The Soccer Blog: Enough

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Monday, 21 March 2011

Ten Premier League Players Who Are Simply Not Good Enough for Their Clubs

16 comments by Christian Bailey on March 21st, 2011

Ten players who must have dirt on their respective managers!

Premier League Tickets Available from Tixdaq.com

Saturday, 19 March 2011

West Brom 2 - Arsenal 2: Comeback Not Enough to Overcome Comical Defending

West Brom 2 – Arsenal 2: Comeback Not Enough to Overcome Comical Defending - The Offside - Arsenal blog

« West Brom – Arsenal Match Thread | Home | West Brom 2 – Arsenal 2: Comeback Not Enough to Overcome Comical DefendingBy: Martin | March 19th, 2011
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Will you, Arsene? I'm not so sure.

That flushing sound you just heard may have been Arsenal’s title hopes going down the pipes.

Some of you will remember that I was a guest on the Arsenal Review USA Podcast last week, and was asked how realistic Arsenal’s title hopes were. I replied that I had a tough time seeing Arsenal win the title when the “unholy trio” of Almunia, Koscielny, and Squillaci were prominently involved. And they certainly showed today why my concerns were well-founded.

Going into this match, we had 10 matches remaining, and they broke down neatly into 3 discrete categories — we started off with three matches against relegation candidates (at West Brom, Blackburn, at Blackpool), then we had four consecutive matches against top-half teams jockeying for at least European qualification (Liverpool, at Tottenham, at Bolton, Manchester United), and then finish up with three tricky matches against mid-table opposition (at Stoke, Aston Villa, at Fulham). I think if you were looking at those 10 matches and trying to figure out what Arsenal needed to do to win the title, you certainly would have said we needed to take the maximum 9 points from the 3 matches against relegation zone teams. We’re not off to a good start.

West Brom hit us right at the very beginning of the game, and you’d have to say it was textbook Arsenal for all the wrong reasons. All our fears about the “unholy trio” of Koscielny, Squillaci, and Almunia seemed to be coming true. Koscielny conceded a corner that he really didn’t need to concede — could have controlled it or at least kicked it out for a throw-in. and West Brom made us pay. Brunt’s corner was a perfectly-placed effort on the edge of the six-yard box, and Reid ran onto it and had an open header that he just needed to get some pace on to score. And so he did. 1-0 West Brom.

Koscielny and Squillaci were nowhere to be seen on the corner. Aaron Ramsey, who was ostensibly tracking Reid’s run, made a, shall we say, interesting tactical decision — instead of jumping up and contesting the header, he decided to just run under the ball and let Reid have a free header from 6 yards away. Not sure what Rambo was thinking was going to happen there. And Almunia, although he was blocked a bit, still probably should have fought his way through and punched the ball clear. Let’s put it this way: if Wojo, Flaps, or Mad Jens had been in goal, I’m pretty sure they all would have come out for that one. Instead, Manuel stayed on his line and was helpless as the ball was powered behind him for a goal.

I think it was Alan Davies on the Tuesday Club podcast last week who was talking about the accolades Almunia had received from his brilliant performance in the Camp Nou and his decent showing at Old Trafford. Davies’s point was that this wasn’t surprising — that Almunia is at his best when he’s just reacting to shots, making himself big and making saves. He’s at his worst when he has to defend set-pieces and crosses and has to make decisions about when to come out, when to punch vs. grab, etc. And that was certainly proven correct on the goal.

We were going to have to come from behind, then. Our task looked to be made easier in the 20th minute when West Brom midfielder James Morrison had a head-to-head collision with Koscielny that opened up a pretty big gash in his head. Instead of substituting him, Roy Hodgson opted to send him to the locker room for an extended period of time to get stitched up and bandaged up, which meant they played about 10 minutes down to 10 men.

But we couldn’t take advantage. A few minutes later we had a golden opportunity. Clichy sent in a great cross from the left, which reached van Persie on the edge of the box. van Persie put in a great, looping header over goalkeeper Scott Carson, but it rattled off the crossbar. But the rebound fell straight to Aaron Ramsey right on the edge of the six-yard box. He chested it down to his feet well, and all he had to do was put it either side of Scott Carson, but instead he sent it straight into the keeper’s chest — it should have been the leveler, and he won’t have that kind of time and space on the ball in that position too many times in his career. Morrison came back on the pitch with a Terry Butcher bandage on his head shortly thereafter, and it was the end of Arsenal’s numerical advantage.

That was just about it for the first-half. We had the lion’s share of the possession, but couldn’t turn it into chances, and went into the break down 1-0.

Coming out of the break, Wenger decided to make a tactical change. He took off Denilson, who had been largely ineffective, and brought on Chamakh to give us more physical presence up front. And it did help — Hodgson’s strategy (which worked very well) was to jam the middle of the field and let us have space out wide to send crosses in, knowing full well that his defenders, particularly Olsson, could deal with them when they came in. We had a number of crosses come to nothing in the first half. But Chamakh gave us another aerial threat, and it looked like it shook West Brom up a little bit.

But we still had some breakdowns. West Brom really should have scored in the 54th minute when they hit us on the counter. Odemwingie played a good ball out to an onrunning Cech, who got free down the flank and played a great low cross along the goalmouth to an onrunning Brunt, who should have buried the chance but instead pushed it wide.

And then they scored a goal because of some Arsenal defending that would have done Larry, Moe, and Curly proud. It was really nothing more than a long, desperate boot up the field. Almunia, again called upon to make a decision about whether to come out or stay in, again made the wrong decision. He inexplicably ran out to a ball that was well outside the box, which apparently confused Squillaci, who should have easily just put a foot through it. The two basically just stood there trying to figure out what to do, and Odemwingie, who had been chasing the ball simply took it wide of Almunia and sent in a slow shot that trickled across the goal. 2-0 West Brom, and it was some of what Clay Davis would call “shameful shit.”

But that’s when we started to turn it up. We were having a lot of the ball deep in West Brom territory, winning free kicks around the box, and generally looking dangerous when we finally broke through in the 70th minute. The ball was played to Chamakh on the edge of the box on the left, and he played a very nice little touch pass into an onrunning Arshavin, who took a brilliant touch to control it and then unleashed a cannon shot with his left foot into the far corner. Carson didn’t stand a chance, it was a brilliant finish, and it was 2-1, Arsenal. We were back in it. Game on.

And we tied it up 8 minutes later. Arshavin sent in a high cross across the six-yard box — Bendtner was on the far post, and did well to head it back across the goal-mouth, where there was a bit of a scramble but van Persie got just enough of a toe on it to poke it over the goal line. 2-2, Arsenal and you really hoped we were going to push on and win it.

But alas, it wasn’t to be. van Persie sent a header wide, Wilshere sent a hard shot from outside the box over the bar, Clichy of all people had a pretty good chance that Carson saved, and West Brom managed to hold on for the point. Credit to them for playing well, but the bottom line is that champions don’t fail to win must-win games against teams like West Brom.

This might be a familiar sight the next few months...

The contrast with Manchester United was stark. For 88 minutes, they were tied at 0-0 with Bolton. Jonny Evans was sent off the in 76th minute, so they were down to 10 men at the end. But I have to say, I kept checking the score and I never really had any doubt that they were going to lose. For as much as they’ve been knocked this year for looking like ass much of the time (and make no mistake, they really have been awful for much of the time), they have the mental strength and confidence to get a goal when they need it. They’re the masters of playing possum for 85 minutes and then being able to basically will themselves to a win. That’s what they’ve done multiple times this year, that’s what they did today, and that’s what we seem completely unable to do. And I hate to be too negative, but I really do think that in 2 months’ time, when we’re looking back on the season, we’ll say that was the difference between the two teams, and why they won the League and we fell short again.

I hate to be too negative, and the comeback was encouraging. But the bottom line is that we’ve seen that type of defensive error too many times in too many key situations to feel confident — all too often, we don’t make teams earn victories against us, we help them do it. So we now sit 5 points behind Manchester United, albeit with a match in hand. We’re not out of it, though. If we were to win our game in hand and beat Manchester United at the Emirates, we’d be ahead of them. So despite everything, there’s still hope.

I think now the name of the game is to get guys rested and healthy over the two-week international break, try to clear our heads of the past few weeks, and come back ready to band together and fight on. A lot of questions have been asked about this squad’s resilience and mental toughness. And they haven’t provided any answers yet. At least not any answers we want to hear. Are they capable of showing over the next 9 matches that they have what it takes to be champions? I honestly have no idea, but that’s why we watch, right?

Player ratings to follow at some point, but I’ve got some stuff I have to do this afternoon, so it may not be until this evening or tomorrow morning. Until then.

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Some Related Stories:Arsenal 2 – West Brom 3: Baggies’ Dream Season Continues with Win over Sorry Gunners (UPDATED with Player Ratings)West Brom – Arsenal PreviewArsenal – West Brom PreviewArsenal 2 – Birmingham 1: Dive, Bad Tackles Mar Deserved Comeback Victory (UPDATED with Player Ratings)West Brom – Arsenal Match Thread

Category: Arsenal News, Fixtures, Match Review, Premiership, W.B.A.

Tags: Arsenal News, Fixtures, Match Review, Premiership, W.B.A.
Tweet « West Brom – Arsenal Match Thread | Home | JGAs usual, Wenger praises the comeback rather than the fact of how poor we were to be 2-0 down in the first place. However, he did imply Lehmann could displace Mittens, so that's good I guess.donyou guys have nothing to complain about

in wenger you trust

you get what you pay for i.e nothing....Patoux21I remember Wenger during the trade period in January saying we don't need any additional defender we have enough quality and quantity... Vermalaen will not play anymore this season and Djourou is out for a least 6 weeks. He is so stingy that his poor management will cost us big ie no trophy at all. Consistenly playing the same players over and over again is burning them out. Djourou and Kosh were on the brink of mental and physical breakdown. The irony is that now we have to be glad we only have one competition left otherwise we would have players becoming zombies. AW: we won't put aside any competition because we have the quality to compete in all 4. Now he won't have this kind of issue.russianfani can't make it out in the video - in the last goal did the ball come off bendtner's hand to van persie or did it hit the post after arsha's cross?Junichi Ezechiel BennettFor that one I blame Wenger. Suddenly it became a lot easier for us when Nasri shifted into the midle of the pitch with Wilshere. I mean, the midfield battle is for me where you lose or win a game. It's the area of the pitch where we have to be tough. But how can we be tough with Denilson - who seem to grow worse - and Ramsey who won't be great for us before last season.

Yeah, we can blame RVP, Arshavin and Nasri in the first half but how are you supposed to play as an attacking player, when those who are supposed to make the link are just not good. Wenger is thinking about our solidity, but we won't be. With Almunia, Squillaci, etc. We won't be. So taking in consideration we will concede goal, let's think about how we can score more goals !

Me, I'm just one talkig about the title, it's over guys. United won, they were poor with a lot of injuries in the defensive department, but they won. Why. Because if they can't score, they don't concede. Whether they are too strong or we are too weak, I don't know. But now, we have to think about ending this season in a good manner, and made the changes needed.

By the changes needed I don't mean a big name sign, our first eleven is pretty good. But players who are capable to do the job when a player of the first XI is missing.SairaxNo Song, no Cesc, I don't see the point in playing 4-2-3-1. It hasn't worked particularly with those 2 absent. Theo van Nasregas has done the best with it.

Today was a shocker. Nasri was poor, so was RvP. Sagna was having a mare in the first half. Don't get me started on Almunia. No one person is to blame here. There's plenty to go around. Not good enough.

That said, I really don't feel like ranting or arguing with anyone right now. So if you'll excuse me...blog comments powered by Disqus

Harry Redknapp, England manager? (Awful writing) Is It Too Early to Get Excited About Sturridge? Denmark 1 - 2 England (Via Hamlet) more news...

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Sunday, 27 February 2011

Doing just enough (vs Wigan)

By: Shaun | February 26th, 2011
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SOCCER-ENGLAND/ It wasn’t pretty and the scoreline didn’t do Wigan justice especially the way they played in the first 45, but a win is a win. With 2 massive games coming up next week, we’ll take the 3 points in any shape or form.

Impressions:

Rooney – Should probably have been sent off for that flailing elbow in the first half. Aside from that, his first touch was still really poor. He also seemed to find himself too deep in our own half trying to get the ball. This was a repeated sight in the first half, which left us with only Chicharito to really aim at once we regained possession. As a result, Wigan got the ball back easily and were able to constantly threaten. Say what you will about his inability to replicate his goalscoring feats from last season, but his assist for Chicharito’s 2nd was Wazza’s 11th of the season.

63695266 Carrick – He looked incredibly repressed playing alongside Scholes. It appeared like an inferiority complex that resulted in him looking only to pass the ball sideways and defer the more forward-looking attempts to Scholes.

JOS – Was his inclusion in the side yet again, an acknowledgement of our midfield’s inadequacy to provide cover at the back? Rafael’s play is marked by adventurous runs deep into the opposition half which leaves us exposed at the back should we lose possession. Was SAF more comfortable with JOS’s more measured approach in assisting with our attack thus ensuring more solidity across our backline? (Especially with Rio not being available and Carrick not exactly a midfielder enforcer).

Expectations – Our first goal came due to a link up down the left between Nani and Rooney before Chicharito dinked it home. No midfielders involved. The second goal was all Chicharito and Rooney. The third was a nice ball over the top from Gibson, but ultimately executed by Berba and Rooney. The final goal was a nice little finish by Fabio after he found himself completely unmarked from a free kick. The point is that we can no longer expect our midfield (Nani aside) to provide goals or carve out chances the way a Fabregas or Modric does. Maybe the appropriate expectation for our midfield is that they don’t do anything to adversely affect our team’s chances in any game.

Fletcher – As much as I’m convinced that the right side of midfield is not Fletcher’s strongest position (because he really does not provide width in the way Nani or Valencia do in a 442), he benefited from being played there today as he found himself with the space to make runs from deep into the box. He worked hard today and I thought it was one of his better performances in an otherwise, subpar season.

VDS – Came up with a big save to deny McCarthy after some good work from Moses down the left wing. The other stop he made was a little luckier since Moses kicked it directly off VDS’s right chest/shoulder.

Nani – It was one of those games that Nani seemed so determined to score that he almost never made the right pass in the box. He left his teammates, especially Rooney, frustrated on numerous occasions. With that said, he is the only player in our midfield who has that bit of “magic” that we constantly lament is missing from the squad. That’s why Rooney and the rest of us will live with the enigma that is Nani. He will make his teammates and fans throw their hands up in the air out of frustration, but he’ll also do something that will get everyone off their seats. We have to take the bad with the good. Unfortunately, there was a lot of the bad today.

chicharito 2 Chicharito – He continues to make a case for being the best signing of the past summer. He also gives SAF a leg to stand on when he argues that he will only spend the money when there is value to be had. As isolated as Chicharito may have felt at times today up front, he never stopped working and never showed a tantrum. He just kept looking to make runs behind the Wigan backline and was rewarded with 2 well taken goals. Without him, we would be relying on the likes of Owen or Wellbeck/Macheda to provide relief to Rooney/Berba. I’m not convinced they would have been able to replicate what Chicharito has accomplished so far.

Gibson – Followed up a solid if unspectacular showing against Marseille with a great pass over the top to Berba that led to our 3rd goal. At least he’s willing to attempt the passes that Carrick used to make with such regularity and confidence.

While not exactly the kind of performance that would leave Chelsea fearful, we got the job done and we can build on that heading into this next week: Two big games that will have massive implications on determining where the title ends up in May.

Some Related Man United Posts:The return of Rooney (vs Wigan)The Berba Show pt 2 (feat Blackburn)Perfect ending to a tumultuous week (vs Stoke)Finally, an away win! (vs West Brom)Another 2 points dropped (v Sunderland)

Category: English Premier League, Manchester United, Match Reports

Tags: Chicharito, English Premier League, Manchester United, Match Reports, Michael Carrick, Nani, Premiership, Sir Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney
Tweet « Apropos of Gibbo | Home | ahmad_hthis is the most confusing season for me as a MAN UNITED supporter, i'm having a real hard time assessing why we suck so much, regardless if we win the league or not.
1)We rely too much on Nani, who is also being so selfish in front of goal, even though he is EPL's top assister.
2)Rooney is really having the worst season of his career so far, i don't think he will ever be that bad ever again in the coming seasons, even though he does have 11 assists to his name so far.
3)Berbatov is also not at all convincing to me even though he is EPL's top scorer. Statistics show that he has surpassed 1000 minutes since his last goal. WTH!!
4)OUR MIDFIELD ..... NO COMMENT, Scholes won't last forever.
5)simply put, the only reason we are in the top is because other teams suck way more than us, and this is why we will become champions of england come end of season.
6)Dear SAF, when the summer transfer window opens, do something :( and do something BIG.GazYou could have turned out the youth squad in the second half and run more than the three you did past us. A very very poor United showing against frankly one of the worst second half performances I've ever been subjected to at Wigan...and I've seen enough of them to comment this season.blog comments powered by Disqus