RSSA few stats for the morning after the morning after the night before
FEELING better?
When I started writing this piece last night I wasn’t, but this morning things have improved.
Let us start with a few statistics.
Controversial decisions involving Arsenal since William Gallas escaped a ban for kicking Nani:
1) Adebayor tugged back as he goes to head in Walcott’s cross in dying seconds of Milan first leg. Clear penalty, not given.
2) One (or possibly two) penalties wrongly not given to us at Birmingham.
3) Penalty in same game against Clichy when he won the ball.
4) Goal wrongly ruled out against Adebayor versus Boro.
5) Aliadiere wrongly not flagged offside in build-up to Boro goal in same game.
6) Three Chelsea men offside in build-up to equaliser. Not given.
7) Hleb denied clear penalty in first leg v Liverpool.
8) Cesc apparently (I have not seen it) denied clear penalty in league game v Liverpool.
9) Referee awards penalty and books Kolo for tug on Babel’s shirt when the only possible tug was by Cesc, outside the box.
In our favour: one dodgy corner v Boro, which once given was a corner like any of the hundreds of other ones Boro would have faced in a season. And two minutes against 10 man Boro after Mido was perhaps harshly sent-off.
As you can see, we have been utterly screwed. It’s not a conspiracy (remember: conspiracy theories are largely for nutters) but it does suggest things don’t even themselves out and we have been darn unlucky.
Next, Arsene’s most recent signings:
1) Diarra
2) Sagna
3) Eduardo
4) Fabianski
5) Denilson
6) Gallas
7) Baptista
8) Rosicky
So the suggestion Arsene is solely reliant on unproven youngsters is a myth. Six of his last eight signings (and three in each of the last two summers) have been anything but and he was hardly to know Diarra would prove so want-away and Baptista so crap.
So this summer I expect more of the same: players aged about 24 who possess real quality and cost a few million quid too. And if needs be, I imagine sums similar to those flashed on Walcott, Reyes, Wiltord and Jeffers (yeah, I know what you’re thinking) will be too.
Final thought: That run and cross by Walcott was unbelievable. Wow.
10 April 2008 at 9:19 am
Have you seen/heard the media reaction to Roma’s penalty against Man utd last night? Its unbelievable, even radio1 sports news is leading with the headline “Utd go through despite utterly disgraceful penalty decision”.
Now remember that Roma went on to miss the penalty, and it ended up having no outcome on the result. Why is there such a different reaction when Liverpool are given a penalty-where there was no contact(watch the replays).
Arsenal seem to be a constant victim of double standards when it comes to the English media, and I for one am fed up of it.
10 April 2008 at 9:21 am
Hiya Goodplaya,
I believe you could add another incident to the list.
Hleb was denied a penalty at the San Siro - I’m quite sure it was in the area. I think he might have received a yellow card for diving…
10 April 2008 at 9:28 am
The team has fought so valiantly, and couldnt have given anymore against all the odds. I for one am so proud of them.
Let us not moan about it, and lets give the victors over us all credit for their victories despite whatever went down. Our time will come!!
10 April 2008 at 9:37 am
Naga gunner,
I will always give credit where it is due. I don’t begrudge Man Utd their position in the league for example.
However, the Liverpool team that has progressed to the semi-finals (now and in recent times) is one of the jammiest ever. I honestly think Arsenal was the superior side and was desperately unlucky. The team was not outplayed which makes the victor tag difficult to apply to Liverpool.
10 April 2008 at 9:47 am
Well said, Goodplaya.
We do need to make changes in the summer. No, not knee-jerk ‘get rid of Senderos/Eboue/Bendtner/whoever’. We must add to what is already a very talented squad. Let’s make sure that this time next year, when injuries and fatigue start to tell, that the replacements are good enough to carry us through.
I accept that Arsene won’t just go out and buy a load of superstars. He’ll choose players that fit our criteria, as Eduardo, Sagna and Diarra did. But, the ‘transition period’ must end now. It was necessary because we couldn’t compete financially with United and the Scum, but that’s not the case anymore. We need a bigger squad with a bigger wage bill, and we need to spend more on player purchases than we have done.
First and foremost, we have to give Flamini whatever he’s asking for. We are now among the richest clubs in the world, and it would be pitiful if we lost a player as good as Matty by not paying him enough.
Don’t stop moaning about referees! If we complain enough, we might eventually start to get decisions go our way
10 April 2008 at 9:49 am
Yes add in the San Siro one despite the fact that we overcame the ref on that night.
The free kick that led directly the Boro’s goal was never a free kick either. not in a million years. but we should have still defended it better!
someone who can do these things should put together a 5 minute clip of all those decisions since Birmingham and get someone to play it on Soccer AM or something.
10 April 2008 at 9:54 am
Hey sniff, cup games are decided almost always won by luck. Look at what happened at the FA cup.
These kind of situations have always been there from distant past. I completely agree with you about liverpool.
But these are mark of champions, we must not begrudge the winners, if we are to become winners and champions in times to come.
Look at manu and the 1999 cl final with bayern munich, You could call that outrageous luck. Or OUR VERY OWN TRIUMPH IN OUR LAST FA CUP WIN AGAINST MAN UTD. another instances is the real madrid bayer levekussen final and the liverpool and ac milan final.
Its football and this happens and will continue to happen, SNIFF we just need to carry it on our sttride and carry on, Because thats what champions do
And I have no doubt that ARSENAL ARE JUST THAT
UP THE GUNS!!!
10 April 2008 at 10:52 am
I was just thinking, no team has won anything yet (except Tottenham). Not United, not Chelsea, not Liverpool. If a great great miracle happens, Arsenal will win the league and maybe Barcelona will win the Champions league. I admit it’s not very likely, but that is not the point. I read somewhere that Arsenal have been spending considerably less than almost every other premier league club. What an achievement to still be fighting for the title five games before the end, however slim the hope might be! Isn’t it just an example to everyone else? Trying to do it this way?
And how will all the critics look if the miracle actually happened?
10 April 2008 at 11:08 am
Thank you! Thank you! A voice of reason in the anti-Wenger hysteria.
I don’t understand why Wenger is being slated for not buying big. It’s perverted really- a fantasy league mentality that forgets players are people with lives and careers and a football club has to live within its means or die.
He bought Bac Sagna, the best right-back in the league for £6, while Belletti who has not come close in performances cost about double the price. He bought Eduardo da Silva for £7.5 M and has a better goal return (in terms of goals per game) than Tevez who will finally cost United as much as £30 M.
Wenger buys quality, and he buys them at the right price. That he would be criticised for that shows the sickness that has consumed our sport.
10 April 2008 at 11:19 am
naga gunner, you make an awful lot of sense. Well done.
10 April 2008 at 11:26 am
You can also add that the free kick for the first Birmingham goal was not a foul, could’ve gone either way and should’ve been play on. Oh and Bendtner’s great challenge against a Wigan player was awarded a yellow and somehow Mascherano didn’t get booked at Anfield despite injuring Flamini (his ankle was injuerd moments after Mascherano ‘tackled’ him.
10 April 2008 at 11:36 am
Very sensible article. Some of the utter rubbish posted on other sites makes you wonder about the intelligence and sanity of some of the fair weather fans Arsenal appear to attract.
10 April 2008 at 11:58 am
Don’t you feel for walcott, played excellent againts birmingham, liverpoo and the team fucks up.
10 April 2008 at 12:18 pm
Interesting as always Goodplaya. Hopefully, we’ll get a couple of gems like Sagna and Eduardo instead of disappointments like Baptista. Diarra is an idiot for leaving Arsenal, especially without giving it much time.
Any chance you think of a defensive coach to be signed? Everyone seemed to speak about that last year but this year since we were doing well at the beginning, it was forgotten.
10 April 2008 at 12:41 pm
To me, it’s the incident in Birmingham that ended Arsenal this season title hope.
Yet, everyone in the land of British treat Mike Taylor as the hero.
I hope this Sunday someone from Arsenal can break Rooney and Ronaldo legs.
We would rather see Chelsea takes the title than that bloody red!
10 April 2008 at 12:53 pm
For me, Chelsea is the worst option for any competition because of what they stand for. The thought of them winning the CL makes me feel sick
10 April 2008 at 1:03 pm
Theres no way i want to see chelsea win the title to be honest. why cant they both fuck up and let us win?
10 April 2008 at 1:13 pm
Goodplaya I see your point - but as a fucking gutted gooner can I just say it’s no use listing these incidents. We’re out PARTLY because of them - but the truth is we’d still be in the league and cup if our defence knew what it was doing. The Torres and babel goals aside - the other 3 we conceded against Liverpool were down to woeful defending and it can’t be excused. On their day Gallas, toure and senderos can be great for us. But one of them having an off day is happening far too often and this needs to be rectified. We have to look at the manager for this. i love Arsene and i’m not one of the IDIOTS who are calling for his head - but he does need to change tack slightly i think when it comes to spending esp in defence. We havent overacheived this season - that’s bollox…we’ve just underpspent frankly. It’s wonderful when we win cos we can point out how Wenger nurtured the team without the need for the chequebook but all too often we’re falling short
10 April 2008 at 1:34 pm
as a spurs fan, i have to give u some respect for this season, every1 doubted The Arsenal,yet you maneged to push united all the way(still not over quite yet) and put in a great display against liverpool the other night, that wolcott run will go down in history!
so unlucky,but i have to leave u with this…THFC 1-0 Arsenal
lol
Respect.
10 April 2008 at 2:43 pm
Please add to your list, that Torres’ goal was scored from the long Reina free kick as a result of Ade being given offside when clean through, when he was not!
Hard done by, or is there big gambling money on Arsenal winning nothing from the start of the season - did we get too close for comfort!
10 April 2008 at 3:32 pm
Nice one yido!
10 April 2008 at 4:05 pm
good article. btw, I think that Wenger will buy big if the right player is available. Samuel Eto’o didn’t want to come the other way in the Henry deal last year, but I think he might have regretted that decision (as do I) and have reason to reconsider. Now that it looks certain that Ronaldhino will leave Barca, he might prefer to stay, so who knows. If he does come, lets hope he stays healthy…
10 April 2008 at 8:55 pm
You have to remember though Goodplaya who those players have come in for : Pires,Freddie,TH,Dennis,Parlour,Edu,Kanu,Lauren,Campbell…..so while yes you have a point that he doesn’t just buy kids the experience that has come in is still a lot less than what’s gone out.
I’m not jumpng on the Wenger out bandwagon but it is a fact that inexperience has cost us lately.
10 April 2008 at 9:25 pm
we can forget about the game on Sunday. Flam and Sagna are out, and Gilberto will start. We never win when Gilberto starts.
10 April 2008 at 9:54 pm
[...] goals against us wrongly allowed, dodgy penalty calls at both ends, and a stream of bad luck, but Goodplaya’s beaten me to it, and put it better than I could, so I suggest you have a [...]
10 April 2008 at 10:38 pm
Guys I think ur manager Arsehole Whinger has a lot to answer for-
No l Walcott should’ve started instead of that tosser Eboue
No.2 Van Persie should’ve started,if hes fit wnough to be a sub he’s fit enough to start,let him run his heart til he’s fucked then make a sustitution,instead of asking a 70%fit player to try &come into a high tempo flowin game,never happens,, will never make an impact that way
Wenger bottled it wit 5 across midfield & Van P being injured gets him outta jail for not havin the balls to go 4-4-2 and score early which I think they would have cos of their domination in the first 30-40 mins but wit only 1 striker all those chances went a miss
10 April 2008 at 10:48 pm
Hey Naga, Arsenal FA Cup win was not down to luck but Man U’s lack of scoring, how can this be likened to bad referee calls? i am an Arsenal fan but believe that Man U should have won, that would have been the fair result, however is was not down to a crap ref call.
I hate when people blame our defense and not the bloody refs! in the matches we lost we scored too and i dont hear the other teams beating down their defense, do u know why? - because the refs call did not affect them, THEY WON!!!
We must move on but not stop complaining about the officiating, its about justice and not the dislike of the opposition!!!
Looking forward to a win this weekend!
God Bless!
11 April 2008 at 5:53 am
Myles Palmer also says not a penalty. But writing and whining is not going to change anything.
“Having looked at the replays frame by frame, I eventually reached a definitive view.
Babel cut across Toure, looking for contact.When there was no contact, other than Fabregas grabbing his hand just outside the box, Babel swung his right arm round to hit Toure on the neck, then twisted his body through 180 degrees so that his left arm went round Toure’s body on the other side, then went down - and 40,000 scousers shouted “Penalty!” It was a Kop penalty, just likes scores of other Kop penalties over the years.
So the key incident of the Trilogy decider at Anfield was a moment of panic, a big penalty shout, and a Swedish ref who gave in to that pressure, even though he may not have been sure it was a deliberate foul inside the box.”
11 April 2008 at 9:40 am
Anyone see the Standard yesterday? English journalism at its best. Arsenal’s ills are all down to us…yup, you’ve guessed it…not having enough English players. Stupid c*nts.
11 April 2008 at 11:41 am
We are going to win this league…..
http://www.latest-arsenal.blogspot.com
11 April 2008 at 11:45 am
UEFA referees cruelly replicating the EPL’s referees against AFC.
But justice will be done. We will all come back here to cheer soon! :-)
11 April 2008 at 1:35 pm
As a longstanding supporter (and for many years longsuffering as well) I found the end of Tuesday night’s game profoundly disappointing simply because of the team’s inability to hold on to what they had for just a few minutes.
It has been a problem for many years that they do not settle down quickly enough after scoring a goal and are, therefore, vulnerable to letting one in straight away.
Nevertheless, from what I have seen, the chances of it having been a proper penalty are very slim. I could see no intent by Toure to foul Babel, if anything the intent to get out of the way.
I feel that the defining moment of the season was the last minute “penalty” at Birmingham. It clearly was not one, as Clichy got the ball.
Had they won that game, then that would have given them the consolation for the dreadful foul on Eduardo, and also given them the confidence in the subsequent matches.
Having a victory stolen from them, made them dwell too much on Eduardo’s injury, which affected their confidence in the next matches.
It is one referreeing mistake that has destroyed the season. The rest would not have mattered, as they would have played much better.
11 April 2008 at 8:52 pm
The defense has been shit all season and last season too. Too many set plays are scored on the Gunners and it has everything to do with people playing out of position. Gallas is no center back, and since clichy and sagna have been amazing this year, we need to dump gallas for a real center back. On that can win balls in the air and one that doesn’t throw his hand in the air every time he thinks there is an offsides. You can’t run at top speed with one arm in the air, you dumb fuck.
11 April 2008 at 10:31 pm
I thought Baptista was only on loan which was why we were able to offload him easily last summer?
12 April 2008 at 2:34 am
He was… but he still counts as a signing.
And Will2000, I quite agree. A terrible piece. Have half written a rebuttal of it.
12 April 2008 at 4:49 pm
Fact is Wenger is clueless about defense, since Tony Adam was captain.
12 April 2008 at 7:48 pm
Just a thought.
Maybe AW reluctance to spend money has nothing to do with lack of funds avaliable or his belief in youth.
Perhaps he’s thinking ahead. According to all leading experts such as George Soros we are headed for an economic down turn as bad as the great depression of the 1930’s.
If this is the case then Sky subscriptions would be cancelled and attendances will fall.
Which would mean that clubs would have lower prices and players wages will have to come down accordingly. There will be less money avaliable all round.
This would scupper the likes of Liverpool and Man u but probably not Chelsea or Arsenal if Dein’s mate gets his way. (Which I hope not)
I know the current Sky deal is ring fenced. But that deal will not last forever and the next Sky deal may not be quite so lucrative given the economic circumstances.
So maybe AW is just thinking ahead of the game. When only the best run clubs with sound financial management will survive. This may only be a year or two away.
Just a thought
13 April 2008 at 8:48 am
80s Gooner, it could also simply be that Arsene will be leaving the best of Arsenal’s resources to his replacement when he decides to retire. Don’t forget, he has always stated from the day he came here he would leave the club in far better shape than when he arrived. If he can compete as well as he has with being a little bit “frugal”, he may well be leaving that “war chest” of money the board assures us is there for the next manager of Arsenal to spend (Question: Would that spending be a guarantee for success though?).
My goodness though, I know hindsight is a wonderuful thing and that Arsene is probably right not to spend more than 20 million quid on one single player but I was gutted when Liverpool got Torres. Can you imagine what would have happened had he been in an Arsenal shirt? But it’s all woulda, coulda, shoulda, I guess. I still have faith in Arsene’s ability to win trophies in the fututre. There truly is no-one like him.
16 April 2008 at 1:39 am
dont forget to the villa game agbonlahor was OFFSIDE before he crossed it to senderos
7 July 2008 at 10:12 am
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