FOOTBALL SEASON 07/08

[colonel Kurtz]

young and foolish..

[Steve]

Congrats to Man Yoo and their fans on this forum: Sayjann, Mekong and any others.

Very entertaining match. A lot of gooners were expecting a worse scoreline. I thought we'd play decently but as they say, expect the worse, hope for the best.

 

This squad needs a wide player, top defender and a shrink.

Only football team I know that attacking players pass near the 6 yard box. Not many reasons to pass in the 18 yard box unless you're a fullback crossing in from an overlapping run. 90% of any other time you take what ever daylight you have and have a go.

Okay, venting over.

 

Interesting now. Pressure on Chelsea but I expect Man Yoo to win the title. Bookies have them favorites for the CL as well. My guess is its a Chelsea v Man Yoo CL final. Barca have Ronaldinho out injured and are playing like crap at the moment. Anyone's guess 'tween Chelsea and Liverpool. May be Chelsea's time finally.

 

 

[The_Munchmaster]

Hard to say, but yes congratulations Man U. It was a fantastic game and I did think Arsenal played brillliantly at times and probably deserved something out of the game, but not to be. I hope Man U will now go on and win the Premier League because as much as that hurts I'd much rather they won it than Chelsea. Man U are a real team developed again and again over many years whereas Chelsea are just an expensive toy.

 

Here's to next season.

[sayjann]

good to see positive comments from the enemy.....

 

i did promise Mr.Munchmaster to praise Arsenal if they won but even thpugh they lost i will still say some nice things.

 

i thought Arsenal were the better Team in the 1st Half and should have been ahead,Adebayor was a little wasteful.

once MU made it 1-1 i thought they looked the stronger but Arsenal still had their chances and could have got that 2nd Goal.

VDS was immense for the 2nd Sunday in a row and saved Ferdinand and Brown the shame of an own Goal.

 

Adebayor cheated with his Goal,using his hand to push the ball into the net....... :onfire:

definate Penalty,Gallas moved his arm to the ball and i would have had no complaints if a Utd Defender had done the same.

but the actual Penalty mysterfied me,it had to be re-taken because of encroachment.

but it was an Arsenal Player who broke the rules first and if Ronnie had missed the 2nd attempt then i think there would have been some complaints.

 

good to see Lehmann look stupid again after his comments about the liverpool game.

i hate the Guy...........

 

finally finished Arsenal's Title bid......

and now down to 2.

a lot has been said over the last few Weeks about Arsenal rebuilding and i think next Season they will be a force to worry about.

 

but MU have showed why they are in the top spot at the moment.

13 points out of 15 against their main rivals this Season.

 

i really enjoyed the Game and thank the Arsenal Players for making the Game exciting.......

[Steve]

If I had to bet I'd say man yoo will win the EPL. If I had a choice its the lesser of two evils in my mind and heart and would hold my nose and choose Chelsea.

I can certainly understand London based gooners not wanting them to win and I can certainly understand purists to give the nod to man yoo based on the better football being more pleasing to the eye on the pitch.

Man Yoo played the better football over the season. Far better. Even though whoever wins the title deserves it, I would also concede that if Chelsea wins it it would seem like they didn't deserve it.

However, I got into the sport when Man Yoo were champions and the top team so, its the club I hate the most (next to Tottenham of course). I hate Chelsea but I hate man yoo more. Its as simple as that. I won't begrudge them one iota if they win it though, they would have fully deserved it.

[Mekong]

CS and Munchie, nice to see both of you magmaninous in defeat, it was a good game and it needed Arsenal to turn up to make it so. How on earth it was still 0-0 at half time i do not know but it showed why United have the best defensive home record in the League.

 

The differance this season has been the differance in quality in the strenght in depth, SAF recognised this last Season against AC Milan in the Semis of the CL and restructured the squad accordingly, Anderson/Hargreaves/Nani/Tevez have all had a positive effect on Uniteds performances and results this term.

 

Wenger and Arsenal have produced some breathtaking football this season an absolute joy to watch, as a united fan for 40+ years I can recognise good football and appreciate it being played well by our competitors, unfortunately your second string players were not quite up to it to maintain the challenge all season long.

 

Hopefully United will go on and win it, a result for entertaining free flowing football and I look forward to next season when United and Arsenal lock horns again.

 

Thank you Arsenal for making this one of the most interesting premierships in many a year and Thank You Arsenal fans for appreciating good football.

[colonel Kurtz]

Old Trafford yesterday at least gave us a performance that we could applaud the team for.

So we know that Arsenal have improved since their first season at Ashburton Grove. An extra round in the Champions League and a place better in the Premier League.

 

Itâ??s a real glass half full/glass half empty situation. I think the first thing I have concluded in the last seven days, backed up by events at Old Trafford is that it is not the inexperience of Arsenal that has been such a facor, it is the lack of quality in depth. Key errors at Anfield and Old Trafford were made by the likes of Toure, Senderos, Gallas and Gilberto. All these players have played in huge games and have winnersâ?? medals to show for it. Errors are made throughout the team, I am not pinning them on the youth of the side.

 

But as a unit, defensively, Arsenal have gone to pot. Sagna is about the only player who can hold his head high at the end of this campaign on that front and boy have we missed him since Chelsea away. Whoever he signs this summer, Arsene Wenger must ensure that one new face at the club is a defensive coach. I understand Boro Primorac works with the defence in training. He isnâ??t doing a very good job.

 

When Arsenal have achieved major results at Old Trafford since Wengerâ??s arrival, the scoreline has invariably been 1-0. Yes, there was the 2-0 in the FA Cup, but in 1998 and 2002, Overmars and Wiltord were the only scorers. Even the 0-0 in 2003 played a huge part in that title, psychologically if nothing else. There would certainly have been no Invincibles or 49ers if Van Nistelrooyâ??s penalty had gone in.

 

Iâ??m not going to dwell too much on the specifics of the game earlier yesterday. The team did enough to win the match, but a mixture of factors did for them â?? poor finishing, poor luck, inspired goalkeeping and individual errors all over the shop. United were equally guilty of the latter though.

And that got me thinking about the difference between this team and the last Arsenal one to to win the title. Position by position, letâ??s face it thereâ??s no comparison. Sagna you could argue is a better right back than Lauren. Fabregas is obviously a dream player, but you know what, the balance was right in the centre of the park in 2004. Vieira was the attacking player out of the first choice duo, with Gilberto holding. But critically, Vieira was immense when Arsenal needed him to be â?? in possession or trying to win it back. Fabregas and Flamini have attitude aplenty but they lack the sheers physical presence Vieira gave Arsenal. And itâ??s no coincidence that the last time the Gunners won silverware was on the occasion PV4 struck his last ball in anger for the club.

 

So the defenders today, individually, are not mugs for the most part. But they donâ??t enjoy the solidity in front of them that weâ??ve enjoyed in the past. Patrick Vieira has never been replaced, but there arenâ??t many like him. Arsenal are much more open now. When they get into a leading position these days, thereâ??s no great confidence they can hold out unless they take the lead in injury time.

 

Going forward, itâ??s exciting. But compare Ljungberg, Pires, Bergkamp and Henry to yesterdayâ??s quartet of Eboue, Van Persie, Hleb and Adebayor. There are many good things to say about the latter quartet â?? well at least three of them, but there is an obvious drop in quality. I watch a game from 2003/04 with these four players now and I can almost weep at how good we had it. F**king legends, if you will excuse my French. And all four of them used to bang in the goals. Where are the goalscorers now? Adebayor needs four chances to get one and the others are simply not players who will ever score enough to justify their positions as part of an Arsenal attack. Hleb could well go to Inter this summer, but I tell you this. We wonâ??t miss his goals.

 

Sadly, it had to be this way. Money-wise, the Invincibles were for the most part assembled before the financial bullet had to be bit. Ever since the summer of 2001, Wengerâ??s spending has been prudent. It had to be. The man could have p*ssed of into the sunset at any time since and been welcomed with open arms by pretty much any club on the planet. But he stuck around and attempted to make a silk purse from a sowâ??s ear, not least since 2005.

 

There has been a huge element of personal career sacrifice made by the manager. And the reality seems to be that the only time heâ??s ever really had money he did not spend was in January this year. I think that he might admit to himself, there were errors of judgment in the last transfer market, but heâ??ll never go public on that. So I am not going to bash Arsene. Frankly, over the last three trophyless seasons, given the circumstances, it is difficult to think of a manager who could have done much better with the resources available.

 

This season, we can be pleased that improvement was made. And of course, as fans, we are justified in asking the manager to ensure he addresses the reasons why, despite that improvement, we end the season disappointed. The squad will look different in August. It does not require a sage to list the players that wonâ??t be here. But for the record, Lehmann, Hoyte, Senderos and Flamini are near certs to go. Hleb might depart if the price is right. Good as he is, he canâ??t score goals. Gilberto will remain because he wants British citizenship and Flaminiâ??s off. If he gets a run in the team, the Brazilianâ??s form might actually return to that of last season. Unfortunately, I am afraid we are saddled with Eboue. We can only hope he spends most of next season on the bench.

 

Adebayor needs a fit and regular partner who will take the goalscoring onus off him. Eduardo wonâ??t be that player until March 2009, and if he does return to full fitness, heâ??s really an option for the season after. Please donâ??t tell me we are going to play the first three quarters of the campaign relying on Robin van Persie and Bendtner to help out Adebayor. We need someone who is both fit 95% of the time and clinical in front of goal. We also need a centre-back with height and presence who can make it a real battle to see which two of three decent centre-backs get the nod.

 

There are too many players in the comfort zone at Arsenal. And they are not being pushed for their places due to the lack of depth. This situation initially developed through there being so little money to keep the squad strong. But that should not be the case any longer. Over the next four months, Arsene Wenger must ensure that â?? now he has a transfer war chest â?? he buys more players of the quality of last summerâ??s purchases â?? Sagna and Eduardo. Then, players might realise that a first team spot at Arsenal is never guaranteed. And it should never be. Wengerâ??s roster should be chomping at the bit to get into the starting eleven, not taking it for granted. Amongst those that performed most creditably at Old Trafford were Jens Lehmann, Gilberto and Alex Song. Looking back at the FA Cup defeat in February, it was Lehmann and Eduardo. Draw your own conclusions.

come on you gunners! :smirk:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[devils reject]

Chelsea 1 - 1 Wigan !!!!!

Surely it's all over now.

Come on United !!!

[Mekong]

Not over yet by a long way but United are in a better position today then they were on Saturday morning. Chelsea need to get a result at Everton on Thursday and then United travel to Blackburn on Saturday with one eye on the midweek trip to the nou camp.

 

What would make for my perfect scenario is for united to win at Ewood then go onto the Bridge end Chelsea's unbeaten home record and lift the title right under their noses.

 

The champagne is still on ice at the moment but I hope be popping the cork on 26th April! The fat lady isn't singing yet but she is clearing her throat.

[devils reject]

There's no way United will lose 2 of the 4 remaining games. It's over and Chelsea know it.

Conceding a goal in the 92nd minute will have knocked the stuffing out of them. I can actually see them dropping points at Goodison as I think they will concentrate on the CL now. United are just too strong mentally to stuff it up now. Been there, done that and all!