I hope my OTHER preview didn’t get in… as I had us playing AT EVERTON, as opposed to being home!!!
That does change things a bit…
but they do have good players and are playing well…
4 wins- 1 loss- 4 draws and they currently stand 6th in the table.
(only loss at Boro 2-1)
Andy Johnson leads the league in scoring with 6 goals… (tied with Kanu)… and he and James Beattie up front can cause anyone some problems. They are solid. Arteta Cahill and Carsley are pretty good midfielders… I would imagine they will look to play defense first against us, and try and frustrate us some… and the set pieces and corners could kill us again…
The longer it stays 0-0… the more they will be confident of getting points from the match, or perhaps stealing a win.
If we can manage to score first… then the chase is on… they are forced to chase the game some, and we can use our speed to counter and pounce. They surely still remember 7-0 to the Arsenal! Don’t we all?
I like us 2-0.
One in the first half… one in the 2nd.
I hope Aliadiere gets to play. I’d love to see him start, but 20 minutes at the end would be a good reward. He deserves to play.
49 Responses to “Arsenal v. Everton…”
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October 28th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
When the opposing keeper is the MOTM, it says alot about the game and the outcome. These are the games Arsenal *must* win to keep pace with the leaders. Everton were lucky to come away with a point - and they know it. Letting in a soft goal from a corner means the boys are chasing the game for much of the time. Everton came with a 4-5-1 formation and basically packed their defence. I think we miss the height of Adebayor today cos crosses from the wings would be a good way to get out of the midfield logjam. We also miss Eboue’s overlapping runs. Mike Riley is either blind or an absolute d*ckhead. Everton committed 26 fouls and only received 2 yellow cards. I thot he learnt from refereeing the Reading-Chel$ki game to better protect players. A disappointing day. Looking forward to Arsenal taking out their frustation on CSKA on Wed.
October 28th, 2006 at 3:41 pm
This is why we won’t win the league.
We haven’t been strong enough on set pieces for a while now, and it costs us important goals. The team has a lot of newish players who need more time to adapt to eachother, the stadium, the pressure etc - Gallas, Djorou, Adebayor, Rosciky, Baptista, Walcott - the still very young Fabregas - all need another year under their belts.
So I can see quite a few more results like this happening throughout the season, draws and maybe defeats that Chelsea, in the same situation, would win. That will make the difference. Cannot see us overtaking Chelsea now, if we manage to overtake them at any point of the season then I will revise my opinion - but I feel this is unlikely.
Let’s just hope we gradually put in more performances like we did at Reading last week, and by next season we might be ready for a title push - at the moment it;s not clicking consistently enough.
October 28th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
Danny,
Spot on on the set pieces, especially corners. From the interview I’ve read AW was not happy the way we defended on the corner that let in the goal. That’s great of him to say but the way we defend them, and execute the way we took them on the other end madee it look like he’s not spending much time in training working on them.
Did like to see the change in tactics in the 2nd half going with more attackers to try and counters Everton’s going into their shell. Yeah dropping ten men back on defense is legal and works but God does it make for ugly football. Everton’s tactics are more befitting a Championship side not one who want to be a big club, BUT until we can beat it consistently everyone,save ManUre, Chelsea and ‘Pool will do it. Can see similar results against the Boltons and Blackburns of the world if we don’t figure out how to consistently beat it.
Was it just me or was did we see signs of frustration and a change in tactics from AW. Arguably we finished with, what. . 5 strikers on the pitch??
Personally, I’d love to see what Baptista could add to the mix (when he’s healthy) in matches like this. Maybe he can be that bull charging up the middle to ram one home.
Should have done better. Could have done worse. Not willing to concede anything yet. Long way to go and as we get some bodies back and more matches I’m anxious to see what Arsene will do with them.
Jeff
October 28th, 2006 at 6:30 pm
Yes, the result was disappointing but what struck me watching the game today was that the team has advanced so much beyond where it was last year. Unlike last year, there was absolutely no sense that the players were losing hope because a first goal had been cheaply conceded. There is resilience on this team, there is also depth. Nonetheless, I, for one, think having had Eboue back for this game would have made a big difference. He would have put much greater pressure on the Everton defense. Sadly, I don’t think Hoyte has what it takes to make it at right back on a squad that is this dynamic.
Finally, I have to say that it’s such a pleasure watching this new team that Wenger built before our own eyes while we attacked him for not buying older players with bigger reputations but less upside. And by the way, so what if we don’t win the league this year. It’s not an Arsenal fan’s birthright that the team win the league every year, every second year or every third year. If it was, then we aspire to the type of fanhood that was the lot of the ManU fan of the 1990s. I, for one, can do without that. It’s just a breath of fresh air seeing this team play. Even more than that, watching this team reminds me again and again why this is the “beautiful game.”
October 28th, 2006 at 9:09 pm
The team is advancing fast, and ordinarily we would be title contenders this year. But the team Chelsea has bought with their vast wads of cash has such strength in depth that it’s almost certain that Arsenal will need over 90 points to even match them, and even during Wenger’s unbeaten season the team just scraped 90 points.
So for me, the title is not impossible, but I don’t think there’s a realistic chance of it. I’m quite happy with watching beautiful football, however, it’s something to be proud of - football is about entertainment after all, we should be very grateful.
Need to sort these defensive lapses out though. The way Cahill just walked through the defence indicates that either whoever was supposed to be marking him just fell asleep, or that tactically Wenger did not even bother to single out this obvious target - this sort of goal is Cahill’s speciality, and that he should not even be tracked should be giving Wenger sleepless nights. I wonder if he’ll be tracked in the Carling Cup game in a few weeks?
I was also disappointed with Wenger’s post match comments about Everton’s negativity. A pointless and unnecessary remark, what does he expect teams to do when so many have had success playing a flat back 10? After all, when Arsenal played in the Champions League last season, the fancy stuff went out the window for a 4-5-1 formation that was very defensive - so it’s not as if Wenger has not employed negative tactics against superior teams himself is it?
October 28th, 2006 at 9:29 pm
It’s getting to the point when Arsenal should just play three or more attackers at the start of games at the emirates and just attack, attack, attack. We never actually look like scoring when we play our usual formation, it’s only when we score the first goal we start to look like a scoring threat.
Still don’t like that pitch. Looks very clumpy which indicates it’s still too Fuckin’ long! The ball keeps slowing up and affecting the dribblers in our team and you see at the end when Cesc tried to break through the ball again wouldn’t run on.
Yep, we definately won’t win the title this year, but that’s hardly a crime when you consider the competition from those bionic freaks at Chelsea and United. I hope United win it, just because they don’t seem to have inordinate amounts of luck in every single game they play. Chelsea are freaks. Never seen a luckier sports phenomenon in my life.
October 28th, 2006 at 11:41 pm
Yep! Another deflected freekick goal from Lampard this weekend!
October 29th, 2006 at 12:13 am
Disappointed with the result. Couldn’t see the game due to some technical difficulties with the broadcaster in my area. Had to watch ManU thrash Bolton instead.
Followed the game on Soccernet’s gamecast. One simple statistic said it all
Arsenal -> 29 shots on goal, 12 on target, 1 goal
Everton -> 2 shots on goal, 2 on target, 1 goal
Is this a return to the bad old days - dominate but struggle to score goals? The defensive lapse on the Everton goal makes it worse. It lends more credence to the recently discussed topic - Defence wins Championships. The longer the defence can keep a clean sheet the more it helps the attack. But it’s also unfair to depend on the defence all the time. I am sure that Ade would have started in a 4-4-2 had he been fit. I think that would have helped.
This results unmasks our poor home form. The two wins have come against relegation teams - Sheffield and Watford. Any other half decent team has got a draw - Villa, Boro and now Everton. Maybe we haven’t settled to the Emirates yet. We need to improve starting on Wed against CSKA.
By the way, which result is more impressive?
Reading 0 Arsenal 4
or
Bolton 0 ManU 4
I have to grudgingly admit that ManU looked awesome at Bolton. They fought fire with fire and Bolton had no answer. The likes of Saha, Rooney, Giggs, Scholes, Carrick, etc. are willing to scrap it out. I am not sure the likes of Gilberto, Hleb, Rosicky, Fabregas and even Henry would fancy such a battle. We have eight and nine games in the winter months of Nov and Dec respectively. It will be a really testing time for our team.
October 29th, 2006 at 12:17 am
Look again. The ball did not take any deflection. The goalkeeper was deceived by the flight of the ball and fell over.
Lucky? YES. Deflected? No.
October 29th, 2006 at 1:33 am
Just saw the highlights. Liked RvP’s goal. It helps to have more than one free kick taker. I also liked the way the team is gelling with each other. The way Cesc, Hleb, Rosicky, RvP, Walcott, etc. are bonding, it bodes well for the future. There is no doubt that good things are in store, but we need to toughen up. Games (home and away) against the likes of Everton, Bolton, Blackburn, etc. will be like yesterday.
About Cahill’s goal, he got in between Toure and Djourou. A bit naive defending. Individual mistakes have cost us - Lehmann vs Villa, Hoyte vs ManCity, the free kick vs CSKA, etc. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Senderos back. He lacks pace, but he is strong in the air and maybe better in physical encounters.
Let’s keep the faith.
October 29th, 2006 at 4:30 am
When opposition teams come to Emirates, let’s face it, we will only be facing one formation playing against us - 10-0-0. Regardless the club crests on the oppositions’ shirts (probably with the only exception of Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool).
I have a suggestion to Wenger: forget about protecting the quality of the pitch, let’s take the reserve side and youth side to Emirates, picking 15 players of them, instructs them thou shalt never move across the half way line. And get our first XI trying to break them down.
October 29th, 2006 at 6:20 am
Cahill didn’t get in between Djourou and Toure, he ran from deep - but no-one tracked him. This is what he always does, he’s usually not even in the box when the corner is taken, but runs in like a madman with a bullet header or shot. Someone should have been told to track him, but no-one did because they were all in the box watching the ball. It’s difficult to beat a player to a header from a standing position if he is running into the box at high momentum.
October 29th, 2006 at 6:25 am
Training is supposed to mimic the real game scenario - how can you do that when you're playing against a bunch of reserves? The players who will learn the most is the reserves not the attacking players of whom you're trying to get the best out of. The forward players need to be attacking top quality defenders to try and break them down, which I'm sure is what they do in training already.
October 29th, 2006 at 6:39 am
What you are saying boils down to man-marking vs zonal defence. In the former, a player would have tracked Cahill. In the latter, it’s about who was marking the space Cahill got into. For good or bad, AW uses the latter system. So either Toure should have headed the ball before it got to Cahill or Djourou should have got to the ball before Cahill did or someone else should have just blocked the space Cahill was running into. I don’t know the perfect answer to it. I just felt that it was naive defending. The same happened with Giannokopolous at Bolton (FA Cup) and Lua Lua at Portsmouth last season. We need to fix such errors.
October 29th, 2006 at 6:45 am
Everton clearly had no courage to try and have a go. If the EPL is to be considered “the best league in the world”, what are efforts to just stop the opponent and do little else, like Everton’s on Saturday really saying?
If it’s just about results and money then let’s say so. When opponents leave 8 or more men behind the ball and do not attack for almost an entire match, are we really watching the best league in the world? It’s certainly not the best football.
Everton showed yet again that maybe 2 or 3 EPL teams can consistently play attractive football. The rest are committed to stopping them from doing so, especially when they face Arsenal.
October 29th, 2006 at 7:13 am
The type of football Everton played yesterday was gutsy and determined. However, that seems to be how most of the Premier League is described these days. The art of playing attacking football based on a solid defence is dying.
I believe that is why average attendances are falling at English grounds and why the England national team put in such negative performances.
Let us not forget that Everton were in 6th place at the start of the games yesterday and only a point behind Arsenal, so they weren't exactly fighting for survival.
If the English media don't stop lauding football that is purely based around stopping the opposition play without adding any craft or guile to going forward, English football is on a slippery slope.
October 29th, 2006 at 7:28 am
Some say it’s up to Arsenal to get it right when they play the Evertons, Boltons, Blackburns - teams that fight more than they entertain - and maybe we should be more “British” in makeup and approach. OK, if we want to go backwards. Not long ago, we put 7 past practically the same Everton. This time they got their early goal and just sat back. Brilliant stuff Moyes. Keep it up. Maybe now some posters on this site will understand I when I say (most EPL) teams are afraid to play us.
October 29th, 2006 at 8:05 am
First of all…
Didn’t your Parents tell you there’d be days like this?
We threw everything at them … 29 shots? and the complaint used to be that we don’t shoot enough!?! Maybe we should have tried to walk the ball into the net. This stuff happens. Keepers have hot matches… and there are days when you just don’t get the bounces or luck you need. Its really that simple. We drew… its not the end of the world. We aren’t going to win ALL the games. Did some of you think it was just going to be WWWWWWWWWWWWW win after win?
2nd of all… can we stop the moaning about how Everton (and other teams) played us? They put everybody behind the ball?? Is that against the rules? Lats time I checked it wasn’t. We beat them 7-0 NOT TO LONG AGO. We just beat Reading 4-0. So, you want Everton to come to our house and just open up the play and have a go??? What are you stoopid?!
After they scored, they SHOULD have done exactly what they did… try and frustrate us. It almost backfired. We had like 65% of possession and 29 shots at goal.
1-1. Its not the end of the world… so please get over it. Its not the end of civilization and the rules shouldn’t be changed and other teams shouldn’t be slated because they come to frustrate us. At the end of the day, they are trying to get POINT(s) on the road. Its a long season, and a point at Arsenal is BIG for a team like Everton. If you don’t get that, you haven’t been paying attention.
We dominated and didn’t win. Its happened before, it will happen again.
We aren’t shy of shooting the ball any more… and we didn’t lose. Its a LONG season… this is just one of those games. Lets keep the bus moving forward.
Finally… an old American football adage… you are never as good or as bad as your last game… So, don’t look at United and a 4-0 win and think… they are going to win the league!!!! They are awesome. And… don’t look at us and base your opinion on a 1-1 draw at home. They’ll have their days when they dominate and don’t win… and Chelsea will too. Its a looooooooong race… and right now, we’re still in it.
October 29th, 2006 at 8:24 am
Thanks for the wisdom.
October 29th, 2006 at 8:37 am
The EPL is considered the BEST leauge to watch by far.
We don’t need to change the rules because you don’t like Everton playing for a point.
Sorry.
October 29th, 2006 at 8:52 am
while i agree with your above comments….but surely the EPL is not considered the best league to WATCH. its the most successfull league financially, but certainly not the best to watch, even the ENGLISH say this.
October 29th, 2006 at 9:01 am
as long as we stay withing 8 or 9 points from the leaders i think we are a bit OK. right now we are 7 behind with a game in hand. so we are definitely still in the race. besides we still have to play chelsea and liverpool twice and Man U has to come to the emirates. so we are not really in a bad position.
now, we NEED to win our next two PL games. we must batter westham and collect all 3 points from liverpool. we need 6 points from our next two games.
ps: RvP played a BLINDER yesterday, i?ve never really been a huge fan of him…but now i think he will be crucial for us in games when we are a goal down with the clock ticking.
in the last one year, i can remember us winning only one match after first going behind. and it was RvP who did it. now he must find some consistency.
October 29th, 2006 at 9:03 am
Only saw highlights. Like a lot of other games this season where the other team scored first at the Emirates - we fought back well. As I have pointed out before this is an improvement on last season where we lost a heap of games (often only 1-0) when we conceded the first goal.
Not too disheartened by the result when performance appeared good. Wednesday is a bigger game in many ways. Yesterday would not have put us in a great position in the league but a win on Wednesday would put us on the brink of qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League.
Good to see Henry let someone else take a free-kick and realise that others can score them too. On another day we could have had three penalties and they could have had several red cards (leaving the foot in on Gallas in particular) but that is the way defending teams and stupid referees play the game. You can’t complain too much, you just have to get on with it.
October 29th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
Danny:
I agree with everything you wrote. Even before the game, I had read somewhere about Cahill and his ability to head well on set pieces so it’s hard to imagine that the Arsenal brain trust was well aware of this risk. In addition, I am frequently disappointed with Wenger’s post-match comments when Arsenal loses or attains unsatisfactory results. Part of me would like to think that he’s just posturing to maintain the team’s confidence and he knows better. That’s why I also don’t take seriously his announcement that there won’t be any mid-season purchases. I think that comment is for public consumption and if he see a player he wants at a reasonable price, he’ll go out and get him even if it’s in January. Finally, while you didn’t expressly write this in your posting, I also think Chelsea and even ManU would have won this game because each has the ability to win the grind-’em out ugly names that occasionally happen when you play the Boltons and Evertons of the EPL. However, it feels to me that this team is going that ability in time.
October 29th, 2006 at 12:12 pm
Cahill should have been tracked by a midfielder. The defenders will either man mark or zonally defend opposition players that are in the box. But players like Cahill that make late runs and attack the ball from outside of the box need to be tracked by a midfielder, or a a player whose starting position is similar to theirs.
If you think about it logically, a defender who is in the box cannot effectively counter an attacking midfielder like Cahill, because Cahill is attacking the ball from distance and gaining momentum as he comes into the box, whereas the defender is mostly stationary. It is the same with John Terry, he is also a player who runs into the box very late and attacks the ball, you really need a midfielder to go with him - because you cannot take a defender out of the box to man mark Terry as they need to use their experience to defend against dangerous attacking players.
October 29th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
Apparently it was measured that Arsenal had 91% possession in the second half, which is a new Premiership record.
October 29th, 2006 at 4:22 pm
Surely that depends on who’s watching and what he values as entertaining football.
October 29th, 2006 at 6:19 pm
It depends on whether you’re a football purist. If you enjoy technical football, played at pace and with passion - then Spanish football is the most entertaining in Europe. British football is entertaining more often for what happens off the ball than on it. Bolton is a good example, I was watching them the other day, and technically they’re one of the worst teams in Europe, but with players like Nolan, Djouf, Davies, Anelka and Campo - some for of entertainment is always lurking, and it’s rarely anything to do with football.
October 29th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
Did you watch the whole game? The general consensus from people I know who went is that Van Persie was very poor - especially in the first half. He might have scored an important goal, but he needs to play a lot more consistently throughout games instead of just disappearing for long periods.
October 29th, 2006 at 7:26 pm
Here in Boston, we have a large ethnic mix… football supporters from all over. I work with Portuguese and Germans… I am of Italian decent… whether they support Sporting Lisbon, Bayern Munich, or AC Milan… they ALL love watching the EPL. They enjoy watching English football more than their own leagues. I can’t speak for Spain, I don’t know any Spanish folks… but I’d have to say the concensus of people I know and have met from other countries is that the English league is the BEST to watch… and Arsenal are who they appreciate as far as style and entertainment. (even the Portuguese who love Mourinho… say Arsenal are better to watch).
No question for me… I prefer the EPL to other leagues, and I watch most of them… France, Italy, Spain & Germany. They are ALL on GOL TV and Fox.
October 30th, 2006 at 2:11 am
That keeper was a clown. He didn’t even look for the ball but tried to guess where it would be. As a keeper you need to see the flight of the ball. There is no way that should have finished. Also that penalty miss was a joke.
October 30th, 2006 at 2:17 am
Kolo simply misjudged the flight of the ball. He tried to attack the ball but didn’t have the height in his leap to clear the ball and it sailed slightly over his head. Djourou would have cleared that one as that’s one thing he’s definitely good at.
October 30th, 2006 at 2:48 am
Don’t forget about Gilberto getting kicked in the face in the box. If he were kicked in the leg it would have been a penalty. But he gets kicked in the face and there’s nothing? Go figure.
October 30th, 2006 at 2:53 am
RvP was probably our best player in this game. Not just that he scored the goal but his movement, his link-up, and his service was of the highest order. I know many were bashing him for his performance last week but this guy can play. He’s got a bit of arrogance to him but who cares when you’ve got a guy who can win a game for you every game? Believe it or not, he’s getting better with time. He’s got four league goals on the season; just one behind Henry. Like yesterday, we’ve needed his goals.
I’ve been watching him since he was seventeen and even at that young age he’s shown supreme confidence in his ability. There’s only a few players world wide that even have the audacity to try the shot he did against Charlton. Rivaldo is one. He and Rivaldo are so similar; their height, in their build, they’re both lefties, and they’re both arrogant SOB’s. Everyone can’t be Ljunberg or Kolo as you’ve got to have some flair. van Persie has it in abundance and I’m thrilled to have a potential World Player of the Year in our team instead of at Barcelona (don’t be surprised if they bid for him soon).
Wenger and van Basten stick with him and so will I. Keep “doin’ yo’ thang”, RvP.
October 30th, 2006 at 4:10 am
With Hoyte injured, it wouldn’t be surprising if AW plays four centre backs in the next game - Toure, Djourou, Senderos and Gallas. It may not be a bad idea.
October 30th, 2006 at 6:07 am
The heart of the problem -
“In the three 1-1 draws, Arsenal have taken 49 corners and conceded four. The score: 0-2.”
October 30th, 2006 at 6:17 am
well, i watched the ENTIRE game, and he was still our best player. in the first half he was on the wings and didnt see the ball much… but in the second he was terrific. and overall he was our man of the match. RvP is ideal when we are in desperate need of a goal.
October 30th, 2006 at 7:59 am
I’ve no problem with the boring way Everton stole a point, but they are timewasting c?nts of the highest order.
October 30th, 2006 at 9:16 am
When a team come and flood the midfield we need some natural width.
With Eboue out we look unbalanced, and I would question if it may be better to move Van Persie to the right, so he can start wide and cut inside on to his left foot.
You then have a hole on the left wing. Perhaps Clichy could fill this, if he does not make it as a LB or Traore as per the Carling Cup.
For the Aliadere fans out there (STAG) could he play down the left wing? Can he get back enough and cover the full back?
How about Walcott he has come on and played here and seemed to make an impact.
AW has been saying that Fabgreas is due a rest, for about two or three weeks, so I am guessing we will see Rosicky and Gilberto in the middle, perhaps Denilson might get a game.
I was interested to read that Stokes who is on loan in Scotland is not on a year’s loan, he has been knocking in the goals, and was a useful winger for the reserves last season.
Perhaps those who called for Ribery have some justification.
October 30th, 2006 at 11:06 am
I was at the game and RVP was pretty poor as it goes - only Thierry was maddeningly worse. Good free-kick, but RVP is still playing by himself in this team. If Adebayor had been fit Van Persie would have been subbed.
October 30th, 2006 at 11:21 am
RVP was nothing like our best player. He was more like second worst to Thierry. Rosicky was great. But that’s only one game. I fully agree that RVP has great potential - he plays mostly from the right for Holland and seems more comfortable there - and he is a good player. To become a great player, he’s going to have to learn how to play with his team mates…he spoke last season of how he had learnt from Pires when to lay it off, etc…he’s gone backwards from there, but there’s no reason he shouldn’t take huge strides forward if he can sort out his football intelligence.
October 30th, 2006 at 11:39 am
damn right…god alone knows why riley did not manage to book Howard on the 7 or eight occasions he took over a minute to take a goal kick
October 30th, 2006 at 11:45 am
Fabregas won’t get a break until Baptista is back from injury and we have played Liverpool and Chelsea.
Having Clichy back at LB will offer width (just as having Eboue on the right does) regardless of who is playing LM - as I recall Ljungberg is not bad in that role. Like the idea of Walcott on the left as an Overmars clone!
October 30th, 2006 at 5:55 pm
If you defend well and fight hard you can qualify for Europe. Everton, Bolton and Blackburn have proved this. You shouldn’t win the league though - but Chelsea have proved that wrong. If you play pretty football, it has to be at Arsenal’s level if you want to win anything. Even then, you can be outfought by players on a technical level below yours.
October 30th, 2006 at 7:25 pm
The left side is certainly becoming a problem. Although Van Persie is left footed it’s obvious that he doesn’t like playing there and you’re not going to get the best out of him in that position.
Rosicky prefers to play more centrally, he is not like Pires. But it’s telling that Wenger thinks Rosicky is so ineffective on the left wing that he’s prepared to move Van Persie across rather than stick with Rosicky there.
Unfortunately, because Wenger got rid of Pires and Reyes there is nobody that is really effective on the left wing now - although you could argue that Reyes wasn’t effective there anyway.
Clichy could be tried there in a Carling Cup game with Traore behind him - but we’ve yet to find out if Clichy has the talent to play as a left winger, or indeed the mentality to even be a first team regular, he was dreadful against WBA in the Carling Cup - but the lad needs games.
Left side is a problem this season - whereas for so long it was the right side that was a problem - typical huh?
October 31st, 2006 at 12:31 am
Like someone joked on a football website - the keeper guessed that like any typical Lampard shot, it would be deflected and hence dived to the right; imagine his shock when it went straight.
October 31st, 2006 at 12:40 am
Two (non-obvious?) options for the left side are
- Switch Hleb and RvP. RvP is comfortable on the right. Hleb has adjusted to the winger role (better than Rosicky) and is good enough to play on the left. It will disrupt the Hleb-Eboue partnership, but it’s worth a try. This is my favourite option.
- Use Henry on the left wing and Ade/Baptista up front. This is not a full time solution but could work well in games like Everton where Henry is anyway not doing much as the principal striker. No role for RvP here.
I am not a fan of Clichy as a left winger. Maybe Aliadiere.
October 31st, 2006 at 12:44 am
The call for Ribery is justified mainly because of the lack of a true winger in the side. Hleb, Ljunberg, Rosicky, RvP, Walcott, etc., none of them are true wingers. As the season progresses, we’ll know more about how much the lack of true width is really hurting us. AW will make a decision based on that.
October 31st, 2006 at 4:59 am
One telling statistic -
We have not conceded a goal in the league after scoring first.