John Evans
Well hands up who was surprised by anything other than Rooney’s missed penalty on Monday night? I thought about the game a few hours before and I pretty much wrote the script to a tee. I predicted in my mind that Cesc would be on the bench and come on during the second half with RVP and Theo doing the same. I predicted the three players to come off would be Wilshire (even though he would be one of our better players), Arshavin and Rosicky. I also predicted a 1 or 2-0 defeat with us having a fair portion of the possession with the United keeper having hardly anything to do for the 90 minutes.
All in all pretty predictable stuff. The sad thing is we all know when we play Chelsea on the 27th it will be more of the same. I can safely predict an away win for the Blues right here and now. I can also predict that come the end of the season we will not finish above either Man United or Chelsea even though neither of those clubs is anywhere near their old levels and at best we will finish third which would be deemed a very good season by all at the top end of the club. Mission accomplished for another season.
I can also predict that we will not spend any worthwhile cash on new players either in January or throughout the summer. I will also predict that everyone will still be queuing up to part with £1200+ for a season ticket come next season and a fair portion of them will not attend more than 80% of the matches and that the atmosphere inside our stadium will remain like that of a library.
Why has it all become so predictable? The answer for me lies in the simple fact that our club as a whole has become so Europeanised since Wenger took over. The Englishness of the team has been ripped apart and ever since the final few left the club that had real balls and wanted to win at all costs (Keown, Campbell and Cole) we have not got any of that kind of spirit back with the players that have been brought in. We are so far to the side of technical ability rather than grit and balls that we have forgot how to win the major trophies in our own country.
I am bored of looking at 65% possession stats every game with only one or two shots on target over the 90 minutes. Edwin Van Der Saar could not have had an easier game than against Arsenal all season, he had one shot to save and fumbled that when Chamakh should have scored the rebound. Other than that all of our efforts were a waste of time as they came to zero. Chelsea away this season, how many worthwhile saves did Cech make? Answer was just the once again (a first half Arshavin shot). How can anyone say we were unlucky in either game if the opposing keeper has only ever had to make one worthwhile save?
Our keeper on the other hand must have made a minimum of three or four very decent stops and Rooney missed a penalty so all in all the best team won and should have won by a bigger margin. What do we get after the game from Wenger? A moan about the state of the Old Trafford pitch. Now let us look at that without the tinted glasses. If that was any other manager we would be calling him a mug and telling him to get real.
I feel it is time for us all to wake up and smell the coffee. We as a club are second rate as we buy second rate players on the cheap that wouldn’t make the top teams’ bench. We have to admit that Evra’s comments in the run up to the game where factually correct and for me it is also time we admitted that even though he does seem to be a bit of a di*k Ashley Cole was right to leave the club and force a move to the Bridge. He has earned more money since leaving us and won trophies that he would not have won if he had stayed, that is fact. After the Spurs game on Sunday I saw John Terry run over to the Chelsea fans and point repeatedly to the club badge on his chest, whilst he was doing this he was mouthing the word trophies to the onlooking Chelsea supporters in a clear p**s taking exercise aimed at the Spurs supporters. That is the attitude and the spirit that as a side we are completely lacking and that in a nutshell is why we will always come up short against the Uniteds and the Chelseas of this world.
Rosicky in a Premier League winning team will not happen as long as I am alive and the level of effort that players like Clichy and Arshavin put in is simply not good enough to win major trophies. All we are left with as fans every season is the hope that the other top teams drop a lot of points against the other sides in the league as we as a team are not good enough to stop them off our own backs. We lose every time we play United or Chelsea not because of bad luck or bad pitches but because of our complete lack of steel/balls/winning mentality and that will not change any time soon, you can be sure of that.
Whilst Wenger remains in charge this will always be the case as he has got so one dimensional and fixated in his own delusions of grandeur that he will not even think about being wrong even when all around him can see the failings a mile off. If Wenger honestly feels he can win the league and beat teams like United with the likes of Rosicky in the side then he should be sacked with immediate effect and if he doesn’t feel that level is good enough why the f*** do we as fans have to put up with it year in year out whilst paying top money for the privilege of seeing it go pear-shaped every season?
Lots of neutrals say watching Arsenal is the most enjoyable experience they get from any team in the league. They purr over every sideways pass as though we are artists at the top of our trade. Why is it then that as an Arsenal fan I find most of the matches I see to be the most frustrating part of my week? I see us as the most predictable side I have ever seen right now and that is a pretty depressing admission to make. We are totally one dimensional which in turn makes us completely predictable and very rarely do the fancy flicks and tricks ever come off. How many times does Arshavin try and flick the ball through his own legs to a member of the Arsenal side only for it to result in a loss of possession. When has he ever managed to pass to an Arsenal player whilst trying to perform this circus act?
I will be in attendance for the Stoke game on Saturday where we can return to the top of league with a win but I for one will not be getting too excited if we manage the three points as I know come May we will realistically be looking at a top four finish at best and yet another pointless stab at winning the Champions League next season. All Champions League qualification means to the club is another £20-30m in the kitty and as a fan I couldn’t give two hoots about that unless that money is used to increase the quality of the playing squad which it never is. So overall if you are not going to re-invest or win the Champions League the following season what is the point of being in it every year? Maybe we could benefit from the slap in the face that a season in the Europa League would give us and maybe, just maybe that would make the top people at our club wake up and smell the coffee and who knows even consider spending a few quid on some new blood and trying to bring in a fresh attitude, one that is more akin to winning trophies at all cost rather than looking pretty on the eye and delivering f*** all.
