My Cup Final Experience

Today was a fantastic day for me, as it was for all Gooners. I wrote an article a few weeks ago after the defeat at Everton when all seemed gloomy saying that this could still be a successful season. And it has turned out that way; the long sustained title challenge, securing Champions League qualification and, most satisfying of all, winning the FA Cup all making it a successful season for us.

But rather than write in my usual topical way I just want to blab on about my day and my own personal experience of the cup final. It was probably the biggest emotional rollercoaster of a football match I've ever experienced.

It actually started off with me playing in my own football match. A Santi Cazorla- esque performance in a well-spirited friendly was followed by me returning home to watch the FA Cup build-up from 3pm. My nerves grew the closer it got to kick-off time and I then watched the first 9 minutes with utter shock.

After we went 1-0 down I was disappointed but felt enough enthusiasm to cajole my team from my sofa. But after 2-0 I stormed out of the room in utter panic and anger, kicked over the bin, grabbed my shoes and walked off down the street. I know it's childish but it's cup final day and emotions were running high.

When I got back my Dad told me 2 things. 1 was that Santi Cazorla had scored a belter of a free-kick to make it 2-1 and that Mum was annoyed with me for the bin. Apparently it cost £70. Oops. I then sat down after apologizing and carried on watching the game with a bit more hope and optimism.

I think I screamed like a girl when Koscielny equalized and jumped so high I was concerned about my head hitting the ceiling. It was shear emotion in the house- the dogs not knowing where to look, me probably annoying the hell out of my Dad next to me. But for now all that mattered was the cup. From agony and frustration an hour ago to hope, excitement, joy and relief.

I watched us miss a few chances, getting more anxious with each chance we missed. The more the game went on the more we were dominating and penning Hull back. It was more exciting that way. Bemused at Lee Probert's staggering inability to point to the penalty spot, I sat so much on the edge of my seat that I was close to falling off.

Then extra-time came. I was starting to become anxious about the possibility of a penalty shootout. And worried that it might give me a heart-attack. We missed more opportunities but then the moment came. One of my favourite moments as an Arsenal fan so far, if not, my most favourite. Giroud beautifully back-heeled the ball back to the on-rushing Ramsey who magnificently guided the ball into the inside of the post to cue pandemonium in the Arsenal end of Wembley and make me jump around and scream like a nutter.

Even after that we had chances to get the 4th to settle but my heart was in my mouth when Aluko got in after BFG's slip. Thankfully we weren't punished and minutes later I was ecstatic. The cup had been won. The trophy I, we, had been desperate for for seasons on end. The nerves this week and in particular on the day had been worth it. I watched the celebrations on the pitch at the end with huge pride in my club. The fans and players connecting again and feeling appreciated by one another on the pitch was great to see. Wenger being soaked with champagne by Podolski and then Mertesacker and then being thrown up and down in the air by the players, the trophy being presented and lifted- which I celebrated like a goal, them all celebrating on the pitch, the interviews, the holding hands and saluting the crowd Dortmund-style to cheers. It was truly magical and such a fantastic feeling.

Just seeing Vermaelen, Arteta and co. lifting that trophy is a wonderful sight and something I've been longing to see for such a long time. It puts the demons of Birmingham and Chelsea at Wembley behind us. What was the icing on the cake as well was doing it by going 2-0 down first and then coming back. Like the 1st 5-2 win against Tottenham it just makes it that bit more special; there's more relief and ecstasy. And the cherry on the afore-mentioned cake was my 3 favourite players getting the goals. It's hard to put into words the change in emotion from the 9th minute to the 120th. From despair to utter joy and pride; an incredible, emotional day.

 

After all that I immediately went upstairs, wrote a cheque for the bin and gave it to my Mum.

This could still be a successful season

This season could still be a successful one for Arsenal. Despite our mutual frustrations with our mind-numbing manager, some of our players, tactical faults, and our late season crumble, we could end the season celebrating.

We “should” win the FA Cup, which would be massive in itself. To lift that monkey of the club’s back would be huge, that pressure from the media in particular would go away and more positivity would surge through the club. The general mindset at Arsenal Football Club these days seems to be anxiety about having not won a trophy for X amount of years. It is talked about constantly. Whereas if we won one that would turn into a more positive, optimistic for the future mood without that huge sense of pressure and actually giving us a springboard to win other trophies. More of a hungry, winning mentality should be created. Plus this would feed into players of other clubs that we’re trying to sign, hence making us more attractive.

Additionally, we still have a decent chance of finishing fourth. I think it’s going to be a case of who handles the pressure best to be honest. Everton’s fixture schedule is a bit tougher than ours, Man City at home especially looks daunting, so even though it’s in Everton’s hands, Arsenal still have a good chance.

Therefore if we can secure the top 4 and win the FA Cup, then of course it’s a season of progression. It’s a reasonably sized “if” right now but it’s a perfectly reasonable possibility as well.

1.       Winning the FA Cup

2.       Finishing in the top 4 with a higher points total than last season

3.       Being in the title race (which we weren’t in the last 2 seasons) for so long and being top for a long time

That would all be healthy progress and reason for optimism for the future. Those experiences will help us move forward further as well.

Momentum is a powerful thing in football and Everton have it in the race for fourth, but given Arsenal’s fixtures and experience of top 4 battles it’s going to be very tight in that race for Champions League qualification. Let’s not give up or be too negative yet. It could still be a successful season.

 

 

 

(Image source: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/multimedia/archive/00523/147732393_podolski_523724c.jpg)

Milestone should mark end of an era

It is my view that at the end of the season Arsene Wenger should go. The regularity of these humiliations isn't good enough, it's actually embarrassing. The fact that 3 have happened in one season is beyond a joke. He's never learnt from his mistakes, it's always been my biggest problem with him. Whether he doesn't learn out of arrogance I don't know, but you can be a manager of a club trying to win titles when you're so tactically inept in big away games and you never even learn from your mistakes. He doesn't deserve a new contract. He's tactically inept + costing us year after year.

Yes he's done a decent job under financial restrictions over the last few seasons and I respect a lot about him as a manager. But unfortunately nowadays he's costing us. There's no financial excuse for his amazing lack of tactics, wisdom, evidence of experience and a game plan in these big away games.

The reason we go battered today wasn't because of a big gulf in quality of players between us and Chelsea, it's because of the manager's lack of tactics + game plan. We're about level with Chelsea's squad in my opinion, and let's bare in mind we had a few key players missing today. But our manager just doesn't have the tactical nouse that all the other managers of top teams do, and that's why we fall short where others don't.

I think he's got too comfortable and his incredible mistakes in the big games in terms of selection + tactics are baffling and embarrassing. Not playing your only proper and experienced leader of a defensive midfielder in the big games away from home is just astounding. It's basic. Why wouldn't you play Flamini in these games? It's no coincidence we've lost all 3 conceding 17 goals in the process when Flamini hasn't started any of them.

You need someone protecting the back four and we didn't have that again today. Chelsea had 2 players doing it, and look how good they do in the big games overall. Why? Because of their ability to instill tactics, a wise team selection and a carefully prepared game plan.

Wenger's preparation for these games isn't like that at all, it's like a 6 year old kid has done them on FIFA.

It's not us getting beaten in these games so much as the way we're getting beaten, and the not learning from mistakes- not just from games this season but from years gone by. It's the same stuff every year.

You aren't a top class manager capable of winning big titles if you're so tactically inept in big away games + don't learn from mistakes. How can you say someone like this deserves to be paid a new contract of £100k or so a week? We all know he will unfortunately, but let's hope the powers that be see sense and replace him with a winner, and a tactically astute one at that.

The weirdest fixture ever...

Saturday’s FA Cup tie between Arsenal and Everton is somewhat of a predicament for me. Naturally, as an Arsenal fan I want Arsenal to win. But on the flip side, with me having a season ticket at Everton and therefore being able to qualify for Wembley tickets when Everton get there, there is the possibility of a glamorous looking trip to Wembley and a weekend in London enticing me- but only if Everton progress.

So either Arsenal go through and no Wembley/London trip OR Everton win and no Arsenal in the cup semis and probably another trophy-less season. Arsenal and Everton getting each other has often been a nightmare of mine in recent years when the cup draws are made. And it’s always been avoided until now. And of all rounds, the quarter finals- the final step before Wembley.

Emotionally it’s an absolute killer for me- it’s win/win but it’s also lose/lose- something great will be lost on Saturday. Either my hopes of an Arsenal cup win or an exciting weekend in London and a trip to the spiritual home of English football.

I want Arsenal to win, but still even then I’d be walking my dogs late Saturday afternoon thinking about how there’s no Wembley trip to look forward to. But I think seeing Arsenal play (and win) there on TV would be good enough for me.

The game itself is interestingly poised- both sides are on indifferent form and their league ambitions are starting to fade a little bit. Arsenal have been stuttering in recent weeks and Everton have been slipping further away from 4^th spot. Arsenal also look highly likely to exit the Champions League in a matter of days so for both clubs it’s their biggest chance for success this season.

It’ll be interesting to see what team Arsenal pick- Wenger will have one eye on Bayern on Tuesday but I think he’ll know he can’t afford to rest too many without getting pelters from the fans if we subsequently get knocked out. He surely can’t seriously rest a lot of players for a tie where we look very unlikely to go through. Putting all his eggs in the Bayern basket would be very risky to put it mildly.

Everton however have no midweek distraction and will return to the venue of one of their most tactically astute performances of recent years. A performance which prompted many Arsenal players and fans to claim Everton are the best side we’ve played at the Emirates this season. They also, Jagielka impending, have their strongest lineup available (typically), including a seemingly refreshed and raring to rediscover his early season form Lukaku.

It’s quite finely balanced, a lot depends on how similar Everton’s approach is to the league clash in December and what team Arsenal pick. My prediction is 2-1 to the Arsenal.



Image source: http://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/ay108011637london-england.jpg

My Day at the Bridge

Well, where to start?

How about the plastic nature of the club? As if listening to irritating Chelsea fans discussing football on the tube on the way to the game wasn’t bad enough (I nearly intervened) I walked around part of the ground where I had to pass a picture of a piece of Chelsea’s history every 2 yards. So, basically pictures of them winning trophies, post-2005. This was around bizarrely castle-like surroundings, those of you’ve been in the away end at Chelsea will know what I mean.

Then when we got into the ground some hyped up, weird bald guy is stood on the pitch with a microphone cheerleading the crowd. “Let’s hear it from the Shed End” etc. etc. I don’t think he realised he had a microphone either, shouting like he didn’t indeed have one. He’s then reading out the names: “John Teeeeeeeeryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy” and “Fernando *holds mike up to the crowd*…”. Ugh, pratt.

Then there’s the cringeworthy banners: “John Terry, captain, leader, legend”. How about “John Terry, racist, cheater, ref intimidator” instead Chelsea fans? Others include “John Terry’s blue army”, “One love, one life, carefree since 1905”. What the heck is this carefree nonsense all about anyway?

And then finally there’s the half-time tribute to Alexei Smertin of all people, who basically was taken for a lap of honour by Mr. Match Announcer himself (as he holds the microphone up towards the largely unresponsive crowd).

But in all seriousness, I had a largely enjoyable day. The last minute Chelsea winner aside it was a good afternoon, the game was entertaining and tense. I didn’t think Everton deserved to lose, they restricted Chelsea to very few opportunities- Hazard was quiet in the second half and Oscar and Lampard were anonymous. But they kept possession well, harassed Chelsea well to win the ball back and created a fair amount of chances and chance opportunities.

In the first half Mirallas had a couple of good chances, Osman came close and Pienaar and Baines were causing havoc down the left-hand side. Jagielka had a good headed chance and there were a couple of chances in the box where a shot wasn’t taken. Whereas Chelsea only really had one chance.

In the second half they came close again 2 or 3 times until they faded a bit and started sitting too deep. It was odd for Martinez, particularly when you consider Chelsea weren’t actually looking that dangerous to start playing deeper in the last 15 minutes. It was Moyes-esque.

Everton should still take the positives from this, basically they came to Chelsea’s backyard and matched them at the very least, I’d argue they were the better side. Thy just lacked the finish up front, who knows what the score had been had Lukaku been playing. Counter-attacks started breaking down more in the second half but mainly when it went to Naismith- I thought it was odd Mirallas was taken off rather than him. He looked their biggest threat and had pace on the counter. Naismith slowed the attacks down and it halted Everton. However, overall they need to take the positives from this and move on. They showed again today what enormous potential they have.

So, so close

Yaya Sanogo did well tonight. He exceeded my expectations. His movement was good, at times he linked up well and also showed glimpses of what a big potential he has. But tonight wasn't the time for that. Tonight we were playing the best team in Europe and needed to get a positive result. We shouldn't have been in the position where we're playing a Champions League debutant who's hardly kicked a ball in top flight football.

You don't see any other big team across Europe playing such an inexperienced lad who isn't up to that level yet. Yes, Sanogo did well but he did well in terms of our expectations for him. If Giroud had done some of the touches in the box tonight that Sanogo did he'd be criticized. I'm not blaming him, I'm saying we should have a better striker to be playing in this game.

Imagine if we had Suarez tonight? If the ball had fallen to him in the box the 3 or 4 times it fell to Sanogo we'd have probably scored at some point; he'd have known what to do- when to lay it off, when to turn, when to shoot etc. I'm not saying the club should have got Suarez, because it's easier said than done- perhaps it was a impossible transfer to pull off in reality.

But we should have a really good striker. Man City have managed to find 4, Liverpool (who haven't qualified for the Champions League since 2009) have 2, Man Utd have 2, Barcelona have 2, Real Madrid have 2, Dortmund have 1, Juventus and PSG have them, arguably Napoli too. We should be in that group of teams. We shouldn't have to be playing Sanogo in a game like tonight's. He's a good looking player for the future but for the here and now he's not ready yet to spearhead this team to European glory. And that's what we're looking for at the end of the day, that's why we play in this competition- to try and win it. But we can't with the striking options we have.

I've done an Arsenal/Liverpool XI. And only 3 Liverpool players are in it. Mignolet, Suarez and Sturridge. Yet Liverpool are only 3 points behind us in the league, which suggests they're around the same level as us and there isn't much between the two sides. But the 8 on 3 suggests otherwise. So what balances this contradiction?

The power and influence of having two deadly strikers, one of whom is absolutely top class. That's how much of an impact they have, through creating chances and goals out of nothing, scoring for fun despite having the likes of Jordan Henderson and Joe Allen behind them. Imagine what a striker of Suarez's caliber would be capable of with the likes of Walcott, Cazorla, Ramsey and Ozil around him.

I firmly believe we have a very good side and that we are very close to greatness. We are a top class striker away from winning the league (we might win it without one even, you could argue if we had one now we'd be about 10 points clear) and being genuinely strong contenders for the Champions League.

Getting a top class striker is, of course, a lot easier said than done. But that's what we have to go out and get, no matter how much it costs us. We need to make a real statement of intent by going out and attracting a Suarez/Lewandowski/Aguero level player.

I don't think we'll win the title, and for that very reason. Our four striking options at the moment are Giroud, Sanogo, Podolski and Bendtner. Whereas Man City's are Aguero, Negredo, Dzeko and Jovetic. I think ultimately that'll be the difference, even though we have a better defence than them.

Giroud- a title winning striker?

I like Olivier Giroud; he's strong, good in the air, a real team player, has a very good left foot and his link-up play has improved a lot this season. And he has indeed improved his overall play this season, the early part of the season saw such a dramatic rise in form from last season. He was scoring goals left, right and centre and setting a lot of chances up.

However that direct contribution to goals and chances has somewhat dried up over the last couple of months. Despite a low tally of goals since the start of November his goals have still earned wins against Southampton and Newcastle, but shouldn't the main striker of a top of the league club be scoring more often? Or does it even matter?

You could argue it doesn't matter because we are top of the league anyway, irrespective of Giroud not banging them in to the extent he was in August and September. I do think he's improved a lot this season and I admire his work rate and how much of a team player he is. But his lack of regular goal-scoring and clinical finishing concerns me a bit. He has missed big chances in big games, such as Chelsea and Everton, of late (and those aren't the first occasions). So my question is, is he good enough over the course of a season to be a champion?

There aren't many "big" games he's scored in so far in an Arsenal shirt; he's yet to score against Man Utd, Man City, Everton and Chelsea but does have two goals (one winning goal) against Tottenham and one goal against Liverpool. He's not a 30 goals a season man but his contribution stretches way beyond just goal-scoring.

I will always give a striker a credit for being in the right place to get goal-scoring chances and he's always done that. "You've got to be there to miss them" has been a phrase I've come across a lot in football, and it's true. The really worrying sign is if a striker is going a few games without even having a chance.

Giroud does get chances but they're virtually all from crosses or passes inside the box. He's rarely clean through one on one or creating one on the edge of the box for himself. The lack of variation is in his goals concerns me a bit, it makes him perhaps more predictable and therefore easier to mark than the likes of Suarez and Rooney. When you think about it his goals are often similar- headers or shots from crosses.

But he is a very good player nonetheless, I just think we should be looking for a better option as well. You should always be looking to improve anyway and I do believe we can win the title without a new striker in our team. Because, hey, we're top of the league after 20 games with him as our usual striker and he's done well. So why can't we still be top after 38 games with him as our main striker? Why change a winning formula?

He's not at Suarez or Aguero level but would players like that bring the best out of Ozil, Walcott, Cazorla and Ramsey etc. as well as he does? Should we be looking beyond the "direct" contributions (goals and assists) and actually be looking deeper into his game and appreciating the "indirect" contributions that go unvalued at times?

I think so, I'm not saying Suarez or Aguero wouldn't be as good as Giroud in our system, I'm suggesting that Giroud is very valuable to us. And isn't that far off Suarez and Aguero in terms of value to our team.

Bayern Munich look a great side and have won the Champions League and the Bundesliga without, in my opinion, having a top class striker. They share the goals around much like Arsenal do and have a good, not top class, (again, like Arsenal) striker who is extremely valuable to the team. Both teams share a similar way of playing in this respect, a lot of creative and skillful midfielders feeding off the team ethic, hard work, hold-up play and strength of their front man. It's a good teamwork mode of playing and it suits us well.

In conclusion, because of the variety of contributions Giroud makes to our team all over the pitch and the fact that he offers a different dimension to our team that our other, smaller players don't, I think he is good enough to be the number one striker in a title winning Arsenal side. Plus if he had an early season purple patch goals-wise, there's a good chance he'll have another one before the season's up. But that's not to say we shouldn't be looking to improve further by adding another really good striker. After all, he could get jaded and we don't want to be too reliant on him up front. I'm not we should change the winning formula, I just think we should add to it to improve.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I would like to wish everyone who reads this blog a merry Christmas and a happy new year! I haven't written an article on here for nearly 3 weeks. It's been a busy 3 weeks, mainly because of work and, boy, it's good to have finished for the Christmas break!

Now I can have plenty of lie-ins, relax and do what I want. I've already been Christmas shopping (again), been to a great work's Christmas party, played and watched some festive footy, visited extended family, had extended family round here and been to a fantastic pantomime. And I've only been off for 4 days!

Christmas is very nice in our house. We wake up early as if we're still 7 years old at about 7:30am and have a look at our stocking fillers, take the dogs out quickly and then go downstairs together as a family to begin opening the mountain of presents under and around the tree.

There's no holding back at Christmas for us, we buy each other loads of stuff and it's all good stuff! I'm still like a big kid at times when it comes to Christmas, I love opening the presents and then eating my favourite meal of the year: Christmas dinner. Roast turkey, sausage meat stuffing, pigs in blankets, cocktail sausages, sprouts, roast potatoes, carrots and gravy- lovely!

Then there's more present opening along with walking the dogs again and eating Christmas pudding (not literally for me, I have a cake or something). Then there's the Strictly Christmas special and having a lovely Christmas night in watching something one us might have got for a Christmas present (last year it was "The Amazing Spider-Man"- still one of my favourite films).

It is a lovely time and I even enjoy the Boxing Day to New Year time when there's plenty of football to watch and go to (including Everton v Sunderland on Boxing Day).

Seasons greetings and best wishes for Christmas!

Love from your favourite blogger,

Tom (@TLGooner)

I want my apple back

Last night was an excellent and very memorable night at Old Trafford. After getting stuck in traffic in Manchester city centre (cheers, Sat Nav) and then desperately hailing a taxi to just about get to the stadium on time I was greeted by the usual search. After informing the steward of what it was he was feeling in my coat pocket was an apple, he confiscated that off me. Proper dangerous weapon that, my devious plan to throw apples around the stadium was thwarted.

We literally got to our seats smack bang in the middle of the very boisterous away section just in time for kick off. I have to say I loved the atmosphere around us. I’m sure most pundits and journalists are there scribbling away as we speak about how ungrateful and disgraceful Everton fans are for having the cheek to give Moyes a negative reception. But those ignorant, out of touch jobsworths can do one for me. I can’t help but admire and respect Everton fans for the reception they gave Moyes.

I had a conversation earlier in the day with a colleague about Moyes and the reception he “should” get. He was of the view that Everton fans should politely applaud him and appreciate what he need at the club. I disagreed somewhat. I’m sure even the most aggressive, pissed Everton fan at the game last night would admit he appreciates the job Moyes did at Everton. He did improve the fortunes of the club by making them a more regular finisher around about the top 6, or at least top half. He also guided them to European qualification a few times.

But things don’t stop there; he didn’t get booed or chanted at for that. Think about it, last May he was applauded and cheered after his final home game by the Everton crowd. A few months later in the first meeting between Everton and Moyes’ new side he was jeered and chanted at by Everton fans. So what changed in that time? The derisory bids for Baines and Fellaini, the classlessness of going for them in the first place added to by the insulting and disrespectful bids in terms of value were enough to stir up Evertonians, who felt betrayed by their former manager. Then his comments in the media afterwards didn’t help. Neville Southall was right when he said:

“If you’ve got a good relationship with the club and you’re supposedly best mates with the chairman – and Moyes was always saying how they were when he was at the club – would you go back to your mate’s business and try to pinch them off him knowing that the business is skint? It’s really despicable behaviour towards Everton and disrespectful towards the fans.”

Moyes did unsettle the players after Everton had said they weren’t selling for any price. So why go in with below-value bids for them when they’re obviously going to be rebuffed? This is a disgraceful comment by Moyes:

“If I’d been Everton manager and Sir Alex had come asking for Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini, I’d have found it very difficult to keep them because I always felt the right thing to do was what was right for the players.” And he continues “But the transfer window is open and we can make bids and you can say ‘Yes or no’, it’s as simple as that. You are allowed to bid.”

It was just out of order and disrespectful. It was as if he’s never been manager there and if you can’t understand why Everton fans are upset then, well I don’t know what to say. His constant choking when playing against Liverpool or in the latter stages of the cups with negative tactics doesn’t help either.

It made the atmosphere way better, the away end never really shut up and the passion and pride was there for all to see and admire. It was the best Everton away atmosphere I’ve witnessed since the FA Cup quarter final at Sunderland. It helped give the game that extra edge and did make it feel like a really big cup game.

Everton deserved the win, if anybody; the game was quite even in terms of chances but I thought Everton probably dominated the ball more. I said before the game I thought Everton would win and big reason was for that was because I could see their attacking midfielders and Lukaku having the chance to run at Man Utd and cause them problems, and that happened a lot. The wrong decision was made a lot of times on the final ball but Everton certainly attacked them well in that regard.

I don’t know if it came through or not but I was hinting at the fact I thought Everton were now a better side than Man Utd in my preview to this game, and that was backed up last night. Your initial reaction to that will probably be “don’t get carried away mate” but I genuinely believed that before last night. Why aren’t they a better side? A more tactically astute manager, a stronger defence, a much better midfield- defensively and offensively, and with firepower up front now since Moyes left. Yes Rooney and Van Persie are better strikers than what Everton have but overall I think Everton are a better team.

It’s no coincidence Everton won at Old Trafford for the first time last night. It was Martinez’s first game there as manager, and Everton’s first game there without Moyes in charge for 11 years. It wasn’t just because Everton’s players gave it the big ‘un against their old boss either. Moyes recently spoke about how when he went to Old Trafford with Everton his aim was “to get out of there alive”. Which is an awful and despicable attitude quite frankly that makes you question his mentality as a manager.

Whereas, now, Everton have a better manager who didn’t go there with an already beaten attitude and genuinely had a go and attacked Man Utd, whilst also keeping his tactical nouse and remaining solid defensively- a very good balance. He believed in his team to have the ability to win at Old Trafford.

A much deserved and sweet victory for the Toffees. May I additionally point out the irony of the left back scoring the winner?

I’m still waiting for my apple.

 

 

 

 

(Image sources: http://cdn.caughtoffside.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Oviedo-Man-United.jpg and http://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/v2_article_large/public/2013/12/04/http-content.reuters.com-auth-server-content-tag-reuters.com0000-newsml_lr1e9c41lpu7x-1347087493-tag-reuters.com0000-binary_lr1e9c41lpu7x-baseimage-tokengknjoz3t5tplsdq2bpvbsdyzxnovz7alyfbfqhdraq.jpg)

Man Utd v Everton preview

I’m really looking forward to Man Utd v Everton tomorrow night. I think it’ll be a cracking game and it’s so well poised. Everton are, all of a sudden, on fire going forward with 7 goals in their last two games, including a 4-0 win over Stoke. Whereas Man Utd are also scoring goals but conceding a fair few too and not getting the required results. So the pressure is on Man Utd to win this game. They have to do so.

Everton, in contrast, are going into this game with much higher confidence than Man Utd- and much less pressure. I think that will benefit the blues, but what is also exciting is that Lukaku, Barkley, Deulofeu, Pienaar and Mirallas are all playing really well and linking up together. It’s a real selection headache. Less than 2 weeks ago I wrote on here about how Everton needed to improve their wide play and that their wingers were underperforming. But not now, since then they’ve all stepped up and had a big impact on Everton’s attacking play. Hence going from two 0-0’s in a row to scoring 3 and then 4 in the next two games.

Man Utd have a lot more pressure on their shoulders and less in-form attacking players. Only Wayne Rooney is on fire for them; none of Kagawa, Valencia, Fellaini or Welbeck strike fear in you at the moment (if ever anyway). Van Persie has a chance of returning so obviously would be a big threat, but even still I think Everton have more creative power in their side and have more in-form attacking players in the team as a whole.

I’m an Arsenal fan and Arsenal of course play Everton on Sunday. In that Everton side I will be fearful of Lukaku, Deulofeu, Barkley, whichever one of Mirallas or Pienaar plays and even Coleman provides a concerning threat. Whereas when we played Man Utd a few weeks ago, it was just Rooney and Van Persie. Yes, two special players and better than any of Everton’s individual players currently, but when you look at who’s getting the ball to them there is no concern there.

Yes Man Utd won but they only had two shots on target the whole game, they won because of their defensive organisation, not through creating chances for Van Persie and Rooney or any great attacking threat. Man Utd won’t have that park the bus mentality against Everton, they’ll open up more. So I think the likes of Barkley, Deulofeu and Lukaku will have more room and more opportunity than Arsenal’s attacking threats to cause danger and create opportunities. The opportunity is there for Everton, I really hope they go for it and attack Man Utd to seize that chance.

Of course it’s not all about attacking but is Man Utd’s defence even better than Everton’s? Smalling, Vidic, Evans and Evra. Really? They can be got at and aren’t as reliable at centre back as Everton’s Jagielka and Distin are. I think what stops teams from getting positive results at Old Trafford more is fear factor and Man Utd’s reputation as winners. It’s not all about player quality of course, there’s tactics to consider as well. But I think Martinez has proved himself to be every bit as tactically astute as David Moyes is, if not more.

Prediction: Man Utd 2-3 Everton

Rooney shouldn't have been sent off, he should have been given a freekick...

Wayne Rooney, in my opinion, shouldn't have been sent off at Cardiff for his early kick out at the Bluebirds' Jordan Mutch. He was shown the correct action by the referee: a yellow card.

But the incident doesn't stop there for me, yes Rooney should be booked for petulant retaliation but he should have also been awarded a freekick. "You're crazy" I hear you saying, but hear me out...

Jordan Mutch showed no intention of going for the ball, he just "stood his ground" (basically put himself in Rooney's way) and obstructed the forward from having any cat in hell's chance of getting to the ball. What is he supposed to do to get the ball? There's nothing he can do without fouling Mutch.

It's one of the few ridiculous rules of football for me that what Mutch did wasn't a foul. There's shielding the ball in the football, and that's fine but the boundaries of what are legal in this department have just been stretched way out of proportion. You can get away with anything as a defending player. It's basically obstruction when it gets to the extent of what Mutch was doing on Sunday.

He's stopping Rooney from getting to the ball and is not going for the ball whatsoever himself, therefore it's a foul. If that was any other part of his body, ergo his foot- to perhaps trip Rooney up or block him off with his legs and Rooney falls over the flailing leg- a foul is given. And rightly so.

But when it comes to shielding the ball, things just get ridiculous and out of hand. Basically the attacking player is stopped from playing football unfairly; someone has got their body in the way and deliberately stopped the attacking player from getting to the ball without going for the ball himself. He's gone for the player. He's stopped the player moving forward and its a foul.

You get these shielding the ball to a ridiculous extent incidents in every game, but for me it has to be stamped out and finally seen for what it is: a foul. It's stopping a player from playing the game by stopping him from running forward to try to get the ball without the defending player even going for the ball himself.

Everton v Liverpool preview

I can’t wait for Everton v Liverpool. Even as an impartial spectator I absolutely love it. It’s my favourite fixture in the football calendar. The passion, intensity and entertainment that courses through it make it so special and unique.

I do have the utter pleasure of holding a season ticket at Goodison Park and I look forward to going to the game all week, even when it’s not a biggie. Next week Everton play Stoke at home, hardly glamorous but I’ll be excited about it all week. That excitement and child on Christmas morning feeling is magnified and multiplied by 10 when Everton play Liverpool at home (especially when it’s on a Saturday).

I still remember the FA Cup game in 2009 so fondly. It wasn’t actually the most entertaining of games in terms of goal scoring chances if memory serves me correctly, but it was such a great game in a different way. There was such tension, I think it was the most tense derby atmosphere I’ve ever witnessed (I am only 21) and both sets of fans were in great voice even before kick-off. When Steven Gerrard went off injured early on it was like Everton had scored, every Liverpool shot off target was greeted by a big relieved cheer of “waaaay”.

It was dramatic, what with the late extra-time winning goal and the atmosphere- so keen even walking to the ground. It was a cold late January night and it just had a great feel to it. I was excited all day about it at school, jotting down my predicted line-ups in my Geography book, period 3. Then when I listened to the build-up on the radio on the way there and got to the ground there was such a sense of “this is no ordinary derby”. Not that derbies are ordinary by any means, but it was such a dramatic, atmospheric night and it was frankly one of my favourite ever games I’ve been to.

Back to the present day this derby is, like last season’s at Goodison, set up very nicely. Liverpool are, you have to admit, looking improved this season and pose more threat than usual with Suarez AND Sturridge up front and Coutinho in and around there for company. But so are Everton, the blues have Romelu Lukaku up front who would give any defender a run for his money and has been in fantastic form for Everton overall so far. Everton also have the “like a new signing” talent of Ross Barkley who, again, can cause any defence problems and if he copes with the derby atmosphere and intensity, he will be a big threat on Saturday.

Everton need to get back to scoring ways though, I wrote an article earlier in the week about how their wide players need to up their performances. Mirallas has been disappointing and Pienaar has looked rusty since returning from injury (an instant winner against Hull aside!). Baines and Coleman have stuttered a bit and I just think, especially in these big games, Everton thrive on their high intensity style of play and getting the ball out wide and crossing the ball a fair few times. That doesn’t mean “being ugly and long-ball”; it just means having a mixed style, which suits Everton.

The game against Chelsea earlier in the season was a great example. Everton improved a lot in the second half when they went to a higher intensity style and drove at Chelsea more. That also gets the crowd going more and gets Everton’s tails up. So I think the wide players especially would thrive on this.

It’ll be interesting as well to see how Everton deal with Suarez and Sturridge, I think Suarez is the biggest threat but Sturridge and Coutinho are big dangers too. But likewise, how will Liverpool deal with Lukaku, Barkley, Baines and co.?

Everton and Liverpool both have more passing, intricate styles of play nowadays so it should be an interesting derby in terms of how the style of play pans out. Both sides are very close in terms of quality. Also, it has the added spice of Everton having finished above Liverpool for the last 2 seasons so there is a really intriguing battle for the title of kings of Merseyside ahead this season.

It’s tense, it’s loud, it’s passionate, it’s aesthetically pleasing and it should be entertaining. Bring it on!!!!!

My prediction: Everton 2-1 Liverpool

(with Everton going behind.)

Wingers’ return to form crucial for derby

There couldn’t really be a more timely return to form of Kevin Mirallas and Steven Pienaar than this Saturday’s Merseyside derby. The Belgian attacker has been below par so far this season and hasn’t delivered the standards he did last season. Likewise, since returning from injury, Steven Pienaar has looked out of sorts and they need to get their acts together for Everton to have a good chance of beating Liverpool.

The Liverpool defence doesn’t let in too many goals at the moment and with Everton having failed to score in their last 2 games, something needs to change in Everton’s play. They need an added sparkle and an extra threat that they haven’t had during their games against Tottenham and Crystal Palace. Otherwise the Blues may be a bit too easy to predict and nullify.

Mirallas in particular needs to step up to the plate and deliver because so far this season he has failed to do so generally. Last season he tore Liverpool apart in the first half of the Goodison derby before being forced off injured. He played on the left and was fantastic. He needs to find that sort of drive and confidence in himself in time for the derby. Not only will it benefit him, but also the likes of Lukaku who would be on the end of what is hopefully much improved wing play.

Steven Pienaar has a little less pressure on him for me but he has surprised me over the last couple of games I’ve seen him in (Aston Villa and Tottenham). He was pushed off the ball surprisingly easily a fair few times and often wasteful in possession. He struggled to have an impact, particularly at Villa and I think he looks rusty and perhaps not quite ready. He doesn’t seem himself. To his credit, he always keeps going and keeps probing and trying to create but he just looks poor at the moment.

Those wide areas are key for Everton; so often Everton’s best attacks have come from using the ball well out wide and it has been one of their best assets in recent years that they create so much from out wide. I wonder if Roberto Martinez’s new style of play has taken that away a bit, perhaps his passing ethos doesn’t incorporate sticking to one of the team’s main strengths as much- crossing the ball.

I agree with the pass and move philosophy but not it coming at the expense of one of your main strengths. I believe you can have both. The wide players need more license than they seem to be getting to demonstrate good wing play; crossing the ball more regularly (especially when you have a striker like Lukaku in the box as a real aerial threat) and perhaps dribbling at defenders more, which is maybe why we are yet to see the high standards of last season from Mirallas and Coleman.

Whatever the case, Everton must improve out wide if they are to have a good chance of beating Liverpool, especially when you consider how shaky defensively the Liverpool full-backs are. Everton, of course, have the ability to win this game. There isn’t much between the two teams, but the wide play must improve for Everton. The form isn’t there currently but the ability certainly is.

 

Arsenal v Liverpool post-match thoughts: Resilience and quality lead to crucial win

This game was of massive importance today. Arsenal could have lost 3 home games in a row to big teams in all competitions and psychologically that could have been a big blow. But we won it, which boosts belief within the players and the supporters and creates a healthy, positive environment for Arsenal. It adds more belief and confidence that we can win the Premier League title and shows everyone else we're genuine contenders who mean business.

Not only does the win have huge psychological positivity but it also puts us 5 points clear at the top of the table above Liverpool and Chelsea. Man City and Man Utd are even further adrift and everything looks very rosy in the league currently.

I thought Arsenal's performance was arguably their best of the season so far. Yes we were very good against Napoli but didn't have much to defend against. This time we were up against the Premier League's most in-form and extremely hyped strikers, Suarez and Sturridge. It was a big test of our defence and team overall, plus I think the team had more pressure on them to win than they did against Napoli.

The defensive aggression and organization was very good, the way Arteta (like he did last season at Anfield) controlled the midfield and protected the back four very well was fantastic; it was one of his best performances in an Arsenal shirt in my view. Bacary Sagna also had one of his best games for Arsenal in a long while. The interplay and creativity of our midfield and how they played as such a team as if they'd all been playing with each other for years was outstanding. Olivier Giroud additionally played well, got in the right places for chances and held the ball up well playing against 3 centre backs. He also seemed to win everything in the air.

I loved the big game attitude, it was like it was in our very good performances against Tottenham and Napoli so far this season and just showed we mean business. It brought back that sight I've mentioned before this season: we looked like winners. A winning team with a winning mentality that means business. Not some team to just play pretty football and finish 4th, a team with determination and fight who have high ambition and belief to win trophies.

Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta were excellent in midfield and just showed their superiority over Gerrard, Lucas and Henderson. Cazorla was lovely, always involved and obviously scored. They played some terrific football (that move conducted mainly by Ozil shortly after the 1st goal comes especially to mind) but not at the expense of making sure they kept Liverpool out at the other end. We created a lot of chances, and against a very good team which makes it even more impressive and highlights our attacking qualities even without Walcott, Wilshere, Podolski and Chamberlain as options. Mertesacker and Koscielny were very hard to get past and were solid, and apart from one careless late blip, Szczesny was excellent again.

I think we still need to work on stopping counter-attacks though. I thought that was the only time when Liverpool looked dangerous in the first half, we don't yet seem to be able to stop counter-attacks well enough. We need to improve there because the big teams will often punish us for that.

But elsewhere everything was positive; a great performance, a great win, confidence and morale boosted and we're 5 points clear at the top of the table. Now to sit back, relax and enjoy going to Everton v The White Shite tomorrow.


(Image sources: http://i3.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article2203119.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Fenerbache-v-Arsenal-2203119.jpg & http://i1.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article1501784.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Mikel%20Arteta-1501784)

What we want to (and don't want to) see at the football

I don't want to see stewards harassing fans. I don't want to see stewards searching fans outside the ground and making them deposit their personal belongings in a tray before retrieving them inside the stadium. I don't want to be stared at by stewards trying to intimidate me and asserting pointless authority and sternness once in my seat. I don't want to see a steward tell a supporter to "keep the noise down" or stop them exchanging in banter with opposition fans as if it is being assumed that any exchange of banter between opposing fans is an declaration of hooliganism or violence.

I want to see stewards acting like they're equal people to us supporters, not high and mighty people frowning upon us and treating us like criminals before we've even set foot inside the stadium. I want to see a friendly greeting from them: "Alright lads, enjoy the game", not "put your arms out Sir, I need to search you". I want to see them stamping out any violent or threatening behavior at the match if there is any of course, but that's a rarity anyway. I want to see them treat us as if we're real, innocent people- not treating us with little respect and as if we're guilty of being mindless, violent hooligans until proven innocent.

I don't want to see fans being addressed as "customers" like is the case at Chelsea. I don't want to see clubs being referred to as "institutions" (Brendan Rodgers) or "organisations" or "businesses". I don't want to see posh boxes and executive areas all around the stadium as if we're at the theatre. I want every seat to be a normal seat that everyone has to pay for equally- not VIPs, special guests and people being told they must keep quiet when sat in corporate areas (I have been before, sickening. I was at the football for Christ sake). I just want fans alongside each other in regular seats or stood up and certainly not corporate areas ruining the atmosphere of the stadium and disenfranchising proper fans from going.

 

This= NO! (Is this a hotel or a football stadium?!)

I don't want to see ridiculously expensive food served in boxes and trays as if I'm at a Baseball game. I want to see horrible looking coffee and dirty pies. That gives the place that smell of football!

I don't want to see fans dressed as if they're going out for a posh meal. I don't want to see cringey banners around the stadium such as "We're not really here" (Man City), "Holte End, Twelth Man" (Aston Villa), "Shere Wilpower" (Arsenal), "Who needs Batman when we've got Robin" (Old Arsenal one) and there were plenty more at the Etihad Stadium that I can't quite remember. They've probably been wiped from my memory they're that bad. Some flags and banners are great, they should definitely play a part in the whole match day atmosphere. Just not cringey ones!

I don't want to hear goal music after a team scores. Yes, I'm looking at you Reading, and you Burnley, and all you others: Wolves, QPR, Wigan and so on. Stop it. It's cringeworthyness of the highest order. I want to hear loud, passionate cheering and applause which is generally the case; we don't need any music after a goal. That's just not football. As aren't cheesy mascots, or cheerleaders. Or having an eagle fly across the pitch before kick-off (Crystal Palace). That's just bizarre.

I want to see pyrotechnics (flares) being accepted as they add to the atmosphere and cause no-one any harm. Fans being banned for using them is beyond crazy; I heard one fan got a 3 year stadium ban for it. Mad. I don't want to hear drums at the game.

Speaking of crazy, I don't want to see players being booked for celebrating goals and wins with their own fans. What is that all about? Displaying positive, happy emotion and sharing and celebrating it with your own paying supporters, what's wrong with that? Players shouldn't be booked for taking their shirt off either, I don't really get why some players do it but they do and there's nothing wrong with it. Football's an emotional game for goodness sake. I pick this example because I happened to see it earlier today, but just look at the stewards in this video stopping supporters from celebrating with the players after Everton have just got a 92nd minute winning goal:

I'd like to see more player/crowd interaction, not having the two segregated at the football as if the stadium management think the fans are uncontrollable animals that are going to hurl themselves at the players. Let's have a bit of banter and interaction rather than feeling so cut off from them. It relates back to celebrating goals with fans, not being able to do so just adds to this vast separation feeling.

I don't want to hear chants like "your support is fucking shit" and "shall we sing a song for you?" being sung by the likes of Chelsea fans. On your bike lads, you play at the quietest library in the league. Focus on your own atmosphere before criticizing others'.

Overall I want to see fair, friendly treatment of supporters by stewards, stadium management and everyone for that matter. I want to see fans in all corners of the ground as equals, not separated or priced out of going by ridiculous corporate areas, which have no place in sport. What we want is for supporters to have a great day and a laugh at the game, just being treated well and watching the great game in peace, in a good and healthy atmosphere.



(Image sources: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/8/25/1251238724197/Stewards-stand-infront-of-014.jpg) & http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/02/04/article-0-0827DF6D000005DC-988_468x351.jpg)

(Video source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3euzocvhOA)

Arsenal v Chelsea post-match thoughts

I am sick to the back teeth of seeing us lose to Chelsea in the exact same way every season. We have plenty of possession but are way too predictable and easy to defend against so Chelsea just flood the central areas and counter attack against us and score. It's frankly getting rather embarrassing. Chelsea must be rubbing their hands when they play us.

Also, it's getting really repetitive and annoying how poor our big game mentality is. We approach them so timidly and don't really start having a proper go until we're losing. Why? It's ridiculous. I watch Everton a lot when they play at home to the big teams. Most of the time what they do is start quick, sharp and with a high tempo, and also mix up their style of play. It puts the opposition on the back foot and unsettles them.

We like to give them the initiative by backing off and letting them have the ball unpressurised and then make it all so easy for them to defend against us and counter attack against us. Then we finally show some urgency and authority when we go behind. But then of course we're still too easy to defend against.

I just can't understand why our manager hasn't observed this and thought "you know what lads, we might need to mix it up a bit against Chelsea and change out style a little bit. They catch us on the counter virtually every time we play them so let's watch our for that". But no.

And this leads to us going 1-0 down in virtually every big game. Sometimes even 2-0 down (which we did a few times last season). Here's a list of the big games over the course of this season so far and last season where we went 1-0 and 2-0 down:

• Man City away
• Chelsea at home
• Man Utd away (2-0 down)
• Tottenham at home
• Chelsea away (2-0 down)
• Man City at home (2-0 down)
• Bayern Munich at home (2-0 down)
• Liverpool at home (2-0 down)
• Dortmund at home
• Chelsea at home (2-0 down)

It's just way too often and it's a problem that needs addressing and sorting out. But we know it probably won't be and that we'll probably be in the same position on Saturday against Liverpool.

On Carl Jenkinson, I really do have doubts about whether he'll ever be good enough for us. The lad has unquestionable spirit and heart but has very little footballing ability. He's pretty inept at crossing, passing, keeping the ball and clearing the ball- his kicking of the ball generally is poor.

Yes he's young and has time to improve but it's worrying when he's been here for 2 and a bit years, played a lot of games and still looks like he hasn't improved technically at all. He still looks so incredibly nervous on the ball and uncomfortable. Defensively he's generally sound but his lack of improvement in those other areas is alarming.

On the plus side, the atmosphere was much better tonight- as it usually is when we ply Chelsea to be fair. The fans sang a lot, loudly, and roared them on a couple of times, loudly.




(Image courtesy of http://www.nononsensefootball.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Carl-Jenkinson.jpg)

Managers like Martinez the way forward for English football

If England want to move forward, they need to deploy the managerial philosophies of the likes of Arsene Wenger, Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rodgers. Managers of this nature just let their flair players do what they want and allow them to make mistakes.

I've been regularly watching and studying Martinez's management of Everton and in particular, Ross Barkley and his other attacking players. It's clear how he has positively influenced them. His management of them is terrific as he gives the likes of Barkley more license to express themselves and be creative without restricting them to playing with inhibition and burdening them with instructions to play simple, and then criticizing them when something exuberant goes wrong.

This added license gives them more freedom to express themselves and their ability because they haven't got the fear of their manager playing hell with them if they lose the ball or make a mistake. This gives them more confidence and adds authority to their game and the result is a better, more effective player.

Look at what Roberto Martinez has done for Ross Barkley in just two months. The lad has the license to drift, be creative and be exuberant with the ball without the fear of an angry reaction if something complex he tries doesn't come off. Arsene Wenger, Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup are the same.

In this country our footballing culture and general philosophy is to berate players who have the courage to try to be skillful and take attacking risks. As a kid you can be playing in a match, try to Maradona move someone, fail and be slaughtered by teammates, your manager and parents on the touchline. "Come on, play the simple ball". There's also too much hoofball and smaller, skillful players are the victims of the British football culture as the game passes them by and they are imprisoned by the critical nature of managers, fellow players and spectators. This inhibits them, makes them less confident and less expressive and, as a result, less effective.

If you compare that to countries like Spain, their footballing culture welcomes skill and exuberance and doesn't give into to the pressure to resort to long ball tactics where the game simply bypasses the gifted footballers.

Gary Lineker recently spoke of this sort of thing and he was totally spot on for me.

“[We need to] allow talented young players to express themselves on the field, to take people on, to try a trick, all without the dreaded, predictable rubbish cascading into their ears.”

I play Sunday league football and there are a lot of people there who are very encouraging and my team doesn’t vocally criticize me, but there are some people at every game who criticize people for “taking too many touches” or “not playing the simple ball”. Our footballing culture needs to welcome creative and courageous players and give them the license to be more complex on the ball, because players like this are very talented and will be very effective when given this freedom, as Barkley is showing at Everton.  

That's not what you want as a player. Of course there's a difference between Premier League football and Sunday league football but I'm sure the likes of Sam Allardyce are very critical of skillful players in this regard too. That's not the way forward. You don't want creative, courageous players like Ross Barkley to feel caged within the confines of a football philosophy that includes a manager and players who lambast him when he makes a mistake. They should be given the freedom to go out and express themselves and this will bring the better out of them.

This is what England need to do with the likes of Wilshere, Barkley, Chamberlain and Ravel Morrison. That's the way forward in all walks of football- to give your creative, attacking players the ball to feet on the floor and let them express themselves and make sure they're not scared to try complex, creative things by encouraging them.




*Images courtesy of the following websites/sources:

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/67940000/jpg/_67940397_martinez2.jpg

http://img.bleacherreport.net/img/article/media_slots/photos/001/150/963/hi-res-185350259-ross-barkley-of-everton-attempts-to-move-past-curtis_crop_exact.jpg?w=650&h=434&q=85

http://ripley.za.net/wp-content/plugins/rss-poster/cache/f096c_a6a39_120704102710-iniesta-xavi-horizontal-gallery.jpg

Strictly's Double Standards

I really enjoy watching Strictly Come Dancing, yeah I know, I'm a real party animal. Saturday night's in my life are just wild. But the double standards when it comes to Tess Daly and the judges purring over blokes' chests really irks me.

If Len Goodman said "my God Rachel, that bum is lovely and I couldn't take my eyes off your chest during that dance. Same next week girl!" he'd probably be forced to issue a public apology (at least), the show would have to issue an apology and you'd have loads of people complaining and calling him seedy and he could even lose his job.

Yet when Bruno, Craig, Tess and co. perv over Artem's chest, or Ashley or any of the other attractive male contestants/dancers it seems to be OK. No-one bats an eye lid. It's not just the odd compliment every now and then, it's actually pretty embarrassing behavior. Perving over younger blokes like a group of desperate old ladies and doing it over and over and over again.

I don't mind women complimenting attractive men every now and then, I'd just like there to be equal standards and it not be a case of one rule for one gender and another rule for another.

Is it so bizarre to say only English players should play for England?

I can't believe the fuss that has been kicked up by the media and some fans after Jack Wilshere's comments bout Man Utd's Adnan Januzaj and his opinion that only English players should play for England. His comments after that about "we're English, we tackle hard, that's what we're about" are a lot more concerning for me, they're words that make me shiver to my very core; but that's a topic for another day.

People seem to desperately justify the idea of foreign players playing for England by just saying "well the world's changing". Yeah, so? The world's changing all the time- throughout history different eras have seen constant change in societal values and rules. It's not just a sudden thing you know. It's quite a lazy thing to say anyway, they're not providing justification of a foreign talent playing for England with a concrete reason. They're basically just saying "well this would suit us so screw it, the world's changing so why the hell not?"

It defeats the object of international football for me if you're allowing people who've lived in the country for 5 years to play for that country. If I go to France now and live there for 5 years, am I suddenly French? No.

In my opinion you represent the country where you were born. Because that means that's what your nationality is. Not where your parents were born, not where you've lived and worked for 5 years, where you were born. The more you stretch the boundaries of what qualifies you to play for a specific nation, he more international football becomes like club football- a lottery that benefits the better footballing nations. It is also made rather pointless as the concept of international football is defeated. International football is competition of which country has the best football players and which has PRODUCED the best players. Now if England won that competition with the help of players from other nations, how can we really say our nation has produced the best players?

It's hypocrisy of the highest level as well from our media and the FA. They keep banging on about how clubs need to stop buying so much foreign talent and invest more in young English players to benefit the national team. And then as soon as a foreign player becomes available for England through a questionable hole in the rules, they're desperately trying to get him into the national team.

If England beat Brazil 1-0 in the 2018 World Cup final thanks to a goal for Adnan Januzaj and a wonderful, man of the match performance from him, would it feel totally fine? Would it feel like us English have won it? Even though we wouldn't have been able to without the help of sneaking a Belgian born and raised talent? Someone Belgium clubs and coaches have brought up and trained and given him the talent that has attracted Man Utd to buying him? Wouldn't it feel like we've stolen from Belgium for our own gain in a wrong way?

I think it's desperate and hypocritical for the FA to call upon foreign players like Januzaj (especially after just one good game) to help England ahead of promoting native talent to play for the nation. They should be getting excited about the likes of Ravel Morrison right now, not Adnan Januzaj on the basis he could be eligible to play for England in 5 years. The whole thing reeks of desperation and hypocrisy.

So yes, Jack wilshere is right to say only English players should play for England. Not people who have plied their trade here for a matter of years. Not because I don't want that player, but because it's wrong to steal the talents of a player from another country when that country should be reaping the rewards of schooling and developing that player into the talent he is.

Kefalonian Paradise

Last night I arrived back into the country after a week's holiday in Kefalonia, the Greek island to the west of the mainland. The island was beautiful, I've never seen such a variety of great scenery that was so pleasing on the eye. Having said that, I went to Rhodes (another Greek island) 4 years ago and that at least rivaled Kefalonia in that department.

The Melissani Cave (pictured above) was a wondrous experience; very aesthetically pleasing and exotic. We were given a boat ride tour (as shown above) as well by Jon Voight in Anaconda's voice twin too.

It's hard to beat relaxing all day, seeing the attractive sights and scenes and going to the beach, swimming in the sea and your pool during the day followed by going out to a variety of lovely restaurants in the evening.

Every morning I'd wake up and look out of the window at the view, it was wonderful really. A great overlook of the sea, the hills and the greenery. I had some vey good memories as well; the cave for example, chilling out at the beach, swimming in the sea and the food was terrific. All in all it was a great holiday and apart from the trepidation caused by flying, there was no stress involved, just relaxing.

I watched the second half of Swansea v Arsenal in a bar on Saturday night with a lot of enjoyment of course. It was pretty weird how such a perfect day for Arsenal happened while I was on holiday; two great things happening at once and all that. Arsenal winning away, Tottenham and Chelsea drawing with each other while both Manchester clubs lost. I also watched the last hour of the West Brom on my laptop in the villa as it was very late at night there with the time difference. Arsenal winning twice just made things even better!