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Unlikely hero
In the end that was pretty easy but I have to give credit to one man and it’s not who you think.
Being present for Ozil’s first hat trick meant my match day programme is something of a collectors item but it was the man on the cover I was most impressed by.
Arsenal really do have two top quality keepers and I have to say I really love the team’s commitment to keeping clean sheets.
In days gone by when we were a few goals ahead, a tiring Cesc would let players through to score past Almunia in goal and our then captain wouldn’t seem that bothered as the game was already won but I grew up on Graham’s Arsenal so it’s good to see an Arsenal rearguard pride in clean sheets again.
All in all – well done lads especially Ospina but stop taking pics in the changing room eh?
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London
Only Gallas was worse than Cesc
Wenger wants to recreate the forward line of Theo Walcott, Van Persie, Nasri and Fabregas?
Yeah sure – I mean why would he want to recreate a forward line of Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and Vieira when he could have a quartet of bottlers?!!!
I have never understood the love of Cesc and never will – he was never worthy of Paddy’s shirt and never will be and Conte knows it too.
I will always remember a Catalan cabbie telling me in broken English in the autumn after Cesc returned to his spiritual home of his misgivings about the deal because we always “sold them sh*t” – how right he was.
Per and Kos are proper captains – Cesc was a terrible captain – only Gallas was worse.
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London
They will never learn…
I can’t wait for the wheels to fall off!
Surely after all this time they would have learnt by now. If any team has a couple of good games the first people to write and slate their excited fans are Arsenal fans, telling them don’t get ahead of themselves. This morning’s mailbox should be framed and hung on the wall come the end of the season.
Chaz (Essex) Cannot wait for the inevitable collapse and #wengerout crew to be back.
It’s happening again…
I can’t believe some of those poor Arsenal fans are going all in yet again. Theo looking wonderful, Ozil punishing teams that give him room to breathe, the defence becoming seemingly watertight – hasn’t everyone seen this movie before?
Let’s look at the results that have led to the fans’ confidence after their disappointing first two games:
3-1 win away at Watford: decent result against a side that will probably end up lower-mid table.
2-1 win at home to Southampton: decent result again. Nothing to go mental over, but quietly pleasing perhaps.
1-1 away at PSG: a good away result against a big team in the Champions League; probably the only strong side they’ve faced in this run.
4-1 away win at Hull: a very good win against a truly diabolical team who had a couple of freak results at the start of the season.
3-0 away at Chelsea: another very good result against a team that will be strong for most of this season, but were truly pathetic here. Absolutely awful. Arsenal can only beat what is in front of them but this wasn’t a show of strength as much as it was Chelsea’s glaring deficiencies (some of which have since been remedied).
2-0 at home to Basel: solid result that helps ensure Champions League knockout stage qualification.
1-0 away at Burnley: a very lucky win. It’s true that this was a game that Arsenal probably wouldn’t have won in the past, but Arsenal did struggle vs a deep defence.
3-2 at home to Swansea: again, not very comfortable, but also a game Arsenal may not have won in past years.
6-0 at home to Ludogrets: a very nice scoreline against a team that were very limited. Ludogrets gave Arsenal more problems than they should have in the first half before they showed what a limited side they were.
So, as we can see, there clearly are reasons to be optimistic, but this has been a very gentle run, which will continue until November (Boro H, Sunderland A, Ludogrets A) before they start to play some tough games. Can Arsenal challenge for the title? Absolutely, and they are in good form right now. But that form needs a huge asterisk next to the level of opposition, and Arsenal fans really need to hold back until they’ve played some strong teams before they get too giddy lest they fall into the disappointing trap they have become so accustomed to.
Arsenal look good, but they haven’t been tested properly since the opening day (at least in the league), and they have a long way to go to prove they’ve got over the mental deficiencies of past seasons. Let’s all remember that this story is playing out exactly as everyone would have predicted at the start of the season, and that prediction does not end __with them lifting the title.
Rustin Cohle
A voice of despair
After reading the interesting article ‘The Last Defender: Coloured football boots’ this morning, it brought to the forefront of my rather bored brain some lingering concerns that I have had for the last 10 years or so and that is the state of football boots. Call me old school but you simply can not beat a pair of black football boots. And while most black football boots are a delight, the absolute crème de la crème are totally blacked out boots. These genuinely excite me.
Last season, I was so awestruck by an opposition player wearing a lovely pair of Pantofola D’ora boots that I went out of my way to compliment him on his choice of boots. He looked confused, and even more so moments later after my mistimed lunge. But what really grinds my gears is that very few professional footballers wear black boots. In fact at St Mary’s on Sunday not a single player was wearing a nice pair of black boots (admittedly Ryan Bertrand who often sports blacked out boots was injured). I understand that many academies such as Manchester City and Reading enforce a black boots only rule and for that I admire. I would love this rule to extend to first team players. I always think, if I was professional footballer earning too much money I would only agree to a boot sponsor if they allowed me to wear blacked out boots.
As a result of professional footballers wearing horrible boots, the market is flooded __with atrocious footwear. Purple boots? Ergh. Green and Blue boots? Cringe. One boot blue and one boot pink? Kill me now. When I go into the self-proclaimed UK’s No.1 sports shop (to be fair there is literally zero competition on the high street which is another gripe) and head over to all the football boots on display I am nearly physically sick by the array of bright colours and vile patterns. I buy my blacked out boots online and have done for a long time now but I dream of the day I can walk into a sports shop not owned by Mike Ashley and try on a selection of blacked out football boots. However, I fear that’s all it will ever be, a distant dream.
Sam Smith (not the singer or the tennis commentator) #benaliontour
A strange and worrying transition
As a Cheltenham Town fan I’ve been able to spend my whole life smugly laughing at whichever of my friends’ Premier League teams had lost at the weekend without fear of reproach since, well, who cares about my little team? Whenever I go to the pub to watch a game I announce proudly that I am a lower league-following neutral and that I just want to see a good match. But something strange is happening…. For some strange and inexplicable reason I have developed a secret penchant for Liverpool FC.
I have no idea why this is happening but it makes me feel a bit queasy inside. It is not something that I am even prepared to admit to my closest friends. I have a particular dislike for the Liverpool accent and the city as a whole, but something causes me to empathize with the plight of their fans who I feel finally deserve to celebrate a league title again. I like Klopp and the brand of football they play and I was desperately hoping they would win the title under Rodgers, if only to thwart Mourinho and the horrible Chelsea marketing machine.
I also place great stock in European titles over domestic titles, so it was great to see Klopp go all out to win a European title last season. I will argue all day that Liverpool’s five European Cups make them more successful that Manchester United, even if the latter were to win another ten league titles before the title returned to Anfield.
Jamie Bedwell (Oops, looks like I am out of the closet now), Cheltenhamshire
Pep’s real challenge as a football manager has begun
Pep’s situation at Man City is somewhat akin to Conte’s at Chelsea. The game against Barcelona was similar to our game against Arsenal (and by saying this I’m merely drawing situation parallels, Arsenal are not Barcelona). This is a new manager inheriting a squad of players, adding some new players on his own, and kicking out those he believes that dont fall in line with his ethos. To everyone’s obvious notice, it was clear that Pep had an easy run of initial fixtures and look you can only beat what is in front of you. I dont think at any point in time, Pep said they were world beaters even after beating the likes of Sunderland or Swansea. On the contrary, even after winning a game at OT (helped by Jose himself), Pep knew the task he had and showed some form of humility by always stating that there was still room for improvement and it was going to take time.
Now, the way I see Pep, he is a no-nonsense guy who has one way of playing the game, as pleasing or irritating (depending on where you see him) it may seem. And has seen tremendous success playing it his way. He has come to a new country and league attempting to stamp his mark on an under performing squad (how City didnt win the title last season still beyond me) and it is going to take time. Barcelona, on the other hand are a team closer to the peak of their prowess, the gold standard for measuring the evolution of any other team for more than half a decade. Including myself, Pep and probably any sane football follower, there’s never been a better team to test where you are. Especially if you’re someone like Pep who built the behemoth of Barcelona of 2010s in the first place. So, it was natural, bold and infact appreciable that Pep tested the effectiveness of his team against Barcelona playing it his way (the Barca way). Yes he lost, but that was more due to the personnel at hand than anything else. It can be argued that he ought to have done a Jose there by being pragmatic but I think thats not how Pep made his mark and he shouldnt change it either.
The real question I have is how will Pep react after the recent results? Does he realize the limitations of his squad that inhibit them from performing and producing results the way he wants it? If he has, then is he going to find a solution that best optimizes the resources in hand while compromising a little bit of style? We’ll know it in the coming weeks and months, as cliched as it sounds. Pep’s real challenge as a football manager has begun. He is in a league managing personnel, some of whom are either weak technically or dont fall in line with the non-footballing principles Pep imbibes in his teams (positional discipline, trust on work ethic and team mates etc.). And the way I see it, he will find a way for he is a top class manager.<
P.S: You can replace my mail with conte for pep, chelsea for city, and our woeful results last month for what pep is going through, and Conte has already seemed to have found solution, management wise (selection based on merit) and technical wise (change of tactical system) that optimizes available resources.
P.P.S: It still feels great to know that we have an impeccable record against Barcelona, and Messi is yet to score against us!
Aravind, Chelsea fan
Boots and Barca
As much as I enjoyed it there was no real shame in last night’s result for City. We have been on the end of a few Barca schoolings in the past and you just dust yourself off and hope you don’t have to play them again anytime soon.
The result reminded me of a conversation I had prior to the Celtic game when my golf partners, 1 City and 1 United were both convinced that City had cracked it and would sweep all before them, winning all 4 trophies due, almost entirely, to the fact that Pep was outstanding and the best in the business.
This isn’t a criticism of Pep or City it just always fascinates me how carried away we all still get when all the previous evidence and experience suggests differently. And yes, I did tip us to comfortably beat them in the derby!
On the issue of coloured football boots raised in the F365 article today, can I just refer all interested readers to one product still available on the market, Adidas World Cups.
My 11 a side playing days are behind me but my wife recently bought a pair for herself (rounder’s apparently) on my recommendation and they are a thing of beauty. I switched from my Bryan Robson inspired New Balance when I was about 14 to WCs and stuck with them until hanging them up (literally) when I packed in at about 35. I probably had about 5 or 6 pairs throughout may “career” and was only ever tempted to stray when the Predator came out.
Plato – MUFC
Beep Beep!
That Guardiola fella would want to learn how to park a bus.
John, Dublin
More sexy goals, please.
Really enjoying Nick Miller’s ‘Quote Unquote’ series and his latest ‘sh*t on a stick’ really struck a chord with me in terms of the loss of beauty and excitement in the game today.
Most goals scored are as a result of long periods of boring possession, a counter attack or forcing someone into a mistake. Not many sexy goals are scored any more.
Players that are not long retired such as Riquelme, Valeron and Beardsley now seem like long forgotten luxuries.
And the ‘high press’ and ‘Gegenpress’ are just what we would call hard work and closing down in amateur football!
Stefan, Derby
Football meets football
Dear Football365,
While it wasn’t his main point, Matthew (ITFC) mentioned blitzing as a defensive tactic in American football, but then mis-defined it in his attempts to apply it to football. Standard practice in American football is to have three or four defensive linemen, whose primary job is to attack the quarterback. Behind them, you have, depending on your preference and situation, varying numbers of linebackers and defensive backs. Rather than “everyone charging at the quarterback”, a blitz refers to one of more of the LBs and DBs attacking the quarterback instead of playing coverage. The theory is that the defensive linemen cause confusion that a blitzer can slip through undetected. They are calculated risks by the defence, because, as Matthew points out, it does leave more field to be covered by fewer players.
To apply this to football, it’s the equivalent of this: your attacking line, as your first wave of pressers, get deep into opposition territory and attempt to force the opposing centre-backs/full-backs into a mistake that turns the ball over, while your midfield and defenders either occupy an opponent or an area of the field. A blitz, in this situation, would be a midfielder pressing as an extra forward, because someone would have extra responsibilities in coverage, but the added pressure up front would increase the likelihood of a mistake.
Matthew’s point that quarterbacks escape this “not by dancing around, but by releasing early (and often long)” is also not right. Pass blocking by the offensive line involves inviting pressure on (the OL step backwards) and diverting it aside, and in doing so create a pocket of space in which the quarterback can assess his options and pick his pass. Many of the best “pocket passers” (e.g. Peyton Manning) were masters of dodging onrushing players, yet quarterbacks like Russell Wilson, who like to run with the ball if there’s no pass on, are arguably more difficult to defend against. It’s arguably this ability to withstand heavy pressure that enables the long pass/big play; wide receivers need time to hotfoot it down the field into space, after all. It’s also worth pointing out that receivers go into the play expected to identify whether they are up against zone coverage or man-to-man, and adjust their route accordingly; likewise running backs and tight ends will often be given “check” assignments – if they identify a blitzer, they stay and block rather than running a pattern.
Again, in football terms, this is similar to why teams will work the ball back to their goalkeeper repeatedly, even from significantly into their attacking half; they want the opposition to step up, and invite pressure on them, so they can exploit space behind their onrushing opponents. It’s a risky game to play, but then so is standing there while your rookie left tackle lets JJ Watt get ideas about the numbers on your back.
Appropriately for Manchester City, you need to have a holistic approach to tactics, whether you’re attacking or defending, because the actions of each individual player to have an effect on the entire team. Pressure up front makes it easier for those behind you to do their job, and likewise effective coverage downfield will buy those leading the rush more time to intensify the pressure. with the ball, an ability to withstand pressure gives your teammates more time to find space in which to receive a pass, and an instinct for recognising quickly when pressure is coming and where from, means the space left by the opposition can be exploited.
If I go any further, we’ll be up to our eyeballs in game theory before we know it, so I’ll end on a lighter note. The BBC’s NFL coverage has been doing a series called Football Meets Football. The other week the Chelsea goalkeepers had a competition to see who could throw and punt the ball furthest, and last week they spoke to Alan Pardew. Pardew is apparently a huge NFL fan, and made interesting points on why ex-players make the best coaches, in terms of commanding respect from players. I’m not saying I agreed with them, but they were interesting. And yes, if you’re wondering, he did compare himself to Vince Lombardi. Never change, Alan.
Ed Quoththeraven (Kent Brewers 2000-03, WR, TE, HB, OG, C, DE, DT, LB, CB, FS)
Clickbait
Some mid-week musings that for my own entertainment I’ve given some click friendly headlines to.
EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Man United Ace in stunning verbal assault of rivals star player
Last night during co-commentary on 5 Live, Phil Neville actually came out with this when Iniesta pressed Bravo: “He’s forced him in to an unforced error there”. We all heard it, why don’t they ever get called up on this drivel by the professional broadcaster sitting next to them?!
Sterling falls: Lazy millionaire footballer on Spanish jaunt
I thought Raheem Sterling’s performance last night should give City fans cause to be optimistic. His change of pace and direction is excellent and caused a few problems. If City had managed to keep things a bit tighter at the back then Sterling’s contribution would be viewed even more positively. As with many English wingers though, it comes down to technique when they are called on to deliver the final ball, often this isn’t good enough but Sterling certainly is an exciting player. Hopefully some work on the delivery and decision making will see him step up to the level of consistency demanded of the really elite players.
Foreign worker not fit to carry out his duties
Kevin De Bruyne looked slightly off the pace last night. On the occasions when he got in to dangerous areas he didn’t look his incisive, clinical best. A question as to whether Pep should have started him for me. Although having said that, if you replaced him with Aguero you leave Barcelona only needing to really worry about Silva as the creator and he would have been tactically fouled out of the game.
SENSATIONAL: Sir Alex blasts World record signing
A ‘source’ (me) feels that Pogba just isn’t a Fergie type of player. I’d bet that if Fergie was given this squad of players he’d quite happily sell Pogba again. He takes too many risks on the ball to warrant any sort of deep central midfield role in a Fergie team. I think his best and most effective attribute is his crossing from the right channel, often from deep, similar to Beckham of old where the defence is still moving back towards it’s own goal rather than holding it’s line after making it to the penalty spot/edge of the area. I hope he finds a place in this team, you’d think that would be number one priority for Jose based on his age and potential but at the moment it feels a bit like he is filling in.
Gayle FOUR-ce wins
Four goals in less than a week for Dwight Gayle has made the difference for Newcastle. A lot of Palace fans were reluctant to sell him for this reason, we knew he could score goals. Given a bit of luck he will be the top scorer in that league but I still don’t regret his sale. He just doesn’t fit in to a system that operates without the ball for significant periods of a game or as an isolated striker. He was always a great option off the bench or against Liverpool but I would much rather see talented players fulfilling their potential than being a decent option for a quarter of the games. Good luck to him.
Ant, CPFC