Wicked Deflection

Adebayor, in his own words

2009-07-14T10:09:00.001-04:00

Cream rises to the top; Brazil does it AGAIN

2009-06-28T16:27:00.006-04:00

Don't tell the Brazilian players that the Confederations Cup doesn't matter. It's a football tournament, and that means it matters to them. And after being down 2-0 to the Americans at halftime, it seemed to really matter that they overcome the deficit, and win this final; and they made the US look like they were playing at least a man down in the 2nd half, scoring 4, and having 3 of them officially recognized.

The goal of the match, though, was the USA's 2nd - a sweet counter-attack with Davies (previously maligned on Wicked Deflection) and Donovan putting Brazil to the knife. That Donovan finish was sublime.

So a fantastic first-half performance from the US, and a good performance overall, and the Brazilians doing what they do best, which is scoring goals and winning football matches. With the likes of Kaka, Robinho, Fabiano, Old-boy Gilberto Silva, and Maicon coming forward, the US was overrun.

Tim Howard, so good through 3 halves against Spain and Brazil, was cruelly exposed in the second half today. The US will have to learn to hold onto the ball better if they don't want to give up such brilliantly-earned leads.

Overall, the US did not embarrass themselves out there against Brazil. They played some decent stuff and scored two great goals. They didn't have enough in the tank to stand up to Brazil over 90 minutes, but as a national team, their progress is impressive, so well done to them.

And well done to Brazil, who are the masters of the International game. When Spain were down, they had no answer. When Brazil were down, they rampaged to victory. It looks like nothing short of Zidane can stop this lot, and it will be a joy to watch them next WINTER in South Africa.

USA-Brazil Preview

2009-06-28T10:50:00.002-04:00

The Confederations Cup Final, USA versus Brazil, is in a few hours. As always when the Americans play a big side, they'll be heavy underdogs, and they've already lost to Brazil 3-0 in the group phase.

The Guardian is in disarray, so Sid Lowe, rather than writing about Spain's exit from the cup, did a piece on Seve Ballesteros. Amy Lawrence picked up the slack, mostly from the American perspective. I was able to find the moan on the Spain performance that I was looking for at Soccernet from Eduardo Alvarez. A nice piece from Mr. Alavarez.

The US goes into today's final with nothing to lose. Some might lose run of themselves and suggest there's nothing to be gained from a US victory, but even though the Confederations Cup is not a prestigious tournament, it is an official tournament, the teams are trying to win (if not desperately), and American supporters would be chuffed to win the thing.

Anything that gets Americans excited about soccer could lead to increased coverage at lower costs. There's been more excitement than usual about soccer since the US escaped the group phase; and after the victory against Spain, the coverage reached me on the radio in my car with an NPR piece, so we're enjoying this, and a victory over Brazil in the final would double that.

Here are some items on my wish list for spending this enthusiasm:

1. Expand the reach of Setanta North America on cable. It's only available in a few markets right now. If Clint Dempsey scores a hat trick today, it could increase by the start of next season.

2. Improve ESPN's coverage, especially ahead of the World Cup next summer. Their football coverage is poor, and they can do much better, as they do with some of their other coverage. They need something to shake them up, and a 3-0 victory today on the strength of a Clint Dempsey hat trick could be the thing.

3. Get Spanish football available on a wider platform. Gol TV gets some coverage, but Gol TV is an elusive channel, especially for cable viewers (and from the bits I've seen of their English commentary, it's worse than ESPN). It would be great if we could get a sustainable delivery system for Real Madrid and Barcelona matches.

4. At least maintain the status quo - we have it pretty good as it is right now, with every Arsenal league match available, without having to break the bank - if the US performance in this Confederations Cup can just help maintain what we have now, with Setanta struggling, that would be enough in itself.

Spain 0, USA 2

2009-06-24T21:09:00.009-04:00

I usually try to post without the influence of reading any other post-game reaction, but for this game, I don't even have the influence of the match commentary because I had to hit mute after a few minutes when after JP Dellacamera got overly excited about a routine corner kick (AND HE FIRES IT IN!), and had no reaction to the Americans creating a chance from open play. He's so bad, that his involvement with the national team as a commentator makes it more difficult for me to follow them.

Match Impressions:

Tim Howard. Great match. A lot of us first watched him when he broke into Man United's first team. He did ok for a while, but then he imploded, and moved on, but goalkeeper is one of those positions where experience helps, and he's apparently been doing well for Everton, who as a team have been doing well, and he was great against Spain tonight. Man of the match, for me. I can't really rate the players because I'm not up to speed on everybody, and that decreases my focus, but I would rate Tim very highly. I'll be curious to read other reactions, but how much more could he have done? I wouldn't balk at a 10.

Spain. Two big defensive slip ups, conceding two goals. Not good enough converting chances to compensate for it. Much worse in midfield than they were when they won Euro 2008. They rarely lost hold of the ball in that tournament, but they were letting the Americans have plenty of it. Not good enough. It must be shocking from a Spanish perspective, and I'll be very curious to read Sid Lowe in the Guardian, because I really enjoy his writing on Spanish football, and he'll surely describe it as a woeful performance.

Spain did create some chances, but just enough for Tim Howard to swat away. With another keeper, maybe they would have had a lot of joy, but they were well beaten with their defensive mistakes, their giveaways, and their lack of cutting edge.

The goals. America did very well to capitalize on their chances, and they created some others besides. Altidore got the opener, which stood as the winner. Spain's defense was really poor, and Casillas could have kept it out, but Altidore did enough, and it was a great occasion for him.

Dempsey got the second. A great poachers goal. Spain were in tatters at the back, but Dempsey did really well.

Other performances? Donovan was heavily involved, as he always is whenever I watch him playing for the national team. Davies in the 9 jersey, playing with Altidore up front - I thought he looked out of his depth. The US had a midfielder in the 13 jersey who looked pretty useful at times. The central defenders Onyewu and Bocanegra did pretty well. Some of the American players look pretty average, but they did enough tonight, and the final, probably against Brazil, but maybe against South Africa, will be a great occasion for American soccer - the biggest since the 2002 World Cup Quarter-Final against Germany, by my reckoning.

For Spain, Xavi was in and out. The manager, Del Bosque, could be sacked for replacing Cesc. Spain went downhill after that, and conceded the second goal. Xabi Alonso looked ok at times, but the Spanish Supporters will want to see Iniesta and Marcos Senna back in the first 11. Torres and Villa up front looked dangerous, and on another night, they'd probably both score a couple goals. Pique, at the back, was poor. He got away with that handball in the Champions League Semi-Final against Chelsea that would have probably spelled the end for Barcelona. His luck ran out tonight.

Spain-USA Semi-Final Today

2009-06-24T07:16:00.003-04:00

Anything can happen, but Spain are such favorites to win today that I wanted to post a quote from US Manager Bob Bradley about the last time we faced Spain, to illustrate the gulf.

The US lost the match. It wasn't a win. Not even a draw. A 1-0 loss. No goals scored. But in a quote that emphasizes the modest horizons of this US side, Bob Bradley said, "We played a great game."

A skeptic might argue that a 1-0 loss does not a great game make, and I doubt Brazil's manager would describe a 1-0 loss this way.

If a 1-0 loss is the result of a great game, how would he describe a victory? Maybe we'll find out later today!

"Setanta Sports in the US is a separate operation"

2009-06-22T15:56:00.005-04:00

From Setanta:

As widely reported, Setanta Sports has had its agreement to broadcast 46 Barclays Premier League matches in the UK terminated.

This development does not affect our channels and other services in the US.

Setanta Sports in the US is a separate operation that has separate agreement to show the Barclay’s Premier League. Our channels and other services in the US continue to broadcast and our subscribers can still enjoy our programming including the Lions Tour of South Africa and the UEFA U21 European Championship.

New customers are welcome to subscribe to watch some of the world’s best soccer and rugby either by contacting our cable and satellite partners or online at www.setanta.com.

We thank you for your continued interest in Setanta Sports and look forward to bringing you a wealth of sport over the coming months and years.

That's fairly reassuring. Anyone who's watched ESPN's soccer coverage in the US had to be dreading the prospect of their Premier League coverage. Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta could both improve their pre-game, halftime, and post-game presentations, but at least they use English commentators for Premier League matches. The commentary on ESPN is usually awful, sometimes even offensively so. They do have one guy who's pretty decent, Fox Soccer Channel old boy Allen Hopkins, but they demonstrate how clueless they are by not putting him in charge. He's usually nowhere to be seen, while Tommy Smyth, or much worse, JP Dellacamera, are getting the commentary slots. Disgraceful.

Fox Soccer Channel has been featuring Christian Miles with a couple Englishmen for their non-match segments, and it would be a lot better if they would just broadcast the content from Sky, or at least drop Christian Miles. That's harsh, and I've been watching the bloke for around 10 years, but he just doesn't have much presence or cadence. British viewers might find it hard to believe, but the setup is worse than Richard Keys and Jamie Redknapp. Max Bretos is the one guy for Fox Soccer Channel who's watchable. He should be the one taking ownership of the Premier League matchday presentations.

For Setanta, their setup is better, with the Irish guys. Their main guy's hair cut is the biggest thing holding them back.

Confederations Cup: US - Spain Semi-Final Wednesday

2009-06-21T22:02:00.004-04:00

The confederations cup is an 8-team international tournament currently underway in South Africa; a tournament's whose main purpose is to give South Africa a chance to prepare for hosting the World Cup next summer.

The US, level on points and goal difference with Italy at the end of the group phase, but ahead on goals scored, meet Spain on Wednesday in the Semi-Final. The game is on Wednesday on ESPN for US viewers, so set your recorder, because even though the Confederations Cup is not an important tournament, it's a rare occasion for the US to be involved in a knock-out match against the Euro 2008 Champions. Spain are World Cup hopefuls, and winning the Confederations Cup, potentially against Brazil in the final, would represent a much better warm-up than being bounced by the US in the semi-final.

The US won the final match of its group 3-0 over Egypt to squeak into the semi-final.

Belgian Centerback Joins Arsenal

2009-06-19T13:03:00.004-04:00

The signing of Thomas Vermaelen has been completed and announced today. He currently is the 6th recognized center back in the squad, joining William Gallas, Kolo Toure, Johan Djourou, Philip Senderos, and Mikael Sylvestre in the center of defense.

Many think that Vermaelen's entry means at least one of the current center backs is leaving the club. In fact, there is a rumor about Kolo Toure going to Man City which if it happens, would be quite sad as Toure is the last of the Invincibles still playing for Arsenal. But it might represent a good deal for the club primarily because Toure will miss at least 6 weeks of the season due to the African Cup of Nations. That ACN stretch of the season turns out to be quite a critical period because we'll have games against all of the other "Top 4" clubs.

This early transfer activity at Arsenal may signal more business during this summer. The glut of center backs probably means someone else may also move on. Even Gael Clichy cannot escape the rumor mill. Emmanuel Eboue has been making noise about going to a "big club" in Italy if Arsenal don't offer him a good extension. The clamoring of supporters for a central midfield "hardman" continues unabated and rumors about Felipe "The Card Machine" Melo from Fiorentina continue to swirl. We might be looking at a reshuffled defensive set-up for Arsenal come August.

Arsene Wenger Visits China

2009-06-14T03:43:00.005-04:00

Arsene Wenger went to China for a visit and spent some time at a soccer academy to discuss football. I've translated the short article from a Chinese newspaper below:

Wenger Visits China, Talks Football on the Great Wall

The manager of English Premier League club Arsenal, Arsene Wenger is on a tour of China; he visited the "Bird nest" (Beijing's 2008 Olympic stadium) and went to see the great wall. Mr. Wenger spent a day in Beijing and discussed the development of football in China at a soccer academy.

Mr. Wenger is puzzled that China, with its 1.3 billion plus population, has not become a powerhouse in football. He thinks China should focus on teaching technical skills to young players in order to become a force in the football world. "A good player possesses all the skills he needs by the age of 13 or 14", Wenger says "beyond that age, he only gains strength and experience."

Well known for developing youthful talent for Arsenal, Arsene Wenger insists that good players be identified early. He says "Nowadays kids have many opportunities to be exposed to football at a very young age. This is a good thing because I think a kid at 12 should have all the basic techniques that a football player needs. If a 12-year-old still doesn't have all the basic techniques, it might be too late for him to develop them. In fact, many of the world's best players are like that. Take Lionel Messi as an example, he was recruited by FC Barcelona at 12 because his football skills were already well developed by that age."

Mr. Wenger recommends that, in order to teach football the right way, the infrastructure for development must focus on age groups. When he toured a soccer academy in Beijing, Mr. Wenger asked the students there to do 20-meter dash, slalom dribbling, and tested their jumping ability. Ten boys were selected to play in a 5-a-side for 15 minutes. He shared his thought about the strengths and weaknesses of the boys afterward. Mr. Wenger thinks that the boys trained at this academy are the "football hope of China's youths".

Arsene Wenger expressed his hope that Chinese footballers can play in stronger leagues overseas so that they can improve by playing against the best players in the world. "There are three prerequisites for improving a nation's football players. First you must have a large population from which to nurture players; secondly you must have a good education system which not only teaches football but turns out well-rounded citizens; then you must take the best football players and give them good training and good competition to let them improve. If you put a good student in a class with bad students, the good student will not make a lot of progress. If you put the good student in a class full of other good students, everybody will make significant improvement because of competition."

Having managed in Japan, Arsene Wenger has credibility when he talks about football in Asia. He thinks Asian football players are highly mobile, very pacey, and have good foundation in technique. Asian players must play with a style that emphasizes their strengths and avoids exposing their weaknesses to enable them to reach the height in football.

The World's 5 Best Players

2009-06-11T11:53:00.008-04:00

I did a post a couple years ago quoting someone about the World's 5 best players, and the headline brought in an unexpected number of hits. The quote at the time was that based on Ribery's initial performances for Bayern Munich, he must be among the world's five best players. After getting so many hits, I had realized that as a kind of public service, I should periodically post a list of the world's five best players, but I hadn't gotten around to it, until now, with the Real Madrid bringing in top players to compete with Barcelona and their top players.

So here it goes, and mind you, this is open to debate, which is very nearly the whole point, but the five best players in the world today, based on the football I've seen recently, are, in this order:

1. Christiano Ronaldo
2. Lionel Messi
3. Andres Iniesta
4. Kaka
5. Fernando Torres

Honorable mention to Steven Gerrard, who's consistently been near the top for years and years now, and to Xavi who was voted player of the tournament at Euro 2008 and man-of-the-match in the Champions League final. Given those accolades, it seems a bit odd to leave Xavi out of the top 5, but my instincts have me putting him at number 7 in the world today.

In the Arsenal squad, we have Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie, Theo Walcott, and Andre Arshavin who could all possibly be breaking into the debate of the world's best players at some point in the future, hopefully soon.

Also, there's always a possibility that I'm completing forgetting somebody who should be in there.

I think in the latter stages of the Champions League, mostly the semi-finals, Ronaldo was making more of an impact than Messi, so that tipped the balance for me at the top.

I can't take my eyes off Iniesta when he's playing for Barcelona or Spain. He's a more exciting player for me than Xavi, and there's almost certainly a bias in my list for exciting players (you'll notice the lack of holding midfielders, defenders, and goalkeepers).

Torres and Gerrard are a fearsome duo for Liverpool, but Torres nicked that winner in the Euro 2008 final, and I'd probably pick him ahead of Gerrard at this point to play on my side in a match of football at recess.

Ribery's name is being thrown around as a player worth paying vast sums for, and he has been the best player for France since Zidane retired in 2006, and would probably figure in the world's top ten.

Robben is another player who, on his day, could figure in the debate.

Among non-attacking players? Maybe Rio Ferdiand - he's been near the top of his game for a few years, and Gigi Buffon always looks like quite a good keeper.

Kaka goes to Real Madrid

2009-06-09T09:42:00.007-04:00

Kaka has changed clubs from AC Milan to Real Madrid with Real Madrid breaking the world-record transfer fee they paid Juventus to bring in Zidane. That Zidane fee was reportedly around 47 million pounds, and Real Madrid have reportedly paid AC Milan around 56 million pounds for the right to sign Kaka.

Speaking to the press after the transfer was finalized, Kaka said that he was motivated, in part, to accept the transfer to help AC Milan's finances.

Kaka has been a big player for AC Milan, getting them to a couple Champions League Finals, and winning one of them.

In the last World Cup, in 2006, Kaka emerged as the best player for Brazil, as Ronaldinho's form was too far along its still-continuing decline. Brazil was confronted by a force of nature in 2006, though, with Zidane leading France to victory, rarely letting Brazil get a touch. Prior to being knocked out, though, Kaka looked fantastic for Brazil. I remember him scoring from outside the box, with his weaker foot, I believe, and making it look routine.

In the Champions League semi-final a couple seasons ago, Kaka cut through Man United, in what I remember as a lopsided victory on aggregate.

Kaka plays a kind of attacking midfield or support forward. He has great pace, and he's consistently good, although the motivation for Real Madrid, I suspect, to pay so much money to bring him in, is that he's a player who's good enough to make a difference in big matches, and they can't stand being second best to Barcelona.

Gareth Barry goes to Man City

2009-06-02T16:51:00.002-04:00

Manchester City has signed Gareth Barry for 12 million pounds sterling and a 100k per week salary. Sounds like a pretty good deal for City.

It looks like there will be a lot of transfers this summer. What with Ancelotti coming to Chelsea; Perez "the Galacticos president" back in the reign at Madrid; Kaka and Ibrahimovich having the itch; and AC Milan and Juve having to replace retirees (Maldini and Nedved); there will be quite some movements.

Maybe Arsene Wenger will be able to flog Adebayor to Italy or Spain (hey, maybe even Man City!) for a tidy sum and then promote from within (Jay Simpson, anyone?) to fill the vacuum left by the Togo star.

What about the Spurs? Will Harry Redknapp get rid of Pavlyuchenko? Will Darren Bent stay?

First day of transfer window gives one inquiring minds.

I'm at a loss for a title - Nothing would come close to doing it justice

2009-05-31T00:05:00.008-04:00

I just saw this fantastic segment on the evening news.

The polo match is the story.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

We'll try to post more video of the match as it becomes available - at least that late winner!

Thiery Henry Gets His Champions League Trophy

2009-05-28T02:19:00.003-04:00

And our old, old friend Silvinho, too.

Well done to Barca. It's rare to see ManU chasing shadows but Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi controlled the ball so well that, on the day, no one would have been able to get much possession against them. The lack of a Barca "target" man, I think, confused ManU because their two giant center backs, Ferdinand and Vidic, were chasing tiny Energizer bunnies that buzzed around them all night. Barca's two big forwards, Henry and Eto'o played wide to stretch open the opposition's defense; nice tactic!

Admittedly, falling one goal behind in the 10th minute of the game really tipped the balance away from ManU. Barca are a side that can keep the ball once they get ahead in the game; their ability to keep possession protected their make-shift defense from any attempt by ManU to penetrate them. Somewhat surprising was United's lack of composure when they did get the ball, aside from the initial minutes of the game; so often that they just relinquished control tamely before they could do anything with the ball.

That's all the football this season; I wonder whether Saturday's FA cup final is worth watching. Maybe Florent Malouda will make it worthwhile; he's been playing really well lately.

Arsenal finish on 72

2009-05-24T16:34:00.023-04:00

Not too, too bad from the Arsenal, then: finishing the season with 72 points and a top-4 finish. Add the FA Cup and Champions League runs, with Arsenal having made the semi-finals of both, and I think most Arsenal Supporters would agree with Arsene Wenger that the season hasn't been a disaster; despite some frustration and disappointment.

Here's how Arsenal lined up earlier today in the final league match at home against Stoke City in a 4-1 victory:

Van Persie
Arshavin Diaby Walcott
Denilson Cesc
Gibbs Song Toure Sagna
Mannone

The season ended with Adebayor frozen out of the side. According to Arsene Wenger, Adebayor has a groin problem. That might be a euphemism for a psychological problem. Adebayor revealed to the BBC that he was struggling to deal with being booed by Arsenal Supporters, and he sounded disdainful. It was somewhat reminiscent of Gallas's confession earlier in the season that he was suffering because Arsenal lacked a sufficient complement of "warriors."

Gallas was stripped of the captaincy following his comments, and I suspect that Adebayor was dropped because of his. I think Arsene would let Adebayor go during the summer if there was a good offer, but there might not be, in which case he could still be a useful squad player next season, slowly eased back into the team to recover his self-esteem.

Here was the complete Arsenal.com injury report ahead of today's match:

Djourou and Silvestre were available, but Wenger preferred Toure and Song in central defense. Wenger had said that Fabianski had recovered from an injury and would play, but something changed, and Mannone got his first Arsenal start. Almunia is also out injured, although it's not mentioned in that injury report. It was Arsenal's 4th-choice keeper on the bench today.

So that's this Arsenal season finished. This post just about contains all the Arsenal players who figure in the first-team setup, between those who played today, had a spot on the bench, or were out injured. Jack Wilshere is otherwise occupied, lighting up the FA Youth Cup. He led Arsenal to a 4-1 victory in the first leg of the final at home and he's set to play in the second leg against Liverpool at Anfield this week. Also there's Armand Traore and Phil Senderos due back from loan spells.

And then there's the question of signings.

It can be a tedious business, transfer speculation, so I'll be having a bit of a vacation from football, but watch this space if Arsenal sign a player, and when the pre-season kicks off in mid July.

0-0 - United celebrate title at home, Arsenal play well, plus: Arsene Wenger doesn't have to feel like he's killed someone

2009-05-16T20:13:00.018-04:00

So my plans to go into a blogging hibernation were premature.

Here's how they lined up today against United:

Van Persie
Diaby
Arshavin Cesc Denilson Nasri
Gibbs Song Toure Sagna
Fabianski

I've seen Toure touted as man-of-the-match in one of the papers, and I have no complaint with that.

Anyone who reads this site will know I have more than a soft spot for Kolo.

Gibbs is right there too. When he crosses the ball into the box, there's a feeling of purpose; intent. He's a good player, and he just about looks equal to the task of marking Christiano Ronaldo, one of the two best players in the world. And Gibbs is just 19 years old. And he's English. It's a complicated matter, and Arsene Wenger doesn't look at at a player's passport (because he acquires players based on cost and perceived ability), but more English players might attract more English supporters, which he's now complaining that Arsenal lack.

It's just a thought, and with so many London clubs, maybe 30 or 40 thousand is a ceiling on the number of good supporters that Arsenal can attract to attend home matches, but if the stars of the English national team were Arsenal players, it might help.

Arsene Wenger has sold supporters abroad on the club, especially during the success of the Thierry-Henry era, but the post-Thierry-Henry, post-Patrick-Viera, post-trophy era is taking its toll on Arsenal's fan base, at least in London, I gather, and apparently on Arsene Wenger himself.

I read a quote today from Arsene, saying that Man United has 10 times the resources of Arsenal. That runs contrary to my understanding of the valuation of the two clubs based on the cost of the United's takeover and the attempted takeover of Arsenal, but there must be truth to Arsene's general message that he lacks financial resources.

It's murky. If Arsenal's finances weren't so clouded in mystery, supporters wouldn't be so hostile. Arsenal board members routinely say that money is available, but that Arsene doesn't want to spend it - that's where the hostility is coming from.

Another Arsene quote I read is that in the face of so much hostility from Arsenal supporters, he feels like he's being treated as if he'd killed someone.

He has also said that he needs another year or two (that means two) to try to succeed with his current plans before he's condemned.

I support Arsene. I celebrate his financial prudence on this site on a regular basis. I support using young players, and Arsene's focus on style.

I also think that Arsene has had a dip in form. Arsenal are a long way from the Viera-Henry sides. Arsene says it's hard to go back to sausage after acquiring a taste for caviar, and that's exactly the situation a lot of Arsenal Supporters find themselves in.

He hasn't killed anyone, but he has fallen below the standards that he set for himself.

He argues that he just led Arsenal to the Champions League Semi-Final, and that supporters should be content with that. They tend not to be.

I have the feeling that the shareholders meeting a few nights ago has put the wheel in motion, if it wasn't already. Supporters were screaming "Not good enough" and Arsene's response was "Give me a couple years." I think his contract is up in two years, which might not be a coincidence. He wants to see out his contract.

I, for one, and I think I'm far from alone, would like to see Arsene stay on long term, and be the manager to oversee the forthcoming Arsenal dynasty (that's an Americanism, I fear, sorry), but the plan he's hinting at, to step aside if Arsenal haven't won anything in the next two years, which would make it 6 years without a trophy, might make sense.

But surely that's not going to happen, is it? I do have faith in Arsene. I do think next season is going to be a great season. Arsene needs to have a stronger off-season than his last few. His off-season performances have really been testing the faith of Arsenal supporters. We need the squad to look stronger, not weaker, going into the next season, and maybe those vocal Arsenal Supporters the other night at the shareholders meeting will have given him the stimulus he needs to make that happen, in which case I'll say "Well done lads."

Then again, maybe they've offended Arsene so much, that he'll be off when his contract is up, and Arsenal will spend the following decade looking up the table at Spurs, in which case I'll curse those lads loud and long.

As for this season, and I've just seen Adebayor's interview with the BBC, so I'm feeling like having a bit of a lament myself; the capitulation to Chelsea in the FA Cup Semi-Final was brutal, being dominated by United in the Champions League was painful, falling apart against Spurs and conceding two late goals to drop two points was sickening, but it was this match (which I found on the site with the search terms in the upper left "doing my head in"), that was one of the real low points for me. Throwing away leads, like the FA Cup Semi-Final, like that Spurs match and like that Villa match, those hurt badly, so I'm hoping that Wenger can solidify the troops, reduce those kinds of traumas, and start winning consecutive league titles beginning next season.

Former Arsenal Defender Lee Dixon on the current Arsenal

2009-05-12T07:11:00.008-04:00

Here's the link to Lee Dixon's analysis.

He claims that Alex Song is no Vieira, Petit, or Flamini, and that Arsenal need to acquire:

1. a holding midfielder;
2. a central defender who is commanding in the air;
3. a new striker; and
4. a new goalkeeper

if they are to compete with Liverpool, Man United, and Chelsea.

A little bit pessimistic regarding Song, maybe. Supporters have been questioning Song's positional sense after the last couple losses, but he's a player who has developed well, and I don't think he's very far from the level where Flamini was before he left Arsenal.

That said, it would be cool to see 4 top players come in at those positions.

Fabianski has been really poor, hasn't he? Of course, Almunia was pretty poor when he first played for Arsenal, but he got better. Sure, it'd be nice to bring in Gigi Buffon, but I doubt anyone will be replacing Almunia as first-choice keeper in the next couple seasons, at least.

I definitely think Arsenal need a new striker with pace. Walcott has pace, but not enough for an entire front line.

Arsenal 1, Chelsea 4

2009-05-10T13:31:00.002-04:00

Arsene Wenger said he needed some time and space to think about Arsenal getting bounced out of the FA Cup and the Champions League (both at the semi-final stage), and how to strengthen. This Premier League loss against Chelsea, with Arsenal making a sincere effort to win, might give him even more to think about.

It was great stuff from Arsenal for about 10 minutes.

And then they crumbled.

Typical of an Arsenal-Chelsea match.

Van Persie
Diaby Nasri Walcott
Song Cesc
Gibbs Silvestre Toure Sagna
Fabianski

Arsenal have some good players who are fun to watch, but as a unit, they're vulnerable, and it's disappointing.

Nasri and Walcott both looked useful today. Cesc was poor. Supporters get onto Denilson for giving the ball away - Cesc was guilty of many giveaways today, and could be testing the patience of the Arsenal faithful.

Gibbs, as always, looked useful. Song was ok in the middle. Denilson came on, and looked ok, too.

Diaby. Diaby is a player who looks like he could make a difference, but things just aren't working for him. He's not able to keep enough close control, so he keeps losing the ball. If Arsenal Supporters could vote, he'd probably be on his way out in the summer. For me, there's something interesting about him. It's mostly a case of unfulfilled potential, but if he does get shipped out, I'll be interested to see how he gets on with his new side, because he does look like he could develop into a solid, scoring midfielder.

As a build-up to next season, this was a pretty disappointing effort (far too reminiscent of this season).

Do the Remaining Games Mean Anything?

2009-05-08T19:12:00.005-04:00

I saw a bit of Chelsea TV on Setanta last night; in the program Gabriele Marcotti of the Times said something like "for Arsenal, these last few games mean nothing and they could play the reserves" or something to that effect.

His argument has some merit. Fourth place is well sewn up so even though CL qualification must be played early next season, the obstacle probably is not great. Added to that the injuries (Clichy, Gallas, Eduardo, Rosicky) and illness (Arshavin) to major first-teamers mean we are still somewhat short of players. Thirdly, I'm sure morale is low after the spanking by MU last Tuesday.

I am of two minds about this. First of all, third place means automatic CL qualification; Arsenal can avoid any potential banana peel in Eastern Europe in August. The game against Chelsea is a major London derby if the team does well can keep the undefeated streak not only in the EPL but also against the top 4 this season intact. Furthermore, it provides some momentum going into next week's game at Old Trafford. I would really hate to lose that game because it will not only leave a bad taste in every Arsenal supporter and player's mouth but also end the team's season with the stench of defeat.

Arshavin is doubtful for Sunday; judging from the performance of the front six last Tuesday I am pessimistic about Wenger's or the players' desire to keep pushing things. I hope I am wrong.

Iniesta Sends Barca Through to CL Final

2009-05-06T17:22:00.002-04:00

What a strike! Chelsea 1, Barca 1 (agg. 1-1) Barca through on away goal.

That sets up a game that any football fan would want to watch. Pitting the best of England against the best of Spain; the outcome of this final is anyone's guess. It seems Man United has an advantage with their strength in depth and experience. Darren Fletcher's suspension is unfortunate for the man himself but it doesn't affect the team too much. Pep Guardiola, on the other hand, will have to find a way to get his attacking force to penetrate United's impregnable defense and to marshal Rooney, C. Ronaldo, Tevez and Berbatov without his suspended fullbacks, Abidal and Dani Alves. Tall task indeed.

Bollocks. Arsenal crash out.

2009-05-05T17:11:00.006-04:00

That was poor from the Arsenal: crashing out of the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 4-1 on aggregate to Manchester United.

Arsene Wenger's efforts to compete with Manchester United are failing of late. United won the Premier League and the Champions League last season, and they're on track to repeat the double, while Arsenal continue without a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup, when they were outplayed by United, but won on penalties.

Manchester United have broken the bank to bring in players like Rooney, Ferdinand, Carrick, Anderson, Berbatov, Tevez, in addition to bringing in top players for more reasonable sums, like Evra and Ronaldo, and the strategy is proving hugely successful.

Arsenal do not appear to have that kind of spending power, but Arsenal are a well-run club, who do produce decent football most of the time (nothing like the Thierry-Henry era, but decent stuff), and while the likes of United and Liverpool are owned by leveraged buyouts, Arsenal's future isn't burdened with finance charges on money borrowed to buy the club, and there's still hope for a brighter future for Arsenal, sooner or later.

It's a dreadfully tired cliche, but Arsenal do have some good young players. I, for one, would like to see a lot more of Carlos Vela than we saw this season. Hopefully some of these young players will actually develop to the level of some of United's big buys.

Ronaldo and Evra were a class apart tonight, from my perspective.

Even Cesc was pretty average for Arsenal.

Arsenal started well, with Nasri looking motivated, but it all fell apart when United opened the scoring. Ronaldo, playing alone up front, looked like killing Arsenal on the counterattack. Arsenal were going to need a huge slice of luck to advance, and they got exactly the opposite when Kieran Gibbs slipped, and Park scored.

It got much worse from there.

It was nice to make it to the semi-final, but Arsenal tripped on the next-to-last hurdle, and did a face plant on the track.

There's always next year.

I think I'm going to go into a blogging hibernation of sorts. This site is a fairly open forum, so there may be odds and ends from time to time, and I'll be hyper-excited as next season starts, and pick up the blogging then. I do enjoy it.

The Arsenal squad does look like it could use some freshening up.

Has anyone read the story "Flowers for Algernon"? The basic idea is that someone not terribly bright becomes brilliant for a while, and then goes back to being not terribly bright. I was reminded of the story watching Adebayor in this semi-final. By comparison to Ronaldo, or Henry, Adebayor looks out of his depth at this level, which is fair enough, but for a while last season, he looked like he was developing into a top player.

I'm an Arsenal Supporter, so this season of club football is mostly over for me. I'll watch the last few Arsenal league matches, and probably the FA Cup and CL finals, but the real joy will be the restart next season, when Arsenal will have it all to play for.

One concentrated moment of football tension - It's really good stuff

2009-05-04T09:55:00.004-04:00

Having a look around the Arsenal blogs, the excitement for tomorrow's semi-final second leg has built to, wait for it...fever pitch.

Not unexpected.

The newspapers say Van Persie and Silvestre are training, so that settles it for me: Arsenal will line up like this, I think:

Adebayor Van Persie
Nasri or Diaby Cesc Song Walcott
Gibbs Silvestre Toure Sagna
Almunia

Again, I appear to be the only one who thinks that Diaby might be preferred to Nasri. I really don't know, but based on the first leg, I thought Nasri wasn't up for it.

If Arsene Wenger tries to over-think the formation (he has wasted Van Persie in left midfield before), I would recommend that the players adapt to what works. It's too important not to, and maybe Arsene will see this himself, but that means Van Persie cutting in from the center-right channel to set up shots off of his left boot. It means Walcott getting behind Evra to send in crosses. It means Adebayor playing the ball back out to set up Van Persie, and Adebayor releasing players with the timeless and effective "give-and-go."

Play some football lads. Look to the kids for inspiration. United are a top, top side - don't let them touch the ball. On paper, if not in the first leg, Arsenal are a match for United.

Whoever it is at left midfield for Arsenal, Diaby or Nasri, we need a contribution from that position. United have good players in 11 positions. We know Silvestre is error prone, so that's already a concern, but that can be overcome if he's on top of his game, and if the other 10 players actually play. We can't take another match where one of the would-be key players is too inhibited to play, like Nasri in the first leg.

The match could, of course, go several ways. Here are a few that I'd like to see:

Arsenal 5, United 0 - A proper thrashing. Maybe a couple ugly first half goals, and then a 2nd-half masterclass.

Arsenal 6, United 4 - Absolute mayhem, but Arsenal come out on top - great stuff for neutrals.

Arsenal 3, United 0 - United keep it tight and play their game, but have no answer for Arsenal's "3 chances, 3 goals."

Arsenal 2, United 0 - Arsenal control the match, everyone rises to Cesc's level.

Arsenal 3, United 1 - Arsenal pile on the pressure and get a late, late goal to go through.

Most other scenarios don't bear consideration.

Portsmouth 0, Arsenal 3 - Arsenal Secure a Spot in Next Season's Champions League

2009-05-02T13:56:00.009-04:00

It's the goal of every club in Europe to play in the Champions League tournament.

Arsenal as a club have had the good fortune to play in the tournament season after season, going back to before I started following the team 10 years ago.

Arsenal are in the semi-finals of this season's tournament, and with their away victory over Portsmouth today, they've locked a spot in next season's tournament.

And that's only part of the good news from today's match.

Some of the football was great to watch. I don't know what it is, but when some of the younger Arsenal players are in the side, the so-called "kids," the games are so much fun to watch. Somehow, players like Walcott, Vela, Ramsey, and Djourou are able to play in a way that looks like they feel no pressure.

Vela Bendtner
Arshavin(C) Denilson Ramsey Walcott
Eboue Djourou Song Sagna
Fabianski

The goals:

The opener was a header from Bendtner from an Arshavin cross. David James should have kept it out, but it was nice that he didn't.

Later in the first half, Arshavin was tackled in the box. The defender had gotten the ball, but it was hard to see, and the referee gave a penalty, even though Arshavin lobbied to not have the penalty given (quite a contrast from chronic divers who nearly break into tears of frustration when their dives aren't rewarded with penalties). Bendtner scored the penalty for his second goal.

My main man Carlos Vela got the 3rd with a nice goal. He had earned what should have been a penalty in the first half, right before Bendtner's opener, and Vela had also missed a chance when he had waited too long to strike; that was actually a bad miss, but his goal in the second half to round out the scoring was really nice - tucked just inside the far post - out of the keeper's reach.

In a high pressure game, I doubt that Arshavin would lobby against having a penalty awarded, but in this match, Captain Andrey and his Arsenal colleagues were going for artistic merit, and after they had the 3-0 lead, they were hesitant to take anymore shots until a really nice opportunity presented itself. They could absolutely be accused of trying to score a perfect goal. Great stuff (as long as they get the 3 points).

Credit to Arshavin, he fit right in with the kids (even keeping Wilshere out of the side!).

Arsenal - Man United 2nd Leg on Tuesday

2009-05-01T11:03:00.004-04:00

Arsenal's first leg defeat in Manchester was comprehensive for a 1-0, but Arsenal could still advance to the final with a 2-goal victory on Tuesday.

One concern is that Arsenal might be outplayed again, which would make it especially difficult to get the required 2-goal victory, and Arsenal Supporters are scrutinizing the situation to find solutions.

A few of the main talking points surfacing are:

1. Pray that Van Persie is healed before the match;

2. Play a 4-4-2 with Cesc playing deeper in central midfield than he does in the 4-2-3-1; and

3. Drop Diaby.

I don't mind having a go at Arsene, but I think Cesc is useful playing in the hole, and I think Diaby was one of the few players willing to take some risk, and try to take on United.

The excuse being made for Nasri is that he was being played out of position. It's true that he's had some good games for Arsenal in a more advanced role, but he should be playing much, much better than he did Wednesday no matter where he plays. Waiting for Cesc or Diaby to drop back into space to play one of them a 5-yard lateral pass is not making enough of a contribution. Did Arsene Wenger forbid him from playing any offense? It was very strange.

A little push from Nasri from central midfield would have been welcomed. Of course there were always two United players available to mark Diaby. Nasri had made himself a sort of conscientious objector, and clearly did not require marking. Cesc, too, might have benefited from having a bit of help.

I guess the one thing that Nasri brings in that position is that he's careful, and he didn't have any blunders to set up United scoring opportunities, so in that respect he might have been a safer choice than Denilson, but overall, I think Denilson would have done better on Wednesday.

Aside from Nasri, my other main complaint was Wenger taking off Walcott. Hopefully he'll get a full match on Tuesday, because as mentioned several times elsewhere, Arsenal need to score goals.

Adebayor had a poor game, but I think he's still the best option we have to play up front. His touch kept letting him down, but I didn't have the impression that he wasn't trying.

If Van Persie is available for Tuesday, and according to Arsene Wenger, that's a possibility, then a 4-4-2 would probably be the best option:

Adebayor Van Persie
Nasri or Diaby Cesc Song Walcott
Gibbs Silvestre Toure Sagna
Almunia

Based on what I saw Wednesday, I'd definitely go with Diaby ahead of Nasri at left midfield; however, scouring the web in it's entirety, I haven't found anyone who agrees with me.

It's quite likely that Van Persie will not be available to start, and that Arsene will go with the same first 11. If so, I don't think the 4-2-3-1, if used, will be the team's undoing, but one or two underachieving performances certainly could be.

I occasionally refer to my own skill set, as well as Pascal Cygan's, as benchmarks that indicate an unacceptably-low standard of play, and on Wednesday, unfortunately, Nasri produced a perfect imitation of my passing range, and Adebayor absolutely nailed his impersonation of my first touch. That probably won't be good enough on Tuesday.

Man United 1, Arsenal 0 - Arsenal create very little, Almunia does well to keep Arsenal in the Tie

2009-04-29T23:45:00.005-04:00

Do those player ratings make any sense? I haven't tried rating the opposition before, usually because I don't know the other players, and I don't necessarily pay attention to their performances.

United tended to be solid across the pitch, whereas Arsenal had some underachievers, and some standout performances.

My father-in-law is visiting from France to see the new baby girl, and he was screaming throughout the match about Nasri's meager contribution. Near the end of the match Nasri finally made a forward pass, a nice ball over the top, but for most of the match, he was making passes that I could have made myself.

Diaby, on the other hand, looked pretty good, and it's obvious that his teammates have confidence in him, because they kept passing him the ball.

Silvestre only had the one blunder to set up United's goal. It looked a bit unlucky, and he did well otherwise, but Silvestre often tends to appear unlucky, and it's a troubling pattern.

Toure was great at the back and much more effective than Nasri going forward. Nasri never even attempted a forward run.

Gibbs looked shaky for the first few minutes, but he looks like a seriously good player. Sagna did ok. He had a tough job, but he just did enough in defense, and tried to make things happen going forward.

Almunia kept Arsenal in it with some good stops. He would have earned a 10 if he had been able to tip over that close-range O'Shea strike.

Cesc looked pretty good. Not great. Nothing devastating. He had a shot on target, but it was tame, and easily saved. He did his part, but as a team, Arsenal were poor going forward.

Adebayor was a bit isolated, and I suppose there'll be a lot of complaining about that, but he had the ball at his feet many, many times, and lost it immediately.

Walcott looked like the most likely player to create a goal, and then Wenger took him off. That seemed like a poor decision, especially given the value of away goals if the tie finishes level on aggregate, and the opportunity to get that equalizing away goal.

Song did pretty well in midfield. He did not continue the trend of getting better in every game, but he had a decent performance.

For me, there's a gulf between United and Arsenal manifested in the subs they have available to bring on: Giggs and Berbabtov versus Bendtner and Eduardo. If I were a United fan, I'd be disappointed that Giggs and Berbatov didn't get more time, because they looked dangerous.

A real footballing miracle would have been an Arsenal victory, especially given how much United controlled the game. A late equalizer would have been a bit of a miracle. As it was, only losing 1-0 was a small miracle.

Ronaldo hit a brilliant long-range shot off the crossbar, and Giggs was just barely offside before rounding Almunia and scoring.

Rooney was a constant threat. Tevez and Anderson looked like they were going to create a goal. Carrick was good for them in midfield.

Arsenal weren't terrible. It did feel like a game that could have been a 2-0 or 3-0 loss, but Arsenal could play better in the 2nd leg and advance. Here's hoping.