Gallas And Campbell – Arsene’s Age Old Problem

This weekend will be an interesting one for Chelsea and Manchester United. Arsenal could be top by the time the pair kick-off on Sunday, United will be totally unsure as to which Liverpool side will turn up – I’m not even sure Benitez would be able to say. One that is demotivated by their exit from the Europa League or one that is totally motivated by a win over Lille and the requirement for three points to keep their faint hopes of European football for next season alive.

Quite how Chelsea react is another matter; it was a crushing defeat last night. Penalties denied but temperamentally, they were found wanting, not just in Drogba’s sending off but also their post-match comments. The Champions League is a competition which has become something of a Holy Grail for them, vindication in their minds of the ‘investment’ policy of their owner; every failure at no matter what stage, chips away at their sense of self-worth. Add into that mix the table being topped by a team whom they have comprehensively beaten twice this season and questions must arise in their mind about whether they can win the title or not. Unfortunately, if you had to choose two opponents to play in your next two games, Blackburn and Portsmouth would be fairly high up that list.

Arsene’s mind may be wandering this week in the absence of a match, concentrating on summer transfer activity if all of the reports are to be believed. He’s apparently got his Chamakh for nothing, a ‘wonderkid’ from Ajax and still to sort out William Gallas before he even starts fending off the interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid in Cesc.

The situation around Gallas – and by extension, Sol Campbell – goes to the core of Wenger’s philosophy about the squad. He has struck a balance between youth and experience, a number of the younger members of the squad are now experienced thanks to his policy of investing and believing in them.

Gallas has been outstanding this season, his partnership with Vermaelen is probably the most consistent in the Premier League. Their styles compliment each other and they are outright defenders, not converted midfielders, who have excellent positional sense. It is apparent that they trust each other on the pitch, more than Gallas did with Toure, and have confidence that each is more than capable of doing their job.

Yet Gallas is of the ‘age’. The age where Wenger is not prepared to commit more than a year at a time on a rolling basis. An age where the player realises that his career is starting to head down the hill to retirement. He may view this as his last chance to sign a contract which earns him a big pay day. Whether that is with Arsenal on an annual basis or with someone else for a longer term is another matter. Wenger obviously thinks he has much to contribute, rumours of a two-year deal would seem to indicate that.

In general terms, Wenger has pretty much been spot on with the older players. Bergkamp contributed much during his time of rolling deals; others have left and found the grass not to be greener. Two who highlight the issue most keenly are Pires and Gilberto Silva. Both have had prolonged careers after leaving, Pires injury-interrupted spell in Spain should not disguise the fact that he remained an influential player. Did Wenger let him go too soon? A subjective matter but I would suggest, yes, is the answer. Likewise Gilberto’s departure proved costly when combined with Diarra and Flamini going, allied to injuries elsewhere. Hindsight is a wonderful thing upon which to base analysis.

There is depth a centre back, with loan experience gained and injury recovery taking place. However, the knowledge that Campbell and Gallas have is not easily replaced. Should Wenger let them both go? Would either or both be happy with a bit-part role, focussing primarily on nuturing future generations. For Campbell, the answer would presumably be more readily, yes. He is at the tail end of his career, one more season in the top flight at most. He has made no secret of his desire to coach so perhaps that is part of Wenger’s thinking.

Gallas seems unlikely to be happy with that. He has several seasons left in him and has proven this year that he is more than capable of delivering high quality performances on a consistent basis. Should Arsene rethink his strategy in this area or review on a case-by-case basis. I hope that his thinking is not clouding by the current vogue term in football, resale value. It is negligible for over-30s; this should not enter the equation at Arsenal because the club is financially secure enough to place a higher value on experience than any monetary estimate.

I suspect it unlikely that both with retained. Djourou’s form upon his return to fitness is the unknown in this but his promise was such that high hopes should be realised. Others such as Nordtvedt, having been in the Bundesliga for a season, could start to feature as well next season. More will become apparent over the summer months.

’til Tomorrow.

Arsenal Impress With Attitude

Much is being made of the fact that Arsenal are scoring a number of late goals this season. The inference is that this is something new, the like of which has not been seen in the Premier League other than in ‘Fergie Time‘ at Old Trafford. It is a convenient label for the media to attach to the team, reinforcing their theory that Arsenal are fortunate to be in the title race at all.

Conveniently, this perception forgets a lot of The Emirates history, points salvaged with some regularity in the first two seasons as Arsenal struggled at times to convert their superiority in possession to actual goals.  It also negates the results achieved without the necessity to score late goals. Arsenal has made the step forward of winning most of the games that they should, beating sides on the road against whom points have been dropped in previous seasons. The matches which we are regularly told are the ones that Champions always win.

Manchester United win games through constant pressure exerted through attacking their opponents. This influences officials with constant possession drawing fouls, the more persistent this becomes, the more frequent set-pieces occur. Arsenal tire their opponents; passing and moving requiring the opposition to chase the ball more often, as the match weaves to its conclusion, mistakes occur such as the one made by Myhill on Saturday, gifting the winner to Bendtner. It does not always pan out that way but more often than not, it will.

Primarily the results have improved with experience, younger players learning from the hardships of previous outings. Equally, the whole of the squad has hardened mentally, an attribute picked up on by Wenger:

These kinds of wins strengthen our belief but I think they are more a consequence of our spot-on attitude. It is something special for such a young team to have that. It comes from the desire to win something. We started to build this team three or four years ago. The age is around 22 and now people are saying: ‘yes, but what did you win?’ Well that desire to win something is certainly evident.

The inference from his words is that in the past focus has been an issue, something few would disagree since there have been games where the body language of key players has been, for want of a better word, wrong. Despite losing key players at crucial times, injuries have been less of a mental issue this season. Proving that they can win games without Fabregas, van Persie, Gallas, Arshavin and Rosicky has been excellent for supporters as well as the rest of the squad. Victory brings confidence, no matter what the circumstances. When adversity is an influence, the belief grows more out of positive results.

We haven’t won anything yet and as long as you have not won anything it will play on your mind. We have lost the spine of our team [in recent games] yet we can still turn up and win games. That shows something. We have built a good squad here with an exceptional spirit.

The season is panning out nicely. The prospect of breaking their trophy duck is very real. The motivation is there for the squad, individually and collectively. Having reached the top of their profession, they want to win trophies individually. They want to be looking back in retirement with great memories and silverware to back it up. Collectively, they want to be remembered as a great Arsenal side; they might be for winning a title this season through the adversity will bring perhaps as much satisfaction as an undefeated season.

’til Tomorrow.

Monday Morning Round-Up

The weekend’s football panned out pretty much as expected with West Ham and Fulham capitulating on their respective visits to Chelsea and Manchester United. The upcoming weekend could see Arsenal return to the top of the table with our nearest rivals playing on Sunday. Whilst United appear to have the trickier match of the two, I do not expect anything from Liverpool, no matter how much they may wish to win the match. Quite simply, they are not good enough. And yes, I am really hoping that I have to eat those words.

Andrey Arshavin is rapidly becoming a surreal footballing experience; sublime on the pitch and frankly talking as if he has dropped a tab of acid off it. The latest ‘gem’ from his website concerned the visit to Hull:

Unfortunately, we missed a penalty kick. Hull played a bit rude.

I am not sure but I don’t recall Arsenal missing a penalty but Hull playing rudely? How brilliant is that translation. Boateng proved it I guess by poking Bendtner in the eye but I suspect Arshavin is more than a bit peeved with the lack of manners shown when Hull put their tackles in, inspired by that ragamuffin ruffian Jimmy Bullard, legendary prankster, Oliver! reject and Johnny Come Lately street-brawler.

Talking of bizarre statements, one of the weirdest came from Stan Collymore. Noted for his dogged penchant for violence, Collymore’s tongue has regularly been turned on the Arsenal squad, telling everyone who has the misfortune to listen that they are simply not good enough to win the league. Not content with that, Collymore defended Nicklas Bendtner against his critics. Bendtner’s that is, not his own:

It is about time Arsenal fans ate some humble pie over their treatment of him. Bendtner’s heroics go to show that, of the 60,000 fans at the Emirates, only the 30,000 or so who would have got into Highbury appear to know anything about football

Good to know that half of the stadium has a better knowledge of football than Collymore. Actually so do the other 30,000 which says it all really.

He did get one thing right though:

Arsenal supporters can continue to dig me out about a number of issues, but I have seen enough strikers and played in that position myself to know way more than some of the plonkers who criticise Bendtner.

Not the bit about him knowing more, the other part.

Bendtner not only has a knack of scoring goals, but also of netting vital strikes. How dare any Arsenal fans suggest Bendtner isn’t a top-quality forward in the making?

He has scored international goals for Denmark and has already shown huge potential in English football, so what more can Arsenal fans expect from a rookie who is barely 22 years old?

His assessment of Bendtner (and Walcott for that matter) is rather more spot on than most of the comments I have read recently. Bendtner’s confidence and willingness to learn serve him well, being able to put himself into a position where he misses time and again without flinching is a trait all of the top strikers have. His goal at the weekend showed that he is concentrating for the full time he is on the pitch, following in shots from distance in the hope of capitalising on mistakes. He has done well and should be confident of being able to score 20 goals a season if given a run in the side.

Bendtner is better appreciated than his English counterpart whilst that is still a step up from the abuse Almunia and Denilson receive. His timescale on Bendtner improving to become a top striker in the English game might be slightly out. I know football fans have to berate someone – actually they don’t have to, but they do – on their own team, Arsenal has had plenty of those players in the past and will no doubt have them in the future. However, when the team is challenging for trophies, it is because of the collective efforts of all players. Being in the Quarter Finals of the Champions League and the top three of the Premier League has not happened in spite of some players, no matter what you may think.

’til Tomorrow.

Young Nick Leads Arsenal Out Of Hull

Hull City 1 – 2 Arsenal

0 – 1 Arshavin (14)
1 – 1 Bullard (28 pen)
1 – 2 Bendtner (90)

A less comfortable win than it should have been but victory nonetheless and at this stage of the season, three points is all that counts, especially since Chelsea had won convincingly earlier in the day. Nicklas Bendtner’s late goal was apparently not good for his manager’s heart but it was certainly good enough to keep the pressure on at the top of the table.

This was a win reminscent of 1989′s victory at Ayresome Park. On that day, the most exciting Arsenal team to that point won through a late Martin Hayes toe-poke, overcoming stubborn resistance from a team struggling at the foot of the table. That title winning side was capable of playing far better than they did on that spring afternoon but grinding out a win was all that mattered at that late stage of the season.

Yesterday saw the latest incarnation of that sobriquet overcome ten men who had defended resolutely following the rightful dismissal of George Boateng, scored in the last minute, taking the points and pushing Hull into the relegation mire even further.

The performance started brightly and earned its due reward with less than a quarter of an hour passed. The ball was swept across the pitch from Nasri via Bendtner, before arriving at the mercurial feet of Andrey Arshavin. The Russian flicked it through two defenders and bundled into the gap, calmly striking home past Myhill.

Lucky bounce off a defender? Gary Player believed that the harder he practised, the luckier he got. Arshavin puts in the hard work on the training pitch and has the confidence, creativity and control to make it happen when the pressure is on. That composure eluded him late on when he blazed high and wide, the goal at his mercy, much the same as had been the case in midweek and in the clash with Burnley.

The absence of Cesc has left Samir Nasri wondering about his World Cup fate. The Frenchman believes that he will be moved back to the wing when his captain returns from injury, damaging him internationally. He has no complaints however in playing where he is asked to by Wenger. He was not as sparkling as in the previous two games but few in the Arsenal side were.

Parity came against the run of play. Vennegoor of Hesselink was clearly offside when the ball was flicked over the top of the Arsenal defence, Campbell bringing him down clumsily. Campbell can have no complaints about the yellow card he received. Brown has no basis for his complaints that it should have been a red. Unless Vennegoor of Hesselink was going to show skills that Meadowlark Lemon would have been proud of, hitherto previously well-hidden, there was no goalscoring opportunity, the ball trapped on his back and not under his control.

Not for the last time yesterday, the officials were found wanting in their decision-making. How the Assistant did not spot that the Hull forward was offside is beyond me. He might claim that his view was obscured although even Jude would have seen the three feet gap between the last defender and Vennegoor. Even if that were the case, a pitchwide thumping great white line a yard from the play would have given him the necessary visual perspective upon which he could base his judgement. Baffling is too kind a description of the ineptitude shown.

The Referee is the leader of his team of officials. Little surprise that the Assistant was wrong in his decision making; he merely copied Andre Marriner. George Boateng poked Bendtner in the eye, the Dane responded by raising his arms. Cheap yellow cards followed. The Hull captain then picked up a second yellow for a tackle which was worse than that inflicted on Aaron Ramsey, scything Bacary Sagna at the knee, fortunately for the Frenchman the injury sustained was substantially less. How it was not a straight red is beyond me.

Arsenal dominated the ten men, penning them back in the second half but it was the introduction of Theo Walcott who gave the attack some real impetus. Walcott’s chief weapon is his pace, the clearest opportunity came when Arshavin skied his effort. A point it seemed would be scant reward for Arsenal’s efforts.

Bendtner had seen a goalbound effort blocked as Hull provided example after example of last-ditch defending, bodies thrown in the way of the ball at every opportunity. Resistance proved futile ultimately. The much and harshly maligned Denilson found space, struck his shot well goalbound but straight at Myhill. Bendtner followed in and found the ball at his feet, the goal at his mercy and obliged by putting the ball into the net.

Arsenal sit second this morning, pending this afternoon’s expected thrashing of Fulham by Manchester United. The season is alive, the race for the title kicking and screaming towards its conclusion. The squad are doing all that is asked of them. We can expect no more.

’til Tomorrow.

Hull City (A) Preview: Who Has Tiger Feet?

The trip to Hull brings back many fond memories of previous encounters, Phil Brown’s jocularity always shines through when faced with Arsenal and Brian ‘Laughing Boy’ Horton; well, what a guy. That stand-up routine he and Cesc had going really recreated Harlem from the Blaxploitation movies, right down to the public shoe-shine.

This is one of those fixtures which Alex Ferguson referred to be as being ‘easier’, Hull’s league position being the driver to that comment. It is that fact which makes it one of the tougher of the run-in. Chelsea and Manchester City have both failed to take maximum points from their visits to the Humber, Machester United are one of only two sides to have achieved that this season, highlighting the paucity of the hosts form on their travels. Hull come into the match on the back of a thrashing at Everton and fighting between squad members; a club destined to be relegated in such circumstances.

Arsenal will need to show the same resilience that was displayed at Stoke recently to ensure the victory required today with United and Chelsea both having routine home fixtures. A win will elevate Arsenal to second, for a day at least, with one by two goals more than Chelsea achieve putting them top.

It would not be Arsenal if there injuries were not plaguing the squad. Fabregas joins the spine of the side on the sidelines whilst Campbell, Sagna and Rosicky are both doubtful, such is the hand that Arsene has been dealt but one he is used to juggling with. And he has the personnel to deal with this eventuality. Silvestre may not be everyone’s cup of tea but was alright in partnership with Vermaelen last week against Burnley whilst Eboue is far more than an adequate replacement for Sagna.

The Ivorian’s form and mental attitude has been rightfully praised by Arsene. Wounded by the jeering at The Emirates, his return to the side when called upon in a variety of positions has been back to the level first seen when he joined Arsenal as Lauren’s replacement. Right back is still his best spot in the starting line-up but playing in midfield seems to have raised his tactical awareness. The situation in which he found himself is unfortunately becoming all too common with Arsenal; lose form, lose support, berated continually until it is realised that ability remains. A symptom of football in this age.

Further up the pitch Arsene has options to rotate if he so chooses, no midweek fixtures allows aching muscles to heal. In midfield, Denilson will replace the suspended Alex Song, partnering Nasri and Diaby. Denilson is this season’s Song, criticism of the Brazilian pale compared to the abuse directed at Eboue. Primarily, this is cast by the shadow of Flamini’s one season in the sun at The Emirates. History will show that Flamini was no more than a bit part player, refusing to play left back in the season following shining in that position in the run to Paris; all but sold to Birmingham the summer before an injury to Diaby. He is eulogised by some, believing that he was as good as Vieira; spare me. He did well when required, no more.

Having scored 11 goals in the last 3 games, there must be some doubt as to whether or not Wenger will rotate unless change is forced upon him. The next Arsenal goal is 100 for the season in all competitions, impressive since the central striker position has not be filled by a key player consistently throughout. That is the big change around this season. Previous campaigns have seen midfielders fail to contribute to the required level in goalscoring. Now everyone wants to get in on the act; no bad thing at all.

Nicklas Bendtner has not lacked confidence, his belief in himself ahead of his actual ability at this moment in time according to his manager. Where the Dane scores highly with Wenger is his apparent desire to learn, willingness to listen to criticism – provided it is constructive so presumably he ignores that which is written about him on the majority of websites. Hopefully the three in midweek will be the start of a scoring run for Bendtner but his overall contribution to the side remains excellent. If his standards drop, he knows Eduardo and Vela are waiting for their chances.

The line-up I suspect Arsene will go with if all his injury fears materialise, is:

Almunia; Eboue, Vermaelen, Silvestre, Clichy; Diaby, Denilson, Nasri; Arshavin, Bendtner, Walcott

An afternoon where a win is crucial. In that respect, it is no different to any other but this is one where rivals are not expected to drop points. Arsenal must ensure they take their maximum to capitalise if the unexpected should happen. Enjoy the match wherever you are watching it.

’til Tomorrow.

Stone Cold Friday: They Say Faith Can Move Any Mountain

I raid my record collection and nab a post title from The Buzzcocks. Darius raids his and comes up with a Tears for Fears lyric. Tears for bleedin’ Fears? Yea Gods. I know whose CDs I’d like to listen to and they ain’t his…although any article that references Steve Marriott can’t be all bad.

The Association of British Specialist Insurers has suggested that in the last few weeks members have inundated them, seeking advice on how to approach the development of a new product.

A select group of clients are clamouring to buy what has been described as ’Humble Pie’ insurance, seeking to find solutions that will save face, stop them from eating their words, and shield them from having industrial portions of humble pie shoved down their throats come the end of the football calendar this year.

Victoria Concordia-Crescit, ABI Business Development manager, observed that the enquiries from clients seemed to be from the sports media outlets, particularly BBC Sports, Talk Sport radio, Sky Sports, ESPN, tabloid newspapers and ex-footballers who sit uncomfortably on various lurid sofas.

The demand for this specialist insurance has been prompted by the unexpected and continuous resurrection of Arsenal football club in this year’s Premier and Champions League campaigns.

One Sports presenter from the BBC described this phenomenon as a ‘Lazarian’, pundits and hacks throughout the land remaining baffled that Arsenal are still in with a chance of silverware this season, despite being buried several times at publicly attended funerals.

Concordia-Crescit confirmed that despite biblical references, the Association’s specialist actuaries had categorically ruled out the principle of ’Force Majeure’:

From what we know, the actions and inspirational comebacks that Arsenal has made this season don’t qualify under our Force Majeure principle as an act of God. We have closely looked at the history and origin of this so called resurrection phenomenon, and we can attribute 5 key factors to this;

• Excellent management and husbandry of the club by the board and their manager for more than a decade
• The courage and tenacity of Arsenal’s manager to lay down a vision and follow it through despite the short sighted adversity of ’Johnny come lately’ customers
• Collective contempt and disdain shown to Arsenal by the establishment clouding the reality of the progress that Arsenal has made in the last 5 years
• The incompetence and inability of pundits, hacks and generally the establishment to understand the vision Arsenal is following and give it credit where it is due
• The growing belief in the Arsenal side that they are destined for greatness, and that the mental fortitude they have shown in coming back time and time again is a manifestation of this belief

Crescit added that they are working with their specialist underwriting team to design an appropriate product which provides adequate cover for the inevitability of Arsenal’s dominance in the decades to come.

Asked to shed light on what were some of the issues that clients were seeking to address with this new insurance product, the business development manager suggested that the root causes of the problem were:

• The intellectual masturbation and diatribe spewing about Arsenal that had gone unchecked for the best part of 5 years
• The contempt shown for Arsenal’s decision to dare to do things in a different way to what the establishment comprehends
• The implicit and explicit belittling of Arsenal laced with xenophobic euphemisms and stereotypes.

She observed that there was likely to be a high claim ratio once they’d implemented this new insurance. This was not particularly worrying as they would normally counter with higher premiums in subsequent years.

Companies which employ these pundits and hacks will be calling on this insurance purely based on an assessment of risk factors. Based on their study of Arsenal’s vision, financial performance, as well as its growth and development on the field, it’s clear to see that the club has the best foundations to go on and straddle the European footballing landscape for decades to come with their dominance built on organic growth.

If you look around right now, the footballing world is littered with basket cases on one hand, and recklessness on the other hand with breath-taking financial instability. Concordia-Crescit cited the case of Real Madrid who had sold the family silverware to hedge their bets at domestic and European glory, yet they spectacularly fell short all the same.

Asked to comment on why she thinks Arsenal have survived this onslaught and has caused panic and mayhem in the ranks of punditry, she simply smiled and attributed it to one thing; Faith.

Faith that the board and manager could lay down a vision and follow it through despite the inevitable criticism;

Faith in the team that has grown together and matured over the last 5 years despite the heartaches and joy that they have shared.

Faith by the true fans that have kept patience and travelled this journey with the team, sharing in their triumphs and celebrating with the team; commiserating with the teams defeats and expressing their frustration and emotion.

Faith that it is possible to win and to win playing the beautiful game.

Faith that when the team eventually win their first title together (and they wouldn’t be selling Humble Pie insurance if this wasn’t a certainty), the victory will have been made sweeter by the joy and pain that the team and supporters have suffered through this journey – and the hard work of the team and their courage shown through adversity.

Faith can move mountains, and it’s inevitable that it will win Arsenal titles on the way to shifting those mountains.

Oh, and can someone give me Faith’s phone number whilst they are it. I’ve a huge pile of rubble in my garage that I need to get shot of. Perhaps she could do that the next time she’s moving a mountain in the Thames Valley? ‘til Tomorrow.

Everybody’s Happy Nowadays

Media reports of Nicklas Bendtner having the ‘last laugh’ put the whole of the coverage surrounding his performances in recent days into the perspective that they deserve.

The image which sprang to my mind was a Python-esque character, dressed in Superhero garb, proclaiming, “I laugh in the face of danger“, his horn-rimmed spectacles perched precariously on his nose. The ‘danger’? Anyone taking the criticism and praise seriously without realising that they will return in equal measure, depending upon his performance at Hull on Saturday.

Bendtner noted that this is the manner in which the ‘issue’ was dealt with ‘internally’:

There was some criticism of me after the game last Saturday, but me and my team-mates have just laughed about it. They made jokes with me. That is how I look at that – I laugh. They have all congratulated me for my hat-trick and then we laughed about it – in a good way.

Thomas Vermaelen was effusive in his praise for the Dane, positive about his resilience and strength of character, as well as acknowledging the alternatives that Bendtner provides for the team, especially as an outlet for releasing defensive pressure:

He doesn’t struggle with confidence and that is a good thing for a striker. You always need a good centre-forward who scores goals for the team, he did that against Porto and I hope he will score a lot of goals in the future.

For us it’s good that Nicklas is there, you can give the long ball and he wins headers and you can put opponents under pressure. Sometimes that is really good. It gives you more options

The key thing though was Vermaelen’s assertion that Bendtner was no less happy with his performance against Burnley than he was with the hat-trick against Porto. Whilst that may be too simplistic an interpretation of Bendtner’s mood – I am sure he derived more personal pleasure from scoring than not doing so – the attitude underlines one of the core values apparent in the squad now divisive members have moved on: unity and stability in behaviour.

Bouyancy quite rightly drives the squads outlook. A tricky spell with some poor performances has been negotiated, adversity in the form of Aaron Ramsey’s injury overcome and now they look forward to season-defining games, albeit one at a time. None of them are straightforward in that the team cannot believe that they can just turn up and take the victory; each of their opponents has something to fight for.

Wenger and his staff have done an outstanding job this season with morale, regrouping the players after setbacks, instilling into them humility in victory, efforts to prevent that duly recognised if misinterpreted widely in their media regurgitation, eliciting the desired over-reaction from Messrs O’Neill and Pulis.

No doubt he is helped by the fact that the egos are kept under wraps in public, presumably controlled by the fact that the outstanding players for all of the individual efforts and skills are very keen to point out the contributions that colleagues make, ensuring everyone is appreciated and the everyone appreciates the ‘lesser’ players.

The players have always been ‘positive’ in their media outlook, rarely depressed or seemingly so, in their comments which in itself is no bad thing given how much confidence contributes to performances.

Ensuring that nerves do not overtake them in the run-in is a key test for Wenger; he has the experience of winning titles, the squad for the most part, the experience of losing one. Make no mistake, the scars of 2007/08 will burn deeply in their professional psyche and forge a determination to win the title, a determination which they have shown tiem and again this season.

’til Tomorrow.