Week12: Bolton 3 - 1 Arsenal
I can't say I am surprised we didn't win. In fact, I downright expected a right mauling after the first 20 minutes. But when Gilberto scored to make it 2-1 before the break, I thought I saw some fighting spirit, fire, an eagerness to get back. So I was right there, back in it believing we could recover. We came back from the break and played better; we seemed to cease moaning about the harsh challenges, or perhaps they didn't challenge us as harshly. Then Nik Anelka scored his second forthe game to make it 3-1, Bolton. I was okay with the loss, even though the boys kept fighting, which was nice to see.
I am surprisingly quite relaxed about this loss. Not my usual irritated self. I don't really know why. I've been more annoyed by our recent draws. I think, it's because we did't have 25 shots at goal which weren't converted, and of course that I didn't expect us to win anyway. I reckon we had about 10/12 shots before the final 5-10 minutes.
I can't really hate Bolton, not even Diouf. I hate the way Everton played us for example. But, this Bolton team, I can't hate them for this display; they scored 3 goals and played really well esp Diouf, Campo, and Anelka. Diouf is an interesting, wily player: his antics make him fascinating to me because, he is genuinely talented and clearly very strong mentally (except the box his wife part - that's disgusting. she should leave him!).
I didn't see the draw to the Toons, like I said. I still can't figure out if they (Toons) scored from a counter-attack. I sure hope so, because I keep thinking where the hell were our Centerbacks? Dyer struck from the middle. I know Eboue was tracking him but still, at that point somebody should have been there lending support.
Which brings me to this: Toure/Adebayor just lost concentration for the first goal by Faye. Either that, or the team was zone-defending, which of course is even worse to contemplate. Or, the team needs somebody or two to communicate and bark orders in the box to remind players to stick with men before teh ball is flighted. It might keep them awake. They need to definitely bark at each other to stay awake in these situations. i still don't know what led to Bowyer scoring, and it irritates me. I didn't see what led to Van Der Vaart scoring in the CL game on Tuesday for that matter.
Be that as it may, I have been reluctant to lump the blame with the defense for our bad results. But today, we conceded 3 goals. Okay, one was offside, but still. We are still kyte as setpieces. The second Anelka goal was a result of our players (Eboue) preferring to backup rather than get stuck in and put some pressure on the attacking player. Ironically, this is how Bolton play us, they don't let us breathe. I know Gallas is missing at the back which is destabilizing, but it may well be time to pay fresh attention to our defensive organization.
Final word: Thierry Henry. It kinda irritates me that he suffered some mysterious, minor injury. Obviously, I don't know if he's really injured or not. But, it makes me suspicious because it was delat with secretively. When Gallas was injusred, we knew straight away, he was injured in training and it was a thing injury. I still don't fucking know what's plaguing Thierry Henry. It makes me suspicious. It makes me think the captain is not committed to a cause that pays him 120K a week. Which reminds me: the next time he complains about missing Highbury, somebody better tell him he gets paid obscene amounts of money that should ease the pain. I never understood why friends of minehated him (TH14). He's been getting on my nerves slowly since he declined that slated move to Barca. (It's no secret, a part of me wanted him to leave. I was curious to see how he fares outside of Arsenal. A totally unsentimental reason. I can be unsentimental, you know :=))
I guess, I have to be realistic. The goal is a top 4 spot for this season. I should get behind ManU tomorrow and enjoy the game, which is sad really; I don't like any of their players except Saha. But, I'll tell you something; they can play with unbelievable amounts of pace.
I am surprisingly quite relaxed about this loss. Not my usual irritated self. I don't really know why. I've been more annoyed by our recent draws. I think, it's because we did't have 25 shots at goal which weren't converted, and of course that I didn't expect us to win anyway. I reckon we had about 10/12 shots before the final 5-10 minutes.
I can't really hate Bolton, not even Diouf. I hate the way Everton played us for example. But, this Bolton team, I can't hate them for this display; they scored 3 goals and played really well esp Diouf, Campo, and Anelka. Diouf is an interesting, wily player: his antics make him fascinating to me because, he is genuinely talented and clearly very strong mentally (except the box his wife part - that's disgusting. she should leave him!).
I didn't see the draw to the Toons, like I said. I still can't figure out if they (Toons) scored from a counter-attack. I sure hope so, because I keep thinking where the hell were our Centerbacks? Dyer struck from the middle. I know Eboue was tracking him but still, at that point somebody should have been there lending support.
Which brings me to this: Toure/Adebayor just lost concentration for the first goal by Faye. Either that, or the team was zone-defending, which of course is even worse to contemplate. Or, the team needs somebody or two to communicate and bark orders in the box to remind players to stick with men before teh ball is flighted. It might keep them awake. They need to definitely bark at each other to stay awake in these situations. i still don't know what led to Bowyer scoring, and it irritates me. I didn't see what led to Van Der Vaart scoring in the CL game on Tuesday for that matter.
Be that as it may, I have been reluctant to lump the blame with the defense for our bad results. But today, we conceded 3 goals. Okay, one was offside, but still. We are still kyte as setpieces. The second Anelka goal was a result of our players (Eboue) preferring to backup rather than get stuck in and put some pressure on the attacking player. Ironically, this is how Bolton play us, they don't let us breathe. I know Gallas is missing at the back which is destabilizing, but it may well be time to pay fresh attention to our defensive organization.
Final word: Thierry Henry. It kinda irritates me that he suffered some mysterious, minor injury. Obviously, I don't know if he's really injured or not. But, it makes me suspicious because it was delat with secretively. When Gallas was injusred, we knew straight away, he was injured in training and it was a thing injury. I still don't fucking know what's plaguing Thierry Henry. It makes me suspicious. It makes me think the captain is not committed to a cause that pays him 120K a week. Which reminds me: the next time he complains about missing Highbury, somebody better tell him he gets paid obscene amounts of money that should ease the pain. I never understood why friends of minehated him (TH14). He's been getting on my nerves slowly since he declined that slated move to Barca. (It's no secret, a part of me wanted him to leave. I was curious to see how he fares outside of Arsenal. A totally unsentimental reason. I can be unsentimental, you know :=))
I guess, I have to be realistic. The goal is a top 4 spot for this season. I should get behind ManU tomorrow and enjoy the game, which is sad really; I don't like any of their players except Saha. But, I'll tell you something; they can play with unbelievable amounts of pace.
posted by knikik at 4:41 PM
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