RvP, Anti-Football and More

Robin van Persie is very happy indeed to have Thomas Vermaelen in the squad, praising the start the Belgian has made, his goals having significance for the team:

The first one showed he is very, very strong from corners and free-kicks and that is very important. Even if we play badly we can always score from set-pieces. I would have been proud of his second goal.

He is raised in Holland. I am not saying every Dutch player is good technically but when you are raised in Holland – especially at Ajax, Feyenoord or PSV – you are brought up getting the ball, moving it first touch, move again, pass, move. He was at Ajax since 15 so it is in his system for a long, long time.

Vermaelen has certainly been quietly going about the business of quashing critics who say he is not tall enough. At City, he was beaten in the air, not in a contest but because of poor positioning on his part, the gap between himself and Gallas far too wide, Emmanuel Adebayor punishing that error.

The goals have been a positive bonus and it would be a surprise if he were to suddenly stop scoring. He may find more attention being paid to his movements in the penalty area at future set-pieces but for now, make hay whilst the sun shines ought to be his thinking.

Wenger observed that it was his combative nature that first brought him to their attention. RvP remembers the encounter, taking it as a positive for Vermaelen’s ability to mix the physical and the aesthetic side of the game. Likewise Wenger who views the incident now as a sign of Vermaelen’s commitment whereas I’m pretty sure he was less complimentary at the time. A forerunner of anti-football perchance?

Arsene is going on about anti-football, the cynical fouls that break up play and allow you to regroup. ‘Tactical‘ was the word he used to describe this. It is a thin line that he has to tread on this subject since his own midfield is not averse to using such methods to halt the opposition in their tracks.

Where Wenger does hit the nail on the head is that referees do little or nothing about these fouls. Apparently, there have been discussions at UEFA meetings and Wenger wants to meet with the FA to find out why there is no provision for referees to act, especially with the cumulative effect.

The problem is solvable. Firstly, referees can book players for persistent foul play. Not sure if this extends to a team or is purely to the individual. However, with any foul, a referee can issue a caution depending upon the interpretation he puts upon the incident. The key issue is not that; it is whether or not the PGMO and FA has the will to deal with this.

It is not a high profile issue that will grab the media’s attention. There is no natural correlation in their minds to cheating, even if foul play is by its very definition, cheating. The subject area is simply too broad for the tabloids to be able to cope with. Diving is a much easier headline to write. It has a resonance with all levels of the professional game.

Yet persistent foul play is more prevalent, more frequent the higher up the ladder you go. Ask any professional and they are pretty much willing to do anything including selling their grandmother’s soul, to win a game such is the pressure they are under. Will the FA act? No. Why? There is no desire to improve the flow of the game, their attention diverted to FIFAs investigations into transfers that are presumed to be dubious. Also, it is only a problem for Wenger, it seems. No-one else agrees with him, publicly at least. He needs to marshall support from other coaches before he will make any headway with the powers that be.

On the subject of tabloids, and I vaguely was, 4-0 wins are apparently not enough for anyone to take Arsenal seriously. Quite rightly so; one win, a season does not make. Yet there is a real danger in their logic for dismissing any hope of a title challenge, particularly this early in the season.

According to Ian McGarry, Sun columnist, Arsenal has lost two games and that is too many to win the title. Or at least that was his opinion on yesterday’s Sunday Supplement. To be fair to McGarry, he also dismissed Liverpool by the same rationale. At least he was consistent. Where that logic fell down was that Chelsea could apparently afford to lose their upcoming matches against the top four teams, Manchester City could not be dismissed and as for United, well, let’s just say that the defeat at Turf Moor has been airbrushed out of history.

The only reason that I mention this is to explain the logic that applies to tabloid journalism and why reading it can be seriously damaging to your health, possibly a more negative impact than twenty fags a day. And McGarry is not alone in this. Martin Lipton, Daily Express football correspondent and Tiny Tot, did not dispute the reasoning. Which left you feeling quite sorry for Paul Hayward of The Observer, whose hang dog expression was largely brought about by the utter drivel his peers were spouting.

’til Tomorrow.