksson had been highly successful in his job, it was unlikely that his Number Two was going to gain sufficient experience during his tenure. The FA can point to the fact that Eriksson has contributed to this situation by terminating his contract early but this is somewhat disingenuous. It was painfully obvious at the time he extended his stay that Eriksson was unlikely to leave the role through footballing reasons. For some unknown reason, probably even the Swede could not provide the answer himself, Eriksson has been a walking PR disaster. His private life has been a tabloid editors dream, stumbling from one affair to another to fake sheik calamities. And yet, the majority of fans really do not care despite what the press would have us believe. I have yet to meet one person who believes that any of his dalliances have affected his performance as England coach. Based on results, Eriksson is one of the more successful England Coaches. His qualifying record is sound, the Quarter Finals of the 2002 World Cup and 2004 European Championships were the expected results. In both cases, it was disappointing not to progress further, certainly in the World Cup when facing ten men, England failed to capitalise. However, this does not detract from the fact that he was the most successful coach since Sir Bobby Robson. Venables may have taken England to the Euro 96 Semi Finals but that was the minimum that should have been achieved as they were the host team, playing all of their games at Wembley. Hoddle and Keegan were not unmitigated disasters as appointments, although Keegan came close, but the second round of France 98 and the Group Stages of Euro 2000 were not anything to write home about even if elimination was achieved in dubious circumstances. What should noted is that Keegan became unbalanced through the weight of expectation whilst Hoddle and Venables were more of a disaster than Eriksson, one being found to be dishonest in his business dealings and the other was just offensive and bigoted.

Which brings me to the second problem The FA faced, namely where are the experienced English Club Managers and what have they achieved? In this respect, there are factors in the domestic game that are beyond their control, the biggest of which is that clubs are free to appoint who they see as the most appropriate for the job of manager. The reality is that a prospective England Coach is going to come from a top flight club and one that has been successful to boot. If we go back to Sir Alf as a starting point, this is a pattern that held fast until Keegan's appointment. Prior to his time as England Manager, Ramsey had won back to back Championships with Ipswich, firstly the Second Division and then the First Division back in the days when they were exactly that, the top two flights of English Football. It was not surprising therefore when he was appointed shortly afterwards. When his successor was chosen, Don Revie was the man charged with translating his club achievements to the International arena something that he failed to do spectacularly, his methodology not finding a comfortable fit with the players nor the requirements of the job. It should be remembered that he was not an overnight success at Leeds, needing several years to blend his side together, a timescale simply not available to England managers then and now. Ron Greenwood was a vastly experienced coach on his appointment although not the candidate with the most honours - Brian Clough fulfilled that criteria but I doubt that he would get a look in at the job even if he were managing today, simply because of his personality. When Sir Bobby Robson joined the fray, it was on the back of the achievements of his Ipswich team, FA Cup Winners, UEFA Cup Winners and regular members of the top five in the First Division. Venables had achieved moderate success domestically but having managed Barcelona to the Spanish title and European Cup Final, he was top of his peer group. Even Hoddle had achieved something with Swindon and then Chelsea. Keegan however, was the first underachiever at club level to manage his country. No trophies adorned the Newcastle Cabinets during his tenure - not a unique circumstance at that club - and he had displayed an inability to cope with pressure during his charge to the runners-up spot, blowing up famously on Sky TV during the run-in. Which is where Eriksson came in. At club level, he had been a success in his native Sweden, Portugal and Italy. The only surprise was that he was appointed in the face of the media fury, Jeff Powell's diatribe against him being the one that sticks most in my mind. It was perhaps the first time the FA had gone against the wishes of the Fourth Estate and how they have suffered since. Indeed, Eriksson wryly commented that it was the first time in many years that he had not occupied the front or back pages whilst the FA searched for his replacement.

Since well before the inception of the Premiership, the number of Championship winning English managers has been less than the total of the digits on my hands. Working backwards, the last Englishman to manage a title winning side was Howard Wilkinson in 1992. Prior to that it was Howard Kendall, perhaps there is a theme running here. Of the winners of the League or Premiership title since 1980, I would suggest that the list of English managers is Brian Clough, Ron Saunders, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and the two Howards. Not impressive in terms of quantity.

And this highlights the biggest obstacle facing The FA, namely job stability. Uniquely amongst the upper echelons of European football, the successful English clubs do not have a high turnover of managers. In the last decade, neither Arsenal nor Manchester United have changed manager, which is a huge compliment to the present incumbents achievements. And yet compare this to Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Internazionale, Valencia, Roma, Bayern Munich and Juventus. All have changed managers, some the day after winning the League, even European Cups at those clubs are no guarantee of job security. In English football, only Liverpool and Chelsea of the top five teams in that time have appointed in the last two seasons, whilst Martin Jol has brought Tottenham up onto the periphary of that list. Given the dominance of those four sides, it is therefore unsurprising that no English manager has won anything of note. Indeed, should West Ham provide a massive upset in this seasons FA Cup Final, Alan Pardew will be, I believe, the first English Manager to win the trophy since Joe Royle in 1995. And that is for the seconday club trophy in this country. A decade since an Englishman has achieved anything of note. It is therefore little wonder that whilst Middlesbrough have not set the domestic league alight this season that McLaren, on the verge of a UEFA Cup Final, is flavour of the month. It will be interesting to see who the Glazers appoint as Sir Alex's replacement when he retires and who Arsenal opt for when Wenger leaves. Given the support David Dein has shown for Eriksson and Scholari, an Englishman should not be regarded as even a shoe-in for the shortlist for the Arsenal job. And therefore, the question remains as to where the next successful English manager will come from. Certainly, it would seem not from a domestic club. Perhaps we could export managers and they can continue to grow in a new environment but there are precious few English managers who have plied their trade abroad - Venables, Robson and Houghton are the only ones who spring to mind. The top four could yet surprise us and appoint one of McLaren, Alardyce et al as their next boss but there is at present seemingly little inclination to do so.

Todays Tunes are a mix of the old and the even older. First up is The Damned covering Pretty Vacant from 1978, a shambolic cover worth perservering through the Captains' halfwitted doodle at the start of the track, to get a track that sums up the Punk Era quite nicely. Second up is The Who with Substitute from Madison Square Gardens in 1996.

The Damned - Pretty Vacant

The Who - Substitute

Lo Hicimos!!!

Villarreal 0 - 0 Arsenal (Agg: 0 - 1)

It had been my hope to write todays review of the game eulogising over the flamboyant attacking play, pulverising the Spanish hosts into submission. Instead, the match panned out nothing like that. And do you know what? I could not give the backside of a rodent. Arsenal will be in Paris on May 17th 2006, contesting the 50th Champions Cup Final. I'm going to write that again as I can scarcely believe it. Arsenal will be in Paris on May 17th 2006, contesting the 50th Champions Cup Final. If I remember back to the first time I went regularly to Highbury, such an event seemed a millenium away. In those days, the League title was as steep a challenge as could be thought of. Hell, even winning the League Cup in 1987 was a big event. But this tops it all. This is what makes supporting your team worthwhile. Arsenal will be in Paris on May 17th 2006, contesting the 50th Champions Cup Final.

In truth the match itself will not be remembered with any fondness, the outcome being all that mattered. Which is just as well, as it was the second game in four days where we could have been dead and buried by half time. That it took virtually the whole ninety minutes for a clear chance to be created and almost taken is something that takes some getting used to. This is the first match in this campaign where Wengers' charges have surrendered possession and ground so readily in the first 70 minutes.

Of course, the real talking point of the match was the penalty. In a cosmic moment of justice, Jose Mari who was unfairly denied a penalty in the first leg, threw himself to the floor and must have thought all his birthdays had come at once when the Russian referee finally succumbed to the theatrics and pointed to the spot. Tension built, Riquelme struck it well, Lehmann having guessed right saved low to his left and gathered the rebound on the opposite side of the area. Had Riquelme converted the spot kick, then extra time would have been no more than the Valencians would have deserved. Franco had three chances to score with headers, although only one brought a save from Lehmann, Sorin should have scored with a shot from the left side of the area following a good lay-off from Senna, Riquelme hit two freekicks straight down Lehmann's throat and in order to keep the patronising tosh spouting from Clive Tyldesleys' trap, Forlan shot high and wide which description does little justice to the fact that Lehmann was already at his feet when he received the ball.

Arsenal's performance as a team was disjointed. Very little possession was retained for more than thirty seconds with everyone intent on giving their Spanish hosts as much ball practice as is humanly possible in the ninety minutes. Where there are positives to draw are that everyone chased and harried - would that they showed this commitment in the domestic games, Gilberto was once again outstanding in protecting the back four and deserves all the plaudits for being able to pass to a colleague rather than an opponent, and finally the returns of Campbell, very possibly earning his World Cup place with tonights performance, and Clichy who replaced Flamini early on and promptly ran 70 yards chasing a lost cause with so much enthusiasm.
Oh, one last positive: Arsenal will be in Paris on May 17th 2006, contesting the 50th Champions Cup Final.

The Revolution Is Being Televised

In many ways tomorrow's match in El Madrigal is the perfect antidote to the weekends North London derby. This is not a visit to Craven Cottage for a routine three points; it is the chance to reach the final of The Champions League, the pinnacle of European Club football. For the more experienced players - Henry, Pires, Lehmann, Campbell, Ljungberg - this is the match they have been working towards for the best part of a decade, and failing unspectacularly before now. The question is really about how the inexperienced players will cope with the pressure that they are now under. If the First Leg started nervously, then that cannot happen in the Second. A 1 - 0 advantage is a good lead to protect in many respects, no prospect of having to breakdown an obstinate defence, facing exit from the competition on the away goals rule. That said, concede the first goal and a second can quite easily follow, especially if the atmosphere can be described as, to use an overworked word, "hostile".

Which is where the enforced change that "Raging Bull" Wenger must make could work to his advantage. The knee injury suffered by Senderos is more serious than first thought, by me at least, and has precluded his travelling with the squad. An unfortunate even in his career as he has matured well this season - like a young Tony Adams, he is prone to the odd howler but holds his own for the most part. There is little doubt though that in Sol Campbell there is a more than adequate deputy. It seems strange to call Sol that, perhaps recognition of the strides Senderos has taken? However, despite the well-documented events of the West Ham game, Campbell is still one of the best centre halves in European football at the moment. Still possessing pace to recover positions, he brings a wealth of experience attained at the top level - two World Cups and European Championships for England, Semi Finals for Arsenal and Tottenham - that should help to calm the defence if needed. The flipside of this though, is that Campbell is a prime example of a confidence footballer. When things go well, he is a rock, when he plays badly, he can be attrocious. The two are not dependant on the team's performance - on many occasions in his Arsenal career, the team has not performed well but he has been a rock and it is this Sol Campbell that the team needs tomorrow night.

A welcome addition to the squad is the return of Gael Clichy, returning after an extended injury lay-off. I would be surprised if Raging Bull made two changes to what has otherwise been a reliable defence in Europe but Clichy is a useful substitute to have, allowing Flamini to be deployed further forward should any injury arise to Hleb, Fabregas, Ljungberg or Gilberto.

For the game itself, I do not expect Villarreal to charge forward in search of the opening goal. As such, they will look to contain Arsenal, preventing the counter - attacks from occurring whereever possible. They are in no rush to score, certainly in the first half. For whilst an early goal is desireable from their point of view, it is worth remembering that just one goal could earn them an additional thirty minutes of play. Their problem is that conceding one goal will probably condemn them to the exit door. Do not be fooled by the first leg, for they are a better team than that suggested. It will be a tough encounter but one that previous performances in the Santiago Bernabeu, Amsterdam Arena and Stadio Delle Alpi show Arsenal are capable of winning through to the final. Whether they can rise to the occasion remains to be seen. One thing is certain. Seven Forty Five GMT tomorrow evening cannot come soon enough.

England's new coach is likely to be announced shortly, with the received wisdom being that it is a straight race between Steve McLaren and Don Coreleone. Given the twists and turns so far in the media's coverage, it would not be a surprise to see Big Sam be appointed despite the best efforts of the collective wit of the press pack. To my untrained eye, McLaren was dealt a savage blow on Sunday. Not because Middlesbrough lost to West Ham - although this should have damaged him in the press's eye as he is now only favourite due to his sides upturn in form - but more based on the fact that his club captain thinks he is too inexperienced. The individual in question should not be ignored; Gareth Southgate is an experienced footballer who has seen the highs and lows of the game and puts his points across eloquently. More importantly, if his senior playing deputy does not think he is ready for the job, then it is difficult to see how McLaren can be offered the role. Not that the FA have ever relied on logic in any decision-making process before now. However, The Don is also distancing himself publicly although this is possibly more of a PR exercise for the Portuguese public, so who is left. The only man who has consistently made it clear that he wants the job is Big Sam. Whilst you may think I am flogging a dead horse, at least he has made it clear he is keen to take the step into the breach. For all those who say McLaren has shown tact and diplomacy in his handling of the speculation, the same can be said of Allardyce. Personally, I care not one jot about the diplomacy. I want an England Coach who is prepared to put his heart on his sleeve and come out and say he wants the job. Put him and Stuart Pearce on the touchline and the motivational issue disappears. Pearce would be a good second in command to have and is sure to be an England Manager in the next decade, if his career continues on the same path it currently is.

Enough of this drivel for one day though - Todays Tunes bring back the spirit of the late 70's with a couple of demos by The Ruts:

Something That I Said

Babylon's Burning

Blackman's Pinch (AKA Give Youth A Chance)

Back's To The Wall

Arsenal 1 - 1 Tottenham

0 - 1 Keane (68)
1 - 1 Henry (84)

The result has considerable implications for both teams; for Tottenham, their fate is in their own hands and there is a real chance that they could now finish higher than their more illustrious neighbours; for Arsenal, the pressure is now on to win the Champions League, if that is the European Competition that they wish to participate in next season - probably a step too far - and there is now a real increase in the probability that Henry will not renew his contract with the club, although I personally feel that this decision was taken months ago with the announcement being left until the end of the season so as not to be disruptive to the Arsenal season. I would be completely amazed if Arsenal have not already lined up a replacement - can you replace the seemingly irreplaceable? - who is strongly rumoured to be Fernando Torres.

Let us make no mistake about yesterdays game; there is one reason why Arsenal failed to win - team selection. And for that one man must step forward, a gallic stride if you will Monsieur Wenger. A habit that he has got into over recent years is one that I disagree with but one that I understand the reasons for, namely the resting of key players before a big European tie. Whilst he may believe, and this season has proved him right so far, that he wants his players fresh, especially those such as Henry and Fabregas, for a testing upcoming match, he undermines his argument by naming them on the bench. There is as much likelihood of them suffering an injury in forty minutes of the second half as there is starting the match and being substituted. Surely it would have been better to have an hour of Henry, Fabregas and Eboue and try to establish a two goal lead than to try to nick a one goal win in the last half an hour? As it was, Arsenal were only in the game when he allowed his "key three" onto the pitch due to Lehmann's performance and some woeful finishing from Tottenham. He conceded fourth place the minute he made five changes to the team that played Villarreal on Wednesday of last week. I can understand the absence of Hleb who looked knackered but Freddie would have suited yesterdays' match. This result mirrors the team two seasons ago. A Cup Semi Final against Manchester United was sacrificed for a European game the following week. Let us hope that the result is better this time round when having secured an away draw at Stamford Bridge, the Champions League disappeared over the horizon in the second half in the return leg.

All of this is somewhat lost in today's papers though. The spat between Arsene Wenger and Martin Jol - "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!" seems to be a quick summary of what was said- is using all of the column inches. To be blunt, the "reserves" were not up to the job. They played like a team who have not played a match together which is exactly what they were.

The match itself was not a bad game. It was certainly not a blood and thunder derby and the consolation that Arsenal can take is that the draw still leaves a somewhat slimmer chance for fourth place than existed on Saturday morning. Taino had three clear chances and the impressive Aaron Lennon one before Michael Carrick left the defence on its' collective Arsenal but somehow failed to score in front of the North Bank. Keane's goal that sparked the amazing outburst by Wenger, was one that you complain about conceding but quite happily take the brickbats for scoring. Two Arsenal players, Gilberto and Eboue, clashed and were injured near the halfway line leaving Carrick free to put it in a decent cross that took out Djourou and Lehmann leaving a simple tap-in for an in-form Keane. Wenger promptly had words with Jol, whilst Psycho Pires and Loopy Lehmann decided to take on Davids. The myopia that Jol suffered from is obviously a problem induced by Highbury as Wenger has seen nothing since arriving at the club! None of which cut any ice and resulted in an increased tempo from Arsenal looking for an equaliser. This duly arrived from the most predictable source, Henry slotting home from Adebayour's knock down. In a frenetic final quarter, Davids managed to prove there is still fight in the old Bulldog yet by getting himself sent off for a petulant lunge after he had been denied what appeared to be a legitimate free-kick.

So where does this leave Arsenal. Well, as a start there are no fresh injuries for Villarreal on Tuesday. Henry has got himself all angry again, as he did before the first leg, and will be looking to exact punishment on the Costa del Azahar. For the League, trips to Sunderland and Manchester City coupled with the final match at Highbury, the visitors being Wigan, it is now a case of having to yield nine points. In the meantime, Tottenham entertain a Bolton side who have rediscovered their goal touch with yesterday thrashing of Charlton, 4 - 1 being flattering on The Valiants. Final match of the season for them is a visit to Upton Park which may still require a victory for the hosts to guarantee a UEFA Cup place, something that could turn into a battle royale between Blackburn, Newcastle and West Ham - Wigan are already there.

As for Wenger, the priority is now to qualify for the Champions League final, a task for which the team have put themselves into a decent position. Villarreal put out a similarly weakened sign yesterday and lost 0 - 2 to Real Sociedad, a result that effectively consigns them to the Intertoto Cup unless they win the Champions League. All of which lines up what will be the tensest ninety minutes of the campaign to date. And, of course, the biggest game of the season so far...

Todays Tunes come from The Chords, power modsters of 1979 - 1982's Mod Revival, and one of the better bands of the genre. These come from a Live gig at The Rainbow:

British Way Of Life

Maybe Tomorrow