Managing Expectations

They say you have to be mad to be a goalkeeper, becoming a manager is not far behind that. Certainly in days of old, there was a financial necessity which required some continued involvement in the game. That was if the pub or sports shop (or perhaps best of all, Franny Lee’s Bog Roll factory) had not set them up for a reasonable retirement.

Nowadays, a certificate of insanity is definitely required. You know that the carousel is careering out of control when a manager who has won the World Cup is sacked eight months into the job. Parallels with Real Madrid have always been made with Chelsea’s miserable Galacticos policy. Now Abramovich is intent of becoming the rich man’s Florentin Perez by sacking as many managers as possible, something that Calderon continued prior to his short walk down the Bernabeu plank.

The itchy trigger fingers that fired Ince and co already this season are in marked contrast to those at The Emirates. Granted the situations are different; Wenger has proven himself at the club whilst the others can only look on, casting envious glances in his direction at being allowed to get on with his job, a situation only dreamt of given their short tenures.

There has been some speculation (or ill-informed doom-mongering depending on your viewpoint) about the Frenchman’s own future. Some believe he is trading too much on past glories, the footballing equivalent of Eliot Ness, Conan The Barbarian and Captain Scarlet all mixed together. It misses the point. Wenger is not Untouchable, Invincible or Indestructible. It is simply that he is doing his job.

Part of that will be to win trophies. That element is missing, let us make no bones about it. However, the circumstances surrounding the club are different from those of five years ago. There is a new stadium that had to be built and both Hill-Wood and Fiszman admitted that part of Arsene’s role in that was to keep the club in the Champions League. There were no transfer funds (or minimal) available to him unless he sold players so the youth policy route that he had begun before the move to The Emirates was confirmed, became more vital to the club’s future.

The Board has shown that they have considerable patience compared to their peers and that is to be commended. It should not be assumed that it is unlimited patience either nor should it be assumed that the club will never again challenge for the title if this policy is pursued. That does not make a reliance upon youth incorrect. Last season showed one and all that a fully fit Arsenal squad can fire on all cylinders and put in a decent attempt. Injuries and loss of form scuppered that attempt but it is indicative of what they can achieve. This time inconsistency has not quite killed the Golden Goose but certainly put the oven on to pre-heat.

That is something Wenger must address. It is not wrong to question the manager, he is probably more self-critical than others can be of him. Neither does it mean that he is soon for the boot. There will come a time when the Arsene is taken out of Arsenal but now is not that time nor should anyone be thinking it is.

’til Tomorrow.

Eddy, Tob-Amaury And More

It seems a corner has been turned in the world of injured Arsenal players. One can only hope that Eduardo’s return proves not to be so much of a false dawn as the ubiquitous ones that have cast a long shadow over the career of Abou Diaby. Oh, he’s still keeping the medical staff company, in case you were wondering. And Aaron Ramsey, apparently.

Eduardo is keeping a positive spin on his return:

All my team-mates asked me if I was scared, but I’m happy not to fear anything on the pitch and I’m ready to play. When I came on, I must confess that I felt tension in my stomach, but it disappeared when I made my first touch. The most important thing is that I’m back, but I still have work to do to be the old Eduardo.

That’s to be expected and the butterflies will really be turning in his stomach when it comes to the Premier League or maybe Monday’s cup-tie and the first crunching tackle comes flying in his direction. Whatever his feelings are, that is perhaps the biggest hurdle to overcome.

Wenger meanwhile is not going to be rushed into playing him:

He is back and ready to go. I don’t know [about Cardiff]. I don’t want to promise anything. I want the freedom to pick the team I want to pick

Well, that has to be quite the most disgraceful statement that Arsene has made in a long time. Does he not realise that we all know better than he? And he’d better come along with any of this, “I’ve won trophies“, malarkey either because that seems to count for nought these days. However, given that Wenger likes to rest his main strikers for these cup games, Eduardo is likely to get some action on Monday night, a gentler introduction perhaps than Sunderland the following weekend.

Wenger has been praised by Amaury Bischoff:

I suffered very serious groin trouble at Werder. Arsene Wenger wanted me anyway. He hired me for one season while I was still injured. The first five months at London, I was training all alone. Arsenal saved me. Wenger gave me one more year to come back to the best level. After eight months I have already played two matches and appeared a few times in the professional group. But the coach doesn’t want to rush.

Bischoff has impressed those who have seen him for the reserves and may yet get his chance with the first team given the inability of the midfield to stay fit for more than a week at a time. The internationals have worked favourably for Arsene this time with the next fixture five days after the friendlies ended. With a clear week after that, Wenger has the chance to keep others fresh for the important visit of Sunderland.

Important? A win puts pressure on Chelsea, whom George Graham believes can be caught. I am not so sure as Hiddink’s arrival will act as a spur for the players, at least in the short-term but a positive outcome in the Villa – Chelsea encounter and a win for Arsenal means the gap to fourth can go no wider, at worst. Graham is an expert at not strengthening his squads, failing to do so after the 1989 and 1991 title wins, his observation that “I look at the squad and the strength in depth isn’t there for me” was a regular complaint about his tenure.

Achieving a top four place is something that Gael Clichy believes is achievable:

I think it’s 10 years that we have been in the Champions League, so it would be a big loss for the club and for the fans but the season is not finished and we still have the chance. I am confident we can still do it.

It is not going to be easy but the ‘business end‘ of the season is approaching and injuries may yet play a big part. Arsenal are beginning a phase when those out should start returning which will be a big boost. Others may yet suffer the slings and arrows of misfortune that have beset Arsenal in recent months.

That said, Clichy is right. Arsenal has to win their games and not worry about anyone else. In fact, if they win all of their matches, the silverware haul will be healthy indeed and perhaps people will look back and wonder what the fuss was all about. I doubt it though…

Finally, Happy Birthday to No.1 son. Almost double figures but not quite.

’til Tomorrow.

No Injury Reports & Gallas Praised? It’s A Parallel Universe

International week has closed and we await the inevitable injuries to surface. Initial reports suggest that Eduardo came through half an hour or so with Croatia, setting up one of the goals in their 2-1 win in Bucharest.

One player who has been away and is now back is William Gallas. Bacary Sagna believes that to be the case, as does Thierry Henry. Sagna told L’Equipe:

For one year the English journalists wanted to have his hide for this. They got it. I don’t know how he has managed to hold on

A certain stubborness would be the minimum requirement, a thick skin and the ability to scare everyone rather like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. Henry made the pertinent point:

When things are not going your way, people look for scapegoat. And I can tell you about that. When we lost, I was dragged over the coals. People expect a lot from you when you’re the captain. Regarding what happened to William, the press crossed the line. He showed his mental strength

Gallas and Henry have similar temperaments on the pitch. Equally adept at sulking and shrugging their shoulders, accompanied by a withering stare at a colleague who has dropped a ricket. It may well be one of the reasons that Wenger believes in collective leadership:

I am always a little worried about the idea that when you don’t win games people always say it is down to a lack of leadership in the team. I believe that usually players grow with experience and they talk more, they know more about the game and they slowly become leaders. That is why I am convinced that there are leaders in this team

Individual incidents tend to motivate journalists to this point of view. The notion of collective responsibility should be a guiding ethos in a team environment but, at the same time, someone needs to be a focal point in order to awaken individuals from their torpor or controlling their emotions. Otherwise you end up with a Monty Python’s Holy Grail-style collective, working outside of the system and never quite bucking the trend enough to ensure that the team reaches the top.

Finances came back into the picture with the credit crunch yet to inflict itself upon the upper table of European football. Deloitte’s Rich List shows English teams outperforming their continental partners as a whole but the Spaniards still topping the league. How much the story will change next year is open to debate. How much this matters is also up for grabs. It certainly helps to portray Arsenal as a ‘global’ club. The interesting aspect is that the results are in Euros. According to Deloitte’s, if the exchange rate at June 2008 had been the same as 12 months previously, Arsenal’s revenues would have only been £40m less than Real Madrid; the pointless nature of the list overall is encapsulated in that fact. The report does provide an insight into how the clubs structure themselves financially – the thought that you have to be in the Champions League is undermined somewhat with Bayern Munich’s elevation in the list.

’til Tomorrow

Brazilians, Theo And The Odd Great Dane

Late post this morning, too much alcohol after the Brazil v Italy game. It’s not big and it’s not clever to require medication the morning after, especially since the drugs companies are all moving to tax havens, depriving the British Exchequer of Tax Pounds.

When thinking of Brazilians who have plied their trade at Arsenal, it is inevitable that thoughts turn to Gilberto. He was a player whom you did not miss until he was not playing. Edged out in his final season by Flamini’s form, the comparison with Alex Song is immediate in terms of their style of play, much more geared towards protecting the back four through positional sense that Flamini’s busy style. The comparison between Song / Gilberto is more marked than Flamini / Song. The Frenchman was more involved over the pitch rather than Song who concentrated his efforts more defensively. The events of the match influence that more but looking at several of Song’s games in the first team midfield, he is not as dynamic as Flamini and we need to get used to that sense of midfield play again. Whilst Flamini had a good season last year, he freed others up to play more attackingly. The defensive role is being shared more amongst the players this season than last but it seems that aspect is not factored in when the criticism of Song is made. Let’s make no bones about this. Before last term, when Flamini was named in midfield, he bore the same complaints as Song did. It was only the 2005/06 season when he performed admirably at full-back that he became accepted as a decent player.

Onto brighter things, Theo Walcott is tipped to return for the first leg against Roma at the end of this month. According to the Wee Fella:

I am nearly there, and hopefully [will be back] by the end of this month. I am doing a lot of rehab work with the shoulder, landing on it, and also in the gym with a lot of weights to build the muscle strength back

It is certainly going to an interesting choice for Wenger when everyone gets fit. Sorry, I’ve just read that sentence and realised that he will never get that choice as I cannot recall the last time he had all of the midfield and forwards available to choose from…

On the subject of injuries, Nicklas Bendtner is an eager little beaver to prove himself worthwhile of a starting place:

I still feel that when I play my best, I should start, regardless of who is fit or who is injured

Now, I like the cut of his jib in terms of his potential to be a very good Arsenal player. This season has been something of a plateau in terms of his development but he has to start converting his self-belief into performances. With players gradually returning to fitness, hopefully the creative element of the team’s game will return to the levels expected but whether the Dane will be in the team at that point is another matter. Certainly, based on this season so far, I would say the lad is somewhat wide of the mark in his assertion that he should start irrespective.

’til Tomorrow.

Sometimes We Need The Bad And The Ugly, As Well As The Good

Morning all, international week is upon us so quiet time it is and with a bit of luck, the media focus will turn on the England squad and leave Arsenal alone for a while. Well, they would have if Robin van Persie had not re-inforced their own “ideas”:

In the last three Premier League games we have had three draws and that is just not good enough. It’s six points missing. If we had those six points…But this is if, if, if.

And that just about sums up Arsenal’s Premier League season so far in three words, or one word thrice if you prefer: IF. You can insert that about injuries, missed chances, disruption caused by the (un)wanted summer attentions.

The Dutchman went on:

We are working hard but we know we are not there yet. We are not scoring enough goals and we are not playing well enough. But everyone is staying positive and we are trying to help each other. The basics are there, it’s just up to us to finish it off now. Sometimes it’s me to blame or another player to blame. Sometimes we are unlucky. Everybody can judge that for themselves. But we are still creating the chances. Even with 10 men we had a few chances on Sunday. So I am not really worried because we are still doing that part.

Problematically, there are a number of key factors which are hampering the squad rather more than bad luck. The creativity of last season is missing, changes in personnel contributing as much as the lack of consistency on show before Christmas.

Ironically enough, this time last season, the very ability to grind out results for which they are currently being criticised would have seen the word “Arsenal” prefixed by “defending champions“. Along with a higher proportion of the reports in the press would have been about the club being in crisis. Oooh, hang on, that could not possibly be the case for that is the core media angle this season anyway.

The weight of expectation on van Persie given his form in January has grown and there is almost a reliance upon him to score or create in much the same way that the burden fell on Henry and Fabregas in the past. The adaptation process can be seen in Nasri’s play, peripheral one week on the wing, influential when switched inside later in games.

More than anything though, Adebayor’s goals have been missed. That is for a number of reasons, perhaps unsettled by the summer’s talk, inconsistency in others as well as himself and injury. He is the team’s focal point for attack and other’s not chipping in with their fair share is a problem that has beset Wenger since Henry left, perhaps already existing but when your leading striker is hitting 30 – 40 a season, it is not so noticeable.

Unfortunately, Nicklas Bendtner has not stepped up to the plate this season when required. He has the ability and God Knows, enough self-belief but it has not happened for him. The pressure is on him now with Eduardo’s gradual return to fitness coming to fruition. In a few weeks, the certainty that Bendtner had of being called upon if something needed shaking up in the frontline will have dissipated with the Croat being ever more ready to come on.

It is something that van Persie alluded to:

Eduardo has been working really hard and everyone is just really happy that he is back. He has been out for 12 months now. Hopefully he can play, the sooner the better. And Arshavin has looked good in training – they both have. I really believe in their qualities so there is more to come.

Every team has it’s rough patch in a season and finds consistency if they want to be in a position to challenge for any trophies. Arsenal season has been marked by good runs, followed by sporadic performances. The past two months have seen a run with good performances but it is all relative. The benchmark has been set with fluidity of play defining a good performance. Perhaps we need to re-assess that and remember that those like Sunday can be called “good” simply due to the circumstances. Whilst we all would like to see the team hand out a damn good thrashing, that can come. Grinding out results is often the basis upon which those performances are built.

Finally, a reminder to those who want to subscribe by email, you can get your daily dose, followed by a shot of penicillin, by clicking here.

’til Tomorrow.

Eboue Off But Not A Pointless Exercise

Tottenham Hotspur 0 – 0 Arsenal

A bright day that saw the re-emergence of Eduardo turned sour with Emmanuel Eboue’s dismissal. In the end, a point will do but is disappointing given the paucity of opportunities presented to the numerically superior (and that is the only sense in which Tottenham can claim any bragging rights – we finished with eleven men, you didn’t.

Wenger started with Toure and Gallas in the centre of the defence, influenced perhaps by Keane’s goal in December. Even though the defence held firm, there are still questions about Toure and Gallas together. They dealt comfortably with the hosts front two and Sagna / Clichy gave little change to their opponents yet it strikes me that the central pair do not seem confident in each other when playing together. Whether that is simply due to the course of events in 2008 or a more specific problem is food for Wenger to ponder over the coming months.

The opening spell was typical of derbies; a lot of huff, just as much puff and not a lot else until Eboue put the ball into the net and was harshly adjudged to have fouled someone in the process. Initially, I thought it was because the Spurs defender had tripped over Adebayor but it seems that Eboue’s hand on Woodgate’s back was judged to be too rough, tough and manly. It was to be one of Adebayor’s last telling contributions, good to see him walking to take his place on the bench at the start of the second half and hopefully two weeks rest – he would probably have not played against Cardiff anyway – will see him back and raring to go. Reports suggest that he will have an extra week on top of that but we shall see.

Referees are once more under the spotlight following Old Mother Riley’s performance at Anfield last weekend. Mike Dean ensured that the lighting men continued to analyse The Men In Black with his theatrical dismissal of Emmanuel Eboue. Having given himself time to make the decision by taking a slow walk to the incident, he booked Modric for diving.

The decision to send Eboue off was one that never happens to a home team. Little argument for booking him for dissent initially but the sending off shows how much officialdom is misinterpreting violent conduct. Yes, it was petulant and yes, he let his colleagues down. However, you question where commonsense has gone from players and officials. On a weekend where – shock! horror! – we are told that players deliberately get themselves booked to miss suit themselves (let’s not leave out the bookings earned because it suits their managers or the fixture lists) but the question I cannot satisfactorily answer is whether he would have been even booked were the referee not intent on quelling his own insecurities by making himself the centre of attention?

It was not Eboue’s day; the goal disallowed re-affirmed my view that the non-contact sport which Blatter, Platini and their acolytes want to see introduced is being insidiously invoked by referees. Ignoring the team aspect for a moment, it is hard not to feel a considerable amount of sympathy for Eboue. Not in the dismissal but for the fact that he was shaping up to have his best game in an Arsenal shirt for some time. His endeavours were more effective when he crossed the pitch to the left and it indicated an understanding of how Arsene wants his midfielders to work, comfortable on the ball, at ease on either side. In an interview in The Guardian at the weekend, the impact of the booing he received told. Little that anybody who participated in that will care but I’m sure his wife who was seven month’s pregnant at the time, really appreciated your contribution.

Once they had the advantage with eleven men, it was little surprise that Tottenham had the lion’s share of possession. Perhaps even less of a surprise that they did little with it. Keane should have scored with a header, Almunia stranded in no-man’s land. The Tottenham captain might have done better with a half-chance, struck wide from the edge of the area. More culpable was Pavyluchenko who shot high and wide from a good angle for a right-footed player, following Toure’s airkick in the area.

Despite their diminution of numbers, the midfield’s hard work prevented clear-cut chances to Tottenham. Nasri, a peripheral figure in the first half, became more influential in the second, moving into the centre with Denilson going wide. Despite this, it was too often the case that the final ball found an Arsenal forward outnumbered.

It is hard to pick out a Man of the Match as there were any number of hard-working performances, Song and Denilson stood out from the midfield pack for supporting the back four and attack all afternoon. Up front, van Persie was tireless in his link play and lacking in the good fortune that he enjoyed last month. A point though, in the circumstances, is a decent enough result, tempered only by the fact that it is another opportunity to take advantage of Chelsea’s poor form to close the gap.

The latter stages of games have been productive for Arsenal in recent months. This time it was not to be with Song stabbing wide when he should have perhaps done better from a corner whilst Bendtner brought a good save from Cuducini with a fierce drive. The ensuing clearance from the set-piece gave Modric the best opening but he lamely shot low when a chipped effort over Almunia would have sealed all three points. It was an assertive save from the Spaniard, part of a possible answer to his critics who claim that he cannot win Arsenal any points.

Plus points are that consecutive clean sheets will build defensive confidence to bolster the attack. Seeing Eduardo on the bench is something else, hopefully a runout in midweek will be successful with perhaps an appearance by himself and Arshavin against Cardiff?

Having had a month of Liverpool in crisis, the hacks were obviously bored with News of the World, ahem, reporters suggesting that Adebayor, van Persie and Fabregas were all going to leave if the club fails to qualify for the Champions League – according to a “ubiquitous source” – whilst simultaneously using “Mrs Arshavin”‘s website detrimental comments about London – she’s not entirely wrong, in my opinion – to confirm their supposition that the club are teetering on the edge of oblivion. All pretty bog standard derby day stuff from ‘Appy ‘Arry’s mates.

An insight as to why those stories appeared came from Ian Ridley, erstwhile Mail on Sunday columnist and ex-Weymouth owner:

You get used to trying to sift the truth from misinformation in this game…But Arsene Wenger? He denied outright any interest in Andrey Arshavin, yet the agent involved, Phil Smith, revealed after the deal was done that Arsenal were given permission to talk to the Russian before Christmas. You hope that one of the game’s most sensible men gets back to his old honest self now

Did-bloody-dums. Once you have picked yourself up off the floor from laughing, when a journalist bleats about a lack of truth you realise that it is not a woman scorned that hell hath no fury like, simply football writers who have not been made privy to every nuance of a transfer negotiation. Back to the good old days then…

’til Tomorrow.

Tiny Tots Preview

Heading into today’s match, it is expected for a lot of bluster to emerge from the mouth’s of those lower down the league, looking to topple one of the ‘big boys’. It seems that re-signing three players has imbued a sense of confidence around Tottenham, which is fair enough given the same ebullience is evident from the Arshavin signing. A pity then that ‘Appy ‘Arry’s assertion, “it’s probably a decent time to play Arsenal” is not really applicable to Tottenham given that they have won only one league match since December 8th but then who really cares what ‘Arry thinks?

The midfield is somewhat depleted with Abou Diaby missing through suspension but probably injury as well. The list of other absentees would make any manager shudder at the thought of them being fit. Shame none of them are. Tomas Rosicky has started training with a ball for the first time in more than a year which is good news. Hopefully his recovery will be sustained.

Arsene confirmed that Andrei Arshavin will not be starting but is nonetheless included in the squad:

I will see what kind of shape he is in tomorrow to see if he will be involved in the squad or not. We are not in a hurry with him. He will be available.

Slightly contradictory, I know, but it would be a surprise if he is not on the bench, even if he is Back in the USSR , to resurrect the musical theme of Friday’s comments – try Chubby Checker’s barnstorming version of the song rather than the Beatles. More to the point, it would not be surprising if he is used should things are not going to plan. Why? Let Le Boss explain:

I believe he is talented, intelligent and motivated. When you have these things together, you always have a chance to make an impact. But you have to give him time as well. He is not fit at the moment because he had only 10 days preparation after a long break.

With that in mind, and Emmanuel Eboue‘s availability, the midfield more or less picks itself. Some have suggested that Wilshere should be given the chance to terrorise the Spurs defence but it seems too much of a high risk strategy to pursue from the start. The instructions will no doubt be to contain and hit on the break. Which would no doubt suit Emmanuel Adebayor, doubtless chomping at the bit to put his distinctly average performance against West Ham, behind him.

I would expect the team to be:

Almunia; Sagna, Gallas, Djourou, Clichy; Eboue, Denilson, Song, Nasri; van Persie, Adebayor

Three points is vital to stop a breakaway by the top four and would continue the feelgood factor following Arshavin’s signing. Enjoy the match wherever you are watching it.  ’til Tomorrow.