A wise man once said that we should not worry about things we can’t control. While this advice may be useful in one’s day to day life, it is at odds with a soccer fan’s life. Because being a soccer fan means precisely worrying about things one can’t control. Some soccer fans inside a stadium may lay claim to cause a ref to make an incorrect decision or even influence a player to react, but fans watching the game remotely are helpless in forging their team’s outcomes.
This helplessness only magnifies the frustration when things don’t go in the team’s favor. Different fans have their own ways of coping with their team’s results. If one sets expectations really low, then anything the team does above that is bound to be something to cheer on; if the team performs poorly, then the poor performance fits in with the low expectations. On the other hand, if one has high hopes for a team and things don’t go as per plan, then the disappointment is a bit too much.
Ofcourse, expectations sometimes change course from pre-season to end of season. I remember a few years ago West Ham had done quite well in the league and finished in 7th place. The fan’s expectations for the next season were that the team would do better. But during the next season, West Ham spent most of their time in the bottom half and flirting with relegation. The fan’s expectations which before the season’s start were around the team breaking the top 5 were now content with the team just surviving in the league. In the end, I think West Ham did get relegated.
Judging a Team:
Despite the disappointment of the last few games, I still managed to have hope for the team everytime I saw the players line-up before their next game. As the camera moved from player to player, I was positive given the technical ability of the players. Most of the Arsenal team is capable of playing extremely well but technical abilities alone are not enough to win games. Mental strength is required as well and this is something one can only judge during the course of a game. What a player does in a game and also what a player does not do both provide a hint into the player’s mental framework. The camera in a game is centered around the ball and one can’t always get a feel for off the camera behaviour like why a certain player didn’t make the appropriate run. But if a technically capable player is making simple errors, then one would have to point towards the player’s mental ability.
I have not seen the movie Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait but I think the film’s idea is great where multiple cameras focus on Zidane during Madrid’s Liga game against Villareal. In this way, one can truly study Zidane and assess how he thinks, etc. I think there are some Arsenal players both from the current team and the past few years who would be good candidates for such an experiment. I think the last few games might be good case studies to truly observe some of these Arsenal players as plenty of them have not performed to their ability and a big part of that would have to do with their mental state. Mentally, the team is in bad state and not up to coping with things. What the team really needs is for someone to take responsibility and lift them. Sort of like what Henry did with that solo goal against Liverpool in 2004. The team’s current situation is in keeping with some of the comments made after Henry left. Henry felt that there was too much responsibility on his shoulders and that others were not doing enough; the players always looked towards Henry and gave him the ball, hoping he would take care of the rest. Ofcourse, most times Henry did want the ball at his feet but the team always looked for him. So when this season started, the team knew Henry was no longer there and stepped up. The different goal-scorers early on showed the confidence different players had; each tried to take a chunk of responsibility. But unfortunately, the Eduardo injury might have changed that. Suddenly, all the technical weakness of the team were exposed and to make matters worse, mentally there was no strength to perform the regular tasks.
For once I was hoping that the international break might be good for someone like Gallas. This break would have given him a chance to meet up with his old Arsenal team-mates and talk things out. But since both the ex-Arsenal captains Henry and Vieira are injured, Gallas won’t get a chance to talk things through. He is capable of lifting this team but unfortunately, his recent displays have not been that convincing either. Also, between Gallas, Sagna, Cesc and even Flamini, there is enough mental strength to kick-start the team. Sagna’s goal appeared to provide the perfect tonic but unfortunately, it was only a temporary revival.
No more gifts:
Arsenal have given their opponents enough gifts over the past few weeks, especially Man Utd. Now Man Utd are a team that get enough help from officials as is thanks to Ferguson’s mouth and they certainly don’t need a helping hand from Arsenal. Man Utd certainly won’t give Arsenal any favours. Heck, they could not even provide a decent pitch to play on during the F.A Cup tie. Chelsea also won’t be doing Arsenal any favours. They can’t even do the simple task of returning the ball back sportingly. Arseblog.com described the incident quite well yesterday in how the ball that Eboue put out was sent to the far corner by Terry. Such is the mentality of Chelsea and Terry that he sought to find advantage from a situation where there wasn’t one.
Arsenal have also given a helping hand to the teams at the bottom end recently. And on Sat, they come across a team that have not been kind to them in recent years.
It ain’t over till it’s over…
For some reason Sunday’s defeat feels worse than the 3-2 home defeat to Leeds which mathematically ended Arsenal’s title hopes and gifted Man Utd the title (argh..another gift). But currently, there are still 7 games to play for. From Arsenal’s perspective, they should still try to win all those games and not make it easy for Man Utd. Because if Arsenal lie down then Man Utd’s task will be much easier and they might even start resting players for their Champs league games. Arsenal should still keep plugging away and take heart from some examples in Europe. A month ago, Real Madrid were declared un-touchable. Then they lost two games in a row, and suddenly Barca were within 2 points. However, Barca threw away that advantage to lose their next two games and fell back by 8 points. But somehow, Madrid lost two more games again and Barca are now within 4 points. If Barca had not lost two games and tied another, then they might have been top. The Italian Serie A title was declared won by Inter a few months ago. But Roma hung in there and after Inter’s defeat to Juventus, Roma find themselves 4 points back.
For Arsenal, there is also the matter of the Champs League Quarter-finals as well. Still a lot to play for. At this stage, the team can only take one game at a time. First, they have to win their next game. Only after that, worry about their next opponent.
And finally….
Hleb’s magic food?:
Hleb’s last good game was in Milan. Now it is has emerged that he went for “ice cream” the night before. Maybe just like Popeye gets his strength from spinach, Italian gelato probably helps Hleb? If so, someone should take him to the plenty of Italian Gelato places around London.
Also, it is a good thing that Arsenal are not playing Roma in the Champs league. Because there are some excellent Gelato places in Rome. I fear that once Hleb tastes that Roman Gelato, he might not want to get back on the plane back towards London.
