Other Games - 2010/11 Season

[Chris Jameson]

The season Hull City beat them at the Emirates he was particulary disrespectful even going so far as to calling them West Brom. There is absolutely no need for that sort of language.

[pauliewalnuts]

The season Hull City beat them at the Emirates he was particulary disrespectful even going so far as to calling them West Brom. There is absolutely no need for that sort of language.

Yes, he was particularly churlish that day. I wonder what he called West Brom when they won there this season?

[LeeB]

The season Hull City beat them at the Emirates he was particulary disrespectful even going so far as to calling them West Brom. There is absolutely no need for that sort of language.

Yes, he was particularly churlish that day. I wonder what he called West Brom when they won there this season?

"Ze Strappy-feelth"

[The Left Side]

Arsenal play some great football at times but when they come up against a stoke or rags team they keep trying to walk the ball into the net, whereas you need to have several options up your sleeves to win.

[Monty]

I like Wenger, I like watching Arsenal and the way they play, but at the end of the day, I don't really care if Wenger doesn't seem to realise they won't win anything without a bit more spine in the middle, and a decent goalkeeper at the very least, as I'm not an Arsenal fan.

I do find it deeply irritating when he moans on about teams teams playing "negatively" against them. It is due to the gigantic financial divide in football which Arsenal have profited so massively from that the bigger teams have infinitely more resources than the smaller clubs, and that the playing field is so uneven.

To then moan at smaller clubs for going to the Emirates and - as a result of that disparity - finding that the only way they can hope to get anything out of the game is to park the bus and stop Arsenal playing first and foremost, rather than allowing his team to play their passing game (and thereby murder them) is hypocritical.

I agree with your first point, but I think he's often taken out of context with regard to your second. Of course teams go defensive at the Emirates, and I think that when he says "they came here for a point and got it" or similar he's more referring to why his team didn't win than insulting the opposition. Indeed, I've heard him often praise opposition defending and so forth in post-match interviews, not that that would get reported much as it wouldn't sell many papers. He is also - as we all are - full of praise for teams who have the nerve to attack Arsenal, whatever the result.

[KevinGage]

Yep, it's media-misled Wenger-hate time.

Which really winds me up more - a guy who objects to his players getting a near leg-amputation every now and again, or a type of football that, because it wouldn't be allowed anywhere else, allows fucking Blues to win a trophy (and be applauded, God help us) and prevents England from progressing any further than 'laughing stock'?

There probably is merit in the argument that some of the things we enjoy about English football; the pace, the competitiveness and the onus on strong challenges and strength are the exact same things that scupper England on the international stage.

Personally I don't buy it. I have absolutely no time or interest in them, but I can say that any team that contains Ferdinand, Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney and co shouldn't be playing longball football.  They don't do it with their clubs, where they enjoy a degree of success. So why do succesive foreign coaches with an impressive CV put them in that straight jacket.  That -more than anything else - is why some might view England as a laughing stock at international level.

Wenger doesn't object to teams going long-ball, he just a) doesn't think it works, b) wouldn't do it himself because he doesn't think it's entertaining and c) actually does have a problem with the underlying threat of violence that teams such as Stoke carry (see Andy Wilkinson's challenge on Moussa Dembele as an example).

If after nearly 15 years in England he thinks (a) is the case then he is a fool- and I don't take him for one. Many lesser sides have employed those tactics against his lot and had a degree of joy, so it does  work, and that's part of the reason why he gets so rattled. If it didn't, I'm sure he really wouldn't care. You probably couldn't get away with that at the very elite level, in the latter stages of the CL. But that's a separate argument.

As for (c) yes, I wonder what this paragon of virtue made of some of the challenges his lot dished out against Stoke at home (most of them off the ball) last week and the Fabregas challenge on Foley at Molineux a few weeks back.

It is possible to acknowledge that there is a lot to admire about the style of football Wenger's teams generally play whilst at the same time acknowledging  that if there were trophies handed out for hypocrisy, he would sweep the board every year. Maybe that would be the way to go, that way whenever he talks complete arse there would actually be some tangible benefit to it.

If I hadn't watched the game yesterday and had to cobble together a predictable guesstimate, I'd probably go the route of saying it must have been a victory for brawn over brains, fight over flair. Surely the only way B-lose could possibly hope to fluke a victory is if they kicked Arsenal's artisans off the park for most of the game, defended in numbers and got lucky from a big punt up to the 6ft 7 beanpole.

But that didn't happen. They used the ball intelligently when they had it, created chances from setpieces and open play and - for large parts of the first half and about until midway point in the second- they dictated the pace of the game. It was only when they tired from about midway thorough the second half that Arsenal looked like they might overrun them. And even then, the defence was so well drilled that they largely restricted Arsenal to shots from distance.

Much as it pains me to say it, they deserved to win yesterday. They saved probably their best performance of the season for their biggest game. Unlike the Gooners. And indeed ourselves on both Wembley visits last year.  They also had to contend with a ref who wanted to give every 50/50  (and some 70/30's) Arsenal's way, yet it didn't faze them.

[The Left Side]

Stoke 0 Tesco Bags 0 at the Victoria Ground at HT

[cheltenhamlion]

The downside, Kev, is that I saw the last twenty mins when the cricket was done. They looked bloody lucky in that time.

[DrGonzo]

Stoke take the lead from a set piece!! :0

[WikiVilla]

Where was Carson for the goal ?

[damon loves JT]

ze strappy-feelth continue to play football the way they should, ie losing and being relegated

[damon loves JT]

ze strappy-feelth continue to play football the way they should, ie losing and being relegated

and now my missus has pointedly turned off the radio.

yes, dear

[spangley1812]

1 - 1 Baggies...........Vela

[WikiVilla]

Baggies square it up

[The Left Side]

Vela loves those late goals!