Fulham v Arsenal

before i get onto my report and thoughts, here is Samir's free kick that Schwarzer only just managed to tip round the post...





Sunday I attended my last Fulham game as a season ticket holder. It was the day, as a gooner I had waited literally the entire season for. The home game versus my beloved Arsenal. For me it was important for me to see Arsenal up close and personal, not during their peak, but during their very worst form for years. In my opinion.

And it was fairly evident.....

I wasnt quick to judge as many teams attempt and fail to get any sort of result at Craven Cottage, as Manchester Utd and Chelsea will atestify. And certainly in the past we have laboured at times here...

But even so....

And so from the Hammersmith End, amongst ravenous, cold-blooded fulham fans (who two weeks prior I had seen pretty violently eject a rogue scouser from slighty behind me) I watched with slight nervousness. I had previously discussed the 'what if' scenarios.What if we had to win to ensure the Premier League title. What if it was level and in the 89th minute Robin van Persie had a penalty?? WHAT IF. As it turned out, as a result of the massive balls up since events at Wembley, we did have something on the line. Not what we had hoped, but something just as key; Automatic qualification for the CL. I have to be honest, during the whole game, I had my eye on my phone nearly the whole time, keeping abreast of events at the Reebok.

The return of Thomas Vermaelen for the second successive game was great to see. Indeed half way through the second half, already one down to Steve Sidwell's opener, he made a superb defensive tackle, followed quickly by a goal line clearance from the boot of Andrew Johnson. but as the game progressed the defence looked ragged and it is already patently clear to me that Tommy V and JD do not work together. At least, not in the current shape.





For the first time Arsene played Van Persie and Chamakh together, from the start, two upfront,  which i have to say surprised me. I expected to see Theo off Robin, with Samir and Jacky supporting through a central role. From the off, Chamakh seemed of the pace; a player bereft of confidence. Robin conversely looked his lively self taking the equaliser with aplomb, scoring in his ninth away game in succession

Which, in the clubs' current form is nothing short of remarkable....

It seemed to me, the midfield, particularly Nasri and Ramsey looked a tad lost. Wilshere was his usual pocket rocket self, running his socks off; the provider for Robin and Samirs sojourns forward. Ramsey, however seemed to be floating around with little or no identity. All three at times though seemed obsessed with passing sideways. A symptom of clear Wengeritis.

As I have stated I surprised to see Walcott omitted from the starting line up, especially in the presence of the younger, inexperienced Matthew Briggs at left back; Walcott tearing him up with his electric pace, for the late equaliser.

MOTM:  Bobby Zamora: For his headed goal, his pass that set up Sidwell and his overall contribution to a largely average 90 minutes.

That got me thinking. Me and my friend were discussing the potential impact Zamora and Van Persie would have against Premier League defences, playing on the same team, switching roles during a game. Well it would certainly be more effective than Marouane Chamakh's contributions of late. But I would be tempted to stick with him, like Best? and Beckford?, in certain ways he will improve and learn how to adapt to a pacier game than that of Ligue One.

  

Jose's Power Hold..

So with Jorge Valdano' sacking now made officia  (it was no secret)l, it seems that Jose Mourinho has his wish of total control over the spanish outfit. Mourinho and the outgoing president have reportedly had many - at times heated - altercations. It seems finally, Valdano's popularity has waned enough the board of directors hae seen fit to dispose of him.

The Madrid board arent stupid. He may be one of the most outspoken managers in football today, nee history, but he is also proven at the highest level; Porto, Chelsea, Inter, and he has already won the Copa Del Rey with Real, in his first season. 

The board of directors at The Bernabeu know that if Jose becomes increasingly frustrated with his lack of control, he could leave with Ancelotti relieved of his duties at Stamford Bridge, just last week. For Real Madrid to avoid an almighty embarassment, this cannot happen and thus events have transpired so. 

Altintop To...Real?..

 

                                                   The season hasn't even ended yet, but already Real Madrid have underlined their intentions for next season. Borussia Dortmund's Turkish sensation Nuri Sahin wasnt a huge surprise when he signed on a five year deal earlier this month, but the signing of Hamit Altintop certainly has my eyebrow firmly raised.

Altintop has been on Bayerns books since a move from Hertha Berlin back in 2004. However for much of that time he has been a utility player, rarely starting games, but often coming on as a substitute late on in games. Unless Jose has other intentions for him, I can only see being an equivalent on a more expensive bench, therefore finding it harder to get game time

Hmmm...time will tell on this one....



Excuses and Lies...

Just a mere few weeks ago, Arsene Wenger said this:


                     “We are second in the league. Is that a disaster? There are teams who invest 10 times more than us, and they are behind us… Why do you say it’s a disaster when we are second in the league? Do the 18 clubs behind us have a fantastic disaster?… We have been in the Champions League for 15 years, and there are only two clubs who have done that in this country – it is us and Manchester United.”


Fantastic Arsene. But oh, wait.

WE ARE NOW 4TH!

Suddenly, no longer are we second, or even third. No we are FOURTH. Not only that we are staring down the barrel of no longer automatically qualifying for the champions league. If this happens, our 'rebuilding' of the squad will be thrown into doubt as many players will want guaranteed top flight european nights, before any lucrative and yet risky move is concluded.

But it should never have even got close to this state of affairs.

For all you idiotic fans. labelling me as 'plastic' let me set my stall out.

Let's get this straight; Arsenal SHOULD have won the league this season. However our damn goalkeeper cost us 11 point this season. I say goalkeeper, being one (almunia) lest we not forget good ol' lukas. It's unnacceptable.

To our (Arsenal's) current 'crisis' (yes, a 'crisis') there are many elements.

For now I want to focus on our beloved manager....

Le Boss. Le Prof. Or God even...


Really?

Let me clarify this. I LOVE Arsene Wenger. I love everything about him (even his dubious choice in women). For me, the thought of not having him in charge of the club I have supported for 20 plus years, fills me with great sadness...

I take you back to two summers ago, when Nike and various Arsenal players took part in the Cesc Fabregas show. Personally, the thing that made the entire series of hows was the boss's appearance in one of those episodes. If there were any doubt about my feelings for the manager, they were allayed by watching this and the subsequent pride i felt as he from the audience to rapturous applause:

That was two years ago. now we are in a whole new situation. The way i have felt towards Wenger has very much soured lately.

This is not just as a result of his current managerial failings

Let me put forward these points.

Wenger's Lies

I am not the only one who feels wholly let down by Arsene? Promises about strengthening the side - not wholesale changes, but just tweaks here and there - that have been essential. and time and time again, overlooked.

"I will strengthen."

"We are short"

For 3 years now we have been begging for a new goalkeeper. Names have been touted: Given, Lloris, Hart. Names have been and gone. Always ending in the same outcome. ALMUNIA. uh

Also, but perhaps more crucially, the centre back situation needed to be addressed. Without doubt Wengers' purchase of Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax was a master stroke. Many doubted his ability on the big stage. Well he smashed those theories with a goal on the his premier league debut in a 6 1 drubbing of everton at goodison. A ground where few leave with a point let alone score six. For many, including me, Tommy was the signing of the season.

Expectations were that he would carry that form through into this season. Then, hardly a month into the campaign in an innocuous loking challenge with Dean Whitehead of Stoke, Tommy picked up an achilles injury. he played the 90 minutes, but the damage was done. There was talk of only a week out, but weeks turned to months and he remained on the sidelines.

Suddenly Wengers' wish of partnering him with his 10m signing Laurent Koscielny had hit a snag. The idea was to blood Kos by Vermaelen being his mentor and gradually forming a solid partnership.

Ah...Oh...erm....

Dont get me wrong. I think Koscielny will be a good player. give it a few years..he has proved that with match winning performances against Barcelona and Chelsea. BUT he like certain others in the team are just not ready...he needs to perform week in, week out. He is not there yet and because of Vermaelens' lengthy spell on the sidelines, and Sebastian Squillaci's, well, cavallier attitude, his weaknesses have been - at times - brutally exposed.





I think another aspect that is overlooked is the situation up front. Lets not bring into question Robin van Persies' committment. This guy has had setback after setback injury wise. He bleeds for the shirt. you can see that. But when he is not there, there is a real lack of a killer instinct in the box. Chamakh i like. When he arrived he was hungry and scored 8 goals in an impressive spell. But when RVP returned, Wenger straight away reinstalled him as his first choice striker, leaving Marouane to warm the bench, despite him being the most in-form player we had. In hindsight this was a mistake.

The message in his mind was that the boss had lost faith in him as the top marksman. This was evident when he was given a run at the tail end of this season. Everything he wuld normally snap up as a header he was increasingly lacking confidence and passing the buck as it were.