Negativity of a nasty minority is not helping

Firstly as I know some rather small minded individuals will be reading this and looking for another needless fight, I shall explain myself clearly and simply.  Yesterday saw us win a game of football against an Aston Villa side that were on a fairly reasonable run of form.  I know it was far from perfect, and yes, several of our recurrent problems, most notably our defensively susceptibility to the counter attack, were obvious.  However the side did show a lot of character, they rallied when it would have been far easier to let their heads drop, they fought back to get a vital win and the three points which keep us well in the race for the Champions League spots.

Some seem to think that games against Villa should be 'big games', the breathtaking arrogance shown by this kind of Arsenal supporter is demonstrative of a quite remarkable hypocrisy, as this brand of Arsenal fan is often quick to accuse our own players of complacency, their complacency is assuming that not every league game is a big important three points for the taking is so deeply hypocritical.  It is also this breed who never gives any credit to the opposition, any game not won in style is always to be blamed on someone from our own camp, it is the blame game, never show humility and never show any respect for the opposition.

Villa did well, their tactics were spot on, and although one can make a very strong argument that we should have been far wiser in our dealing with their swift counter attacks, credit must go to them, they also defended well for the most part.  Lambert does appear to be building a good young side and it will take him time, if they can stay up then they will only grow, the problem for them is that it is very much touch and go as to whether they will stay up, their lack of an ability to hold on to leads has cost them so many points in recent weeks.

I think Arsene needs to wake up and realise that the way we have played 4-3-3 is defensively extremely naive.  My personal view is that we do not have the correct players to play 4-3-3 adequately, and that Arsene has used it because it allows him to play numerous attacking central players.  The problem is that this has meant our side has frequently lacked defensive balance and often attacking width.  We were simply leaving ourselves outnumbered at the back on too many occasions yesterday, defenders were bombing forward and the gaps were not being plugged, so Villa often countered with a numerical advantage and this had to tell at some point, it has been a recurrent problem at the Emirates for many months now.

Whatever the manager's failings and whatever the inadequacies of certain players, it certainly does the team absolutely no good to get on their backs, everyone would benefit from the support of all the fans for all of our matches.  Unfortunately this isn't happening and a negative minority of our own support are really harming our chances.  Players like Gervinho may not be good enough, but do people honestly think it helps anyone other than our opposition to boo and barrack these individuals?  It is so so depressing and so so counter-productive.  I wonder how many of Bergkamp/Pires/Anelka/Wiltord/Henry/Toure would have been booed by this current crop of spoilt supporters, it is worth remembering how many of our greats took a long time to find their feet and benefited from the patience of our 'supporters'.

One player that it is absolutely vital the supporters get behind is the goalkeeper, especially when this goalkeeper is young and relatively inexperienced.  Some would do well to remember that Wojciech Szczesny has only player just over 70 first team games, and overall he has done a damn fine job for one so young.  He is the best young keeper out there for me, of course he has made errors, even the best experienced keepers will do this and every keeper goes through a bad run of form.  His error against Blackburn was poor, however he was not to blame for Munich's second goal, and yesterday he was given far too much criticism for Villa's goal, it was a belting low shot from Weimann, maybe he could have saved it, but it was certainly not a howler.  Our young keeper needs our support not the fickle criticism that he is getting from some of our 'support'.

So there you have it, I am sorry if I am short circuiting some of your 'Wenger Out' brains by criticising the manager and also urging you all to support all of our players all of the time, but frankly I am fed up to the back teeth with the fickle arrogance that some of our spoilt supporters are showing.  It is not big, it is not clever and most importantly is is not helping the club, in fact the only people it is helping is Tottenham and Chelsea in battling us for the CL spots.  So grow up, support the players when they are on the pitch and stop moaning like spoilt babies.  I have no problem with criticism of the manager, players and the board, but is must be done with respect, and at the right time and in the right place.  Abusing our own during home games is simply not on.

Brilliant Bayern deserve applause and Arsene doesn't deserve ignorant abuse

I had a feeling that we were going to lose, Bayern are simply a fantastic football side, packed full of classy athletes, so cohesive as an attacking and defensive unit, they were simply a class above us on the night.  Sometimes one simply has to hold up one's hands and give immense credit to the opposition, and I think last night was one of those nights.  Bayern were top notch and must have a great chance of being champions this year.

I haven't posted much recently and there has been a reason for this, although our recent form has been distinctly mediocre, this hasn't been the reason.  Frankly I am sick to the back teeth of the way that the media and some Arsenal fans have been treating our manager, Arsene Wenger.  As many of you know I am a regular critic of some of his tactics, signings and overall management.  Still, nothing is an excuse for the rank lack of respect shown to him by so many people who should know so much better.

Nothing can excuse this lack of respect that results in disgusting abusive vitriol, that results in a really negative atmosphere at home games, that results in people laughing and joking at someone who is giving his all for the club, that results in factually incorrect news stories being printed because people can't be bothered to check the most basic of facts, and that results in some ridiculous hysterical comments which are so deluded they have absolutely zero grasp of reality.

The last few years have most definitely had their problems but is is ludicrous to see them as a total dismal failure, and it is equally flawed to ignore what has been achieved on a relative shoe string budget in recent years.  Practically there are many things that Arsene would probably do differently if given another chance, the problem is the reality of the situation: several other clubs have almost infinite budgets, Arsene has had his hands tied in the transfer market, the support Arsene has had from the board has been grossly inadequate and Arsene has been let down by some rather dishonest ungrateful individuals.

In all honesty I am absolutely fed up with the attitude of many journalists and some of our own support.  It is irrelevant how badly one judges we are doing, even if we were near the relegation zone, it would never excuse some of the pathetic vitriol that is being dished in the manager's direction.  Bayern are a great club and gave us a lesson, let's give them credit, and let's stop acting like spoilt toddlers, if one can never appreciate what's in one's glass, then one becomes a  fucking miserable pathetic bitter individual and that's not nice.  Football is a sport, Arsene is a good human being and let's just show a little bit more respect for each other.  Let's support the players on the pitch and treat our greatest ever manager with a bit more respect.

Alex Ferguson abuses with impunity (again)

 

"The stand-side linesman [Beck] didn’t give us a thing all day. For me it was a poor performance by him. Why he never saw the penalty kick from Wayne Rooney, some other decisions, we remember him well from his time at the Chelsea game when Drogba was three yards offside and he gave onside."

“He had a shocking game. I’m disappointed in his performance, I really am. He had a bad game and we never got anything on that side of the pitch. But you’re 1-0 up with a minute to go and comfortable at that stage.”

 

The above quotes are yet another example of the disgusting behaviour of Sir Alex Ferguson.  It seems that this nasty man is allowed to bully, abuse and intimidate officials with an impunity that is not afforded to anyone else in English football.

 

All other managers are charged by the FA when they criticise officials in such a fashion, in a way that is deliberately designed to intimidate and influence future decision making.  For example Sam Allardyce was charged last week for some similar comments on officials, arguably his were much milder than Ferguson's.

 

The FA's inaction on this is a disgrace and shows that football is overtly corrupt in this country.  Manchester United have too much power and have a free reign in ways that other clubs do not.  The referee selection process is just part of this, the systematic bias in Manchester United's favour is beyond a disgrace, and the way that Ferguson gets away with murder gives their game away.  The title might as well be handed out by Sir Alex, this would only be slightly less fair than the current system.

Schizophrenic Arsenal the victims of cheating Chelsea

Ultimately we couldn't recover from a terrible, an utterly terrible, start to the game.  Chelsea hammered us for the first twenty minutes and we were lucky that we came in only 2 nil down at half time.  Defensively we were shambolic, Bacary Sagna was caught badly out of position for both Chelsea goals, admittedly Diaby's loss of possession for the second was also woeful.  Generally we were all over the shop, we couldn't keep the ball and we didn't look good without the ball, a lethal combination.

Too many players didn't turn up in the first period of the game, we looked so defensively brittle, there wasn't enough shape when Chelsea attacked, and we frequently left too many men forward, playing right into Chelsea's hands by leaving ourselves very very vulnerable to the counter attack.  It was very frustrating that Chelsea's second also came as a result of a clear dive by Ramires, he deliberately hurled his leg at Szczesny rather than going for the ball, a clear piece of cheating.  There was also a blatant yellow card foul in the build up to Chelsea's first, Coquelin clattered late by Ramires' studs up challenge.

It is hard to put a finger on just exactly went wrong in the first half, but if I had to point somewhere it would be at our defensive performance.  This was personified by the lacklustre positioning of Bacary Sagna, a player who has been our most reliable in recent seasons, but who has not looked his self of late.  The overall balance of the team is wrong as well, we have no width on the left, only Kieran Gibbs gets wide, there wasn't enough beef in the middle too, Coquelin did pretty well on the whole, but Diaby looked as one would expect him to look, slightly rusty and off the pace.

The most frustrating thing is that this Chelsea side is eminently beatable, we opened them up on numerous occasions, especially in the second half, and could have easily escaped with a point after the much better second half performance.  We seemed to battle more in midfield, we pressed better, we worked harder, and Chelsea did drop off the pace that they set early doors.  Walcott's finish was superb from Cazorla's slide rule pass, he looked dangerous all afternoon and with better timing of his runs could easily have had a hat trick.  Giroud worked hard, missed a good early chance and so nearly equalised at the death, his header had Cech beaten but was just a couple of inches over.

We have it all to do to even scrape the top four this season and frankly if we don't bring in a couple of players this window then I can't see us doing it.  We lack quality on the bench in several areas.  We are reasonably well off for defenders, my main concern here is the form of Bacary Sagna.  In midfield we lack some power, we could badly do with a strong ball winning type to add some more depth to Arteta's guile, I also think we need some more quality wide midfielders, we have so many central players but so few who can offer us width.  As for strikers, if Podolski plays centrally we are not badly off, if he doesn't then we definitely need one more.  Finally it is well worth considering just how much Chelsea have spent and how average they are as a team, we gave as good as we got today, despite the fact that our side cost a tiny proportion of their team's cost.  All that glitters is not gold.

FA charge Allardyce for daring to speak truth

'The one difference between Rafael’s handball and Spence’s was that Jordan plays for West Ham away against Manchester United and Rafael plays at home at Old Trafford........'It's got to be that simple. Phil Dowd was in the perfect position. Rafael pushes the ball away with his left arm. No penalty. Go to the other end and the ball hits Jordan’s hand. If you give one you have to give both, simple as that.'

It is utterly pathetic that the FA have charged Sam Allardyce for daring to point out the terrible bias of referees in favour of Manchester United.  His comments above are simply a fact, Dowd's refereeing was inconsistent and biased.  

The biggest disgrace in all this is that the FA routinely do nothing when Alex Ferguson abuses, intimidates and says far worse about referees.  This is because the FA are in Manchester United's pocket, as are the referees' body, the PGMOL.

The sad fact is that Manchester United play by very different rules to everyone else.  The Premier League, the FA and the PGMOL are all the servants of Manchester United, for very different reasons.  The other grim fact in all this is that football in England is not fair as a result, the playing field is not level, and this corrupt state of affairs makes everything so much easier for Manchester United than it should be.

A 1-0 battering

That was more like it, although the game remained on a knife edge for most of the second half, it was as relaxing a 1-0 win as you will see.  There was a brief moment in the first half when we could have gone behind, Bartley drifted in behind Per, and hit the bar with a free header, a real let off.  However after that scare Swansea created very little, Szczesny was was forced into one decent left handed save in the second half, but that was it, for the remained we huffed, we puffed and eventually Swansea's house crumbled.

The first half was a little bitty, we did start to dominate as it wore on but Swansea were decent, pressing reasonably effectively for the most, although we did create some great spaces in the box, but our finishing wasn't up to the task.  In the second half we upped it a few gears, Swansea couldn't keep the ball, we outmanoeuvred them all over the field, wave after wave of attack came, a mixture of poor finishing, luck and a bit more luck meant we had to wait until a final ten minutes for the break through.

Theo had missed a few decent chances, one clear cut one on one where he was put off by a cynical clip and tug by the Swansea defender, just enough to put him off and push him wide, making it harder to score, Clattenberg bottled the decision in my eyes. Vorm made some decent saves, there were a couple of rather fortunate goal line clearances, there were a few slightly wasteful finishes.  The effort could not be faulted though, the tempo did not drop, we keep pushing and eventually our reward came.  Giroud's deft little flick fell beautifully for Jack, who thumped the ball low beyond Vorm from outside the box, a fantastic shot perfectly timed.

It was a much more encouraging team effort overall.  Although Jack will take all the plaudits, and rightly so, it must be noted that his attacking license was given to him by the excellent and industrious Coq, a very solid performance with some good attacking moments too.  Gibbs and Vermaelen were excellent too, Santi had a good second half, Diaby was a little peripheral but that is to be expected given his long absence, Giroud was outstanding in all he did, Theo was involved and on another night could have scored several with a tad more luck.

There isn't a great deal lacking from this kind of starting eleven, the problem comes that we cannot field this team twice a weak and the squad is not deep enough to cope.  Bodies are still very much need in this window.  Finally a word for our opponents Swansea, they are a great side, a credit to football and it is a shame to see them go out of the cup, not that much of a shame though!

Dean the destroyer

Firstly I don't deny we have our problems, of course we do, our squad is not strong enough, we have some gaping holes that need filling in this regard and City's squad is miles ahead of us at the moment.  Secondly I don't deny our defending was sloppy for the two first half goals we conceded today.  The problem was that Mike Dean killed the game today by a ridiculous decision to send off Koscielny early on in the first half and this decision was utterly pivotal in our defeat, to deny this is simply nonsensical.

"Denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity"

I am sure that the many media numpties will use the above quote to justify the terrible Mike Dean decision.  By this logic pretty much every foul in the penalty would be a red card, as most penalty area fouls prevent a clear goal scoring opportunity.  The rule is certainly not black and white, it is inherently subjective, and the fact of the matter is that the type of foul committed on Dzeko by Koscielny virtually never results in a red card.  The fact that Dzeko himself didn't even know if it was a red card proves my point, players only say this when they know the referee has royally buggered up.

Kos held Dzeko back in the box, it might have been a yellow on a bad day, a straight red was an absurd and nonsensical decision to make.  The 'goal scoring opportunity' rule was brought in to stop the professional foul, when a man is slotted through on goal and is taken down cynically, this was most definitely not that, Koscielny simply held Dzeko back from a hopeful flick on that he was not actually going to get on the end of.  It was emphatically not the clean through on goal with time and space scenario that is meant by the rule book's phrase 'obvious goal scoring opportunity'.

It is a remarkable statistic that Arsenal have won just one game in the 17 games that Mike Dean has presided over in recent years, if the Premier League were not a corrupt organisation then this would be something that they would investigate, such is the statistical freak of this run of bad decisions.

I have lost all faith in the standard and consistency of officiating in the Premier League, and Mike Dean provided us all with a great case study of just how bad the problem is today.  He wrecked a game before it had really got going, he interpreted the rules wrongly with absolutely zero common sense and it is not the first time has has shafted us with a bad incoherent piece of decision making.  Mike Dean, you are a disgrace to football and you are symptomatic of the shabby state of refereeing and referee selection in this country.  Shame on you.