A Tale of Two Players

Normally, I do not feel much ill will towards departed players. The exceptions are the players who choose to talk negatively about our club excessively. In my mind, the only player who has left a sour taste in my mouth is Ashley Cole. I don't need to go into why that is, it's plainly obvious to any Arsenal fan.

With Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure, I feel no ill will.

Sure, Adebayor has made some comments about our fan base. Some of his points are valid, but what he fails to see is that he played a role in his own demise. If he had never flirted so openly with AC Milan, he would still be an Arsenal player today. That flirtation led to a very noticeable lack of effort in a few matches last year. I am in no position to make a declarative statement about the affair, but methinks that the rumblings were very real and that we were close to selling him last summer. Such a scenario can often cause a player's form to drop.

That being said, even last season, he delivered a few moments that were unforgettable, forever etched into Arsenal history. His Villarreal goal remains a stunning piece of skill that virtually led us to the Champions League semi-finals. His efforts against Manchester United in the semis go largely derided, but I find those claims to be largely baseless. It is not necessarily the apparent work rate that is important as opposed to the intelligent work rate. Yes, he did not run around like a chicken with its head cut off, but he didn't simply give up on the pitch as some would imply.

In the end, we got 25 million pounds for a striker who no longer felt that he was a part of the Arsenal community. Make no mistake about it, he was sold by Wenger. The fact that the deal extended a few days longer is strictly down to the fact that Adebayor was going from a world class club to a world class wannabe. Adebayor may continue to talk about our fan base, but as long as he doesn't slander our actual club, I'm okay with it. I will remember his goals and his fun celebrations.

Perhaps Kolo Toure needed a new challenge. His transfer request may have indicated that. The money offered by Manchester City is another possible answer. When I typed the name Kolo Toure, it felt foreign to me, as though I had never seen that particular combination of letters before. It has only been a few weeks since his departure, and in a way, I've gotten over it. That is not to underestimate my love for this man. I owned a Kolo Toure shirt, and if he was made captain, I would have praised the choice. But now, he is the captain of Manchester City.

When Kolo contracted malaria in Africa, he came back a different player. Lacking a quarter step and appearing overweight, he was becoming an older version of Mathieu Flamini, effort disguising a slight lack of quality. It is what it is, and again it was a decision by Wenger to sell him on.

Was the sales of Adebayor and Toure an attempt to dissolve an unruly clique in the locker room? Maybe. Was it to prevent a disruption during the African Cup of Nations? Perhaps.

All we know is that, today, they look like this:

And when they take the pitch against us this Saturday as Manchester City players, I will give both of them a round of applause before the game. After the kickoff, they will revert back to what they are, Manchester City players. I will not boo either of them, unless they put in a reckless challenge on one of our players.

Understandably, Manchester City fans have taken to both Adebayor and Toure. They love Adebayor's work rate and goals (he's scored in every match). They love Toure's aggression, intelligence, and never say die attitude. The truth is, they're experiencing world class players who have given it their all for the first time in quite a while; Robinho takes games off from time to time, and Ireland is just short of world class at the moment (although he's quite a good player). That feeling is exhilarating. And amongst the two, they should look forward to Adebayor. Everybody knows that Toure's career is on the wane, but Adebayor's star may rise and rise. With the contract he so desires, he is set up to go far. And what a surprise, his work rate is back to old levels, although that is due less to footballing reasons as much as it is for image reasons.

They were once our brothers, now they're just strangers. Football can be like that. Just don't be surprised if they say that Arsenal was the club of their hearts when they retire. Arsenal is like that.

White Nectarines & White Peaches - Great Expectations

You're probably wondering what white nectarines and what white peaches have to do with eighteen86. I don't blame you. There is a simple one word answer to your question.

Expectation!

For four months a year I can purchase white nectarines and white peaches at all major supermarkets. I love white nectarines. I love white peaches. I love them so much that as we near the end of summer and produce departments have very few to none left, I find myself nearly in a state of depression.

Yes, it's that serious. White nectarines and white peaches are my crack. I'm down to my last three. It's dire!

I expect all supermarkets to have them in abundance. So when I couldn't find them recently, I realized I was going through something akin to what the post-Invincibles Arsenal fan with very little or no patience goes through. He has expectations that Wenger's policies seem to fall short of meeting while the supermarkets certainly haven't helped my addiction lately.

Expectations may vary from reasonable to 'no chance'. I expected at least one supermarket to still have my summer fruit of choice. That was a reasonable expectation. We're still within the four month window.

I expected Brazil to beat Argentina. That was a reasonable expectation. Argentina are in poor form, Dunga has got the team he's wanted and they are playing well.

I expected Luis Fabiano to score. That was a reasonable expectation. He is very under-rated.

I expected at least one controversial penalty to be awarded from the slew of matches played this weekend. That was a reasonable expectation. In many cases, very hotly contested FIFA World Cup Final tournament places were at stake.

I expected at least one English pundit to come out and say that it's not just "foreigners" who try to win penalties. It happens throughout the game, no matter your nationality. That was not a reasonable expectation. It falls under the 'no chance' heading.

After John Terry and Wayne Rooney made a mockery of honesty this week, I was actually naive enough to think for a moment that at least one media personality or one ex-pro or one active pro or someone's grandmother or someone's accountant, ANYONE would call them out. I was equally naive to expect better from xenophobic hypocrites who can't get past Eduardo long enough to make an attempt at being objective.

No chance!

As far as the Argentina vs. Brazil game goes, Luis Fabiano is an excellent player who doesn't get the recognition he deserves. He made the best of fantastic work by Kaka as Brazil embarrassed Argentina. The third Brazilian goal (Fabiano's second) was made possible by a perfectly timed, perfectly weighted ball from the ex-Milan attacker. He waited for Fabiano's run before delivering a perfect pass that the in-form striker finished expertly. The Argentine defenders won't want to see those two any time soon.

Diego Maradona was arguably the greatest footballer in history - Pele for me but that's a different topic. Diego's managerial skills don't match his on-field greatness. He is a pebble in a sea of pearls when it comes to great managers. Why, with the partnership of Luisao and Lucio dealing expertly with every aerial threat, did Maradona bring on little Aguerro at half-time? I ask this because leading up to the match there was a great deal made about Maradona's recall of Boca's prolific striker Martin Palermo. A man known for his ability to get on the end of crosses. Somehow between the recall and the match itself, Palermo was dumped. He didn't even make the bench.

And a word for Gilberto Silva. He helped clog the middle to stop Argentine attacks when they weren't testing Luisao and Lucio in the air. I don't think Argentina even won a free kick in a threatening position near the Brazilian goal.

It was a massive win for Brazil and a terrific team performance. They met my expectations. I should have expected the English media to turn a blind eye to Rooney's actions vs. Slovenia.

I really should have expected that.

Rooney = Diver/Cheat

John Terry said that England players don't dive. Well John, that's like saying that your mum and mother-in-law never steal. The fat balding hog above has now dived twice in a week. First against Arsenal at Old Twatford, and again today for England against Slovenia - in a game that was a friendly match!

Of course Rooney has history of diving, but nothing is said by anyone because he's the best player that England and Manchester United have right now.

I bet you my penis that Eduardo gets booed by the English fans every time he touches the ball on Wednesday. Of course the commentators and pundits will bring up Eduardo's diving ban before, during and after the game. They could bring up that Russian cargo ship that went missing instead - exactly it's that fucking boring.

Scott Brown is another cunt. Earlier today, Scotland beat Macedonia 2-0 to save what little chance they had of qualifying for the World Cup. During the 1st half of that game, the ball was played out by Macedonia so that one of their players could get some treatment. However, instead of giving the ball back to Macedonia, Scott Brown whacked it against a Macedonia defender and won a corner. The Macedonians were absolutely furious. Scott Brown then scored the opening goal for Scotland as you can see below:

That ugly clogger Darren Fletcher is right behind the hypocrite Mr. Brown, celebrating a goal against a country that is the poorest in Europe bar Albania. Many Gooners, however, will remember Scott Brown in the picture below - confronting Eduardo by attempting to butt his head after the Croatian dived to win a penalty:


British football is full of hypocritical, jingoist, conceited, wankers. As a Brit, living in Colorado, I am embarrassed by the actions of the Scottish FA, Wayne Rooney and Scott Brown.

Scum

Keep it Arsenal

Hypocrisy

I will never forget how upset I felt when first viewing the image above. Roughly a month after Eduardo's disgusting injury, the Independent felt the need to do a piece on Martin Taylor. Along with their article, they posted three pictures. Looking at the image above, all that's missing from it is a halo around his head.

See, the English press wrote about how unfair it was to Eduardo that he suffered such a cruel injury because of an unfortunate accident. That point was battered home by the English journalists. British managers stuck up for him too. Naturally, Alex McLeish defended his player. Steve Bruce, having managed Birmingham a year before, stuck up for him as well. Coincidentally (or not), neither McLeish nor Bruce have acquired any Arsenal reserve players on loan since these comments.

I don't mean to stir the pot over this incident. I'm merely trying to point out how much positive press was spun out in Martin Taylor's favor, precisely the opposite in Eduardo's penalty claim case. Now, it hasn't been completely one-sided, but everyone assumes that it was a dive now.

The word "dive" is immediately connected with the word "cheat" for many Englishmen. John Terry himself today said that English players are "too honest," while suggesting that they should try to "win" more penalties by going to ground when they feel contact. What exactly is he trying to say? Is he trying to also suggest that Didier Drogba is a bigger cheat than Steven Gerrard? Because he's not. Drogba anticipates contact and goes down, while Gerrard oftentimes runs side by side with a player and collapses in a heap dramatically.

How can UEFA justify giving Eduardo six yellow cards retroactively when he would have earned a yellow card at worst had the referee thought it was a dive? How can UEFA ban Eduardo using video evidence when they claim that they will NOT be using video evidence in the future because they feel it may undermine referees? How can UEFA undermine their own referee when the referee himself said he stands by his decision? How can UEFA not ban Ashley Young for diving in a Europa League match the very next night? How can UEFA fax us a copy of the charge to our Ladies office?

None of it makes any sense.

And for that, there's the other obvious point. Martin Taylor was suspended for three games for his offense on Eduardo. Media pundits like Stan Collymore has called for an eight match ban for Eduardo for diving and a five match touchline ban for Arsene Wenger for defending Eduardo. In almost every other sport, the idea of diving or flopping is greeted with a personal foul. In almost every other sport, an offense like the one Martin Taylor committed calls for a serious hefty ban.

The label of "cheat" will be attached to Eduardo for the rest of his playing career by some. This last week, Zat Knight and Gary Cahill both verbally assaulted Torres because they believed he dived. That's just as bad for kids to view than a striker winning a penalty. The very real possibility exists that defenders will now hack Eduardo even more fiercely because they suspect that he's a cheat. Now, just how wrong is that considering the man already lost 18 months of his professional career due to a malicious tackle that was viewed as an "accident"?

Democracy and Fairness

You probably couldn't give a a fuck about the Russian cargo ship that was apparently hijacked back in July. That's assuming that you knew of the story.

Well, back in July a 4,000 tonne Russian cargo ship carrying timber worth $1.8 million vanished days after leaving Finland. It's destination was the Algerian port of Bejaia. It went missing in one of Europe's most busiest shipping lanes in the Arctic Sea. Not the type of area that you would associate hijackers or Somali pirates with. And why would someone want to steal a bunch of timber when there are more valuable cargo ships out there?

Now the editor of a leading online maritime journal claims that the Russian cargo ship was in fact carrying illegal weapons. Eight hijackers from Estonia were arrested - a country not famed for hijackers or pirates. Rumors circulate that the cargo ship was in fact intercepted by Mossad - Israel's foreign intelligence service - in order to stop a shipment of illegal arms to the Middle East.

Who knows what the truth is.

Just like FIFA's decision to punish Chelsea for inducing Gael Kakuta to break his contract with Racing Club Lens. Other top European clubs have been doing this for years but so far only FC Sion, Roma and now Chelsea have been charged.

Why has Eduardo been charged for diving when players like Ronaldo and Rooney dive every week?

To be frank, who gives a fuck. FIFA and UEFA are just as complex and corrupt as Putin's Russia. We will never know the truth about what lies behind their decion making.

Democracy and fairness are not a FIFA words.

Now what?

The transfer window has closed. We have not bought any new players. Many fans are disappointed. Many fans feel let down. Many fans have lost faith, again.

I have been told more than once that I am a Wenger apologist. I have been told that I fail to see the folly in the man’s ways. I have been told to take off my “Arsenal tainted specs”.

Such is the effect of my adulation for our great manager that it grates the nerves of foe, neutral, and fan alike.

The reality is that my reverence for Arsene Wenger is not a deterrent to logical, fair judgment. I was a shyt player but I’ve played with and against some very good players. I watched, listened, and learned from them so I do have a modicum football knowledge. My football education hasn’t been Ivy League but I humbly say that I can at least hold a discussion about the game.

That Arsene has chosen not to or maybe he was just unable to sign new players does not lessen my belief in this group. It certainly doesn’t suddenly make me a non-believer. Wenger has said repeatedly that he trusts his players. He has stated that he believes they can win. Can they? Is Eboue good enough to wear the Arsenal shirt? Is Manuel Almunia trustworthy? Are Denilson, Alex Song, and Abou Diaby good enough to match Gerrard or Lampard and Co.?

These are the questions on the minds of non-believers.

Wenger has also said that ‘in this job’ you cannot let yourself believe that you are what you hear from outside sources. You must believe in yourself and what you can achieve. But of course you have to be good enough. That is what really matters.

If you put my head in a guillotine and asked me whether or not we’re good enough to win the league as presently constituted, I’d say yes. I am convinced that we have enough goals in us to win. In midfield and in the offensive third, we can match or outplay any team in England. What I am not convinced of is if our central defence has enough depth – Johan Djourou is quietly as sick note as almost any other Arsenal player. I would prefer another full year of development for him with a top level CB brought in to solidify depth in that area.

What I am not convinced of is if Manuel Almunia can win us games when it really matters.

I am not saying this to win points with The Negatives but Arsene is guilty of neglecting defence in general. I understand that his philosophy is closer to ‘you score 3 and we’ll score four’ than it is to the George Graham model but I would love to see a world class keeper behind no nonsense world class defenders.

To win the league, we’ll have to do it scoring goals as opposed to defending them. That’s probably how Wenger really wants it.

Note: As already stated, Almunia did attempt to communicate with Diaby on Giggs’s cross Saturday.

Arsenal's Number One

It was during the tail end of the 07-08 season, and Manuel had virtually won over nearly all of the Arsenal fans. That year, Jens let a ball slip through his hands during a hard contested battle at Ewood Park. As a result, we dropped two points in a match we should have won and Jens lost his title as the Arsenal number one. After that, we ran off a string of victories and the switch was made permanent.

The players liked him. He was nicer than Jens, and he seemed stable. We experienced a breakthrough season that year, and Manuel was one of the players who experienced a positive re-write in terms of what people perceived him to be, mainly a Wenger experiment who was nowhere near becoming Spain's number one goalkeeper.

He did perform solidly throughout that year, making big penalty saves and showing his great shot stopping ability. I thought he had established a firm foundation upon which he could elevate himself to be a truly good number one.

During a crucial late match at Chelsea, we took the lead courtesy of Bacary Sagna's first goal for our club. A few minutes later, I overheard a remark from a frequenter at the pub. "You know, I feel safe with Manuel Almunia." I understood what he meant, but I couldn't concur just yet. As if tempting fate, Manuel did make critical errors in that game. He rushed a throw that directly led to the feet of a Chelsea player and they scored soon after.

Fast forward to last year's Champions League tie against Roma. Eduardo stepped up to the penalty spot to kick the first penalty. He missed. What did our brilliant young players do? They stepped up with no fear and buried penalty after penalty. What was Almunia doing? He looked as if he was puking on the side. He didn't even look at our players taking penalties, and he looked completely fazed by the moment. He was our oldest player on the pitch. The fact that we won has more to do with Roma's Tonetto skying a kick than Almunia impacting it in any way. Both keepers were rubbish in that penalty showdown.

Later that year, he had a brilliant performance against Manchester United at Old Trafford which kept us in the Champions League tie. A week later, he capitulated. Yes, Kieran Gibbs slipped, but Manuel didn't rush Park Ji-Sung until after a moment of indecision. Then, he let in a 35 meter free kick from Cristiano Ronaldo that really should have been saved.

Almunia seems to perform well when the pressure is off him. When he's expected to do well, he rarely does. A brilliant shot stopper, but not a capable leader.

On Saturday, he looked nervous and tentative. He did not come out to claim crosses when he should. He let his defenders head the ball around like a ping pong when an easy catch was called for. Every ball that he did collect, he bobbled around in his hands. He gifted Rooney a penalty. I posted the pictures to prove that Eduardo did the same thing Rooney did. It was not to suggest that Rooney didn't deserve a penalty. It was partially to suggest that Boruc did a better job of covering himself than Almunia did. Almunia jumped out and extended his arms when some sound judgment would have allowed him to realize that there was no way Rooney would have been able to carve out a threat in that situation.

Yes, Abou Diaby committed an unthinkable error. But did Almunia yell at him that nobody was around Abou and he could have let it gone out for a goal kick? (Correction: Abou Diaby has admitted that Almunia did in fact tell him to let it go. I have no complaints on that now.) How often do you see Almunia actually yelling directions, as opposed to yelling to pump players up? There is a crucial difference between the two things.

Does he have the ability to become a world class goalkeeper? Yes, he does. He has supreme reflexes and is tall enough. Does he have the mentality to be a world class goalkeeper? I'm afraid that I remain unconvinced. At this point, I think Fabianski could supplant him with an extended run in the team (although he is injured, and he has a lot to learn as well). There were rumors that we were in for Robert Green last night before the transfer window closed.

Currently, Arsenal's number one isn't a world class goalkeeper. He's a bit like Jay-Z's new Blueprint 3 album. High expectations, some bright points here and there, but mostly a disappointment.