They lack finesse says Spurs man! 'New Vieira' on his way??

Don’t you love it when A spurs player, well he was once, comes out and speaks the truth for a change. Teddy Sheringham was once one of Tottenham’s best players. sadly for them he jumped ship and join old red nose up north.

He has been talking about the England Team, a team he describes as always having outstanding players who are powerful, dominant and strong. But he suggests that what the England team always lack is that little bit of finesse to make them into a top national side.

Teddy was part of the 1996 Euro squad that did so well but still buckled at the last hurdle. He’s not against the coach of England being foreign but believes that Capello is a bit too regimented. What Teddy wants to see is a bit of class and style to get England playing the Brazilian, Spanish or Argentinean way.

The man he wants to see take over from Capello to bring that into the England national side is our very own Arsene Wenger! He believes that Wenger’s ‘pass pass pass’ game is just what England need, the patient game, that would make them improve.

Wenger would be his choice as he understands the English mentality, but plays the game the right way but with a foreign mentality. He also heaps praise on Jack Wilshere and believes he could play the ‘Fabregas’ role for his country, releasing dominant players like Gerrard and Rooney to do what they do best. This combination he feels would make England a great success.

Many Arsenal fans probably still don’t have Teddy Sheringham on their Christmas Card list but no-one can say he wasn’t an awesome striker, both for his club and country.

So many have blamed Arsene Wenger for the demise of the English National team, well here is one of England’s once best saying Wenger is the one to put right all that is wrong!!

Good on you Teddy, but England aren’t having our boss – they can go and tout Pep from Barca, but not our Arsene from Arsenal!

Rumours are flying around that the ‘New Vieira’ could be on his way to Arsenal, Kara Mbodi is getting rave reviews from Arsenal chief scout Steve Rowley – the 20-year-old 6’3″ midfielder, who can also play in defence, is a graduate of Patrick Vieira’s Diambars Academy in Senegal. Mbodi will continued to be ‘watched’ until December so the following month he could well be one of three new young additions between now and January. The other two, who are currently on trial with us are young South African defender Siyanda Xulu, 18yrs and Zambian defender Emmanuel Mbola, 17yrs old.

Finally looking towards the weekend, Wenger has said that late tests will dictate whether or not Almunia and Cesc Fabregas will be in the squad for the Chavs but he does confirm that Diaby will be…

One player on his way back from injury is Nikki Bendtner. He should be ready to join the squad after the international break which is good news – I would love to see how he and Chamakh could play up front together with the likes of AA, Jack, Nasri and Cesc feeding them the ball, you would think we would score goals galore between them. It,s been a long time since we fielded two tall guys up front together, both good in the air if the wind is in the right direction 😉 seriously, together they could do some serious damage to other clubs, if only we could learn how to whip our crosses in!! Now all we need is a few of the other injured players to join him..

That’s it for today, have a good one….. Not long until Sunday, at least The Ryder Cup has started today!

Come on Europe….  🙂

167 thoughts on “They lack finesse says Spurs man! 'New Vieira' on his way??

  1. Rocastle says:

    Morning rico (again)…

    Great news about the ‘new vieira’ I think we’ve missed him more than Henry, Campbell or pires. Problem is how many times do you hear he’s the new this or the new that?!…. I remember bobby Zamora being hailed as the new shearer…. Mostly by drunken spuds admittedly but still. Fingers crossed.

    Should be on my way to a job in st Albans, but the golfs gripped me….. Poulters just hit a v long putt….oooh to be a gooner!

  2. Rocastle says:

    On a side note…

    “I wouldn’t be caught dead marrying a woman old enough to be my wife”

    Tony Curtis, legend.

  3. rico says:

    Re the new paddy, we all thought diaby was going to that (cough cough)

    he’s a big lad and he’s not french, so fingers crossed 😉 good to see wengers not just looking to the attack side of our side though, all three youngsters are defensive players…

  4. rico says:

    i wondered when someone would say tha about teddy, arse indeed, good player though, well, when he was with the mancs 😉

  5. Skipper says:

    Sadly I’am no Bendtner fan, but it’s good to give Chamakh some resting slack after playing all those games alone.

  6. rico says:

    Hi skipper and indian gooner

    don’t think walcott is far away, after the break maybe, robin, well, how long is a peice of string sadly 🙁

    skipper, i’m no fan of nik’s either, but like you say, chamakh needs a breather, not sure if he is involved in the internationals or not so he could well get time to rest next week… Trouble is, he’s one of those playrs who just wants to play so resting him will be tough…

  7. Red Arse says:

    Morning Rico, good post again. 🙂

    A piece of string, sadly or otherwise, is as long as the distance between the two ends. 🙂

    What an adorable little dog, Billie is. I bet you are twisted around a little paw. 🙂

  8. rico says:

    Morning RA, you took a peep then at Billie The Gooner 🙂 Thank you, I think she’s adorable too, her sister is a bit smaller and a lot more cheeky 🙂

  9. rico says:

    😆 rocastle, interesting to hear his views on our boss though after all the media whitch-hunt on how he is supposed to have ruined the national side..

  10. Rocastle says:

    He’s just telling us what we all already knew!

    The FA would do anything to get AW in that dugout.

    He’s absolutely right, but that doesn’t make him any more intelligent or any less of an arse.

    Right, off to St Albans. Catch up later gooners…..and goonerettes!!!!

  11. agirlagunner says:

    Hola, rico. Howdy? Surprising from Sheringham and re: Diaby (haha). It’s no good rushing Cesc back; we get to play him for a bit; pull him out after 30 mins; wait for him to recover which should take 30 days. I really wish Robin were back. 🙁

  12. rico says:

    Hi agag, i’m good thanks, you?? Still on the beach?

    We can’t risk Cesc, Theo or Robin – when they come back they have to be back for keeps….

  13. K-TR7 says:

    Howdy all.an angry and frustrated wayne Rooney left the Eastlands stadium last night as he had heard the OLD lady of Turin was in town and she was well up for it…

  14. oliver says:

    my thoughts on one edward sheringham cannot be published here. i saw him as a good (not great) player, that finally won when he joined up with united bandwagon, but utterly detestable in all other areas. if he is all that, why is he not stepping forward for the england job? a job that, as far as i know, does not currently have a vacancy…

    i know they are your thoughts, rico – but i winced when i saw the “good on you (edward)”

    as if arsene would even be interested in the england job?

  15. K-TR7 says:

    Theo is targeting the Euro 2012 qualifiers while jack is set for a double call up for both U21s and the seniors.

  16. oliver says:

    i know playing for country is an honor and privilege, but i do wish theo would keep quiet about england. get fit, do the business for arsenal, and the england caps will come. jack seems to have gone about it the correct way – focusing on arsenal and letting england take care of itself. i imagine he will be in the squad for at least one of the qualifiers.

  17. K-TR7 says:

    Mourinho has been at it again.he is saying we’ll be destroyed at the bridge.why can’t he concentrate on his own team for once?

  18. oliver says:

    because as long as he is talking openly about arsenal, he is not being asked tough questions about his current club…

  19. rico says:

    Agree oliver, Theo needs to shut up again and concetrate on getting fit to perform for his club..

    As for the double call up for Jack, Wenger needs to stop this happening before it begins, one or the other only!

  20. rico says:

    KTR7, he is a pratt, firstly we won’t be rolled over at the bridge and should Madrid draw the chavs, his side is more likely to suffer a battering… Madrid are boring and if he isn’t careful he could be staring at his P45 before the turn of the year…

  21. agirlagunner says:

    Yes, rico… Water’s lovely. And we have the island to ourselves. 🙂

    Can’t wait for Sunday even though I’m nervy about it too. 🙂

    Hola, KT, oliver. KT, haha on Rooney.

  22. rico says:

    🙁 agag, we got lovely water, sadly though its coming from the sky 😉

    island to yourselves, we could have all come and shared it with you 😉 You have a wonderful time…

  23. Red Arse says:

    KT,

    No woman, no Kai?

    I thought it was “no woman, no cry”. Which eliminating the negatives means “have a woman, be happy”.

    What’s Kai? Koi, I understand is a type of fish (carp). But Kai? 🙂

  24. Stef says:

    We are stuck with Clichy then, at least Gibbs will miss the International break and have a proper break, I need to stop saying break 😀

  25. mikeB says:

    Afternoon folks,

    On the subject of the Spuds… as it’s over 7 miles from WHL to the new Olympic Stadium, and only 5 from WHL to The Emirates, can we expect a sharp uptake in season ticket applications after the Olympics? 😆

  26. rico says:

    that’s a disgrace ktr7, it should never allowed to happen… the wy they are going they will struggle in this years europa cup and to get in next years… snigger snigger

  27. Stef says:

    Rico, why he named his child Kai the only meaning I could find it is in Baltic languages???

    Slow day today everywhere in the web wonder why.

  28. Stef says:

    The name Kai comes from the Scottish origin. In Scottish The meaning of the name Kai is: Fire.

    Nice then…

    Ok I am offff for a while since no1 is in the House.

    I am still wondering when did Gibbs get injured?

    l8

  29. agirlagunner says:

    It’s raining here now, but we got hours and hours of sun first and sunburns and tan lines. 🙂 Oh, and best of all, I’ve been ignoring emails from work. I noticed it’s quiet everywhere too.

    Shrek’s an arse. Coleen should divorce him.

  30. agirlagunner says:

    Haha, rico. 🙂 It is a quiet day; and news bits filtering in do not sound good. Injuries, injuries, injuries. I wonder whether our team will ever be collectively fit. 🙁

  31. oliver says:

    agag, actually i think “sekai” is what you are thinking of. that means “world” in the context of community, as opposed to the physical planet…

  32. oliver says:

    i hate the injuries as much as anyone. now gibbs, vermaelen still no closer to return, nor rvp. cesc’s hammy, etc, etc…but at least vassiriki will be in the squad, supposedly recovering from his “ankle injury” or being dropped for the trip to beograd, depending upon what you believe.

    not much we can do about these injuries. at least the club is not trying to rush unfit players back. as much contempt as i have for billy gallas, i think he is one of many that were brought back to play from injury before they were ready – if that is one of the reasons he wanted away from arsenal, i cannot blame him for that specific one.

    we can only hope that proper rest and recovery will do the trick here. if our players need a longer time out, but can come back and remain fit/available for the remainder of the season, i will take that trade-off.

  33. agirlagunner says:

    Now, that’s my Japanase lesson for the day, oliver. I used to watch the NHK channel, for the show on Japanese lessons. I don’t have the head for the scripts…

  34. agirlagunner says:

    Hola, mikeB, I can see you, too. And Erick, I hope you’re no longer feeling under the weather… 🙂

  35. rico says:

    agag, the injuries worry me big time, to get something from the chavs we need a fully fit and healthy squad…

    Right now we are no better off than at the end of last season 🙁

  36. rico says:

    Mikes earlier

    Afternoon folks,

    On the subject of the Spuds… as it’s over 7 miles from WHL to the new Olympic Stadium, and only 5 from WHL to The Emirates, can we expect a sharp uptake in season ticket applications after the Olympics?

    We don’t want them mike!! 😉

  37. agirlagunner says:

    oliver, I agree though. Unfortunately, it’s our best midfielder, striker, and defender who are out. I want my old Song back. He has not played with as much discipline lately; scoring that thousandth goal under AW has ruined him, I think. Haha.

  38. mikeB says:

    Rico,

    then I guess we’re lucky it’s only 3.4 from the OS to WHU… I don’t see it happening, but if it did it could be good news for us and bad news for WHU.

    Hi everybody… thought I’d gone down with something and nobody told me 😆

    Hope you’re better Erick

  39. Red Arse says:

    Hi MikeB,

    I can confirm that I cannot see you!

    Anyone tells you differently is suffering from Emperor’s clothes syndrome. You are wearing some aren’t you? 🙂

  40. Red Arse says:

    Hi Erick,

    You must be well on the road to recovery. 🙂

    Did you ever manage to get in touch with Rose? We have lost touch with her, and she is missed! 🙁

  41. oliver says:

    rico, i am not encouraged either. this is the sort of match, if memory serves me well, that he is normally lets pass him by. we cannot afford any passengers on sunday.

  42. agirlagunner says:

    Estoy bien. Y tu, mikeB?

    rico, Diaby needs to sort out his game. For every great game he has, hes a dozen diabolical ones… 🙁

    I’m trying to console myself with the thought that Cesc has never had a great game against the Chavs… Maybe I’d feel his absence less keenly.

  43. mikeB says:

    Hi Rico,

    Probably not… I lived there for six years, but as it was in Marbella didn’t learn a word except restaurante espanol. Now we’re thinking of going back, Valencia this time, thought I’d better learn.
    😆

  44. rico says:

    agag, if i was wenger, i would sell him, just after he has his one in twelve great games…. i know many think he is the real deal, but… I just don’t see it…

  45. oliver says:

    ah yes, old trafford last year. to be fair to diaby, i thought he had a pretty good game – og excepted, of course. he nearly made amends for that within a minute and i thought he played very well against united’s rather weak midfield. but i think that his performance a year ago has generally been the exception to the rule. he has plenty of talent and ability, but he is not yet mature or responsible enough to apply it consistently.

  46. rico says:

    😆 mike, I just holiday’d there for many years on the trot, love the balearics….. the quiet, quaint old bits…

    I tried to learn, but even my Spanish friend told me to give up ! 🙁 🙁

  47. Red Arse says:

    Rico,

    I read elsewhere that we have a full team (almost) who are out injured.

    Fabianski
    PingPong, Tv, Gibbs
    Walcott, Cesc, Diaby, Ramsey
    RVP. Bendy

    That is extraordinary.

  48. oliver says:

    i see diaby as someone arsene indulges too much. i see a lack of accountability in how arsene handles him. hopefully he was actually dropped for fk partizan and maybe the message will sink in. still, if he was dropped, then arsene diluted the effect with his “ankle injury” excuse. i think he wants to do well, but i see him as someone that does not yet understand that loafing through 90 minutes in a match we should never lose is both wrong and intolerable. if i see him accurately, then arsene has failed both diaby and us on this account.

  49. mikeB says:

    Rico,
    we love the area that Henry Root called ‘essential Spain’… that vast area that hasn’t been too polluted by the lager and full english brigade. The people are lovely… not a Barca supporter among them 😆

    Remember the website debacle? Never give up; next time you see your amiga… surprise her 😆

  50. Red Arse says:

    Rico,

    I like a bit of the old Balearics myself.

    Mike, I can recommend Valencia. I have a cousin who has lived there for at least 20 years. She is married to some strange cove called Mike ……. hey, wait a cotton picking minute, it’s not you, is it? 🙂

  51. oliver says:

    it depends upon the person. again, i think arsene is too soft on these guys. perhaps he blisters them in private. but can anyone tell me arsene is not overprotective of them in public? if so, that is commonly called a “mixed message”, and it is easy to see where some people may choose to hear one side, but not the other. as i have previously said in this forum, i am not a fan of “throwing (players) under the bus”, but it can be a useful and effective tool when the public praise, private criticism tack proves ineffective.

    arsene took a step towards that after the west brom debacle last week. i give him credit for not glossing over pitfult effort and even worse collective attitude – for once, he called it as it was. he noticably refrained from singling out any specific players – i can live with what he said on saturday, however…arsene should also remember that many of this same group turned in a few arrogant, uncommitted, “show-up-and-we-will win” performances during last few seasons. this attitude has not been completely eradicated – arsene should, in my opinion, be prepared to name names if something similar to west brom happens again.

    protecting those responsible effectively gives them a pass and fuels the perceptions that accountability is lacking within our club. worse, we have already seen that it has not totally eradicated the unwanted behavior pattern.

  52. Red Arse says:

    Mike,

    What makes you think Rico’s amigo is an amiga? Anyway she told me I was her omega!

    I think she might have said I was the last thing she needed, but it might have been the last letter in the greek alphabet.

    That’s a good thing isn’t it? 🙂

  53. rico says:

    I think it does no-one any good to be publicy slated and critised by a boss – i admire that in wenger, as long as he is dealing with it in private. sadly though, i am not sure that’s the case – i say that because so often we fans see dreadful performances by individuals yet they play the following weeks… all the time there are players on the fringe of our first team who don’t get a chance to prove they could be better…

  54. rico says:

    mike, haven’t been too much to main land spain, my friend lived in Villadecans (spelling) a little village not far from… Barcelona! I am fortunate to have been to watch a game or two a Camp Nou and I used to follow them, however, this summer has made me go off of them a bit 😉

  55. mikeB says:

    Rico,

    I love it a little inland… been homesick ever since we came back.

    I’m sure RA will make some sort of double entendre from that 😆

  56. agirlagunner says:

    Even if we were selling Diaby, would there be any takers, rico?? 🙂

    oliver, I was happy AW was honest about the West Brom disaster; maybe dropping ineffectual players should be done more often. It certainly won’t hurt first team players to be reminded that they are not untouchables…

    RA, your summary of our injuries is extraordinarily bad… 🙁

  57. oliver says:

    rico, there is certainly something to be said for your point of view – but it is important to acknowledge that we are still seeing 1-2 hull-type performances, albeit infrequently. because of this, i think it is fair to say that that throwing someone under the bus is now an option, whereas i would previously have been aghast at the idea. the fact that i, who normally consider such tactics anathema, now think it is a potential realistic option to get certain players attention highlights the widespread perception that arsene has utterly failed to deal decisively with attitude, maturity and consistency problems in certain players. perhaps if he had dropped certainly players early on, it would not have gotten to this – there have been occasions where several of our squad should have been dropped, but arsene did not act. now we are dealing with inconsistency and and a perception that certain players “pick-and-choose” matches to give serious effort.

  58. Red Arse says:

    Mike,

    That corruscating crescendo of sound is my gritted teeth shattering, because ………;

    I have to admit you are too smart for me; what does being in a pack have to do with Omega specifically or the Greek alphabet generally?

    Oh the humiliation of having to ask! 🙁

    Begin drum roll, >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  59. rico says:

    I don’t like all the english bars, english restaurants mike… i love going to the little quirky places when half the battle in the restaurants/shops etc is trying to understand and be understood …

    i once went to this little restaurant in the back and beyond near barcelona… it was spit and sawdust on the floor, full of spanish, straight away i knew i was in for a good time… Boy, I was right, the best food, the proper catalan people and not another english person in sight… heaven…

  60. oliver says:

    it is also important to note that i feel most of our squad are committed and try our best. but there are matches we should never lose – and we do – perhaps because our players also think they are better than they are. arsene is generally lavish in his praise of the team, (usually) regardless of result or performance. if he does not want to be critical, perhaps he can scale some of the praise back as well.

  61. mikeB says:

    RA,
    You obviously don’t have a love for the wild and pack animals… Packs start with the Alpha male and finish with the Omega female… ours is a Burmese called suki, and she is constantly bullied by the others…
    come to think of it perhaps you are the last letter of the Greek Alphabet 😆

  62. Red Arse says:

    Oliver, tend to agree with that. But Arsene is not great on doing what the public or other managers want him to say.

    He is his own man, and I admire him for that.

    Rico, how dare you and MikeB knock your fellow country men and their disgusting lager. you will be blaming innocent Yanks next! 🙂

  63. rico says:

    oliver – that is the one thing that always gets to me about Wenger. there is no doubt he is one of the greatest managers in the land, but my thought is that he is not ruthless enough, he always likes to be ‘everyones dad’ –

    i think you are spot on – had he dropped a few in the past, if they were winners they would have siad to themselves, ‘right you old git (wenger) i’ll show you why you have just made the biggest mistake ever’ (ish) worked hard then gone back into the side and played the best football ever… But they know, no matter what, they will still be selected the following week.

    And that all comes back to not having depth and strength in our squad…..

  64. mikeB says:

    Rico,

    I’m with you on the restaurants… love the quirky little Spanish restaurants above all other pretentious restaurants anywhere else in the world.
    Looking forward to it.

  65. rico says:

    mike, what with you going off to sample the fine food and wine of Spain, agag on beautiful golden sand with wonderful water… I am envious…

    Tapas… I love Tapas, well i did before i stopped eating meat 😉

    Oh, and Estrella is my fav 🙂

  66. Red Arse says:

    MikeB, you are a card, or at least that was the pack that sprang to mind. 🙂

    As for Alpha this and that, you would need to speak to WATH.

    My desires are more cerebral and occasionally altruistic.

  67. rico says:

    RA, I admire Arsene the manager, the man who keeps us in the CL each season without spending – I don’t want him telling the world that this that and any other player played poorly, but… i think he could improve his man management skills, maybe then we would not have lost so many players for free….

  68. joe says:

    someone please talk to mourinho to shut his big mouth and coach madrid, not talking about arsenal and chelsea… it is ridiculous and even when u hate a club, they do it differntly ‘ i think’

  69. Red Arse says:

    Rico, MikeB,

    Sorry to spoil your Spanish restaurant love in, but they only really get under way at 11 p.m., especially in the North away from the tourist floozies, and I am usually engaged in other pursuits at that time of night.

    Hmm. tourist floozie or tapas ……. that might be a close call. Not! 🙂

  70. rico says:

    hi joe, he is a sad man, like someone said earlier, he should concentrate on sorting out the boring boring madrid….. he obviously still holds a torch for John ‘Thomas’ Terry…..

  71. mikeB says:

    RA,
    I’m just happy you finally admitted it… I always put it down to a vicious rumour started by Rico 😆

  72. mikeB says:

    RA,

    I can’t believe it… you never had a four-hour lunch?

    How d’yer think siesta came about?

    That’s why dinner starts so late 😆

  73. Red Arse says:

    Joe,

    Mourhino acts like some spurned, love sick tart pining for her ex-lover.

    Ever since he was sacked he keeps commenting and pouting about “his” Chelsea, while revealing his jealousy about Wenger, which is very amusing. How sad for the little squirt! 🙂

  74. rico says:

    that always made me smile – you know how we brits whip the plates away no sooner than the last mouthful has been consumed – the spanish…. the plates can stack up for all they care…

    and i love the ‘old men’ sat on the street corne bars, glass of red wine, just as i would be heading off to find a beach at 9am 🙂

    one thing i would love to do is to be with a spanish family on christmas eve, their three kings night…

    i think they start eating just after breakfast and then don’t stop…..

  75. oliver says:

    well, i am not holding my breath on this…expecting arsene to change an established pattern of behavior at his age is unrealistic, to say the least…

    ra, now that i have you here for a moment…looking forward to this weekends series? dead heat atop the al east, with the yanks and rays tied. yanks have by far the tougher assignment, visiting boston, while the rays are at down-trodden kansas city. that should favor the rays, except they seem to be showing a lot of nerves. they lost two of three at home to baltimore when the yanks were (predictably) doing likewise at toronto, and then lost the opener in kc last night…should be exciting. boston will be doing everything they can to push the yanks into the wildcard slot.

    i cannot even bring myself to talk much about the mets – it is worse than painful. they lost 3 of 4 at home to milwaukee, actually quitting the last 2 games. last night’s loss dropped them to 77-82, guaranteeing they can finish no better than 80-82 – in other words another losing season…i’ll be watching on monday – mets have called a press conference for the day after the season ends, and it looks likely they will fire omar. jerry is already finished – his contract expires at the end of this season and the wilpons will simply choose not to renew. so it seems we will get a new general manager and manager.

  76. agirlagunner says:

    Goodbye, mikeB. 🙂 Enjoy the Rioja.

    joe and RA, Mourinho is exactly like Xavi, to me. Gabgabgab, and whose faces are positively begging to be punched. 🙂

  77. Red Arse says:

    Oliver,

    I have mixed feelings about the Yankees chances this week end.

    On the one hand I half expect them to blow it, although they came good in the last game, but the Rays have it to win, I think, especially as we have the Sox.

    I’m sorry about your Mets, (I can say that from over here, 🙂 ) as they seemed to pick up recently only to collapse again. At the end of the day, if it results in a bit of a clear out for you, the pain could be worth it!

  78. agirlagunner says:

    Good night, rico, RA, oliver. 🙂 Long tiring day. Enjoy the rest of your night/day. 🙂 Erick, you disappeared really quickly. 🙁

  79. oliver says:

    ra, we’ll see how it goes. for what it is worth, i think the yanks will be able to handle being wildcard better than the rays. the one problem is the wildcard team looks likely to open post season on the road in minneapolis – they gave the yanks fits in last season’s opening round series, i think they were tougher than anaheim in the alcs. i think either the yanks and rays would beat tom hicks’ team (texas), so there is a reasonable chance the yanks and rays could meet up again in the alcs…

    there was a lot of speculation that omar may be “reassigned” after the season, perhaps to scouting department – under the premise that the wilpons would not want to fire him and have to pay the two remaining years on his contract. this week, however, suggestions that they will fire him are getting a lot of traction, along with the suggestion that jeff (wilpon) is looking for a top-notch, experienced and proven baseball man to run the operation. if this is true, than jeff has the right idea. the team was a mess following the 2004 season: rudderless, no direction. they fired gm jim duquette and manager art howe, replacing them with a pair of inexperienced, but highly regarded, native new yorkers, who grew up as mets fans: omar minaya (corona, queens) as gm, and former yankee second basemean willie randolph (brownsville, brooklyn)…they came close to winning the division in 2005, but fell a few games short of atlanta. in 2006, they finally ended atlanta’s long run of division titles and finished with the best record in the nl (tied with yankees for best overall in baseball). they limped to the finished with injuries to 3/5 of their starting pitching rotation and more serious bullpen injuries, but still had enough to get within one strike of the world series – carlos beltran’s called third strike in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded will remain the defining image of the omar and willie era. in 2007 the team blew a 7 game lead with 17 remaining, one of the worse collapses in baseball history, and willie was fired halfway through the following season. his bench coach, jerry manual replaced him, but the team still did not make the playoffs. so now jerry’s contract is up and someone else will get to manage the team. i still remember the optimism and hope when omar and willie were brought on – they never delivered and now the era ends.

  80. Red Arse says:

    Oliver,

    Fantastic synopsis! I have been away so long I just don’t get embroiled in the overall picture like that.

    Thank you for making the bits and pieces I have easier to fit together. And you a Mets fan! 🙂

    On reflection clinching a playoff spot with the Rays as of yesterday is not so bad. I just thought things might have played out better for the Yankees, even a short while a go. The Rays taking on the bottom team in the CD makes them odds on favourites in that one.

    We will see. 🙂

    Well got to go Guys and Gals, I’ll see you tomorrow, hopefully. Night/afternoon to you. 🙂

  81. oliver says:

    k, i have nothing personal against diaby – i think he is a fantastic talent. but i see him as someone that should be further along than he is right now. injuries have certainly played a part, but i also see him as immature and sometimes lazy. the evidence is there to see in some of his performances. what makes it worse is that he has also turned in some absolute, world-class, motm performances. will the real vassiriki “abou” diaby please stand up?

    diaby is by no means the only arsenal player guilty of this – however, i use him as an example because he is probably more up-and-down than most of our other players.

    not a hater at all…

  82. oliver says:

    night ra. i may not even watch any of these last three games against the nationals – it is that bad right now. we’ll see what happens on monday, and hope for our own bright new tomorrow in queens.

  83. rico says:

    i don’t hate diaby either oliver, i think you sum it up well, diaby is not alone in being lazy, sometimes i just thimk they have it a bit too good at arsenal…

    There are some who work and some who choose to do as little as they can and get away with it…..

    just like in any other workplace really…

  84. oliver says:

    rico, something tells me diaby wants to do well, win, be a part of a great team. what he has not had is the “tough love” that will teach him responsibility and accountability. i think we both concur completely on arsene’s failure in this regard.

  85. rico says:

    KTR7, we are going to win regardless, honestly, we are due to beat them, and we will…. i have a hunch….

  86. rico says:

    Diaby has a great footballing brain I think, He also has great footballing feet, and i mean that….

    The problem is, that his brain and feet seldom work together…..

  87. oliver says:

    k, i think we can win there even if diaby spends all 90 minutes on the bench. but winning either with or without him actually on the pitch will depend upon several other factors: fabianski does not kill us; the defense stays solid; chamakh gives terry and the chelsea defense a problem they are not used; and we take our chances when they come.

    with that said, i think the day is not far off when three points for arsenal at stamford bridge, old trafford, and anfield are routine and expected, not just hoped-for…but we are not quite there yet. regardless of the starting eleven, i think we will do well to share the points there on sunday, perhaps 1-1 or 2-2.

  88. rico says:

    oliver, i happen to agree with you… we are three great players away from beating any team in the league, home and away.. on sunday, if we put in a gutsy performance as we did at blackburn there is no reason why we can’t win…

    put in a performance like we did at sunderland, we will get slaughtered…

  89. K-TR7 says:

    I’ll cover this in my post which rico will receive tomorrow. chamakh will have a huge bearing on the game.last season chavs let us cross because they knew AA couldn’t do anything so they were more compact in the middle not allowing any space for our Ams.this time chamakh’s threat will force them to block our wings which will give us more space in the middle.

  90. K-TR7 says:

    Rico you’ll have it by tomorrow afternoon.i’ll cover the big game formula which i expect we’ll use.hope you enjoy it since that chamakh bit is just a taste…and thanks for the page.

  91. rico says:

    It’s been up for a week KTR7, and you haven’t noticed 🙁 🙁

    and you are all in the side bar and haven’t noticed
    🙁 🙁

    😉

  92. rico says:

    KT, i think having chamakh up top makes other defences think a bit more, he’s known for his heading abilty, something we have lacked for a long while….

    just wish Theo and RvP were in the team too, but they are not and we need to deal with it….

  93. K-TR7 says:

    Rico i sometimes wish our first 11 would play together for 2 months the way the chavs and barca do.if we had rvp and theo we’d have more options in attack that would worry them.

  94. rico says:

    KT, every season we get injuries to prevent that and it is so frustrating, look at the team missing that RA posted earlier, just how many other squad would cope with that….

    theo is the one who would make JT and Alex worry i’m sure…

  95. oliver says:

    rico, the match is on a sunday, i shall not be able to do the report due to other committments. in fact, i do not expect to be able to see the match even though it will be televised over here.

    ra, if you should return to this page to catch up, heyman from si.com is reporting that omar and jerry are out and the formal announcement will be early next week. heyman has a pretty good source within the organization, so i would say this is credible – and the mets often leak things of this nature.

    jerry is easy to get rid of – just let his contract expire and don’t pick up the option. omar still has two years remaining, so they would have to pay him. still, if the mets are willing to cut him loose, i support it. now they just need to release ollie perez and luis castillo…

  96. rico says:

    hey oliver, no worries, just thought i’d check before i plough on into it… my favourite chore… not!

    not being able to watch may be a good thing, my heart suffers during games like these…

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