June 2011
4 posts
8 tags
Andre Villas-Boas's Appointment Means Abramovich...
Where have we heard this before? A young, smooth talking, handsome Portuguese manager has come from success at Porto to arrive in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to take charge of Roman Abramovich-owned Chelsea. But André Villas-Boas, though he bares similarities to José Mourinho, is not simply a diminished version of the real thing - he is an entity unto himself, and an extremely...
9 tags
European Football 2010/2011 Awards (Italy, Spain,...
Best team: Barcelona. Easy choice, but this team is just phenomenal. Possibly the greatest team of all time, beaten just twice in La Liga and dropped a grand total of 18 points through the entire season. Champions League finalists boasting the likes of Daniel Alves (despite his tendency to throw himself to the floor), Xavi Hernandez, David Villa, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi. Wonderful team.
...
3 tags
It's Not the Right Time for Cesc Fàbregas to Leave...
This is, of course, working on Fàbregas’s own words that he would only leave North London to return to Catalunya. For himself, above the wishes of his current employers and his possible future home, staying where he is now is by far the best possible course of action.
The Arsenal Captain has only just turned 24. Already a magnificent playmaker, he still has room for improvement. In terms of...
1 tag
Dispelling the Myths About Barcelona
I’ll start by admitting that is a slightly misleading headline - what I’m trying to convey through this is that this Barcelona team really are that good. The greatest club side of my lifetime (though that isn’t saying a lot as I’ve been alive almost 16 years. They do though, trump Arsenal’s invincibles, on the grounds that Barcelona would win in a match).
Some of...
May 2011
3 posts
3 tags
Arsenal End of Season Awards
Warning to anyone who cares, this is possibly the most biased thing I’ll ever write.
Best player: Robin van Persie. He may only have played for half of the season, but in that time, he was phenomenal. Samir Nasri was also brilliant until February when he began to fade slightly, while Jack Wilshere was excellent until the fatigue set in around April. But van Persie carried Arsenal almost...
4 tags
Manchester United Ripped Apart By Majestic...
With so much hype, excitement and anticipation surrounding the Champions League final, it was a worry for some that the game would crumble in upon the expectation on it, but those people had nothing to fear. Arguably Europe’s two finest teams, champions of their respective leagues, facing off for the crown of Europe. But there was no contest at all. It was Rome 2009 all over again, only with...
5 tags
Barcelona vs Manchester United - Champions League...
A rematch and a chance to avenge their 2009 Champions League final defeat for Manchester United; an opportunity to cement three Champions League triumphs in five years for Barcelona. The game is the pinnacle of European football and considering the two teams’ campaigns, it is potentially the best fixture to round what has been an invigorating year of football across Europe.
In...
April 2011
3 posts
5 tags
White Hart Lane Classic Leaves Neutrals Happy, but...
In recent years, the North London derby has provided emotional highs and lows in near-equal measure for the supporters of both sides and masses upon masses of entertainment. In November, Spurs overturned a two-goal deficit to beat their near-rivals away from home for the first time in 17 years. This time around, a win was essential for both teams: Spurs needed to gain ground on Manchester City in...
2 tags
The season so far: where and why Arsenal have...
So far this season, Arsenal have dropped points on 14 separate occasions: 14 matches which could stand between them and claiming their first Premier League title since 2004. Every draw and defeat (so far) is briefly analysed:
1. 1-1 Liverpool (a). Arsenal fell behind to a David N’Gog goal early in the second half. They pressed hard but found no way through until the 90th minute when...
5 tags
Arsenal Goalkeepers: a Frank Assessment of the...
Leading into the season, there was a general consensus that Arsenal needed three things: a new Goalkeeper, a central defender to cover Vermaelen and Djourou/Koscielny and a holding midfielder in act as backup for Alex Song. Speculation is rife that Arsene Wenger tried very hard to sign Pepe Reina from Liverpool, but the Merseysiders refused to sell to a rival. Then Arsenal refused to pay an extra...
March 2011
1 post
Barcelona Provide Lesson in Beautiful Football as...
After a wonderful night for Arsenal and the fans at the Emirates Stadium, the time had come to finish what is possibly the most difficult job in World football and beat Barcelona over two legs. Many of the signs pre-game were encouraging for Arsenal: Carles Puyol ruled out through injury and Gerard Piqué suspended, meaning a makeshift centre-back pairing of Sergio Busquets and Eric Abidal was...
February 2011
2 posts
5 tags
Fan Piece: Fàbregas Witch-hunt a Product of...
Written After the Arsenal-Everton match:
After Arsenal’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Everton, David Moyes chose to use his post-match press conference to slate Fàbregas for comments he is alleged to have made at half time to the referee. Moyes chose not to disclose what may or may not have been said, but this did not stop the majority of the British media digging into the Arsenal Captain for...
van Persie and Arshavin Propel Arsenal to Stunning...
10 months ago, Barcelona marched to the Emirates Stadium for the Champions League Quarter Final and produced a magnificent performance; one which left a naive Arsenal limp and powerless for 70 minutes, before the home side managed to complete a comeback before being stuffed at the Nou Camp by a Lionel Messi masterclass.
This year, it looked as though things may be different for Arsenal. They...
January 2011
1 post
7 tags
Arsenal Exorcise Ghost of St. Andrew's Past
In Arsenal’s previous two visits to St. Andrew’s, they have conceded late goals that, to varying degrees, have gone on to go their way to destabilising their title challenge. Going into the game, they were 5 points from the Premier League’s summit and after a disappointing midweek draw with Wigan, they were looking to clamber back towards top spot. Birmingham started the game in...
December 2010
2 posts
3 tags
Improbable, But Definitely Possible
Arsenal will rue being in a position which made a repeat of their last year’s Quarter Final tie possible. 3 games into the group, 3 wins to their name, one point from qualification and only four points needed from the remaining 3 games to guarantee top spot in the group. Had they managed to beat Shakhtar Donetsk at the Donbass Arena, they would have faced either Internazionale, Olympique...
5 tags
Stunning Barcelona Dismantle Real Madrid
Gerard Pique celebrating at the final whistle.
Going into his first El Clasico at Real Madrid, José Mourinho’s heaviest managerial defeat had been a loss of 3-0, and his pre-game comments indicate he was in no way thinking that this statistic was going to change; how wrong he was. Real started the game atop the League table, having not lost a game. 90 minutes later, they were a mess....
October 2010
1 post
Eduardo is a Reminder of the Cruel Game Football...
On 19th October 2010, Eduardo da Silva will return to the Emirates Stadium - but this time wearing the yellow and black of his new side Shakhtar Donetsk over the red and white of Arsenal. The Brazilian-born Croat joined the Ukrainian Champions in a £6million deal in the summer transfer window, and his leaving the London club sparked feelings of regret and his departure was most certainly under a...
September 2010
1 post
Arsenal Send Message With Demolition of Bolton
“We have now had two games - Blackburn and Bolton - where we wouldn’t have taken six points, say, two years ago,” said Arsene Wenger after his side’s 4-1 victory over Bolton. After 5 years without a trophy, saying that Arsenal are ”too lightweight” has become somewhat cliché, yet after defeats away to more physical opposition in years previous, it has shown...
June 2010
4 posts
Will Third Time Be the Charm for the Dutch?
The fact that the Netherlands have never claimed a World Cup title is, in my opinion, one of the great injustices of World football. Twice they have reached the final, in 1974 and 1978, losing out both times to West Germany and Argentina respectively. The 1974 tournament is credited to the birth of Rinus Michels’s ‘Total Football’ philosophy and despite their defeat in both...
Can Spain Tiki-Taka their Way to First World Cup...
Written Before the Start of World Cup:
Looking down Spain’s squad of 23, no weaknesses seem evident; they have one of the World’s best goalkeepers in Iker Casillas, excellent centre halves in Carles Puyol and Gerard Piqué, two World Class strikers in Fernando Torres and David Villa and quite possibly the bet set of central midfielders on the planet with the likes of Xavi Hernandez,...
