Date: October 2002

Borussia Dortmund v. Arsenal

Oct 30, 2002 by

“Sorry for the late and infrequent updates, major computer issues…

Here’s a quick note from The Kentucky Gunner on today’s match:

Arsenal are currently in poor form…..Borussia Dortmund are not. They are now second in the Bundesliga and undefeated at 5-5-0. 16 goals and only 6 against, Dortmund are playing good all around football. They will be coming off a 4-1 win to Werder Bremen that saw the emergence of Brazilians Ewerthon and Dede. Add to it that this contest is in Germany where Arsenal seem never to play well and management wanting to slap the “”arrogance”" out of us; this may be a lively, physical and draining match.

Arsenal America Predicts: Somewhat must have flipped the calendar a bit early at Highbury, we’re playing like it’s November. A draw would be welcome and a loss would put us in a bad spot going into the next group phase. Here’s hoping for a draw, 1-1.”

The EINY Drops Knowledge On The State Of The Arsenal Nation

Oct 25, 2002 by

“Random thoughts, incredulous rebuttals and wild ramblings from The EINY…

Well, after a too long for my own good “”Patrick Vieira rest period”", yours truly has once again returned to grace the site of Arsenal America with his own “”pearls of wisdom”" on the overall past few weeks and stir up the pot of controversy around here a bit (he he he).

First off, we’ve got the following predicament of Patrick Vieira facing a 2 match ban (which 2 I’m not sure of as I’ve heard Sunderland and the scum but also Fulham and the Sunderland Worthless Cup match) as well as a cash fine for calling Mr. D’Urso a “”(expletive deleted) who has no clue”" or some other kind words of encouragement. Now I for one agree that berating an official has no place in the game, but how many matches do you see players acting like petulant little newborns and kicking the ball away and telling the ref to go “”fornicate”" themselves/off without as much as a card when calls have been made against them? I’d love to scream “”the FA’s out to get Vieira”" but we all know that FA stands for “”(expletive deleted) Arsenal”" anyways. There have been plenty of fines and tribunals over the past few months of this season (anyone remember the infamous “”uproar”" over Henry’s congratulatory shirt and subsequent bans on messages by FIFA all because Brazilian players had messages of “”I love Jesus”" under their shirts at the World Cup final?) but there is one little “”problem”" that has stuck with me for a few seasons involving the FA and their justice system.

During the latter stages of the 98/99 season, a certain Mancunian named Beckham was hauled in front of the FA for “”unsporting behaviour”" (David Beckham? No way!!!)and as they were deliberating (or were they all taking photo ops with him and getting shirts signed behind closed doors?) on a penalty, Alex Ferguson chimed in with the following – “”don’t you worry about my players I’ll discipline them myself”" to which the FA gladly took his word and off David went to win 3 trophies. Nigel Winterburn’s ribs didn’t heal forabout 6 weeks after Beckahm’s elbows made home in his side, but the fact of the matter is that there IS a double standard for the Arsenal and everyone else.

Personally I hope Wenger says to Patrick “”Here’s that rest you’ve wanted anyways”" and we’ll see Patrick back wearing the armband before too long. A shame we’ll miss him for 2 matches but the re-appearances of Pires and Van Bronckhorst should give Arsene enough ammo until the captain is back amongst the troops.

The streak – to paraphrase that old song “”oh dear what can the matter be? Arsenal’s lost 2 games…”" A loss in domestic footie for the FIRST time since last December (the Newcastle debacle and the ref escaping the wrath of Henry thanks to the local police on the pitch and Martin Keown) and now Arsenal is 1 point off the leaders with so many matches to go. There is no need to worry or question the effort, “”Wenger knows”" what buttons to push and he’ll get things sorted for the weekend’s clash with Blackburn. How many people thought the Arsenal would really go the entire league season undefeated? It’s a nice thought and an incentive to keep everyone on their toes, but a loss is bound to happen with all the fixture congestion and importance of matches can lead a team to overlook one’s opponents with a huge European fixture ahead. Nottingham Forest former players can rest easy for another year and I’ll be the first to say “”THANK YOU”" to the squad for the run they’ve been on and for playing probably the greatest footie I’ve seen since I started supporting the club as a youngster in the mid’70′s. I have no memory of the ’71 team seeing how I was in diapers, but I’d say this current squad has to go down affectionately for me as the best (barely over the ’89 and ’91 squads though) I’ve seen at Highbury and there’s so much of the season left so COME ON YOU GUNNERS and let’s start another streak this weekend! Keep the faith…

World XI – I read an editorial a few weeks back on here about how the starting 11 at Arsenal is the “”best”". Well I’d like to remove the “”rose tinted shades”" off the masses and politely direct you to the lineups at AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich (despite their obvious shoddiness at the moment), Real Madrid, Manchester Untied and even Liverpool. Granted, there’s talent at all these clubs as well as the one at Highbury, but to say Arsenal has “”the best talent”"? I have to disagree wholeheartedly and say that on their day Arsenal can compete with any of the above mentioned but on their day any of the above can also compete with our Highbury heroes. I’d say that Arsenal is one of the top tier clubs and has the players there for a momentous run at major honours but to say they’re “”the best talent”" will need the rest of the season to prove that point domestically and especially in Europe as some of the afore-mentioned will probably be in the Arsenal’s way.

Racism in football – plainly put there’s NO room for it and to describe our neighbor’s down the wrong end of the 7 Sisters Rd. as the “”y word”" is totally off-base and needless to say insulting to those of the Jewish faith. Personally I just refer to that team’s supporter’s in a more terse (and thoroughly deserving) name-SCUM. Whether it’s singing the Sol Campbell song (insert “”tott-scum”" for the y word part and it works just as well) or just asking them if they’ll ever win the league in their lifetime, they’ll always be scum and nothing more.

European standings – did my eyes decieve me or did I just read that Manchester United were the “”elite English club in Europe due to their performance over the past few seasons”"???? History lesson for those of you who didn’t know, Manchester United has as MANY European Cups (now called Champions League trophies) as Nottingham Forest and they won theirs back to back! United has 1 more European Cup than Aston Villa who have 1 more than Arsenal! (hmmm…) THE “”elite English club in Europe by performance”" has to be without any question the Kopites of Liverpool who dominated the European scene starting in 1977 and have 4 European Cups in their trophy cabinet and unlike United who went 31 years between victories, the scousers won back to back trophies and 4 over 8 seasons and appeared in 5 finals over that span. Credit must be given where it is due and United DO deserve credit for all their Champions League appearances, but let’s not start thinking the English appearance in Europe started in 1993 or something…

“”Schadenfreude”" – sperz keep falling like flies, don’t they?;) Only Rangers crashing out of the UEFA Cup along with Chelsea has brought me as much joy atseeing bloo scum get eliminated. Bayern Munich – good luck in the UEFA Cup!

“”Iron Balls”" – 2 people deserve this award in my opinion. First, Arsene Wenger for inspiring his troops to play the season with the eye towards being undefeated and though they finally lost a match this year, a GREAT run nonetheless by the squad! Well done…

And German head coach Rudi Voeller for taking the unprecedented step of NOT participating in the next Confederations Cup tournament because the players want their rest in the summer. Unheard of and “”iron ballsy”" to take on the national confederation and tell them “”Nein!”" Nice one…

A troubling bit of info from London-the new stadium is over budget to the tune of 100 million pounds! “”ouch!”" How far back will the opening of the stadium be now ? ’06/07???? Blimey let’s hope this gets sorted as the need to move is of the utmost urgency if we intend to compete financially with the other elite clubs in Europe.

I think that’s it for now (whew!) Oops! I forgot, who said the following “”Junichi Innamoto is class”"? I’d say he’s “”crap”" and take Kolo Toure and Aliadiere over him any day! I guess “”Wenger and Brady know”", eh??;) See you all next week for more “”pearls of wisdom”"!

1 life

1 love

1 club

1 nil!

1 Patrick Vieira!

1 Dennis Bergkamp!

1 Tony Adams!

1 Nigel Winterburn!

1 TEAM IN LONDON!!!!!

1 love

“

“Arsenal v. Blackburn, 10/26 10am Eastern”

Oct 25, 2002 by

“Arsenal v. Blackburn Rovers; Sat. Oct. 26; 10am Eastern TV: FOX Sports World, 12pm Eastern (check soccertv.com for additional days and times)Radio: arsenal.com (fee required)Arsenal: 2nd place (23 points)Blackburn: 7th place (15 points)The Kentucky Gunner, Ken Bradley, previews this weekend’s dangerous foe, Blackburn Rovers…

Last year’s match at Highbury against the Blackburn Rovers should be a mirror to the possibility of a tough battle coming this Saturday. That 3-3 thriller showcased the positives and negatives of a young and exciting Rover squad that is virtually unchanged. Sitting strongly in 7th place the Rovers are coming off a mauling of Newcastle, 5-2. Confidence should be high as the Rovers visit Highbury and they may be looking to take advantage of our two recent poor results.

Rovers 4-4-2 works as three separate units. The backs stay flat and move together, causing occasional gaps around the 18. The midfield is absolutely key as it represents the majority of goals scored and creates chances on its own. The forwards seem almost to be for show, as they are used as pivot points to create shooting opportunities for the midfield but seem not to factor in the actual scoring itself. Of the 16 goals scored by Rovers, only 3 come from the striking positions.

Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole make up the front two. Together again they are but a shell of the tandem they once were in 1999 for the Treble winning ManUtd. Yet to develop that telepathy they once had, both have only one goal on the season. Cole very well may be out due to injury and it could be Egil Ostenstad to take his place. On a positive note, Matt Jansen may get a run out after a scooter accident this summer put him in a coma. His prognosis had been grim, but he makes a miraculous turn around that sees him on the bench this weekend.

The midfield is where their strength lies and Rovers has a number of quality players to choose from. David Dunn may be the best scoring midfielder in the Premiership and leads the team in scoring. He is lethal from 18-25 yards out and can move the ball all the way to goal. Damien Duff is on the wing and may also be out to a calf injury. His ability to move the ball, while enticing multiple defenders is a huge threat. Gillespie’s footwork on the right, Flitcroft’s aggressive nature or Tugay’s vision and skill will be threatening the Arsenal goal for 90 minutes.

The back line is confident and capable but the defense lends its success to Brad Freidel, the giant American GK. Possibly the best in the League and some say, “”best in the world”", Friedel is strong, tall and intimidating. He has sure hands and a keen instinct. Last year the Gunners were able to score 3 in both fixtures against Rovers but Friedel’s performances kept them in the game and kept the score to the barest of minimums.

Rovers are in excellent physical condition and are very active. Attacking the ball with multiple players and countering quickly Rovers have a lot of pace and excitement. Even in Arsenal’s run of exceptional form this was a game to mark as one to not overlook. With a feeling of lethargy in the Gunners camp we must come out blazing to get all three in this match.

Arsenal America Predicts: Reeling from two straight losses (when was the last time that happened?), the Gunners need to regroup. This may not be the team to do it against. Gunners only manage a draw, 2-2.”