Morning all.
I really dislike International breaks and this feels just like one. It’s been a while since we travelled to Manchester and we still have three days to go before we kick-off Monday evening against Chelsea.
Still, the players have had a good chance to relax, re-energise their bodies and spend time doing work for charities whilst getting into the festive spirit.
But that’s the last good break the boys will get for a while. Christmas may mean celebrating, holiday and over eating for many fans but for the players, it’s all about hard work and fixtures arriving fast and furious.
As said, we face Chelsea on Monday night and West Ham away just three days later, Then it’s Newcastle just three days later and then we kick 2014 off with a home match against Cardiff City. After that, the FA Cup fixtures join the seasons campaign and ours is a nice friendly battle with the neighbours at the Emirates on Saturday 4th of January.
That’s five matches in just thirteen days. Phew, that’s tough!
Arsene Wenger gave his usual update on who’s fit and he was n’t ready to write off Laurent Koscielny’s chances entirely. 80% doubt he said, well who knows, he may just be a very good healer and be ready. Can’t see it personally and there’s no point in risking him. I doubt Arsene will either, not with the schedule as it is.
Lukas Podolski is finally fit and ready to return:
It’s a big boost because he can score goals in big games. He has shown that before. He is a clinical finisher and a great football player.
Jack Wilshere is of course banned for this fixture, and the Boxing Day trip to West Ham.
Back to the five matches in fifteen days. Arsene Wenger surely has to rotate/rest players more than he has so far this season?
Naturally Gibbs will no doubt come back in for Monreal on Monday and Vermaelen will replace Koscielny but what about the others?
Mesut Ozil is used to having a Christmas break, Olivier Giroud looked to be on his last legs against Man City and how many matches are Per Mertesacker and Aaron Ramsey expected to play over the next fortnight?
Monday night should be fine as every player has had a nice rest and when recently asked about fatigue in the squad, Wenger said:
There is no fatigue, not on the medical analysis we have. It is quite sophisticated now and we don’t see any signs. The signs we see on the players, I can rest them.
But with our schedule, surely players like Gnabry, Bendtner, Sanogo(if fit) and Ryo have to be considered. Maybe Akpom and Afobe will finally get onto the bench, and Frimpong.
We may not have the biggest, deepest or strongest of squads but surely Arsene Wenger needs to start using more of whom we have….
Hopefully we’ll have one or two more in that squad by the end of this frantic period…
That’s your lot for another day.
I’m off out for most of it, come on it’s Christmas so I can be forgiven for partying…….
Morning all.
good morning!
Winter starts today and I hope Arsenal still be at the top
suarez renew for Liverpool.
Morning Scott, JM and all….
4 more sleeps 😛
Hi JM, Rico.
Slow times at present.
The is going crazy here over Cashley crashing our guys Xmas party.
Very slow Scott but understandable as many will be shopping etc…
Not sure what the big deal is re Cole, he must have been invited or told where they’d be… I think it’s funny….
Morning All
Morning Rico, good post.
Ah the rotation vs fatigue question…?
Sickness did for us at Old Toilet.
BT/TV/fixtures did for us at Wastelands.
Now we’ve had a nice long rest, longer actually than the Southern Oilers.
We have all our key players available except Koz.
Now when/if ever, did that last occur when Wenger faced the Poisonous One.
No Drogba to get him out of the shit this time…
Seminal game, seminal result perhaps???
Morning Kev, thanks..
And TV should be able to cope with their fire power, or lack of it..
Our boys will be desperate to get back to winning ways and stay top for Christmas..
Close match but finally a victory imho…
Got to go now, catch up this afternoon…
I am off as well guys…..have a great day..
I hope Liverpool have a defeat this afternoon
i’m off for one hour.Time for footing 🙂
Let us get one over maoreen.
buy a dm a lw and a clinical st…..our fixtures frm feb-march is incredible
Hi all,
I’m watching the cricket and wondering if drs would work in football.
Each team getting 2 chances to get a tv review of the ref’s decision.
Would’ve helped against Man City.
Morning all nice one Rico,
Just been listening to talk shite and they were saying that all the games that Mike Dean has reff’ed Apparently Chelsea was worked out as far as winning goes to over 60% City 64% and utd 66% while Arsenal was only 6% does that sound about right.
Morning all.
Like to get this off my chest after Wilshere’s stupid gesture.
Why Jack Wilshere failed?
I can see a parallel between England “Golden Generation” of Frank Lampard, Steve Gerrard and Gareth Barry.
My summary of an enlightening chapter in Simon Kuper (2011) “The Football Men” explained it.
At his prime, Lampard is possibly Chelsea’s fittest player, one of the quickest, can tackle and pass and gets everywhere. And he scored between 20 and 25 goals every year. He is the symbol of his “Golden Generation”: an apparently brilliant failure.
At Chelsea, Hididnk told Drogba to stop dropping back into midfield, explaining that Drogba lacked the technique to prosper there, and Drogba agreed.
Hiddink spotted Lampard’s flaw: the player’s problem was precisely that he did too much.
“Frank is a box-to-box player, as they call it in England”, said Hidink. English players need to be set limits: “This is your area and this is your task.” Of course, being everywhere is precisely what Lampard had been brought up to do it.
But that’s not what Hididnk wanted.
“Surely we should be able to build up towards you, so that you can more easily get through a season of 60 games, and not be completely finished every 4 weeks? With Essien and Mikel and Ballack behnd you, we should be capable of limiting you to your zone.”
Hiddink wasn’t just worried about saving Lampard’s energy. He also saw that Lampard, by going everywhere, was slowing down Chelsea’s attacks. The ball moves forward faster when a midfielder doesn’t come to fetch it. Hiddink felt that Lampard at Chelsea, like his box-to-box twin Steve Gerrard with England, was taking too much responsibility for moving the game along. At WC2010, Hiddink said, you’d see Gerrard collecting the ball in England’s defence and then running 20 yards with it. Gerrard was working hard as he could, showing spirit. However, the effect of his work was to slow England’s attacks. His running gave the opponent’s defence time to move into position.
All top-notch teams nowadays like to strike the moment the opposition loses the ball. In basketball, this is known as the moment of “turnover”. That’s when you need to move play forward in 3 quick passes. But England’s galloping midfielders do that too rarely. That’s one reason why England have got so little use out of Michael Owen – the ultimate “turnover” striker – since his hat-trick in Munich in 2001. Nor have they found much purpose for the nippy counter-attacker Theo Walcott since the hat-trick in Croatia in 2008.
Yet Lampard and Gerrard perform better with Chelsea and Liverpool than they do with England. Hiddink explained that at big clubs, great players coach wayward colleagues: “Drop back!”, “Take it easy”, or simply “Stop running around so much and stay in your zone”. At Chelsea and Liverpool, experienced continental players reinforce the coach’s message in real time. But watching England labour in South Africa, Hiddink had noticed almost none of that.
Lampard’s flaw – and the golden generation’s – isn’t a lack of spirit. It’s an excess of it.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Yu may be in love with Wilshere’s work rate and he tried and keeps on battling – that English grit, but it is detrimental to the TEAM, slowing the counter-attacks and when he lost the ball, leaving the flanks exposed when he is out-of-position.
Wilshere is still “work in progress” and needs more coaching as to when to pass and when to move.
Wasn’t that the same thing we said about a young Theo lacks of “football brain” – shoot when he should pass and pass when he should shoot?
Wilshere is an attacking footballer, a “No. 10” and not a “No. 4” like Fabregas. Wilshere is trying too hard to be both.
With Ozil and Ramsey, and perhaps even OX and Zelalem, ahead of him, plus with Cazorla as another “No. 10”, it is difficult to see Arsene Wenger playing him in his natural role as “No. 10”.
Will Jack Ilshere goes the way of the “Golden Generation” of having an excess of spirit and a “square peg in a round hole” playing WengerBall?
2013 WengerBall as defines in Luis Aragones’ La Roja, bringing into being a generation of young and extremely talented Spanish players suited to a tiqui-taca style in which passing, patience, and possession were never taken to a slow, directionless extreme, but formed part of a rich choreography of attacking, winning football, built up in midfield by the likes of Iniesta and Xavi and in which players such as Villa and Torres provided the cutting edge.
As Xavi explained on being asked by the Guardian’s Sid Lowe to explain the secret of success, “Think quickly, look for spaces. That’s what I do: look for spaces. All day. I’m always looking. All day, all day. [Xavi starts gesturing, as if he is looking around, swinging his head.] Here? No. There? No. People who haven’t played don’t always realise how hard that is. Space, space, space. It’s like being on the PlayStation. I think Shit, the defender’s here, play it there. I see space and pass. That’s what I do.”
Jimmy Burns (2012) “La Roja”.
And previously we have a mullet-haired 16-year old Spaniard making his debut at Charity Shield at Cardiff 2005 and we felt in love with him instantly. He played with his heads up, always scanning the field for a pass, seeing passing channels a split-second before opponent closed it down, and moved after passing, thinking 2 or 3 steps ahead of his opponent.
You ever see Jack Wilshere doing that? Scanning the field with his head up, spotting passing channels and space like Xavi?
Long been mooted Steve , It’s a strange set of results to be sure.
Excellent point above M96.
That is why I always rated AR16 above JW.Growing up watching the likes of Donadoni, Rijkard, Hassler, Matthius etc I can never be excited by Townsend, and other English players who just run with the ball and lose it in the end.
Afternoon all btw and a good post too for a dull morning.
Suarez just scoring and listening to Owen is nauseating.
Even a shit ball from Henderson can be finished fantastically by a top top finisher.
LIVE STREAM SERVICE SATURDAY EPL FOOTBALL
Link provided is the complete schedule for today’s action. Pick the match of your choice from the list, it will automatically reveal the appropriate streams.
Enjoy responsible, no cyber bulling and keep the Highbury House name respected. Tnx.
http://cricfree.tv/live/index.php
Cheers.
Afternoon Goonerdom Worshipers,
Hope all is well??
Merlin69
Excellent piece. Next time submit it for a midweek post. I feel it’s too important subject to get lost in the comments. It should be issued as the main talking point for at least an entire day. Cheers.
Good Day Rico and All.
Good Read Rico and you’re right, the games going to be coming fast and furious. Most want us to lose our lead and that where a prolific striker comes in to get the job done. Do what OG12 hasn’t been able to do lately when the chances go begging.
M96. Very interesting points and that’s why we need a mobile DM to cover those lapses.
SteveP
If those ‘turnover’ numbers are correct and not massaged into assumptions it is absolute piss poor standards from the FA.
Afternoon Nash,
How many net hitting prolific strikers would take a January mid-season transfer in the year of an WC tournament, you reckon??
I say those chances are rare and seldom come to fruition.
We’re sitting on top of cash knowing that we need a striker and yet we didn’t get one during the last T/W. That’s INSANE. Why sit in the dark and curse when you can light a candle especially when you have more than one, and to spare?
Hi DG10, long time mate. Hope the holidays find you in good health.
Tnx Nash for the good wishes. I’m fine thank you for asking.
Indeed we should have done the extra striker in the summer. But I also wonder if the management had Poldi as an alternative in mind.
And in doing so subsequently forced PinkBoots to bench warm in Poldi’s recovery time as the season already started.
Poldi as a striker??? Are we seriously planning in winning The BPL and end our trophies drought? Or how we back in our previous ways in ‘make do’ just to get by?
Poldi Theo and Ox are not strikerish enough for me.
Strikerish…..???!!!
Well, footballistically I agree Nasher… 😀
Afternoon All…
Hey Dutch, how’s things on the Zeider Zee? (spelling)
‘But in foggy London Town, the sun is shining’, as the song goes…
Actually, it’s tipping it down…
A bit like a summers day in Manchester…
Lata…
Afternoonish me old China,
The ‘Zuider Zee’ no longer exists mate. That hole has been filled with dirt and sea sand.
You know what they say. “God created earth but the Dutch made their own” 😉
Kev. I just added that to me lexicon but do think I should get a pattern ‘Right’ for my Strikerish word?
Afternoon folks…
So, no longer top spot then 🙁
Afternoon madam.
Top post on the frantic schedule.
We either end up in a Russian roulette (at best shooting our own feet) or ending the holiday season with the spoils of war, sitting top of the heap half January with points to spare.
Bring on Boxing day! One of my favorite match schedules throughout the season. Referring atmosphere-wise, thrills and entertainment value.
Team that has topped the league on Christmas day has won it for the last four seasons.
David Coleman has died. 🙁
RIP
Afternoon Dg, thank you..
Records like that are there to be broken potter, unless of course we beat Chelsea, then let’s make it five….
Potter
I’m like minded. Grab 1st spot in Christmas and you got yourself loads of spirit leverage on the confidence within the squad.
David Coleman giving a cameraman an ear drumming – hairdryer style.
Forever may he be remembered.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaL5sOClpBc&w=854&h=510]
I have just written tomorrows post about top spot, so I’m keeping quiet until tomorrow 😉
That was some dressing down… haha
No favorable result for afc today, Chelsea game is a must win game.
Sure is Gdna, results simply went the way they were expected…
Rico, I’m hoping AW have his targets already and just waiting for 2359 on January 1st. We need two world class players for our starting 11, a athletic DM and Costa because its rumored he has a release clause. We need two top players to gives the fans and the team the Ozil effect for the crucial part of the season. imo
You and me both Gdna, although I can’t see him going for a DM in Jan, we need one imho, but…
Rico, without quality additions we are going to regret it. imo
Gdna, I’d like to see more than just a striker signed in Jan as we need it. We haven’t been in such a good position for a few seasons.
No additions in Jan and I honestly can’t see us winning anything again…
I’m off for the day now, night Gdna and anyone else reading…
Morning guys….bye, Rico
Hiya Scott…
Are you off work now for the holidays?
Sherwood admitting he is a gooner.lol
https://vine.co/v/hEzbQTggzdm
Atletico 3-2 Levante go top of la liga. Diego Costa with 23 goals in 22 games.
The Zuider Zee is no more?!
Is nothing sacred…. 😉
The Christmas dream, beating Chelsea and then making it 5 defeats on the spin for West Ham @ Upton Park…
I don’t want to consider the alternative…
Diego Costa, on the face of it, looks the striker we need…
Diego Costa @ £32million.
Luis Suarez @ £60million, and more?
Lewandowski @ £15/20 million and a big signing-on fee?
We were 12 points behind Man U after X’mas …. and stringing together 10 wins in succession, we won the title 😀
Ginge, on holidays til the 13th and loving it 🙂
lucky badger you are Scott.lol
Kev- do you want to find all those strikers in your stockings filler or popping out of a BIG box as Cashley wants Cheryl popping out out of his…? 😛
Vela looked very good last night 2 goals too…
Morning Rico and all
Morning Ts and all….
Morning guys.
Ginge, only trouble with me taking holidays is i don’t get paid 🙂