Lots of comments recently from people who are shocked, shocked!, by the rapid decline of skills shown by Sol Campbell. It’s time for everyone to recognize the reality of the situation:
Sol Campbell is/was a very big, stong athlete. I’m sure he would have been one of those guys who plays several sports very well - American football, rugby, hockey, etc. That however does not make him a great footballer. Sol has benefited, and is now paying the price for being English. Because everyone wanted him to be great, they believed he was. Simply not true. When healthy, and partnered with a solid veteran, Sol could do the job. But now he has been exposed for what he is: a broken down athlete with very little tactical or technical skill.
When you are young and fast and have Martin Keown next to you, you can get by on your God-given ability. But now Sol is being asked to be the veteran who provides the support for the younger players. Again, Sol can get by when his partner is Toure, who has got pace. But with Senderos back there Arsenal have no pace. Ok, still they could get by if Sol had good footwork, ball handling skills or could simply read the match. He can’t. He never has. I thought being at Arsenal he would learn, as many other players have come to the Arsenal and taken their game to another level, but he hasn’t.
There is absolutely no reason to be suprised by what Sol has become. He only had one good attribute, physical ability, and he has consistently been losing that over the last three years. Add in the fact that he’s scared to death of getting injured with the FIFA World Cup coming up and he is a massive liability.
I’ve got nothing against him personally, he’s just not able to perform at the level needed by the Arsenal.
42 Responses to “Let’s All Take A Bite of a Sol Campbell Reality Sandwich”
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January 26th, 2006 at 9:19 am
Rick,
it’s always a good idea to learn to spell - especially long, complicated words like ’sandwich’. Then, if you want to crucify a world class defender maybe you might be taken a bit more seriously. On second thoughts….nah!
January 26th, 2006 at 9:20 am
Wow, I never thought ANYONE could be so wrong.
You are talking about THE Sol Campbell.
The best defender in the last World Cup and the past two European Championships.
He has been the ROCK, he has been the star. he has allowed players like, Rio, Terry and Ledley King improve as a CB.
Up until last season he did not suffer with injuries, he has also had family problems over the last 18 months.
I am sorry but you need to understand football a lot more otherwise you will continue making a fool of yourself.
Take them away and you are looking at the best defender in the EPL for 10 years. At their peaks he was like Tony Adams.
His passing has been suspect, however the reason for this lack of form is more to do with Senderos and Campbell both being left footed CB’s and so they make the same runs.
January 26th, 2006 at 9:42 am
If Rick is so off base, Sol’s turned pants overnight. Rarely do “world class” players do that. I think its more likely Rick’s onto something, as he’s not blinded by Sol being an English international. Although, either is Wenger, so he’s got to take a lot of responsibility.
Surely its a variety of things that has contributed to his being a liability which is what he most CERTAINLY is at the moment. But just as Gilberto “World Cup Winner” Silva has been exposed, is it such a stretch to say Sol may be in a similar position?
Drop the brand loyalty and take a look at his play. Okay, he’s troubled, but many athletes are, and outside of an off day here and there, they channel it into their performances. Sol, for all he’s said lately, is channeling it into his line of jeans. And for the record, I’ve had family problems for 18 years and its often improved my performance.
He can hold it down when he wants to. But I’m not feeling him, lately, especially in interviews. Its obvious his mind is on staying healthy for the WC. Fair enough. I just hope he remembers who’s paying him at the end of the day to get there.
January 26th, 2006 at 10:02 am
Rick, you can’t possibly rip the great British International defender… and think that Brits are going to allow it…
Even if you are 100% correct and he is a shell of his former self… and is playing like crap.
They can’t have it. He’s British, so he’s really really good… they are gonna win the World Cup too!
haaaaaaaaa.
A lot of what you say in here has validity.
Sol is average at best and oft injured. He’s NO rock. He’s a liability at the moment. Not a real surprise to me… he hasn’t been 100% for a few years.
January 26th, 2006 at 10:17 am
I dont want to turn this into an English v American debate but consider some of these points.
The REAL reason why AFC are in a slump is the lack of goals. Arsenal over the last few years have been the top scorers in the EPL. This year we are far from it. the midfield four have not scored enough goals, in fact you can see that Campbell has scored more goals that some more consistent midfield players.
Campbell has come back from injury. The pitches are now harder and you can see all of the guys are losing their footing. The goal against Wigan was mainly down to luck, the ball fell kindly to Roberts.
He is and has been a great motivator in the team and has allowed Toure to come on over the last two seasons. He cannot play with Cygan next to him as it SEEMS that he has to cover Cygan as well as do his own job.
He is only human and as such will make mistakes but over the years he has been at AFC he has been the main defender, he has won league titles and FA Cups for Arsenal.
I know you yanks like the stats, check the goals scored and goals conceeded column in the EPL for away games for AFC. Compare it with other teams around us and what happened last season and the season before.
January 26th, 2006 at 10:18 am
Honestly can’t remember if I spelled it correctly or not right now. If not, somebody edited for me. Thanks. Of course, as a person who started his sentance with a lower case letter I’m not sure if you are the one to give me English lessons.
Nevertheless, you provided no rebuttal to my argument but rather chose the cowards way out.
January 26th, 2006 at 10:19 am
Ha! That’s sentence.
January 26th, 2006 at 10:23 am
Arsenal America slating yet another player…!! How odd.
Although there is some merit in your post, I feel that you’ve taken a very narrow-minded view of the situation. Admittedly Sol has suffered from some decline in his performance levels over time, but he is hardly the liability you think he is.
The performance of our team recently has got less to do with individual players and more to do with how those players fit together in the playing system they are being asked to use.
With a weak, unbalanced midfield, we are surrendering possession in this area which in in turn putting pressure on our injury-ravaged defence. Remember too that we have had very little stability in defence in terms of personnel.
Toure perfectly compliments both Sol and Senderos as he provides the raw pace that they both don’t have. Toure also prefers to play on the right side - Sol and Senderos both play left side of central defence. They do not make a good pairing as they are essentially the same kind of player.
The problems are partly down to lack of personnel, and also partly down to the manager employing the wrong tactics.
Football is a TEAM game and everything that happens in one area of the pitch has an impact on the other areas on the pitch. Judging by this site’s constant sniping at Arsenal players, there seems to be a severe lack of understanding with regards to football tactics and playing systems.
I’m not saying any player should be exempt of criticism, but it seems when there is no real subject to address this site’s authors simply revert to type and start slating players individually.
The TEAM is underperforming, and that includes Wenger. Try to remember that when you next decide to single out a player for the AA treatment.
January 26th, 2006 at 10:28 am
I disagree with your assessment of his International play, but what does that have to do with Arsenal anyway?
Ok, he’s had injuries and family problems, I am sympathetic to that but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t played poorly.
Best defender in the EPL last 10 years? Not even close. I don’t pretend to be an expert on the first half of the EPL history, but Hyypia has certainly been better, Adams was better, Rio has been better (I think, though he’s nothing special either), and doubtless ManU has terrific defenders during their great run.
Your final comment starts by making my point exactly (i.e. his passing) and to blame the youngsters for the veterans problems is the poorest form of passing the buck.
January 26th, 2006 at 10:36 am
“It’s Sendy’s fault Sol is having a hard time.” “It’s Cygan’s fault Sendy’s having a hard time.” “It’s the bad pitches fault that Sol is having a hard time.”
If Sol is so world class, shouldn’t he be able to overcome these things?
Regarding positive articles, I have written literally dozens of articles saying how great Arsenal have been, how lucky we are as fans, how much I love Cesc, Senderos, RvP, Freddie and others. Right now the main story at Arsenal is they’ve got some problems. When they won 7-0 I wrote how everybody (except Gilberto) was really going for it and hopefully that would carry to the next game.
Even when we began struggling this season I kept it positive for the most part. Recent form suggests that some people (Wenger, Sol, Pires, Freddie, Gilberto) are underperforming. That’s the story. Maybe if we were Spurs and mediocrity was the norm it wouldn’t be a story.
January 26th, 2006 at 10:37 am
Easy man, you don’t have to draw more us-versus-them lines around here. I support England more than I do Arsenal, and I wouldn’t start Sol. He’d be lucky to make the bench.
January 26th, 2006 at 10:41 am
So you support country over club?
You can have England mate… they ain’t winnin’ the World Cup!
I’d fancy our (USA’s) chances against England… especially if Sol were in defense.
January 26th, 2006 at 10:44 am
VERY well said Rick.
Thank you.
The sky is not always blue with the sun out… and sometimes you have to call it what it is, and call certain players/managers/teams out for their inept performances.
Enough with the excuses for this team.
There is no excuse for them laying down on the road and not giving 100% all the time.
January 26th, 2006 at 10:45 am
Actually, Rick, the start of a sentence is the first word, not the second word. Word one was ‘Rick’ (note the capital letter) followed by a comma, which does not terminate a sentence. Word two was ‘it’s’ (note the lower case as it is not the start of a sentence). You’ve probably been raised on Microsoft Word which promotes grammer which is almost as bad as yours. As for not addressing your argument, why justify a dumb argument with a meaningful reply? It’s much more fun to simply take the michael. By the way, do your parents allow you to use the internet without first asking permission?
January 26th, 2006 at 10:46 am
I used to be club before country. It’s not to say that I support Arsenal less than I did before, only I support England more lately.
And that’s fine, it’s not as if I’m going to stop supporting England if they lose. That’s not what supporting is all about.
I’m not trying to start a fight with you Stag, just saying that not all “Brits” are going to defend Campbell solely because of his nationality.
January 26th, 2006 at 10:55 am
I appreciate what you’re saying, but the offense has largely suffered due to our poor back line.
I will say that the lightweight midfield has done them no favors, and Roberts goal was Sendy’s fault, but if you can’t stop Beattie and bouncy balls - with help - then what are you doing?
His positioning has been really poor, too, regardless of the surface.
January 26th, 2006 at 10:56 am
I havent seen any evidence of english players being excused for their performances by the brits on this site so I don’t know where that comes from but I think it is correct to assert Campbell is playing like gash right now, but like Pires, folks are somewhat reluctant to send him to slaughter because he was a great defender for about three years at Arsenal and held our defence together at times. I will never forget his colossal performance against Liverpool away in 2001-2002 season. And after all, everybody, he’s English! Inger-land, Ingler-land, Ingler-land ;^)
January 26th, 2006 at 11:03 am
Honestly,I didnt wanna read any bad stuff about the players. They are good enough. I think what is missing is the motivation from the club. Starting from lacking competitve backup for them and lack of showing present attention to our sitituation. We are still buying teens !
There are some problems in the club, I hope this would not affect us and throw us behind spurs, and losing key players such as TH14 or even Fredy or ….
I think Cygan is bad cuase he was given a job of not his. If I was given a job that Idunno, I would suck. Or if you give me to hold 2 positions cause the other person is till training or interning, I would suck …
January 26th, 2006 at 11:06 am
I hear you Clarkey!
I am just giving you grief over the allegiance to the England National Team!
Easy target in my mind…
January 26th, 2006 at 11:07 am
I support England, you support the BoSox… I suppose we both have issues
January 26th, 2006 at 11:08 am
Well, there is definitely a bias for British players and their value by Brits on this site and elsewhere. They are overpriced and over-rated for the most part, and foreign coaches like Rafa don’t mind saying so.
He’s English. Thats cool. No problem there.
He’s CRAP at the moment, thats where the problem lies.
January 26th, 2006 at 11:09 am
I don’t think the players are good enough any longer. Pires, Freddie, Sol, Gilberto aren’t good enough at the moment. They are dragging us down like an anchor, and there is little or no competition for their places, so they are complacent.
January 26th, 2006 at 11:13 am
Look I am not saying the guy is perfect far from it but the form he had in previous years at club level has gone into his international football. For Arsenal his first three years he carried the defense and allowed players to be brought through.
The best defender in the EPL needs to be looked at over a long period of time and over the last 10 years none of the guys comes close, Rio when he has not been suspended has been average, Hypia has made plenty more mistakes that Sol and Adams finished over 5 years ago, yes in his prime he was good but Sol was not in his prime then and so you cannot compare like for like.
I am pretty sure fans of other teams would say Sol has been the best defender in the EPL over the last 10 years.
I am not and have not blamed the youngsters, I have posted before that the problem is due to the lack of goals and Pires and Freddie have not done the job they used to.
January 26th, 2006 at 11:19 am
the defence’s record (stats) is roughly the same as last year. this time last year we were second and had a shout for the title.
The forwards just haven’t done their job, they have had their chances but not put them away. In most of the away games where we have lost, we have not even scored, but in the games we had great chances to score goals, the finishing, final ball was poor. This is not the defences fault.
Roberts goal was Campbell’s fault he was nearest to it when it bounced and did not deal with it quick enough. Beattie is not a bad striker, he will come good but simple balls down the middle should be easy to deal with. Communication is the key here.
January 26th, 2006 at 11:24 am
The forwards have gotten NO SERVICE from the midfield. PERIOD.
You can’t really expect Henry to get the ball in his own half and weave his way thru the entire team of the opposition… can you?
Perhaps thats because the midfield is trying to shield the banged up defense and play more defensive because Cygan is playing left back or Kolo is at he ANC or other various issues in the back 4.
Its ALL relative. I don’t really believe the problem is with the forwards. If they are not fed the ball in a decent scoring position… like Cesc out in front of the net with Pires waving at him v. Everton… then its not their fault entirely.
January 26th, 2006 at 11:24 am
Very very true!
But the “Sox” won it all in 2004.
I can rest in peace.
Eng-er-land ain’t winnin’ nothing!
January 26th, 2006 at 11:33 am
perhaps I did not make my point as clear as I could.
This season we have had roughly the same amount of shots on target, however we have probably only converted half the amount we did last season.
that is why we are not scoring.
Against Wigan Henry could have had 4 goals, no sweat, if the ball was placed where the keeper could not reach it. However time after time his weak shot was saved by the keeper.
Yes we have hit woodwork and all of that but the goals have not come, perhaps we have lost some of our luck??
January 26th, 2006 at 11:59 am
I understood the “Rick,” to be a salutation, especially since you decided to do a hard return and move on to the next line.
January 26th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
On the plus side Gilberto is out injured!!! So Campbell comes back in to the squad to add some experience.
I hope he does well and his ‘partnership’ with Senderos continues to , err, improve - it ain’t going to get worse - but I was really hoping that Djourou would start alongside Big Phil.
January 26th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
He probably will and Campbell may play at left back.
January 26th, 2006 at 12:29 pm
At the moment, if I had to choose between them, I would prefer Gilberto out and Sol in. Sol may be out of it, but Gilberto has been playing for the other team.
January 26th, 2006 at 12:46 pm
Gilberto out injured, who do I have to thank ?
January 26th, 2006 at 1:28 pm
I’d say that is a bit too harsh on Sol C. He is clearly not on form, but only two seasons ago he was one of the most dominant defenders in the league. Since that time, Cambell has been very challanged by injuries and as most of us footballers in our late thirties and beyond can tell you, recovering from injuries gets harder and harder the older you get. Even for world class athletes. Sol is just over 31 and may be starting to experience this frustrating truth for the first time. The key will be how he responds emotionally to the challange; there are special men, like Dennis Bergkamp, who have taken their age on as yet another hurdle to overcome in their qwest to play great football. Sure, #10 is not his old self by any stretch, but he has given Arsenal fans and himself many, many more happy memories with hard work and discipline. Sol is at a crossroads. He must battle back or slowly decline and end up playing for some small club or even in the Championship. This summer I was thinking these very thoughts when his name appeared in transfer speculation. I thought about Sol, his big build and low key attitude and frankly, I was yelling “sell him now.” I was worried he wouldn’t have it to fight back for his place against Senderos and it seems he might not have it to fight back from injury as well. His England place is on the line this year and look what he has done for it–nothing. Time will tell in the end and since he still wears our kit and has done much for the club, let’s cheer for his quick return to form! Finally, keep in mind that he is not the only player in the transition to 30+ football. Pires is there now. Freddie and Henry will be next. Each will have to face this challange on their own. There is a GOOD reason the boss doesn’t dish out multi-year deals to guys over 30–case in point is Sol Campbell.
January 26th, 2006 at 2:27 pm
Stag,
I don’t agree with you one bit here. I have always said Sol is becoming **AYE CARUMBA**(censored) and playing like an ass so take the Britishness out.
Sol was good when he was good but at the moment very bad.. No excuses..
January 26th, 2006 at 3:07 pm
LoveG…
if you read the response, basically a few Brits gave Rick grief because he slung mud on his recent form and said he was playing poor and is done.
The folks said he was a British legend, led the defense in the world cup… blah blah blah.
Essentially, I said the same as you… that it doesn’t matter what he DID, even if he is British… that doesn’t factor in.
There were Brits defending his play… and attacking Rick for the article.
January 26th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
If you are going to nit pick about language, then perhaps you should spell grammar correctly.
January 26th, 2006 at 5:37 pm
He also wrote internet with a lower case I. Very shoddy.
January 26th, 2006 at 5:42 pm
Hold on, no-one’s claiming he hasn’t been magnificent for 10 years, I believe Rick is talking about now.
You don’t need to be an expert to see he is playing like a w*nker.
In football there’s very justification to keep selecting a player who is producing bad performances consistently. Loyalty doesn’t come into it, you have to pick the best players you have available for the benefit of the club, not the benefit of their past performances.
However, I think Campbell has had a nightmare recently, but that can change quickly. He has had loads of injury problems and probably needs to lose a bit of weight - he is not that old really. Stick with him I say.
January 26th, 2006 at 5:47 pm
I couldn’t give a rats arse about England to be honest, International football bores me rigid - only the tournaments themselves are fun, but I still couldn’t care less how England do.
Nationalism, next to religion, is the bane of the world - I hate it. Most supporters of International teams just can’t help getting an erection over my country versus your country, it has very little to do with football at all. Ignorant c*nts the lot of them if I may say.
What I am trying say is that I am completely impartial regarding Campbell’s nationality, I just want someone to do a decent job, don’t care if he comes form satan’s bollock.
January 26th, 2006 at 11:55 pm
I’ve seen that Johann kid play in the back and the jury’s still out on him. He hasn’t impressed me a bit but Gilbert has and proved his worth in his part in Henry’s goal against Wigan.
As far as Sol being past his best, I’ll have to say maybe, but he can still do a job for the Arsenal. He’s just in a bad patch of form right now. That happens to everyone. I’m sure he’ll come good.
If you look at the Roberts and Beattie goals it’s plain to see that Sol was coming over to support and not make the play. Both times Senderos got beaten and quit when he saw Sol come over. Kolo would have never quit in the middle of a fight. Phil simply passed the buck off to Sol since he was there That made them both look bad.
I personally hate playing with guys who quit in the middle of a play just because they see you coming over to help them. It’s still their responsibility to play. Don’t quit just because someone’s coming over to help out.
Sol is a quality player with pace and athleticism, Senderos isn’t. Sol has proven himself to be class, Senderos hasn’t. Before, no one knew what they were dealing with when playing against Senderos. Now, Drogba’s let everybody know. Since then Senderos has never looked a quality player. There is a difference between the two players. You’ve got to respect that, not disrespect Sol. Your assessment’s wrong, Rick.
January 27th, 2006 at 1:56 am
Also you have to respect the fact that at no time this season has Senderos looked particularly strong. He looked equally as bad against Chelsea as he looked against FC Thun and Doncaster. Our team is a shambles with hiim in the side. He’s not as athletic against Sol or Kolo so he has to play with his head and not get caught ball watching.
Sol’s looked to be at fault in the goals against Wigan and Everton as he seemed to be in position to make the play but how many times have we seen Sol come over to make that play and give up a penalty or pick up a yellow or red card? He has to be careful because by virtue of his sheer size and pace if he makes contact with a striker and that striker goes to ground it would look much worse than it actually was and the official is more likely to award a penalty.
The problem is Phil as opponents always score with him in the side. Wenger’s recognized that and that’s why he’s dropped Senderos.
January 27th, 2006 at 9:29 am
Good God Rick, you’ve gone off the deep end on this one!
Sol has yet to return to form. When he’s on, and he will be, he remains England’s top central defender.
My guess is that Dido keeps re-injuring him in the bedroom.