Daily Bits and Bobs

Arsenal's clockwork ticking? Perfect replacement for Arshavin on his way?

Posted on by rico

Morning Gooners,

Following on from yesterdays post when I suggested that certain players should be sold, I write todays with some idea’s on resting players.

Personally speaking and looking back on my own experience of playing local football, the thought of resting players when they are firing on all cylinders goes against the grain but I bow to the general opinion that if you want longevity from your players, resting them seems to be the way.

When I played and a player was having a good run, he would be first on the managers team sheet, as all ex players know, a hot streak comes and goes. Some last longer than others but when players are on fire they just want to carry on and keep playing and when the streak runs dry, that is when a player feels depressed. Harder and harder he tries but nothing changes and at some stage his confidence is lost.

He finds himself on the subs bench or even dropped – the player is on an all time low.

I have never known a time when resting players who are at the top of their game is aiding them and usually if they watch the games, they can get more frustrated than the Manager and that in itself can be detrimental to his form.

After reading many views on the subject, most supporters seem to think that these players need to be rested for their own good, stress fractures has been brought up with continued play but my view is that if a stress fracture is going to occur it will, with or without rest.

Top olympic athletes need to train every day if they want to become champions. Building strength and stamina is paramount to success and careful training where different body parts are worked on and strengthened while other parts are recovering, that is the way to go.

With an olympic athlete, say a runner or a gymnast he performs on his/her own, so the training and rest should be worked out to get the best out of them but a  footballer works in a team, he’s part of a squad. He’s like a wheel or a cog in a clockwork movement, if all these parts work in unison the clock keeps performing and it keeps the right time.

The same can be said of a football team, an in-form player changed with a medico player could present a problem. Where the clock will start losing a second here and there, change two players and a few more seconds get lost and so on.

So what does that tell us?

It tells us that we should never make too many changes to one team, it tells us that if we make changes keep them in moderation.

By this I don’t mean we can’t rest players, what I am saying is only rest a maximum two players from any one team. Injuries of course can change all that but in general that should be the rule.

By changing a maximum of two players for every game would enable players that feel they need a rest to have one, it also lets the second string player taking his place, a chance to show his skills within a good team.

Changing 7 to 8 players in one game is unfair for any player coming in as all it does is upset the working of the clock. Second string players start playing with other second string players and all that will produce is second string players, so what’s the point?

Young/reserve/inexperienced players will only benefit by playing with quality players,  they need to learn from them, understand how good they have to be and be assured by their calm presence on the pitch.

They won’t learn or benefit by having 7 or 8 of them thrust together in the thick of it against top quality opposition and more often than not, having their noses rubbed in the proverbial.

That is how professional players progress, they are used primarily as subs, in case a player gets injured, they are a fresh pair of legs ready for when a player has had a particular tiring afternoon.

They are playing with the first team, they are playing with the best the club have and they are being covered by the best in case they make a mistake and that’s how they learn and then one day they will end up being first teamers starters if they become good enough.

It’s that easy enough to follow, that’s how its been done for generations and it’s the right way, there are no quick fixes unless a new signing is very special and that’s when things change. A very special signing will gain his place in the side from the off with his outstanding attributes which will prove that he deserves to take another first team players place.

That’s the system and that’s the way it should work.

See, it’s Simples and you know it makes sense. 🙂

Written by Steve Palmer

The day wouldn’t be complete without the latest rumour, today it’s Marco Fabian, his family have reportedly used twitter to announce that he is on his way to Arsenal! He’s a 22-year-old midfielder who currently plays for Chivas and the Mexico national team. He can’t be too bad, he managed to put two goals passed Barcelona earlier this year…..

Why is he the perfect replacement for Arshavin? He’s 5′ 7″ short…..

Have a good day all, no laughing at the Manc results, that wouldn’t be sporting now would it…….

 

 

rico

73 thoughts on “Arsenal's clockwork ticking? Perfect replacement for Arshavin on his way?”

  4. Adam says:

    Morning Rico. I am just so sad that Man Utd went out of the CL last night and that the exceptional, non-gloating Patrice Evra feels it is an embarrassment. It was men against the boys of Basel. Schadenfreude or what?

  6. Gooner Sam says:

    Morning Steve, morning all. I agree that changing too many players is bound to cause problems (7 or 8+) but you need your preferred first 11 and it is natural that in a match like ours the other night that most first 11 don’t play. Thats what your squad should be there for. If you played the same team for every match their performances would most likely deteriorate as time went on particularly playing a side not in Europe or the cups who would be fitter. All the big sides draft in squad and reserve players into cc matches, FA early rounds and dead rubbers. Rather lose a squad player to a dodgy tackle than a first 11. Of course there’s no guarantee but the more rested / fresh they are the less chance.

  7. rico says:

    Steve –

    really good post and i totally agree, resting too many players at one time truly disrupts the balance of a side, we saw that last season in the FA Cup – in turn i think that hampered our season as we got draws instead of winning the game first time around. That added to our already hectic fixture.

    I can understand th changes on tuesday as the game meant nothing to us and in hindsight, i wish both santos and TV had never travelled, let alone played. We now are left without an experienced LB for the next three weeks, so it wasn’t worth the rsik….

  8. rico says:

    Morning Adam, Wath and Sam…

    Evra’s comments are a disgrace, see the paps are questioning Fergie’s ability this morning 🙂

    Away to the Stoke on a winters night will be worth watching Wath 😉

  9. Gooner Sam says:

    Evras comments? What did the little sh*t have to say? God I dislike that man….and so does every French person I know!

  10. W.A.T.H says:

    I’d like em both to draw teams that gives them the furthest to travel Rico and as you say piss cold weather so who cares what team they pick travelling is always a bitch midweek lol……. all together now…….. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah shame………..! 😀

  12. rico says:

    You are a hard man Wath 😉

    The Swampies could be going out of Europa, think i reda they need to beat Shamrock and need quite a few goals too ….

  13. Archimedes says:

    Do you have any statistics on your claim that 2 changes per game is better? You injury, fatigue as well as knowing that playing 50+
    matches in a season burns the player out. Changing the whole side makes sense because your rest ALL of the top players at the same time (as they had no mid-week fixture) come weekend the same team play again. Your system is called rotation and is more a style issue in terms of preference. They used to hate Ranieri at Chelsea for his system, which is what you are suggesting.

  14. rico says:

    Archimedes

    Steve is not suggesting makes changes for change sake, he’s suggesting that IF players need a rest, its best not to rest more than two at any time as the balance in the side is disrupted…

    Like I said earlier, last season we ended up having to play replays as too many changes were made at any one time….

  16. alan b'stard M P says:

    Just our rotten luck fabian will be on his way. A waste of money

    I hope he’s more active about the pitch than his namesake

  17. Micko says:

    Morning all, you going for your hat-trick steve,

    Back in the day teams used to win the league with 15 players , now it takes 25.
    No-one had a 5th metatarsal bone in their foot or suffered cruciate ligament damage, except stevie coppell, there’s always one, now they have gps systems to monitor the players.

    One thing that hasn’t changed down the years though is players hate being rested, they all wanna play every game and they hate it when they’re dropped but its all part of the modern game now, being paid 100 grand a week does help to soften the blow.

  18. devilgunner says:

    Morning all of you guys and chicks of the gunner’s faith.

    As usual, a good post Steve with salient points for us to chew and think about. We all like to smell the fragrance of a sweet smelling argument.

    Talking about fragrance……did you see the launching of the Shittyour fragrance yesterday???? Chanel 5 eau de toilette!!!!

  19. Spyder says:

    Evra is really the one getting paid for over rating himself to men while considering other players as lesser, now the Basle boys have done him in, enjoy the Europa Evra !!!!!!!

  20. stevepalmer1 says:

    Afternoon ,
    Archimedes, actual facts and stats i have not got, but what i do know for sure is that when we make 7 to 8 changes we normally lose, now i dont actually know how many games we have lost, but off of the top of my head we lost a few at the start of the season with injuries and Suspensions. We are out of the Carling cup after big changes were made, and we lost the other night with 9 changes. You may think that losses like that are acceptable, and getting knocked out of the CC is no big deal, but it was last year when we lost in the final. Resting the whole team is not neccersary we have not yet reached h the half way stage how can they be tired, most of them haven’t played.

  21. agirlagunner says:

    Good one, Steve. I agree, too many changes and the dynamic goes all wonky. And the expectation to deliver on those who are called upon to form some ragtag team is both unrealistic and unfair. But I’d really rather Robin get some rest in between. He is a special case, in my book. 😉 🙂

  23. stevepalmer1 says:

    Still here Agag, Robin has been a bit special this season but does he want rest. If i had been him after the last couple of years i would be gagging to play, he hasn’t got that much time left in the top flight he could break records if he is left alone. he has taken a few knocks this year and everybody takes a deep breath, forget that and just let the guy play, he’s not tired and he wants to score goals we should let him.

  24. agirlagunner says:

    I’m sure he’s dying to play, Steve. They all are. 🙂 It would be wonderful to see him break Shearer’s record, and he very well can. I don’t mind trying your approach for ALL our other players, tbh. I am recklessly optimistic about them. 😉 But Robin’s history does not favor him in this regard. He gets rested when those thingamajiggies monitoring him say so. 😀 😀

  28. rico says:

    Hi Steve, better now i’m home and in the dry – what horrid weather 🙁

    How’s you?

    Hi JM, just Santos to add to the list I think…

  31. rico says:

    Boo to you agag, but i bet it’s not cold, dark and windy where you are 😉

    Jens is funny, he’s gloating about Citeh isn’t he?

  32. agirlagunner says:

    Just dark. 😉 Cold and windy, not at all. 🙂

    Mad Jens doesn’t hold back, does he?

    Here it is, rico. From every media outlet:

    Former Arsenal and Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann claimed the Champions League was better off without Manchester City, branding the Blues ‘very, very boring’.

    Lehmann, working as a pundit for Germany’s Sky television, could not hide his pleasure at seeing City drop into the Europa League as Napoli joined Bayern in qualification from Group A of the competition.

    “Man City play very, very boring football,” he said. “They just make their opponents fall asleep with lots of possession.

    “But to be honest, that is not tactically very demanding. The way they play here is the way any amateur team plays, only not on such good grass.

    “They just pack men behind the ball, have five against two and just move the ball around.

    “The goal then just comes from a fortunate circumstance.”

    Lehmann, who played in the Champions League final for Arsenal against Barcelona in 2006, albeit for only 18 minutes before being sent off, was also unimpressed by the atmosphere at the Etihad Stadium.

    “There was no life in the stadium,” he said. “It was dead.

    “The fans are so quiet. You have got to say, though, that they have not got anything really to get excited about here.

    “They had possession all of the time, albeit in their own half where nothing was happening.

    “It is a shame because it is not typical English football.

    “Napoli have heart and passion and I liked them. It is good that they have gone through.

    “We don’t want to see Manchester City in the Champions League.”

  33. Archimedes says:

    StevePalmer1 – Off course it is more likely to lose when you take 9
    players out of the first string and field the back up players. The balance is less relevant in such case. The balance is relevant only if players changed are of equally good. Your argument assumes players are of equal quality, which they are not. If you played with your reserves in the premier league who would most likely lose and then fielded 11 of your best players against Leeds in the FA Cup they will most likely win, the balance is irrelevant proves that your argument is flawed. In other team sports where players are changed more frequently e.g. Rugby, Ice Hockey, Basketball etc., they cope with it. You are talking about first rate professionals who are paid millions, coaches spend hours every day thinking about who they should play, all the players train together, try different formations surely they can cope. Disruption and poor performance is a player quality issue, too many weak players and you lose and the balance is then always bad even if you play with the same 11 weak players every game. I think your argument was valid at he beginning of this season because there were so many new faces, and they got used to each other only after a while but not now because the player quality factor is much greater. Great topic though StevePalmer1, keep the interesting stories coming!

  37. agirlagunner says:

    rico, the Mad Man has Rubbing It In down to an art. There was an insult in every sentence. Good one, Jens. 😀 And he shall remain loved as long as he maintains some distance from our goal. 😉

    JM, Howard?? Oh no…

    Hello, Archimedes.

  39. Joaquim Moreira says:

    Arsenal wb site says that and H. Webb will participate in the commemorations of the 125th anniversary

  47. Rockyrocastle07 says:

    not sure Rico. It’s generally a Friday, so I’d guess next Friday (whatever date that is). Tomorrow is too soon and no-one at UEFA would dream of being in work the week after next, being that close to Christmas! I’d love Basel but I’d take any of the remaining teams. I’d prefer to miss Napoli as they are a little but tasty. BUt I certainly think we can take any one of the “runner up” teams to be honest. You have a preference?

  48. rico says:

    I watched the napoli game last night rocastle, right up to the 90th minute and then turned ober to see fergies face 😉

    They were pretty poor and to be honest until they scored, they looked the more likely to lose, maybe the pressure got to them…

    Like you say, we’ll avoid the really big guns and iwouldn’t be surprised to see us draw AC Milan.

    Basel too prob would be my preferred draw, Utd should have battered them last night – how many chances did they mess up? And De Gea was worse than Almunia…. 🙂

  49. rico says:

    Napoli, CSKA Moscow, FC Basel, Lyon, Bayer Leverkusen, Zenit St Petersburg, AC Milan

    We dont want Moscow or Zenit, too far and too cold 😉 Mind you, if we get Zenit, we could leave Arshavin there….

  50. Rockyrocastle07 says:

    De Gea is a weird one. Peopel say he is amazing but he really hasn’t done it yet. He’s looked very shaky. But then people keep saying Reina is one of the bestt keepers in the Prem, but he LOVES a howler! He’s one of the most gaffe-prone! I’d take Scezeney over the vast majority of keepers in the Prem to be honest.

    Napoli (and in particular their forward line of Hamsik, Cavani and Lavezzi – please excuse the spelling) can be pretty devastating if on form. But like you say, they are beatable. Let’s face it, (and I HATE aggreeing with that knob Souness) Barca and Real are the 2 teams that everyone should be really scared of this year. I’ve always thought we could easily match Real until this season. That’s not being negative, I just think they have stepped it up this year.

  51. rico says:

    Spurs are believed to have made an initial approach to Ajax for Arsenal defensive target Jan Vertonghen, reports suggest.

    The Belgian international centre-half is rated at £10m and the White Hart Lane club are said to have been in ‘initial contact’ with the Dutch giants, with a move to tabling a bid in January.

    Vertonghen has been continually linked with a possible move to the Emirates Stadium as Arsene Wenger is thought to be an admirer of the defender.

  53. Rockyrocastle07 says:

    Do you think we’ll go in for another CB? I think Wenger is more than happy with the back line now. And in Kozzer, we have a great replacement for Bacary when he is out injured. I’ve been pretty impressed with him in that position lately. But then again, as I’ve posted on here a few times in the past, I’m a fan of Kozzer anyway. I really do think he’s improving all the time.

  54. Rockyrocastle07 says:

    Jeez, just re-read some of my posts and my spelling is diabolical today! Think I better stop working for a bit so I can concentrate fully on this thread!

  55. rico says:

    It’s that Jose v Pep battle – Jose is so desperate to beat Barca, it’s natural that they would improve big time 🙁 But, hopefully he’ll be concentrating on the spanish title 😉

    I don’t know their players to be honest, they just looked pretty average last night but there’s a reason they qualified i guess….

    I watched De Gea when AT Madrid played Barca i think it was or Real Madrid – he was outstanding but the PL is a totally different ball game, Ches makes an odd error but in a couple of seasons I see him being the PL’s best for many a season….

  58. Rockyrocastle07 says:

    Haha! Cheers Rico… Good to know!

    just going off topic a bit….. Do you think Wenger is going to get rid of the dead wood this January / Summer? He’s already stater Rosicky isn’t going anywhere, but the Squid’s, Diaby’s, Djourou’s of the world can’t keep getting paid by us much longer surely? and how many keeper’s do we actually need?! Sczezney is always going to start. Other than that? Fabianski is rubbish, and clearly didn’t fancy it the other night. Mannone isn’t good enough, do we still have Almunia?! Shea has been recalled apparently from loan….. Anyone I’ve missed off?!

  59. Rockyrocastle07 says:

    Juat leaving work, and about to do battle with the toourist crowds in Covent Garden in a bid to get home! Catch you later

  60. rico says:

    I think Squilli will go in Jan, West ham wanted him on loan but it was turned down as he wouldn’t be allowed to be sold

    Almunia and maybe Fabianski will go, the latter wants first team due to WC 2012…

    I reckon AA will also go and Rosicky, well if wenger says he’s staying, he could be gone too – we know AW bigs them up when he’s trying to sell them 😉

    Nik and Denilson i think are committed for a season but nopt sure what happens if someone makes an offer, i guess we could still sell…

    Otherwise, i see them going in the summer

  62. smudge says:

    Evening all . Still coming to terms with the fact that the red/blue manc’s are in the channel 5 cup. It really is surreal . Teams that have spent so much dumped to the lower tier of europe. 🙂

  68. allezkev says:

    Good Morning Gooners.
    Morning Rico.
    Morning Lee. Don’t miss your stop. 🙂
    Gotta say that i was suprised at how quiet it was on here yesterday.
    Was everyone out Christmas shopping/partying?
    I thought there would have been a party on here what with ManUre & Shittie going out.
    And where was Stan??????
    Did he get so excited that he self~combusted?
    Wath has sent out a search party.

  69. allezkev says:

    Patrice Evra. What a total shit that guy is.
    How enjoyable it is to see him squirm.
    And how must Samir Nasri be feeling?
    Probably he couldn’t give a toss.
    He doesn’t care about Shittie, he only cares for himself.
    We are well shot of that fat~arsed wanker.

  70. allezkev says:

    It will be interesting to see the psychological effect it has on ManUre…
    Out of the Carling Cup and Champions Lge in a matter of days.
    Their FACup tie with Shittie now takes on monumental proportions. Defeat for them in that would be unthinkable.
    I wonder if they are vunerable enough for us to think that Arsenal could overhaul them in the EPL???
    We just have to keep chipping away and see what occurs.

  71. allezkev says:

    Shittie will probably recover better than ManUre, but there’s tough time ahead for them as well.
    Notwithstanding that vital FACup tie with ManUre, they have two massive CarlingCup ties with the Scousers to deal with next month.
    A replay with ManUre would be a fantastic bonus.
    We can but only hope!

  72. devilgunner says:

    Good morning mates.

    Karma??? Irony?? If you throw shit you deserve to take it back. Enjoy eating your own vomit.

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