931
Football / Re: The Stretford End- Home of the Champions
« on: April 19, 2011, 11:42:15 PM »
Is long time I eh see ah team dive so much.I swear one time Nani come up with pearls yes.
April 28, 2024, 01:16:47 AM
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932
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 19, 2011, 11:40:27 PM »Breds, Stunner has made this same point before. That is how it has to be parsed. Why you so desperate for it to be a complaint?I think he makes a good point. If they got rid of the running clock then everyone would know the final whistle comes a 90min period.
Secondly, they usually don't add time to the added time. That they went to 12min added time is ridiculous.
That said, Arsenal are their own worst enemy led by Arsene Wenger. I have always been a supporter of his but clearly he is unable to inspire this team to the title.
I sincerely hope to eat those words.
That's nonsense... it has happened time and time again. There's a reason why they say "there will be a MINIMUM of __________ minutes of added time". That means that the ref at his sole discretion is free to add more time. The fact that this announcement is made as a matter of routine means that there is the implicit recognition that added time on top of added time should reasonably be expected.
As for GunnerStunner making a "good" point. Sure, in the grand scheme of things I'd love to see the actual time posted for all to see, and maybe have the ref signal for a timeout as in the NFL/NBA. However, all this talk only arising in the context of a bitter draw which Arsenal snatched from the jaws of victory. It's a veiled complaint... no matter how you parse it.
933
Football / Re: Defending higher up the pitch
« on: April 19, 2011, 10:12:32 AM »
The best way to beat a high line is to chip the ball over the top for a runner, so if the striker is quick, he can run into a huge amount of space. This is a good strategy unless the Centre back can keep up with him, and Puyol can. So he's pacey in that sense, or as Kicker says, over short distances. See his foot race with Robben in the World Cup Final when Sneijder chipped the ball over the Spanish backline. And Robben was moving!
Since when has Puyol been "pacey?"
He's pretty quick over short distances....Not so much if yuh take him for a real run...
I think his wild man style (and hair lol) makes him appear quicker than he really is.
934
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 18, 2011, 05:38:54 PM »
Maybe so, it would be easier to take, but Eboue shoulda know better than to get so tight to him. Not like de man is a babe in de woods. He start in a Champions League final defending against Ronaldinho for God's sake! He still do tootoo!
...after just watching the replay again, men really being hard on eboue for nutting. Lucas outsmart everybody. The two players turned to go after the ball taking slightly separate paths towards it....Lucas then ran into eboue (almost takin' a step backward and all) and initiated the contact.....and dove on the ground. Again, hard luck arsenal.
935
Football / Re: Defending higher up the pitch
« on: April 18, 2011, 04:45:37 PM »
A very good article about high lines and pressing, concentrating on Barca v Arsenal in the CL Quarter Final last year, but going back to Dinamo Kiev in the 60s, Arrigo Sacchi's AC Milan and Dunga's Brazil team.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/apr/06/question-pressing-crucial-modern-game
The Question: Why is pressing so crucial in the modern game?
Barcelona and Bayern Munich both demonstrated the value of pressing the opposition to regain possession quickly last week
After Valeriy Lobanovskyi's Dynamo Kyiv had beaten Zenit Leningrad 3-0 in October 1981 to seal their 10th Soviet title, the report in Sportyvna Hazeta lamented that Viktor Maslov was not alive to see his conception of the game taken to such heights. It's a shame both weren't still with us to have seen those ideas taken to another level again by Barcelona against Arsenal last Wednesday.
As many have noted over the past week, Barcelona's rapid interchange of passes, the relentless attacking and the marauding full-backs perhaps recall one of the great Brazil sides, but the underlying process by which they play comes through the line of Maslov, Rinus Michels and Lobanovskyi.
"Without the ball," Pep Guardiola said after last season's Champions League final, "we are a disastrous team, a horrible team, so we need the ball." It is a sentence that could equally be used of Arsenal: of course they are much better in possession than out of it. The difference is that Barcelona are much better at regaining possession than Arsenal.
After 20 minutes last Wednesday, Barcelona had had 72% of the possession, a barely fathomable figure against anybody, never mind against a side so noted for their passing ability as Arsenal. Their domination in that area came not so much because they are better technically – although they probably are – but because they are better at pressing. In that opening spell, Barça snapped into tackles, swirled around Arsenal, pressured them even deep in their own half. It was a remorseless, bewildering assault; there was no respite anywhere on the pitch, not even when the ball was rolled by the goalkeeper to a full-back just outside the box.
Arsenal buckled. Again and again, even players for whom composure in possession is usually a default gave the ball away. It's hard to believe Cesc Fábregas, who was admittedly possibly hampered by injury, has ever passed the ball as poorly as he did in the first half. Andrey Arshavin was so discombobulated he did a mini-Gazza and crocked his knee lunging at Sergio Busquets.
The psychological factor
This is the unspoken strength of Barcelona: they aren't just majestic in possession themselves; they also make other sides tentative in possession. Think not just of Arsenal, but of Michael Carrick and Anderson haplessly misplacing passes in Rome last May. Partly that is because Barça are so quick to close space; but it is also psychological. Barça are so good in possession, so unlikely to give the ball back, that every moment when their opponents have the ball becomes unbearably precious; even simple passes become loaded with pressure because the consequences of misplacing them are so great.
Although less spectacular in possession, Dunga's Brazil do something similar, aided, as Rob Smyth noted, by having conned the world into believing they still play in a way that they haven't since 1982. That's why so many pundits seem baffled by Brazil's recent successes in the Confederations Cup and the Copa America. John Terry, having watched from the stands as they beat England 1-0 in Doha last year, was still talking about them having "individuals who can frighten anyone one-on-on" while insisting "I don't think Brazil are anything really to worry about".
Their individuals probably aren't, but individuality is no longer their strength; their strength is their cohesion, and the discipline of their pressing which, allied to their technique when in possession, means their opponents almost never have the ball, something Wayne Rooney pointed out in a post-match interview in which his bright red face paid eloquent testament to just how much fruitless chasing he had done.
Notably, Brazil's worst recent performance came in their 1-1 draw in World Cup qualifying away to Ecuador, when only a string of saves from Julio Cesar preserved them from heavy defeat; in Quito, of course, the altitude makes the physical effort required for hard pressing far more difficult.
Shock and awe
Even in the context of their own excellence, though, Barça were exceptional in that opening 20 minutes. Which raises the question of why then, why not every game, and why not in the final 70 minutes. Perhaps an element of complacency crept in, perhaps Arsenal slowly shook themselves out of their daze and began to play, perhaps the replacement of Arshavin with Emmanuel Eboué gave them a greater defensive presence on the right; certainly those seemed to be the commonest explanations.
It is, anyway, a historical truth that when sides strike a period when everything clicks perfectly as it did for Barça in that early period, it rarely lasts more than a few minutes, even in performances held up as the greatest of all time. West Germany, for instance, only really played brilliantly for the first 35 minutes of their 3-1 win over England at Wembley in 1972. Even Hungary, in their 6-3 demolition of England in 1953, were done after 65 minutes, and had dipped towards the end of the first half. Transcendence is, by definition, very difficult to achieve and even harder to maintain.
But it may also be that Barcelona's early surge was part of a calculated plan, and that is why the comparison with Lobanovskyi seems apt, even though the more direct line of influence is through Michels and Johan Cruyff. Pressing with the intensity Barcelona achieved on Wednesday is exhausting, and cannot be kept up for long periods.
In The Methodological Basis of the Development of Training Models, the book he co-wrote with Anatoliy Zelentsov, Lobanovskyi lays out three different kinds of pressing. There is full-pressing, when opponents are hounded deep in their own half; half-pressing, when opponents are closed down only as they cross halfway; and there is false pressing, when a team pretends to press, but doesn't – that is, one player would close down the man in possession, while the others would sit off.
Particularly against technically gifted opponents, Lobanovskyi would have his sides perform the full-press early to rattle them, after which false pressing would often be enough to induce a mistake – and often, of course, his side would be comfortably ahead after the period of full-pressing.
Whether Guardiola has quite such a structured theory is unlikely, but it does seem probable that there was a conscious effort from Barcelona to impose themselves early. The only problem was that, mainly through excellent goalkeeping, and partly through ill luck and poor finishing, Barça were not ahead after 20 minutes, and Arsenal, this season, as their catalogue of decisive late goals suggests, are rather more resilient than they used to be.
Pressing back
Arsenal's attempts to respond with pressing of their own were, frankly, dismal. Allowance should be made for how shaken they were in the early minutes, but the gulf between the sides was still obvious. For pressing to be effective the team must remain compact, which is why Rafael Benítez is so often to be seen on the touchline pushing his hands towards each other as though he were playing an invisible accordion. Arrigo Sacchi said the preferred distance from centre-forward to centre-back when out of possession was 25m, but the liberalisation of the offside trap (of which more next week) has made the calculation rather more complicated.
Again and again, Arsenal's forwards would press, and a huge gap would open up between that line and the line of the midfield. Or the midfield would press, and a gap would open in front of the back four. What that means is that the player in possession can simply step round the challenger into space, or play a simple pass to a player moving into the space; the purpose of the pressing is negated. Or, if you prefer, it was as though Arsenal were false-pressing, without having achieved the first stage of the hustle which is to persuade the opposition you are good at pressing.
Even worse followed after Arsène Wenger apparently attempted to address the issue at half-time, and encouraged his back four to push up. The problem, though, is that if the timing and organisation of the step-up are amiss, a side becomes vulnerable to simple balls over the top such as led to the first goal, or through-balls such as led to the second. This has been a recurring problem for Arsenal over the past couple of years, Gabriel Agbonlahor's goal for Aston Villa at the Emirates last season being a classic example.
The Walcott protocol
What turned the game towards Arsenal – although even in the final 25 minutes when they scored twice, it would be a stretch to say they took control – was the introduction of Theo Walcott. When England beat Croatia 4-1 in Zagreb 18 months ago, he was a key player not just because he scored a hat-trick, but because his pace hit at Croatia's attacking system on their left. At Euro 2008, they had got used to Ivan Rakitic cutting in on to his right foot, with the full-back Danijel Pranjic overlapping, but Pranjic, aware of the danger of allowing Walcott to get behind him, became inhibited. He was neutralised as an attacking threat, while Rakitic became predictable, always turning infield without anybody outside him to draw the full-back – which is the downside of the inside-out winger.
By the nature of how they play, Barcelona, similarly, are vulnerable in the full-back areas. Dani Alves, in particular, is a sham of a defender – which is why Dunga prefers Maicon – but so long as Barcelona control possession it doesn't matter because his job is to be an extra man in midfield and to overlap for Messi (it may have been fear he would not be able to get forward as usual that led Guardiola to use Messi not on the right but as a false nine).
That is one of the reasons Barça's pressing is so awesome; with the full-backs pushed on, their system often appears as, effectively, a 2-5-3. To press with so many so high is a gamble, but one that has tended to be effective. Florent Malouda's performance against Alves in the second leg of the semi-final last year is an indication of what happens when the gamble fails and Barça do not control possession.
The arrival of Walcott disrupted Barça's pressing because Maxwell, like Pranjic, suddenly began looking over his shoulder (in a similar way, Charlie Davies's diagonal runs behind the full-back were a key to USA's victory over Spain at the Confederations Cup because they prevented Sergio Ramos pushing forward and so made Spain very narrow in midfield).
Samir Nasri had earlier had some success against Alves – almost all Arsenal's attacks in the first hour came through him, or through space he had created – and once Arsenal had weathered Barça's initial surge and begun to have some possession, it may be that Arshavin could have done something similar against Maxwell. Real pace, though, adds another dimension, because it means the full-back knows that as soon as the wide-man has got behind him, he has no chance of catching up. Perhaps that is an argument for Walcott starting, but then again, without Eboué last week, maybe they wouldn't have got any grip on possession.
And that, really, is the dilemma for Arsenal: attack Barcelona where they are vulnerable, by playing two out and out attacking wide-men, and the danger is you never have enough possession to make the most of that potential advantage. Concentrate on winning possession by playing more cautiously, and you may have no damaging way in which to use it.
The bigger problem, though, is the issue of pressing. Even if all else is equal, the fact remains that Barça are far, far more adept at winning the ball back than Arsenal, and that makes it all but certain they will dominate possession, and thus the game. Maslov and Lobanovskyi would have approved.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/apr/06/question-pressing-crucial-modern-game
The Question: Why is pressing so crucial in the modern game?
Barcelona and Bayern Munich both demonstrated the value of pressing the opposition to regain possession quickly last week
After Valeriy Lobanovskyi's Dynamo Kyiv had beaten Zenit Leningrad 3-0 in October 1981 to seal their 10th Soviet title, the report in Sportyvna Hazeta lamented that Viktor Maslov was not alive to see his conception of the game taken to such heights. It's a shame both weren't still with us to have seen those ideas taken to another level again by Barcelona against Arsenal last Wednesday.
As many have noted over the past week, Barcelona's rapid interchange of passes, the relentless attacking and the marauding full-backs perhaps recall one of the great Brazil sides, but the underlying process by which they play comes through the line of Maslov, Rinus Michels and Lobanovskyi.
"Without the ball," Pep Guardiola said after last season's Champions League final, "we are a disastrous team, a horrible team, so we need the ball." It is a sentence that could equally be used of Arsenal: of course they are much better in possession than out of it. The difference is that Barcelona are much better at regaining possession than Arsenal.
After 20 minutes last Wednesday, Barcelona had had 72% of the possession, a barely fathomable figure against anybody, never mind against a side so noted for their passing ability as Arsenal. Their domination in that area came not so much because they are better technically – although they probably are – but because they are better at pressing. In that opening spell, Barça snapped into tackles, swirled around Arsenal, pressured them even deep in their own half. It was a remorseless, bewildering assault; there was no respite anywhere on the pitch, not even when the ball was rolled by the goalkeeper to a full-back just outside the box.
Arsenal buckled. Again and again, even players for whom composure in possession is usually a default gave the ball away. It's hard to believe Cesc Fábregas, who was admittedly possibly hampered by injury, has ever passed the ball as poorly as he did in the first half. Andrey Arshavin was so discombobulated he did a mini-Gazza and crocked his knee lunging at Sergio Busquets.
The psychological factor
This is the unspoken strength of Barcelona: they aren't just majestic in possession themselves; they also make other sides tentative in possession. Think not just of Arsenal, but of Michael Carrick and Anderson haplessly misplacing passes in Rome last May. Partly that is because Barça are so quick to close space; but it is also psychological. Barça are so good in possession, so unlikely to give the ball back, that every moment when their opponents have the ball becomes unbearably precious; even simple passes become loaded with pressure because the consequences of misplacing them are so great.
Although less spectacular in possession, Dunga's Brazil do something similar, aided, as Rob Smyth noted, by having conned the world into believing they still play in a way that they haven't since 1982. That's why so many pundits seem baffled by Brazil's recent successes in the Confederations Cup and the Copa America. John Terry, having watched from the stands as they beat England 1-0 in Doha last year, was still talking about them having "individuals who can frighten anyone one-on-on" while insisting "I don't think Brazil are anything really to worry about".
Their individuals probably aren't, but individuality is no longer their strength; their strength is their cohesion, and the discipline of their pressing which, allied to their technique when in possession, means their opponents almost never have the ball, something Wayne Rooney pointed out in a post-match interview in which his bright red face paid eloquent testament to just how much fruitless chasing he had done.
Notably, Brazil's worst recent performance came in their 1-1 draw in World Cup qualifying away to Ecuador, when only a string of saves from Julio Cesar preserved them from heavy defeat; in Quito, of course, the altitude makes the physical effort required for hard pressing far more difficult.
Shock and awe
Even in the context of their own excellence, though, Barça were exceptional in that opening 20 minutes. Which raises the question of why then, why not every game, and why not in the final 70 minutes. Perhaps an element of complacency crept in, perhaps Arsenal slowly shook themselves out of their daze and began to play, perhaps the replacement of Arshavin with Emmanuel Eboué gave them a greater defensive presence on the right; certainly those seemed to be the commonest explanations.
It is, anyway, a historical truth that when sides strike a period when everything clicks perfectly as it did for Barça in that early period, it rarely lasts more than a few minutes, even in performances held up as the greatest of all time. West Germany, for instance, only really played brilliantly for the first 35 minutes of their 3-1 win over England at Wembley in 1972. Even Hungary, in their 6-3 demolition of England in 1953, were done after 65 minutes, and had dipped towards the end of the first half. Transcendence is, by definition, very difficult to achieve and even harder to maintain.
But it may also be that Barcelona's early surge was part of a calculated plan, and that is why the comparison with Lobanovskyi seems apt, even though the more direct line of influence is through Michels and Johan Cruyff. Pressing with the intensity Barcelona achieved on Wednesday is exhausting, and cannot be kept up for long periods.
In The Methodological Basis of the Development of Training Models, the book he co-wrote with Anatoliy Zelentsov, Lobanovskyi lays out three different kinds of pressing. There is full-pressing, when opponents are hounded deep in their own half; half-pressing, when opponents are closed down only as they cross halfway; and there is false pressing, when a team pretends to press, but doesn't – that is, one player would close down the man in possession, while the others would sit off.
Particularly against technically gifted opponents, Lobanovskyi would have his sides perform the full-press early to rattle them, after which false pressing would often be enough to induce a mistake – and often, of course, his side would be comfortably ahead after the period of full-pressing.
Whether Guardiola has quite such a structured theory is unlikely, but it does seem probable that there was a conscious effort from Barcelona to impose themselves early. The only problem was that, mainly through excellent goalkeeping, and partly through ill luck and poor finishing, Barça were not ahead after 20 minutes, and Arsenal, this season, as their catalogue of decisive late goals suggests, are rather more resilient than they used to be.
Pressing back
Arsenal's attempts to respond with pressing of their own were, frankly, dismal. Allowance should be made for how shaken they were in the early minutes, but the gulf between the sides was still obvious. For pressing to be effective the team must remain compact, which is why Rafael Benítez is so often to be seen on the touchline pushing his hands towards each other as though he were playing an invisible accordion. Arrigo Sacchi said the preferred distance from centre-forward to centre-back when out of possession was 25m, but the liberalisation of the offside trap (of which more next week) has made the calculation rather more complicated.
Again and again, Arsenal's forwards would press, and a huge gap would open up between that line and the line of the midfield. Or the midfield would press, and a gap would open in front of the back four. What that means is that the player in possession can simply step round the challenger into space, or play a simple pass to a player moving into the space; the purpose of the pressing is negated. Or, if you prefer, it was as though Arsenal were false-pressing, without having achieved the first stage of the hustle which is to persuade the opposition you are good at pressing.
Even worse followed after Arsène Wenger apparently attempted to address the issue at half-time, and encouraged his back four to push up. The problem, though, is that if the timing and organisation of the step-up are amiss, a side becomes vulnerable to simple balls over the top such as led to the first goal, or through-balls such as led to the second. This has been a recurring problem for Arsenal over the past couple of years, Gabriel Agbonlahor's goal for Aston Villa at the Emirates last season being a classic example.
The Walcott protocol
What turned the game towards Arsenal – although even in the final 25 minutes when they scored twice, it would be a stretch to say they took control – was the introduction of Theo Walcott. When England beat Croatia 4-1 in Zagreb 18 months ago, he was a key player not just because he scored a hat-trick, but because his pace hit at Croatia's attacking system on their left. At Euro 2008, they had got used to Ivan Rakitic cutting in on to his right foot, with the full-back Danijel Pranjic overlapping, but Pranjic, aware of the danger of allowing Walcott to get behind him, became inhibited. He was neutralised as an attacking threat, while Rakitic became predictable, always turning infield without anybody outside him to draw the full-back – which is the downside of the inside-out winger.
By the nature of how they play, Barcelona, similarly, are vulnerable in the full-back areas. Dani Alves, in particular, is a sham of a defender – which is why Dunga prefers Maicon – but so long as Barcelona control possession it doesn't matter because his job is to be an extra man in midfield and to overlap for Messi (it may have been fear he would not be able to get forward as usual that led Guardiola to use Messi not on the right but as a false nine).
That is one of the reasons Barça's pressing is so awesome; with the full-backs pushed on, their system often appears as, effectively, a 2-5-3. To press with so many so high is a gamble, but one that has tended to be effective. Florent Malouda's performance against Alves in the second leg of the semi-final last year is an indication of what happens when the gamble fails and Barça do not control possession.
The arrival of Walcott disrupted Barça's pressing because Maxwell, like Pranjic, suddenly began looking over his shoulder (in a similar way, Charlie Davies's diagonal runs behind the full-back were a key to USA's victory over Spain at the Confederations Cup because they prevented Sergio Ramos pushing forward and so made Spain very narrow in midfield).
Samir Nasri had earlier had some success against Alves – almost all Arsenal's attacks in the first hour came through him, or through space he had created – and once Arsenal had weathered Barça's initial surge and begun to have some possession, it may be that Arshavin could have done something similar against Maxwell. Real pace, though, adds another dimension, because it means the full-back knows that as soon as the wide-man has got behind him, he has no chance of catching up. Perhaps that is an argument for Walcott starting, but then again, without Eboué last week, maybe they wouldn't have got any grip on possession.
And that, really, is the dilemma for Arsenal: attack Barcelona where they are vulnerable, by playing two out and out attacking wide-men, and the danger is you never have enough possession to make the most of that potential advantage. Concentrate on winning possession by playing more cautiously, and you may have no damaging way in which to use it.
The bigger problem, though, is the issue of pressing. Even if all else is equal, the fact remains that Barça are far, far more adept at winning the ball back than Arsenal, and that makes it all but certain they will dominate possession, and thus the game. Maslov and Lobanovskyi would have approved.
936
Football / Re: Defending higher up the pitch
« on: April 18, 2011, 04:34:25 PM »
Although this can be improved upon, I sincerely doubt that T&T currently have the fitness to press for very long. The other problem is they lack the sort of quick, clinical, technical strikers who could take advantage of the pressing. And in the system, the goalkeeper acts as a sort of sweeper, unless you also have pacey defenders like Puyol.
It requires a tremendous amount of fitness, which is why so few teams are able to sustain it for long. Even Barca, who are the gold standard, struggle to do it beyond 60-70 minutes, which is usually when other teams can get back in the game, if they manage to survive the onslaught.City had it done to them by Liverpool last week. Matter of fact, the second goal came as Liverpool pressed City after losing possession in the attacking third. They recovered the ball and set up the second. 'Pool did not give City the chance to build from the back, as they closed down the space and hounded them in their defensive third all game.
I had a college coach who wanted us to high pressure for 90 mins. I thought he was crazy. The level of fitness required for that is intense, although the sub in and out nature of the NCAA was a good forum for that style of play.
can TT employ this tactic when playing our central american opponents, if we have the a solid backline under Pfister.
As Dansteel states, fitness is key, if TT were ever to attempt this strategy, i would suggest a sweeper as insurance, in the mold of the Old Italian Catenaccio system.
937
Football / Re: Defending higher up the pitch
« on: April 18, 2011, 04:15:18 PM »
It requires a tremendous amount of fitness, which is why so few teams are able to sustain it for long. Even Barca, who are the gold standard, struggle to do it beyond 60-70 minutes, which is usually when other teams can get back in the game, if they manage to survive the onslaught.
City had it done to them by Liverpool last week. Matter of fact, the second goal came as Liverpool pressed City after losing possession in the attacking third. They recovered the ball and set up the second. 'Pool did not give City the chance to build from the back, as they closed down the space and hounded them in their defensive third all game.
I had a college coach who wanted us to high pressure for 90 mins. I thought he was crazy. The level of fitness required for that is intense, although the sub in and out nature of the NCAA was a good forum for that style of play.
938
Football / Re: Defending higher up the pitch
« on: April 18, 2011, 03:00:15 PM »
During the World Cup Chile used it the tactic as their standard operating procedure. They looked very good and gave Spain all kinds of problems, hounding Xavi, Busquets and Xabi Alonso mercilessly. Ultimately Torres pace and a lucky rebound beat them, which highlights the system's vulnerability to quick strikers once the midfield press breaks down. Then Brazil knocked them out because of their technical superiority and Robinho's movement.
The high press is a nice thing to watch- very exciting and high impact. You have to be superb in possession to play that game because you're relying on having the ball alot more than the opposition... The amount of running and hustling required is not sustainable for 90 mins if you're chasing the ball more than possessing it...
Other than Barca, I recall Argentina played a high press in Copa 2007 and the opposition didn't know how to handle it...couldn't see their way...then came Brazil, and that was all she wrote.
939
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 18, 2011, 11:12:19 AM »
We'll see. Arsenal have made it very tough for themsselves but a true fan doesn't give up on his side till it over. We need some favours though, so will be looking for Chelsea and others to help us out. Until then.
I don't see how failure to use proven tactics is a weakness of mentality though. That "mental strength" rubbish is just to sell papers and make it look like football commentators know what they talking about when in fact most of them don't. If you need someone to "motivate" or "inspire" you then you shouldn't be there.
I don't see how failure to use proven tactics is a weakness of mentality though. That "mental strength" rubbish is just to sell papers and make it look like football commentators know what they talking about when in fact most of them don't. If you need someone to "motivate" or "inspire" you then you shouldn't be there.
Agreed. Sad to see an experienced player making such a stupid mistake. Problem is, Arsenal should have been leading that game at half time but the attack is misfiring badly. Defensively the team has been very solid, but the cutting edge just isn't there. They increasingly face deep, well organised defences and are missing the extra edge. If you look at Arsenal's games in the early part of the season, where are Nasri's quick one-twos on the edge of the box? Where are Song's late runs from deep? Where are Walcott's dashes into the opposition's left hand channel? This is how Arsenal was able to crack open deep defences at the turn of the year and now it looks as if they have forgotten how.we will see dem plays from Aug - Jan in the 2011-2012 season...this team not ready mentally...and as for yuh coach...he should fall on he sword...he has no pressure to win...p.s. thanks for the titleNo matter how much time was put on the clock, Eboue had no excuse for bundling over a player who was running away from goal and posed no threat what so ever....
940
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 18, 2011, 10:35:17 AM »
Agreed. Sad to see an experienced player making such a stupid mistake. Problem is, Arsenal should have been leading that game at half time but the attack is misfiring badly. Defensively the team has been very solid, but the cutting edge just isn't there. They increasingly face deep, well organised defences and are missing the extra edge. If you look at Arsenal's games in the early part of the season, where are Nasri's quick one-twos on the edge of the box? Where are Song's late runs from deep? Where are Walcott's dashes into the opposition's left hand channel? This is how Arsenal was able to crack open deep defences at the turn of the year and now it looks as if they have forgotten how.
No matter how much time was put on the clock, Eboue had no excuse for bundling over a player who was running away from goal and posed no threat what so ever....
941
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 17, 2011, 08:06:50 PM »
It can't be too difficult to link the ref's watch with a game clock of some kind. They have radios after all.
this isn't sour grapes because I have raised this point before but why does FIFA leave time keeping to the reff and 4th official???
Too much room for error and space for accusations of cheating or favoritism
It should be like in basketball the reff only blows a whistle for action on the field period
Refs catch their ass to see everything as the game goes on farless what time it is how much to add etc
Why won't FIFA do they things that will increase integrity to the game?
What exactly are you complaining about? There were two very long delays caused by injuries to both Carroll and Carragher. I was actually surprised there wasn't more time added. Then on top of that you had two more delays in added time... one for Arsenal's penalty and then for the Suarez free kick. Time keeping definitely wasn't a factor in this game.
sigh
complaining about timekeeping in general for football games.
this will avoid stupid discussions about how much time should or shouldn't be added etc
take away the timekeeping responsibility of the ref let him focus on the game not a stop watch
942
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 17, 2011, 06:36:05 PM »
If people are so dissatisfied and angered with the performances and how the club is run then they should stop going to games. End of story. Booing the team is the same as supporting the opposition. Let those people piss off to Spuds or Manure.
a day like today is just to zone out oui...thank god for nba playoffs. i refuse to let arsenal send my pressure up.It had a game today? Lol
I hear you I not letting this or any football affect my mood too much more important things worry about in life
Haven't watched game but recorded it from all accounts will have to fast forward toll the 90th min
Never giving up on this side but they are turning into professional chokers
The fans booing is understandable but not acceptable
Understandable because the performances they see infront of them doesn't match the rhetoric read on the website from the players and manager
Too many times the fans have seen lackluster performances or deer in headlights when they need to be ruthless killers thirsty for success
And when we read from wenger he would sign up for twenty years of second place I want to vomit
No wonder the players deliver what he preaches
Wenger I think is desperately clinging to a philosphy that needs to be kept but needs some evolutionary tweaking
As for booing it is sad and shouldn't happen but what do the fans have left to show the board the manager and the players that they just aren't listening or doing anything differently?
943
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 17, 2011, 03:22:01 PM »Today Arsenal were very guilty of trying to walk it into the goal.Agreed. Wenger like he forget the plan B they had at the start of 2011.
That was frustrating to watch. Shoot de damn ball!
944
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 17, 2011, 02:57:10 PM »
Tough draw. 2 soft but legit penalties. Cable cut out just before the Pool free kick but now see the replay. Eboue need a hard slap. I hope van Persie blow him out like he did Diaby last week. Why Wenger insist on playing Bendtner on the wing I doh know. And where is the forward running from midfield? Now have to hear more illiterate bullsh*t about "mental strength" from the Arsenal haters and so called football experts.
Pisses me off to see Gooners in the stands booing at the end of a disappointing game. We don't need those kind of fans. Arsenal supporters are supposed to have class. Go and support United or Barca with all the other bandwagonists.
You up against it now Arsenal. Hope for some luck and stop playing the fool.
Pisses me off to see Gooners in the stands booing at the end of a disappointing game. We don't need those kind of fans. Arsenal supporters are supposed to have class. Go and support United or Barca with all the other bandwagonists.
You up against it now Arsenal. Hope for some luck and stop playing the fool.
945
Football / Re: The Stretford End- Home of the Champions
« on: April 17, 2011, 08:34:37 AM »
That's strange, I thought they were playing City. How did Arsenal come in to this? Somebody getting scared.
946
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 15, 2011, 02:55:13 PM »
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What a great article. Glad to know there's another Gooner on here who appreciates Brian Phillips football writing. A bit self congratulatory (if he's a Gooner) but it reflects a lot of what I feel about Wenger's Arsenal, which I love for somewhat different reasons than I loved GG's Arsenal.
What a great article. Glad to know there's another Gooner on here who appreciates Brian Phillips football writing. A bit self congratulatory (if he's a Gooner) but it reflects a lot of what I feel about Wenger's Arsenal, which I love for somewhat different reasons than I loved GG's Arsenal.
947
Football / Re: Real Madrid - Barcelona, what they cost ...
« on: April 15, 2011, 12:32:14 PM »plenty of them thing does sound good in theory, youth academy and thing.That and they have spent 700 Million Euros in transfers to Real's 1 Billion since 2000, so are they not angels. Plus they so in debt they couldn't pay salaries last June. They had to get the Spanish bank La Caixa to bail dem out.
You hadda have real paper and excellent management and plenty luck to make that happen anywhere in the world, far less trinidad.
Nutten aint wrong either with Real business plan.
When last I check, I think Barca might have been in more debt than Real, not sure, but they recently had to sign some deal to put a sponsor on their shirt under the UNICEF to defray some of it.
948
Football / Re: Adam's Construction sponsors San Juan Jabloteh
« on: April 15, 2011, 10:11:09 AM »949
Football / Re: Look Loy: Caribbean football needs to improve
« on: April 14, 2011, 05:55:20 PM »
What coach training facilities does the TTFF provide on a regular basis? Asking as someone who is new to the local game.
950
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 14, 2011, 11:06:40 AM »
From Le Boss:
"We have no new injuries but we have a big doubt on Sagna," Wenger told Arsenal TV Online on Thursday.
"Djourou and Wojciech are question marks. Will they be fit? That all has still to be decided. We have two more days to find out. It could be a possibility that they could be available. "It's difficult to say what their chances are. We have a test Thursday, we have a big test to see how they survive the training session. That will be very important.
"Denilson and Song have a chance to be available as well."
Thomas Vermaelen will not be fit to face Liverpool but Wenger confirmed that the Belgian defender is back in full training after missing most of the season with tendon problems.
"I am not reluctant to use him but he is not match fit yet," said the manager. "He just joined the team this week so we have to be a bit patient with him."
"We have no new injuries but we have a big doubt on Sagna," Wenger told Arsenal TV Online on Thursday.
"Djourou and Wojciech are question marks. Will they be fit? That all has still to be decided. We have two more days to find out. It could be a possibility that they could be available. "It's difficult to say what their chances are. We have a test Thursday, we have a big test to see how they survive the training session. That will be very important.
"Denilson and Song have a chance to be available as well."
Thomas Vermaelen will not be fit to face Liverpool but Wenger confirmed that the Belgian defender is back in full training after missing most of the season with tendon problems.
"I am not reluctant to use him but he is not match fit yet," said the manager. "He just joined the team this week so we have to be a bit patient with him."
951
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 13, 2011, 09:59:52 PM »
I believe you're right. I sincerely hope so. Taking Denilson off at halftime a few weeks ago was the first time in ages I remember seeing Wenger make an unforced tactical substitution before the 60th minute. The old ruthlessness is coming back.
I had forgotten about Diaby. Nice to see he has his shooting boots back... for now. Long may it continue. Would like to see more of Rambo, but I honestly haven't paid much attention to his defensive work.
I had forgotten about Diaby. Nice to see he has his shooting boots back... for now. Long may it continue. Would like to see more of Rambo, but I honestly haven't paid much attention to his defensive work.
Szczesny and Djourou expected back for Liverpool. Don't know about Song though. Like the sound of that as we back to our strongest defence, but I fraid Denilson play instead of Song. Although if Liverpool play the heavy pressing game they did against City he might not be such a bad pick, as long as somebody else does the tackling for him.
Denilson will not play if Diaby, Wilshere and Ramsey are fit. I would be very surprised if Wenger hasn't lost patience with Denilson by now. Now that we're only playing one game a week, Denilson should no longer be needed.
952
Football / Re: Philly's Trinidadians stick together in debut season
« on: April 13, 2011, 05:14:27 PM »
Well done. Philly for it!
953
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 13, 2011, 03:25:47 PM »
Szczesny and Djourou expected back for Liverpool. Don't know about Song though. Like the sound of that as we back to our strongest defence, but I fraid Denilson play instead of Song. Although if Liverpool play the heavy pressing game they did against City he might not be such a bad pick, as long as somebody else does the tackling for him.
954
Football / Re: CHELSEA FOREVER! - Home of the Champions!
« on: April 12, 2011, 06:37:31 PM »
Chelsea will never win a Champions League without a creator. Last season the only difference between Chelsea and Inter was Wesley Sneijder.
955
Football / Re: CHELSEA FOREVER! - Home of the Champions!
« on: April 12, 2011, 06:21:32 PM »
Hard luck Chelsea, Drogs shoulda start. He is still Vidic daddy.
956
Football / Re: CHELSEA FOREVER! - Home of the Champions!
« on: April 12, 2011, 06:14:53 PM »
Talk when you play Barca with a man down. Until then 
Dat is just Man U fans being Man U fans.i just curious but has manu actually won anything yet this season?
why they acting like its a done deal?
i thought that u guys would've done like u team and taken the day off?
957
Football / Re: CHELSEA FOREVER! - Home of the Champions!
« on: April 12, 2011, 02:47:49 PM »
Dat is just Man U fans being Man U fans.
i just curious but has manu actually won anything yet this season?
why they acting like its a done deal?
958
Football / Re: CHELSEA FOREVER! - Home of the Champions!
« on: April 12, 2011, 08:35:05 AM »
Chow, i saw this article today that talks about what we were discussing after the first leg.
The Question: What has gone wrong for Fernando Torres at Chelsea?
The Spaniard looks like a vanity signing for Roman Abramovich and is destined to struggle unless he is deployed as a lone striker
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/apr/12/the-question-fernando-torres-chelsea
Fernando Torres is proving to be an expensive problem at Chelsea. Football is not a predictable game. A team can have 20 chances and still lose to a side that musters only one. All a coach can do is manipulate the percentages as best he can in his favour. With that caveat in mind, though, a prediction – in the next decade, no side will win a major international tournament playing an orthodox 4-4-2.
When a good side play with three central midfielders, whether in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 (or either of their close cousins, 4‑2‑1‑3 and 4-1-2-3), they will almost inevitably dominate possession against a side playing only two central midfielders. The old defence of a high offside line simply is not as effective as it used to be thanks to the liberalisation of the rule.
Even if the three do not dominate possession, fielding only two central midfelders leaves a side vulnerable if one of those central players pushes forward, a problem that dogged Manchester United in European competition for much of the late 1990s (the defeats to Borussia Dortmund in 1997, Monaco in 1998 and Real Madrid in 2000; the success of 1999 might have been less fraught with a more cautious approach), and could be glimpsed again in the nervy final minutes of the last-16 victory over Marseille.
It was notable that in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final, as soon as Chelsea switched from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3, so too did Manchester United, matching them shape-for-shape rather than offering numerical superiority in the centre. Nonetheless, Chelsea had much their best spell in that final 20 minutes. Even Fernando Torres looked sharper, drawing a superb save from Edwin van der Sar with a header back across goal, and flicking the ball on for Ramires leading to the incident in which Patrice Evra got away with a foul on the Brazilian on the 18-yard line. This raises the question of why Chelsea have switched to a 4-4-2.
The lesson of Vienna
One of the oddities of Euro 2008 was that Spain played their best football without their top scorer. David Villa got five goals in Spain's first four games, but it was after he was injured 34 minutes into the semi-final against Russia that Spain produced their best stuff. Villa was replaced by Cesc Fábregas, and the extra man in midfield – a switch from 4-1-3-2 to 4-1-4-1 – allowed Spain to pen in Russia's full-backs, Alexander Anyukov and Yuri Zhirkov, who had looked threatening in the opening stages. The change also allowed Torres to operate as a lone forward. He promptly produced his best performance of a tournament in which he had begun to draw criticism as Spain won 3-0, and topped that with his display against Germany in the final.
The lesson seemed clear: Torres is at his best operating alone. He is quick, and so adept on the counterattack, he offers enough physical presence to hold the ball up, and he is intelligent enough in his use of the ball to bring runners from deep into play. He seemed at the time the model of a modern centre-forward. That was how he was used most successfully at Liverpool, which raises the question of why, since he joined Chelsea, he has so persistently been used in a 4-4-2.
Other issues
The formation is not the only problem, clearly. Football is littered with examples of forwards – Ronaldo, Alan Shearer, Michael Owen – who have lost a fraction of pace after a major operation. It is to be hoped that Torres, now 27, is not one of them, but he is discernibly slower than he was 18 months ago. With the European Championship, the Confederations Cup and the World Cup, it is 2007 since he had a proper summer break. Others in the Spain squad, of course, have been subjected to a similarly hectic schedule (although the intensity of the Premier League probably makes those based in England more prone to fatigue), but the combination of tiredness and injury is a debilitating combination – as Andriy Shevchenko found in his days at Chelsea.
Then there is the great intangible of confidence. Coming back from his operation, Torres had a poor World Cup, which perhaps made him doubt his recovery. He needed to return to a calm, stable club where he could feel his way back in to form, but instead he went back to a Liverpool whose ownership was being decided in the courts and where a lame-duck manager was being hammered by fans and players alike. Whatever you think of the rights and wrongs of Torres leaving Anfield, the environment was not helpful to a player in need of reassurance. He was out of form but as in previous seasons, he was expected to be one of the two or three players to drag the team to respectability.
Moving to Chelsea has only increased the pressure. He has again joined a club scrabbling for form, only this time he has done so with the expectation that a £50m price-tag brings, and without any of the goodwill brought by memories of past performances. The journalist Patrick Barclay raised the suggestion last weekend that Torres may prove to be the worst transfer in the history of football and while it would be absurd to write him off this early, that could easily turn out to be the case. The current holder of that title is probably Shevchenko – 47 largely desultory appearances for Chelsea after a £30m move – which suggests lessons have not been learned.
Mourinho's ghost
Money does not bring wisdom. Centre-forwards are glamorous and exciting, and it is understandable that a man who can effectively buy what he wants should acquire too many. Shevchenko and Torres, though, have become to Abramovich what the gold taps were to Saddam Hussein. Since Mourinho's time, Chelsea's squad have been geared to play 4-1-2-3 – something that is particularly true of the midfield. With a holding player, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien have licence to get forward and provide a goal threat from deep.
There has been a slight evolution, in that Mourinho preferred his full-backs to sit relatively deep and operated with genuine wide-forwards in Arjen Robben and Damien Duff, while more modern incarnations have had Nicolas Anelka playing half-wide on the right and the muscular presence of Florent Malouda on the left with much of the width provided by the full-backs. The basic shape, though, remains the same. Luiz Felipe Scolari and Ancelotti have both attempted to change formation; one was ousted and one ended up going back to 4-1-2-3. Perhaps Avram Grant did little management in getting Chelsea to the 2008 Champions League final, but at least he had the wit not to change a shape that worked.
Torres's arrival, though, seems to have brought an edict that Ancelotti must play him and either Didier Drogba or Anelka in the biggest games. That does not suit either forward, and 4-4-2 does not suit the rest of the squad. Lampard needs a holder behind him to be able to make the forward runs that have brought him so many goals. Whether Malouda or Zhirkov plays on the left, with Ramires shuttling on the right, there is a dearth of creative spark. Ancelotti, quite rightly, attacked those players who were trying to win Saturday's game against Wigan single-handedly and called for greater "teamwork", but his real problem, surely, is that the team does not work.
Yes, Torres is clearly anxious to make an impression, score his first goal for the club and stop the clock on his barren period, but even if the whole squad are in form, it is hard to see how the present squad can play fluently in a 4-4-2 (and even if they do, they would probably be too open to win a major competition).
Perhaps the logic is that, at 32, Drogba is nearing the end of his career – although he was a later starter in professional football which may prolong his effectiveness – and Torres is seen as his long-term replacement. Even then, though, as this analysis by Miguel Delaney highlights, Chelsea may not have the players to get the best out of him. Torres is not a Drogba figure who will win high balls; he thrives on through balls and low crosses (and note how his few good moments on Saturday were related to the involvement of Yossi Benayoun). Perhaps Torres is only the first of a flock of signings, but if so it seems almost cruel to have exposed him before the support structure is in place.
If the intention is to build a new team around Torres, it seems a remarkable gamble given there is no guarantee he will fully recover the form of 18 months ago. And if the intention was for Torres to replace Drogba, of course, there should be no compulsion to play him. He could come off the bench, slowly feeling his way into the role he would occupy next season. All of which suggests that Torres is, like Shevchenko, at least in part a vanity signing by Abramovich. That is not good for the player, and it is not good for Chelsea.
The Question: What has gone wrong for Fernando Torres at Chelsea?
The Spaniard looks like a vanity signing for Roman Abramovich and is destined to struggle unless he is deployed as a lone striker
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/apr/12/the-question-fernando-torres-chelsea
Fernando Torres is proving to be an expensive problem at Chelsea. Football is not a predictable game. A team can have 20 chances and still lose to a side that musters only one. All a coach can do is manipulate the percentages as best he can in his favour. With that caveat in mind, though, a prediction – in the next decade, no side will win a major international tournament playing an orthodox 4-4-2.
When a good side play with three central midfielders, whether in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 (or either of their close cousins, 4‑2‑1‑3 and 4-1-2-3), they will almost inevitably dominate possession against a side playing only two central midfielders. The old defence of a high offside line simply is not as effective as it used to be thanks to the liberalisation of the rule.
Even if the three do not dominate possession, fielding only two central midfelders leaves a side vulnerable if one of those central players pushes forward, a problem that dogged Manchester United in European competition for much of the late 1990s (the defeats to Borussia Dortmund in 1997, Monaco in 1998 and Real Madrid in 2000; the success of 1999 might have been less fraught with a more cautious approach), and could be glimpsed again in the nervy final minutes of the last-16 victory over Marseille.
It was notable that in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final, as soon as Chelsea switched from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3, so too did Manchester United, matching them shape-for-shape rather than offering numerical superiority in the centre. Nonetheless, Chelsea had much their best spell in that final 20 minutes. Even Fernando Torres looked sharper, drawing a superb save from Edwin van der Sar with a header back across goal, and flicking the ball on for Ramires leading to the incident in which Patrice Evra got away with a foul on the Brazilian on the 18-yard line. This raises the question of why Chelsea have switched to a 4-4-2.
The lesson of Vienna
One of the oddities of Euro 2008 was that Spain played their best football without their top scorer. David Villa got five goals in Spain's first four games, but it was after he was injured 34 minutes into the semi-final against Russia that Spain produced their best stuff. Villa was replaced by Cesc Fábregas, and the extra man in midfield – a switch from 4-1-3-2 to 4-1-4-1 – allowed Spain to pen in Russia's full-backs, Alexander Anyukov and Yuri Zhirkov, who had looked threatening in the opening stages. The change also allowed Torres to operate as a lone forward. He promptly produced his best performance of a tournament in which he had begun to draw criticism as Spain won 3-0, and topped that with his display against Germany in the final.
The lesson seemed clear: Torres is at his best operating alone. He is quick, and so adept on the counterattack, he offers enough physical presence to hold the ball up, and he is intelligent enough in his use of the ball to bring runners from deep into play. He seemed at the time the model of a modern centre-forward. That was how he was used most successfully at Liverpool, which raises the question of why, since he joined Chelsea, he has so persistently been used in a 4-4-2.
Other issues
The formation is not the only problem, clearly. Football is littered with examples of forwards – Ronaldo, Alan Shearer, Michael Owen – who have lost a fraction of pace after a major operation. It is to be hoped that Torres, now 27, is not one of them, but he is discernibly slower than he was 18 months ago. With the European Championship, the Confederations Cup and the World Cup, it is 2007 since he had a proper summer break. Others in the Spain squad, of course, have been subjected to a similarly hectic schedule (although the intensity of the Premier League probably makes those based in England more prone to fatigue), but the combination of tiredness and injury is a debilitating combination – as Andriy Shevchenko found in his days at Chelsea.
Then there is the great intangible of confidence. Coming back from his operation, Torres had a poor World Cup, which perhaps made him doubt his recovery. He needed to return to a calm, stable club where he could feel his way back in to form, but instead he went back to a Liverpool whose ownership was being decided in the courts and where a lame-duck manager was being hammered by fans and players alike. Whatever you think of the rights and wrongs of Torres leaving Anfield, the environment was not helpful to a player in need of reassurance. He was out of form but as in previous seasons, he was expected to be one of the two or three players to drag the team to respectability.
Moving to Chelsea has only increased the pressure. He has again joined a club scrabbling for form, only this time he has done so with the expectation that a £50m price-tag brings, and without any of the goodwill brought by memories of past performances. The journalist Patrick Barclay raised the suggestion last weekend that Torres may prove to be the worst transfer in the history of football and while it would be absurd to write him off this early, that could easily turn out to be the case. The current holder of that title is probably Shevchenko – 47 largely desultory appearances for Chelsea after a £30m move – which suggests lessons have not been learned.
Mourinho's ghost
Money does not bring wisdom. Centre-forwards are glamorous and exciting, and it is understandable that a man who can effectively buy what he wants should acquire too many. Shevchenko and Torres, though, have become to Abramovich what the gold taps were to Saddam Hussein. Since Mourinho's time, Chelsea's squad have been geared to play 4-1-2-3 – something that is particularly true of the midfield. With a holding player, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien have licence to get forward and provide a goal threat from deep.
There has been a slight evolution, in that Mourinho preferred his full-backs to sit relatively deep and operated with genuine wide-forwards in Arjen Robben and Damien Duff, while more modern incarnations have had Nicolas Anelka playing half-wide on the right and the muscular presence of Florent Malouda on the left with much of the width provided by the full-backs. The basic shape, though, remains the same. Luiz Felipe Scolari and Ancelotti have both attempted to change formation; one was ousted and one ended up going back to 4-1-2-3. Perhaps Avram Grant did little management in getting Chelsea to the 2008 Champions League final, but at least he had the wit not to change a shape that worked.
Torres's arrival, though, seems to have brought an edict that Ancelotti must play him and either Didier Drogba or Anelka in the biggest games. That does not suit either forward, and 4-4-2 does not suit the rest of the squad. Lampard needs a holder behind him to be able to make the forward runs that have brought him so many goals. Whether Malouda or Zhirkov plays on the left, with Ramires shuttling on the right, there is a dearth of creative spark. Ancelotti, quite rightly, attacked those players who were trying to win Saturday's game against Wigan single-handedly and called for greater "teamwork", but his real problem, surely, is that the team does not work.
Yes, Torres is clearly anxious to make an impression, score his first goal for the club and stop the clock on his barren period, but even if the whole squad are in form, it is hard to see how the present squad can play fluently in a 4-4-2 (and even if they do, they would probably be too open to win a major competition).
Perhaps the logic is that, at 32, Drogba is nearing the end of his career – although he was a later starter in professional football which may prolong his effectiveness – and Torres is seen as his long-term replacement. Even then, though, as this analysis by Miguel Delaney highlights, Chelsea may not have the players to get the best out of him. Torres is not a Drogba figure who will win high balls; he thrives on through balls and low crosses (and note how his few good moments on Saturday were related to the involvement of Yossi Benayoun). Perhaps Torres is only the first of a flock of signings, but if so it seems almost cruel to have exposed him before the support structure is in place.
If the intention is to build a new team around Torres, it seems a remarkable gamble given there is no guarantee he will fully recover the form of 18 months ago. And if the intention was for Torres to replace Drogba, of course, there should be no compulsion to play him. He could come off the bench, slowly feeling his way into the role he would occupy next season. All of which suggests that Torres is, like Shevchenko, at least in part a vanity signing by Abramovich. That is not good for the player, and it is not good for Chelsea.
959
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 11, 2011, 09:27:51 AM »
In two minds about the takeover. I think the club is already well run and don't want him to come in and mash it up. Maybe he could push Wenger to be a bit more aggressive in the transfer market though. Time will tell.
Hopefully Djourou, Song and Szczesny come back for this weekend's game. We have Liverpool Sunday and Sp*rs next Wednesday (the game in hand) so 2 tough ones in a row. Nothing but 6 points will do for the title challenge.
Hopefully Djourou, Song and Szczesny come back for this weekend's game. We have Liverpool Sunday and Sp*rs next Wednesday (the game in hand) so 2 tough ones in a row. Nothing but 6 points will do for the title challenge.
Yankee Doodle Stanley
looks like arsenal has a new boss, but its business as usual, nto sure if we will buy and sell in summer as a result or if it was already planned to
either way
glad we got the 3 points BUT we still wasting goal chances AND defensive brain farts are still going to cost us till the end of the season
we got a few BIG games up next
starting with liverpool, the spurs then bolton then manu
all potential banana's except manu
960
Football / Re: ARSENAL FOREVER
« on: April 10, 2011, 06:58:32 PM »
Jens looked ok except for 2 crazy moments. The foul before Blackpool's goal and a clearance straight to a Blackpool midfielder in space late in the game. I'm still skeptical but hopefully he keeps refreshing himself with the reserve games. Let's hope Szczesny is back next week and we don't have to worry about this stuff anymore.
Yes it was the pre-Blackpool interview. I would be extremely happy to get Vermaelen back but given his problems this season I'm not getting my hopes up. I just hope he and Djourou can form a long term core partnership and maybe rotate Kos and Squill to keep them sharp. I truly believe that those two can form one of the great central defensive pairs.
Yes it was the pre-Blackpool interview. I would be extremely happy to get Vermaelen back but given his problems this season I'm not getting my hopes up. I just hope he and Djourou can form a long term core partnership and maybe rotate Kos and Squill to keep them sharp. I truly believe that those two can form one of the great central defensive pairs.
I think he specified he would be in the Training Squad, not the team. I think he's done this season. We've heard this before about Vermaelen coming back.Coach say Chesney and JD should be in squad for Liverpool.
also implied that Vermaelen could be back the week after.
As long as there isn't another set back I don't see why he wouldn't play in the last 6 games or how ever many. Not sure if we saw the same interview but I think it's the pre-Blackpool interview on arsenal.com where Wenger sounds like he's saying that Vermaelen is close to being back in the squad. I would welcome it.
You know what's funny. I felt more comfortable with Lehmann in goal today than I've felt with Almunia lately.
