Wenger:"It was a mistake on my part"

One of the things I really love about football is trying to seam together the things that happen behind the scenes by sheer force of conjecture of course.

One of the things that has been troubling me this season has been man management. Specifically, I posted on Goonerboy my concern vis a vis how much playing time Cesc has put in. I even cited recalling Fergie (the Purple-faced one) deliberately limiting Ronaldo's playing time when Ronaldo was 19 citing his age and development.(Oh, look at Ronaldo now).

It just kinda bothered me that that discussion didn't seem to feature in Wenger's planning and actions. Now, according to this BBC article, "Fabregas, 19, has played 45 games this campaign - more than any other Arsenal player - and claims he is close to burn-out."

He said: "I am looking forward to the summer - I am counting the days. I need one summer to rest."

He is CLOSE to burn out! Well we expect he will be burnt out by the end of the season. To me that certainly has been a mistake on Wenger's part: goose, gander, good. Kolo Toure though not @ young, developmental phase has also played way too many games. He must have been at least PARTLY relieved to get a three match ban.

So this mea culpa from Wenger is interesting.

Wenger claims he should not have tried to win every competition.

"Once we knew we were in the final of the Carling Cup we should have sacrificed the FA Cup because in the end it caught up with us," he said.

"It was a mistake on my part. In future our priority should be to qualify from the Champions League group - and then take it from there."

Well, all those replays were predictably bad for us. But unless we sort out the shooting, teh replays will continue.

Euro2008: Israel 0-0 England

HAHAHA!!!!!!

The ship where I am willing England to win big games sailed after the World Cup. Sorry. Now, what I have can only be described as mild schaudenfreude. But in fact, I just want everybody to concede that England are just not good, and that this generation of players just cannot compete with world class sides.

So, it's a pity that Gerrard has to play for England then for, he is a truly superb player; he doesn't deserve being in the English side. Poor thing.

It was the same ol' crap then. Actually I can't say I watched the (entire) game. I had the game on, but I wasn't watching: the game was for extremely long segments unwatchable.

I saw Gerrard deliver two AMAZING crosses; Lennon race down the LHS and deliver one very good cross, and Rooney bitching and moaning. Towards the end, Defoe came on and had a decent chance saved by the (very good) Israeli keeper. Ironic innit? If the Israeli keeper was good, then England couldn't have been that bad? No, wrong: they were awful if you buy the hype that they should be competing at the highest level.

Gerrard is excellent. Lennon is exciting but suffers from the regular problems that plague the younger players: lack of consistency and concentration. Why didn't Dyer start? He has been lively for Newcastle and I think he is left-footed. Actually, they should try that Huddlestone guy from Spuds; he is a good passer of the ball.


Anywho. So that's that. We will all be better served as soon as the media accept that England are playing as well as they can. And that in fact, they over-achieved at the World Cup.

Gilberto in Central Defence

How come no one has answered this question:

Gilberto playing in central defence?

I know this is makeshift strategy, but. Obviously, Gilberto in central defence when Toure was suspended is beyond doubt. But, when Kolo is back on the side, is this the best approach?

I am not really sure what I think of it yet. I've always thought Gilberto is indispensable to the team. But I thought this of his position in midfield.

When Kolo and Djourou are both fit, is playing Gilberto as a CD really the best option of lousy options? I have no intellectual reason to object, but my gut tells me, not.

Both Kolo and Gilberto are good players anywhere on the pitch, but. Gilberto gives us something irreplaceable in midfield (I know this because, remember when he had back problems?). I am just not convinced Gilberto in midfield is something we should fuck with when it can be avoided.

BTW: I am not questioning Gilberto's performance as a CD. I am questioning the invisible void he leaves in midfield by occupying a spot in CD.

When Djourou is fit, let him play on the right or Hoyte even (his development has been impressive), and slot Flamini on the left. Keep Toure and Gallas in the middle with Gilberto in front of them. That's my gut feel. two key players out of position seems too much.

Flamini isn't injured, is he?

Arsenal's 2006-2007 Season

Okay, I have calmed down enough to not leave stupidiy and emotions. Our season ended for all intents and purposes last Wednesday @ home against PSV. As has been pointed out repeatedly, in 11 days our callow but precocious players morphed from heroes to zeroes as we crashed out of three cup title chases.

I was disappointed but hardly surprised. Come on, we had shitty, shitty start to the season; the only thing that has been consistent about our quality has been its inconsistency. We have drawn or lost too many games our quality should guarantee us 3 points. Even in the Champions League we were inconsistent: We beat Hamburg away (0-2), beat Porto @ home (2-0), lost to CSKA Moskva away (1-0)then drew to the latter @ home(0-0); romped Hamburg @ home (3-1), drew against Porto (0-0) away. Wow, seems amazing we won 2-0 against Porto. Hamburg don't count; Porto thrashed them 4-1.

Second, the injuries haven't helped either.

Third, and this is probably unpopular, it was unrealistic to think we could win titles with mostly youngsters just breaking into the team. Yes, these youngsters are good, but. I think/hope Arsene Wenger was thinking future titles here.

Fourth, I worried that Cesc was asked to play too often and was likely to tire. You could say the same for all the youngsters as the fixture congestion peaked. But Cesc deserves special mention, he has played a lot of games too soon for a young man. I don't know that he is burnt out; I am just saying.

For me the season is over it's going to be really hard to care. I mean I want us to qualify for a CL spot but, other than eeeh. Well that's what I thought after the uplifting aftermath of the sorry 11 days.

But here's the thing that hit me today: football as entertainment. The Guradian's Fiver wonders if 8/10 fans will be watching football in 10 years. This following the survey-inspired proposal to abolish draws and replace them with penalty shootouts in the Championship. The argument is, fans like shootouts.
(I don't really want to get into this, I haven't decided what I make of the idea.)

Arsene Wenger is very committed to football as entertainment. Sometimes his commitment appears foolhardy when it does not yield victories and trophies. As an Arse fan, it can be frustrating. But. I'd rather watch Arsenal brand football than the dross served out by Chelsea and Man City yesterday. Chelsea won but, "what crap!"
So, while I am not going to fuss too much about our results (I fully expect we'll keep 3rd/make 4th spot), I AM going keep watching Arsenal not becuase I support the team but because they provide excellent, excellent entertainment.

Voting with my attention and my dollar

Luton sack boss Mike Newell

And justice for all!

According to the BBC, Newell, the Dick who earlier this season claimed female referees were incompetent and shouldn't be allowed to ref in the Championship has been sacked... wait for it... for incompetence!

Sweet, sweet, cosmic justice.
You couldn't fuckin' make it up.
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I can't believe I am follow the goings on in the Championship. I have never cared about the Championship. this is season is different though. I am being sucked in.

ON THE CARLING CUP SCUFFLE

Kolo Toure reacted and he shouldn't have; it was stupid, but one can undeerstand it: he's human. How many fucking times must Arsenal put up with teams wasting time just

Adebayor was wrongly sent off. It's a case of mistaken identity. He was livid for the injustice. He obviously tried to get an explanation as why he was being sent off when what he did was no worse than Cesc. Don't what the ref said. But, I'll tell you what he did that made Ade even more livid. The Ref put his hand on Ade's back in a "kind" gesture to motion Ade to leave the pitch. Watch the video, every time everybody touches Ade, he explodes in anger to remove himself from that body/human contact. It's called cultural differences. If the Premiership is going to be a cosmopolitan international league, refs must be instructed in multicultural issues.

Let me clarify this for our western friends. Africans don't like being touched insincerely. To wrong someone so egregiously and then try to placate them via body contact will get you an explosive response from most Africans. The touch is insincereand interpreted as a way to deceive or distract. "Don't touch me!" Don't fucking wrong me me and then touch me" My head will explode.

Watch the video again. Once the ref shows his red card, every time someone touches Ade, he motions to get those hands off me.

Now, I know he is playing in England and should know better or something. But, I don't it's possible to divorce yourself from things/behaviour that are part of your culture when you are so emotionally charged. I mean, the equivalent English/Rooney reaction would be to fucking curse/swear and call the ref names while being led off the pitch. Adebayor, instead of swearing, tried to get people to stop touching him.

If Wayne Rooney gets fined for swearing @ the Ref under similar circumstances then Adebayor must get fined for motioning for people not to touch him. Otherwise, just leave it alone.

It's Official: Premiership Referess are Rubbish

That's it, I have had it: Premiership refs are rubbish compared to their European counterparts. Wenger called the linesman in the Carling Cup Final a liar for claiming Adebayor punched Lampard. An ex-ref has since called Wenger out of order.

Wenger has a point, the entire system is miserable. Arsenal are the quite possibly the least fouling team and a team that gets fouled the most, but our players are not treated equally. I watched Kolo Toure get bookedin a New York minute for a first challenge in amtch against one of "physical" teams; I think it was Wigan. Senderos shown a straight red against Boro. Gilberto shown a red against Blackburn for barely flapping at the most "physical" player in the league. Gimme a fucking break. Cookie is right, the inconsistencies from the refs are maddening. The refs seem to know their rulebook when it comes to Arsenal players, and then throw it out just as quickly against so-called "physical" players.

Actually, I bet you if you looked at the stats, you will find foreign players get booked disproportionately more frequently by these refs. But that's a subject for another day.