Often when misfortune befalls someone and the consequences are pretty upsetting, there will be that guy who tries to muscle in and gain a bit of credit for their powers of prediction. Whether it's the friend who tells their food poisoned chum that the clams had always 'tasted a bit iffy' to him or the parent who claims their son is suffering from pneumonia because 'he didn't listen when I told him to wrap up warm', it's infuriating when anybody rubs salt in a wound with a little nugget of I-told-you-so-ness.
For that reason and the fact that almost a week has passed anyway, I won't try and claim that I saw the events of the Man City game coming. I did unfaithfully predict a loss, but I nor anyone else saw us shipping six goals. It was a total freak result, with all the games played and and injuries and Yaya Toures catching up with us at the same time.
And it's because of this that I stand by what I said in my preview; I'm not too worried even though we did lose by three goals. I don't think the squad will be too cut up either. Wenger made the correct and least North Korean call by allowing the team Christmas party to go ahead despite a loss in the same week and Woody, Mario, The Bananas in Pajamas et al seemed to be in good spirits, undeterred by the presence of an intruder. I can remember just one other 6-3 scoreline in any game of football which tells you just how unusual our game with Man City was. We were outplayed but I still wouldn't read as much into it as the 8-2 of 2011. For the record, the other 6-3 was the time Julio Baptista, the original and best beholder of the nickname 'The Beast', wrecked Liverpool, Arshavin-style.
In other news, Jack Wilshere got a two game ban for flipping the bird at Man City fans. My reaction to this is pretty meh. He did wrong, he got a ban. Two games is obviously the norm for this sort of incident now which leaves little room for complaints. I'd be more upset if it was a more experienced figure like Per Merte-Cap'n-Jack-er who'd lost their composure. We know by now that Jack (Wilshere) is a little hot-headed so if a ban teaches him a lesson he needs to learn, the player and the club may benefit in the long run.
Other than that, it's pretty quiet. Some transfer murmurs are doing the rounds with January looming. Diego Costa is the latest name to be linked but you'd imagine even someone with as little loyalty as that guy would see leaving his adopted nation, only three months after claiming that Spain gave him 'all that [he] has in [his] life', as a tad hypocritical. Also I don't want him because he's a nasty guy. Some good news is that Lukas Podolski will return to the squad for the Chelsea game. He'll start on the bench but it's nice to have a player of his quality to change the game. I really like him too. His crazy ways make him prime material for cult hero status some time in the future.
The big news in football today is the whole Cardiff situation. For those who don't know, Cardiff's wacky/sinister Malaysian owner has fallen out with the manager big time and has apparently decided to sack him. He sent an email to Malky Mackay on Monday confirming his intentions which has left the media in the unusual position of reporting the fallout over manager being sacked... before he's actually been sacked. It's all pretty hilarious unless you're associated with Cardiff City Football Club in any way other than owning it. You do feel for the fans though who have already had to sacrifice much of their club's identity in order to reach the Premier League. Additionally, it makes me wonder what the FA's Good and Proper Persons test consists of if a mad dictator like Vincent Tan was allowed to purchase a club. Does the test perhaps ask the single question 'Are you a fit and proper person?'. Who knows.
Finally have a look at Santi Claus. The sound of the little Spaniard saying 'Santi Claus' is like a tickle on the belly and for me it's the best yuletide football joke since Gary Lineker ended MOTD with '...and Santa scores a hat trick.' following this game.
Anyway. That's about all we've got time for folks. I'll try and do a preview of the Chelsea game but if not, then I'll see you when I see you. Merry Christmas.
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
Friday 20 December 2013
Saturday 14 December 2013
Well we beat them 2-0: A Post Champions League City Preview
Ok so I haven't written anything in way too long and instead of spending ages catching up on all the matches I failed to report on, I'll summarise the results with a series of emoticons:
Cardiff - 3-0 - :D
Hull - 2-0 - :)
Everton - 1-1 - :/
Napoli - 0-2 - :o
Good. Now we've got that sorted, I'll move on to a preview of today's game. We play Man City away and with the Citizens racking up a Mourinho like record of invincibility at home, I must say I'm a little worried.
The odds are not exactly in our favour; We had a longer trip in the week, our recovery time has been 24 hours shorter than theirs and, crucially, they had the luxuary of being able to rest Aguero, Negredo, Kompany and Yaya Toure (arguably the best four players in their squad) in their annoying win over Bayern while we had to play a much stronger team than we would have wanted to. Add in the fact that we played a significant chunk of our midweek fixture with ten men and the fact we haven't won in a couple of games now, and things are looking far from ideal.
This may sound like a hugely negative way of thinking about things, but I almost expect a loss today. I'm comfortable saying that because I think every single team in the league, even those with form behind them and luck on their side, will struggle at the Etihad. Shaky away from home they may be, but the mercenaries just seem to click into gear when they're in their comfort zone, as we saw when they executed Spurs a couple of weeks back. We could lose 3-0 today and for me at least it wouldn't be a major cause for concern.
Obviously it would be nice if we put in a good performance and even taking a point would feel like a win. However, I still think the game we play against Chelsea in nine days is a much more relevant test when it comes to gauging the potential of our team this season.
Arsene Wenger has hinted that we may go all out for the win which is certainly a risky strategy. But maybe it isn't. If we sit back and play for the draw, there's a good chance we'll get broken down by the array of attacking talent City have at their disposal so really taking the game to them might work.
If we do try and hit them early, it suggests that the inclusion of Theo Walcott from the start is a possibility. He's played no real part this season due to injury but a couple of assists in cameo appearances recently indicates that he may be ready for a start. He certainly offers something wholly different to the other contenders for the right-sided spot in the attacking three of midfield. Considering that Gael Clichy at left-back is as close to a weak link that the City first XI has, a bit of Theo treatment would be a good way to try and break them down.
Another players who hasn't quite hit the heights of last season is Santi Cazorla. The arrival of Ozil has certainly eased the burden that he carried in his inaugural year as a Gunner but you could argue that the German has also overshadowed him. If he can rediscover the mercurial, devilish incandescence that made us fall in love the first time, we have a real chance of taking this winter period by storm. He's my one to watch for today.
In terms of team selection, things are less straightforward than they were a month ago. Nacho Monreal has been given the chance he was pining for and created a real selection dilemma by reminding the boss what a good player he is. It is true that he's more developed in an attacking sense than Kieran Gibbs but...Kieran Gibbs. What a guy. For that reason I would choose the England man today. And always. But I like Nacho man as well.
Neguero (just thought of that) are in stunning collective form so I wouldn't stray from the Arteta Flamini combination in front of the defense today, to try and halt the service from midfield. They offer superb protection as a unit so even if it means we use Jack Wilshere as a sub instead of from the start, I think it's necessary to play them. Although, when I've made team predictions on this blog so far, I've been wrong almost ever single time.
I like Martin Demichelis because of a few things. Number One: He's got one of those ironically bad throwback/throwforward fusion hair cuts. Think Chris Waddle mullet meets Andy Carroll ponytail meets Pep Guardiola fashionably receding. Number Two: He's clearly not good enough to play for a team like Man City. I don't know what he has done in the past but at the moment he's just bad. Anyway there are more reasons, but I hope we target him today (if he plays).
So there we go. I hope for a win but I don't expect one. Please defy me Arsenal. Please.
For now.
Cardiff - 3-0 - :D
Hull - 2-0 - :)
Everton - 1-1 - :/
Napoli - 0-2 - :o
Good. Now we've got that sorted, I'll move on to a preview of today's game. We play Man City away and with the Citizens racking up a Mourinho like record of invincibility at home, I must say I'm a little worried.
The odds are not exactly in our favour; We had a longer trip in the week, our recovery time has been 24 hours shorter than theirs and, crucially, they had the luxuary of being able to rest Aguero, Negredo, Kompany and Yaya Toure (arguably the best four players in their squad) in their annoying win over Bayern while we had to play a much stronger team than we would have wanted to. Add in the fact that we played a significant chunk of our midweek fixture with ten men and the fact we haven't won in a couple of games now, and things are looking far from ideal.
This may sound like a hugely negative way of thinking about things, but I almost expect a loss today. I'm comfortable saying that because I think every single team in the league, even those with form behind them and luck on their side, will struggle at the Etihad. Shaky away from home they may be, but the mercenaries just seem to click into gear when they're in their comfort zone, as we saw when they executed Spurs a couple of weeks back. We could lose 3-0 today and for me at least it wouldn't be a major cause for concern.
Obviously it would be nice if we put in a good performance and even taking a point would feel like a win. However, I still think the game we play against Chelsea in nine days is a much more relevant test when it comes to gauging the potential of our team this season.
Arsene Wenger has hinted that we may go all out for the win which is certainly a risky strategy. But maybe it isn't. If we sit back and play for the draw, there's a good chance we'll get broken down by the array of attacking talent City have at their disposal so really taking the game to them might work.
If we do try and hit them early, it suggests that the inclusion of Theo Walcott from the start is a possibility. He's played no real part this season due to injury but a couple of assists in cameo appearances recently indicates that he may be ready for a start. He certainly offers something wholly different to the other contenders for the right-sided spot in the attacking three of midfield. Considering that Gael Clichy at left-back is as close to a weak link that the City first XI has, a bit of Theo treatment would be a good way to try and break them down.
Another players who hasn't quite hit the heights of last season is Santi Cazorla. The arrival of Ozil has certainly eased the burden that he carried in his inaugural year as a Gunner but you could argue that the German has also overshadowed him. If he can rediscover the mercurial, devilish incandescence that made us fall in love the first time, we have a real chance of taking this winter period by storm. He's my one to watch for today.
In terms of team selection, things are less straightforward than they were a month ago. Nacho Monreal has been given the chance he was pining for and created a real selection dilemma by reminding the boss what a good player he is. It is true that he's more developed in an attacking sense than Kieran Gibbs but...Kieran Gibbs. What a guy. For that reason I would choose the England man today. And always. But I like Nacho man as well.
Neguero (just thought of that) are in stunning collective form so I wouldn't stray from the Arteta Flamini combination in front of the defense today, to try and halt the service from midfield. They offer superb protection as a unit so even if it means we use Jack Wilshere as a sub instead of from the start, I think it's necessary to play them. Although, when I've made team predictions on this blog so far, I've been wrong almost ever single time.
I like Martin Demichelis because of a few things. Number One: He's got one of those ironically bad throwback/throwforward fusion hair cuts. Think Chris Waddle mullet meets Andy Carroll ponytail meets Pep Guardiola fashionably receding. Number Two: He's clearly not good enough to play for a team like Man City. I don't know what he has done in the past but at the moment he's just bad. Anyway there are more reasons, but I hope we target him today (if he plays).
So there we go. I hope for a win but I don't expect one. Please defy me Arsenal. Please.
For now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)