Which doesn’t belong and why?
A) Pascal Chimbonda
B) Michael Dawson
C) Harry Redknapp
D) Wade Elliot
E) They all belong
Top marks if you chose E. You could be forgiven if you picked D but they have all gone on record as being eager to face Arsenal.
I say be careful what you wish for.
I love playing Scum and if we get them in the cups, all the better. I didn’t see the home fixture this season. I was in the American Midwest. I was away from any football news – imagine how I felt receiving text updates of that match. Once I'd read the final text of the final score I nearly smashed my phone.
After seeing Portsmouth and Villa’s performances yesterday, I can hardly wait for kick off. A great man said this week, “Enough is enough.” I echo that. It’s time to put up a solid performance and remind the nay sayers, including the glass half empty Gooners, that we are The Arsenal.
I often get the feeling that some Gooners are afraid to play Scum. They are afraid we could lose. They are afraid we could be ambarassed. Ridiculous! It's time to put things right.
COME ON!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Be Thankful For What We're Not
Everybody likes to complain all the time about how much our team is struggling. It seems like a favorite pastime for everybody, as if none of these teams bothered supporting teams when they were rubbish.
I'm not going to lie. In my time of supporting Arsenal, they have always been a great club. It wasn't a bandwagon issue; I was trying to follow the careers of one Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira after the 1998 World Cup. That's how I chose this club, and if anybody is not satisfied with that, then that's on them. It never concerns me if somebody calls me a bandwagon fan, cause I know that's patently not true.
In my life, I'm sure I will experience a team without Arsene Wenger at the helm. That scares me a little bit, but it also means that he'll have left it on sound footing. His influence is such that it has permanently imprinted class onto the Arsenal brand name. That cannot be ignored, especially when there was a period of football where the SCUM were considered the great entertainers. By stealing their thunder, these SCUM fans are more bitter than ever. Their current pawn shop approach to football is laughable at best, but their supporters are even more laughable.
This club rarely produces any youngsters of note. Buys the wrong Southampton players (Walcott v. Bale), the wrong Ivory Coast international (Zokora, I bet we were never interested in the player, even though he says Wenger called him), the wrong managers consistently (they even sometimes get rid of half-decent ones), and the list goes on.
We are not the SCUM, and we have to be very thankful for that.
We do not buy players to plug into positions. We buy gifted footballers who can blend into our team.
We do not let our players hold us ransom and completely ruin the momentum of our squad.
We do not roll over and die.
We do not buy useless forwards.
We do not have a stadium located three miles from the nearest Tube station.
We do not have a betting company as our sponsor.
We are not the SCUM, and we have to be VERY thankful for that.
Victoria Concordia Crescit, never forget it.
I'm not going to lie. In my time of supporting Arsenal, they have always been a great club. It wasn't a bandwagon issue; I was trying to follow the careers of one Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira after the 1998 World Cup. That's how I chose this club, and if anybody is not satisfied with that, then that's on them. It never concerns me if somebody calls me a bandwagon fan, cause I know that's patently not true.
In my life, I'm sure I will experience a team without Arsene Wenger at the helm. That scares me a little bit, but it also means that he'll have left it on sound footing. His influence is such that it has permanently imprinted class onto the Arsenal brand name. That cannot be ignored, especially when there was a period of football where the SCUM were considered the great entertainers. By stealing their thunder, these SCUM fans are more bitter than ever. Their current pawn shop approach to football is laughable at best, but their supporters are even more laughable.
This club rarely produces any youngsters of note. Buys the wrong Southampton players (Walcott v. Bale), the wrong Ivory Coast international (Zokora, I bet we were never interested in the player, even though he says Wenger called him), the wrong managers consistently (they even sometimes get rid of half-decent ones), and the list goes on.
We are not the SCUM, and we have to be very thankful for that.
We do not buy players to plug into positions. We buy gifted footballers who can blend into our team.
We do not let our players hold us ransom and completely ruin the momentum of our squad.
We do not roll over and die.
We do not buy useless forwards.
We do not have a stadium located three miles from the nearest Tube station.
We do not have a betting company as our sponsor.
We are not the SCUM, and we have to be VERY thankful for that.
Victoria Concordia Crescit, never forget it.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
You Can Get What You Want
I stood outside the pub. It felt like the coldest day of my life. It really wasn't but my extremities would dispute the point. They have the final say. The front door was locked and my body ached and my head hurt. I just wanted to be inside. That's really all I wanted at that moment.
I was on the shaded side of the street. In a moment of sheer brilliance, I decided that the short walk to the opposite corner would provide the comfort of the sun's bright rays. I walked across. As I stood there with a good view of the front door, I noticed a couple approaching. I could see Arsenal tops under their winter gear - one even looked a bit foreign to me. "Do I have that shirt?" I wondered. I imagined myself inside the two large duffle bags I have that contain not just Arsenal tops but a number of other tops that I haven't worn in a long time, if ever at all. I struggled to remember when I got most of them. I saw the Nantes Atlantique top, the Spain top, the red Sunday league club top worn when I played for NSC. We (NSC) were actually a decent collection of players but we were mostly users of some drug or another at the time. We never really reached our potential. No surprise there. I comforted myself in knowing that I have MANY Arsenal tops that they’ve probably never seen. I drew mental picture after mental picture of some football top or another. I remembered the Hamburger Sport Verein top that was given to me by an ex teammate and good friend. I gave that shirt away. I still cannot figure why I did. I felt a rush of anger coming on so I moved on to the Nigeria top. It brought back fond memories of the 1994 FIFA World Cup Finals. Well, fond until Robbie Baggio brought the Flying Eagles crashing down to earth. Of course I rarely wore those tops even when they were new – I am Arsenal through and through - but they and many others in those two bags, helped me manage an exercise that could have ended abruptly and angrily. I still wish I had that Hamburg top. That’s really all I wanted at that moment.
By the time I came back from daydreaming about the precious contents of those two duffle bags, the couple had made it to the front door. There was a man standing in the doorway of the building abutting the pub. I walked over. I wasn’t cold any more. I just wanted to watch the match. That’s really all I wanted at that moment.
The couple were engaged in idle chatter with the man in the doorway. The topic turned to what caused our failure to win the league last season. Yawn! Never one to eavesdrop or interject or more importantly, to discuss things Arsenal with total strangers, I surprised myself when I did interject a key point at a key moment in the on-going conversation. My contribution was short but calculated, “We only needed four more goals last season.” Silence from the space that the male half of the couple occupied would have more than made up for the cold. He’d been talking too much crap about the team. Silence! That’s really all I wanted at that moment.
The man in the doorway asked me to explain. The male half of the couple shut his hole. “YES!” I thought. He too seemed interested in my explanation. I said, “Would it have been unfair to ask for four more timely goals last season?” Essentially, to say that four draws would have been victories if we’d scored when we really needed to. The male half of the couple had stopped his rant about how Gallas (yawn!) was guilty of murder at St. Andrew’s. His other half was just there as a sidekick. She just wore the shirt. I can’t imagine that it meant much to her. It is trendy to wear football tops. He then began complaining about the price of season tickets at The Emirates Stadium. He expressed how he was ready to give up his tickets. I looked at the time. There were five minutes until kick off. The door opened. I sat at the bar, ordered a Bloody Mary, asked for a menu, and focused on the match. We needed three points. That’s really all I wanted at that moment.
The couple were joined by three more individuals – a West Ham fan, and two of the most non-descript people I’ve ever seen. They could’ve been invisible if not for using their outdoor voice. I easily overheard them blabbering. One of them stated that he felt Arshaviin was over-priced at ₤15mil. I thought, “David Bentley cost ₤15mil – the man who cannot get into Spurs team and certainly can’t touch AA23.” Another shouted, “He did nothing against Spain.” I thought, “Wow! It took the European champions to stop him.”
We’ve signed a dynamic, versatile footballer who scores and creates chances for others when he isn’t scoring. The thought of any combination of RvP, Eduardo, Theo, Togo, and Bendtner teaming up with Cesc and Andrey gives me more hope that we will challenge for honours. I longed for the player who would allow us to not depend so much on Cesc. I wondered who that could be, how much it would cost, if he’d be willing to join us. Arshaviin kept coming to mind. I wanted the player. I got what I wanted.
I was on the shaded side of the street. In a moment of sheer brilliance, I decided that the short walk to the opposite corner would provide the comfort of the sun's bright rays. I walked across. As I stood there with a good view of the front door, I noticed a couple approaching. I could see Arsenal tops under their winter gear - one even looked a bit foreign to me. "Do I have that shirt?" I wondered. I imagined myself inside the two large duffle bags I have that contain not just Arsenal tops but a number of other tops that I haven't worn in a long time, if ever at all. I struggled to remember when I got most of them. I saw the Nantes Atlantique top, the Spain top, the red Sunday league club top worn when I played for NSC. We (NSC) were actually a decent collection of players but we were mostly users of some drug or another at the time. We never really reached our potential. No surprise there. I comforted myself in knowing that I have MANY Arsenal tops that they’ve probably never seen. I drew mental picture after mental picture of some football top or another. I remembered the Hamburger Sport Verein top that was given to me by an ex teammate and good friend. I gave that shirt away. I still cannot figure why I did. I felt a rush of anger coming on so I moved on to the Nigeria top. It brought back fond memories of the 1994 FIFA World Cup Finals. Well, fond until Robbie Baggio brought the Flying Eagles crashing down to earth. Of course I rarely wore those tops even when they were new – I am Arsenal through and through - but they and many others in those two bags, helped me manage an exercise that could have ended abruptly and angrily. I still wish I had that Hamburg top. That’s really all I wanted at that moment.
By the time I came back from daydreaming about the precious contents of those two duffle bags, the couple had made it to the front door. There was a man standing in the doorway of the building abutting the pub. I walked over. I wasn’t cold any more. I just wanted to watch the match. That’s really all I wanted at that moment.
The couple were engaged in idle chatter with the man in the doorway. The topic turned to what caused our failure to win the league last season. Yawn! Never one to eavesdrop or interject or more importantly, to discuss things Arsenal with total strangers, I surprised myself when I did interject a key point at a key moment in the on-going conversation. My contribution was short but calculated, “We only needed four more goals last season.” Silence from the space that the male half of the couple occupied would have more than made up for the cold. He’d been talking too much crap about the team. Silence! That’s really all I wanted at that moment.
The man in the doorway asked me to explain. The male half of the couple shut his hole. “YES!” I thought. He too seemed interested in my explanation. I said, “Would it have been unfair to ask for four more timely goals last season?” Essentially, to say that four draws would have been victories if we’d scored when we really needed to. The male half of the couple had stopped his rant about how Gallas (yawn!) was guilty of murder at St. Andrew’s. His other half was just there as a sidekick. She just wore the shirt. I can’t imagine that it meant much to her. It is trendy to wear football tops. He then began complaining about the price of season tickets at The Emirates Stadium. He expressed how he was ready to give up his tickets. I looked at the time. There were five minutes until kick off. The door opened. I sat at the bar, ordered a Bloody Mary, asked for a menu, and focused on the match. We needed three points. That’s really all I wanted at that moment.
The couple were joined by three more individuals – a West Ham fan, and two of the most non-descript people I’ve ever seen. They could’ve been invisible if not for using their outdoor voice. I easily overheard them blabbering. One of them stated that he felt Arshaviin was over-priced at ₤15mil. I thought, “David Bentley cost ₤15mil – the man who cannot get into Spurs team and certainly can’t touch AA23.” Another shouted, “He did nothing against Spain.” I thought, “Wow! It took the European champions to stop him.”
We’ve signed a dynamic, versatile footballer who scores and creates chances for others when he isn’t scoring. The thought of any combination of RvP, Eduardo, Theo, Togo, and Bendtner teaming up with Cesc and Andrey gives me more hope that we will challenge for honours. I longed for the player who would allow us to not depend so much on Cesc. I wondered who that could be, how much it would cost, if he’d be willing to join us. Arshaviin kept coming to mind. I wanted the player. I got what I wanted.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
The Impact of Arshavin
Simply put, the impact of the arrival of Andrey Arshavin is big. It's big news on several fronts, and I'll try to detail some of the key points here.
- For footballing reasons, his arrival was vital. At the moment, van Persie and Nasri were carrying the team as the hubs of invention, but the truth is that we need more. Our attacks have lost their verve, and we just do not punish teams enough with our counter attack. We don't have very many counter attack opportunities in the first place, so what's hindering us is our players failing to choose the right options or having Adebayor finish off the created chances. The bad options is down to the fact that our midfield has been torn apart by transfers and most importantly injuries. Even before Cesc went down, our offense has been somewhat lacking. Without Rosicky and Hleb, the spark had vanished. We could still be great on our day, but not nearly in the same way. It was mostly on the shoulders of Cesc or the pace of Walcott. When both those options went down, our offensive game was always going to struggle.
Arshavin will change that. He's quick, very strong for his frame, inventive, decisive, two-footed, and a winner. I've only seen roughly 15-20 matches in full of Arshavin, but apart from the occasional off game, he is electric. Let's not kid ourselves here, we signed a world class player, one that can walk into almost any team (barring maybe FC Barcelona at the moment). He finished 6th in the Ballon d'or voting. And did I mention that in the end, he took a pay cut, took a private jet to London, gave back money, just to prove himself in the highest level of club football. That should not be ignored.
Our defense has been savaged by the critics, but we're failing to score the goals to win the games at times. That cannot be discounted. We've actually been fairly solid in the last couple of months.
- This team needed a psychological boost. The fans needed one too (not necessarily me, but this was very, very welcome). There were fans waiting in the snow, record-level snow, to see if the transfer would be completed. No, not for a press conference and the ability to see Arshavin. No, they were there just to be with other Gooners when the transfer was finally confirmed. Some Gooners are non-believers, and I don't care for them really, but the fact remains that their support can actually help the club on the pitch. We are on a good run, but that run is marred by a distinct lack of goals. Any excitement generated can help our club. They may vocally support the team more (even though they should be doing that anyway). If we failed to sign Andrey, there would have been a dangerous negative reaction towards our team and Arsenal. Our players would have been strong enough to withstand that, but I'm glad that we didn't have to deal with that.
- We played a game of brinksmanship with crazy jokesters, and we came out ahead. Arsene looked Zenit in the eye and refused to blink. For this reason, we got our man for half the price Zenit wanted (remember that SCUM offered 16 mil pounds in the summer, when the pound was worth more, and they were turned down). We refused to cave on Xabi Alonso, and we got harsh criticism for that. We now have won this battle, and we get smashed for that too. You cannot win with the English media. Even though if you compare transfer fees, we got a world class player for less than Craig Bellamy, Nigel de Jong, Tosic, and Robbie Keane (HAHAHAHAHAHA).
- We may be too far off the top to mount a title challenge this year, but let's keep this in mind. Next year, without a summer tournament to play, we will have a fit squad with Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Andrey Arshavin, Samir Nasri, Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky, Emmanuel Adebayor, and Denilson. The midfield will be loaded with creativity and will excel even more than the Spice Boys trio of Cesc, Hleb, and Tomas.
This is a good day.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Arshavin Signs!
I can count on one hand the signings Arsenal have made that have made me excited.
Charlie Nicholas was the first.
In the summer of 1980, Arsenal fans were in an optimistic mood. The past three seasons had seen them reach three successive FA cup finals - which was a big deal back then - and a European Cup Winners Cup final - the clubs first European final in 10 years. Although the club only won the FA cup - in 1979 - during that period, the future looked bright.
That was until they sold Liam Brady - the clubs best player - to Juventus. His departure left me absolutely gutted. The man was my first Arsenal hero, and was, in my eyes, irreplaceable.
The following summer they sold Frank Stapleton to Manchester United. He had replaced Brady as my new Arsenal hero. But I couldn't understand why he joined a team that had finished the previous season in 8th place - five places below Arsenal. United in my eyes were not bigger than Arsenal.
I soon became disillusioned. Arsenal were now a selling club.
The 1981-82 season was a major disappointment. We were knocked out of the UEFA cup by Belgian part-timers K.F.C. Winterslag, got beaten 2-0 by Everton in the FA cup 3rd round and finished 5th in the league - behind Spurs, who also knocked us out of the League cup. It didn't help watching Spurs win two back to back FA cups -1981 and 1982 - as well as play more attractive football. They had Ardilles, Hoddle and Villa. We had league defeats to Swansea City - both home and away - Notts County and Stoke. The country was in the grips of a severe recession, unemployment was up and my spirits with regard to Arsenal were down.
In the summer of 1982, Arsenal tried to appease fans with the signings of strikers Tony Woodcock and Lee Chapman. But both were disappointments, especially Chapman, who only scored 4 goals in two seasons.
The 1982-83 season saw some improvement. Arsenal reached the semi-finals of both the League and FA cups. However, this achievement masked the real truth. We were average, as was shown when Manchester United beat us 6-3 on aggregate in the League cup and then 2-1 in the FA cup. United were superior in those games and to add insult to injury Stapleton was banging in the goals. I've hated them ever since.
That season United finished 3rd, Spurs 4th, while we finished 10th in the league. We had an average home attendance of just over 19,000. Both statistics were a better indication of how bad we had become. The football we played was boring and made any team managed by Sam Alladyrce look like Brazil.
During those depressing days you never mentioned winning the title. It was something that was never going to happen. The equivalent would be vacationing on Mars next year. You get the picture.
But in the summer of 1983, everything changed.
We signed Charlie Nicholas, the young, exciting, Scottish striker who played for Celtic. Nicholas had just scored 50 goals and won the Scottish Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards. Every club seemed to be after him.
His transfer was a real saga. One week he was going to this team, the next week he was signing for that team. He held talks with Manchester United and champions Liverpool. The top Italian and Spanish clubs were also interested. So when Nicholas eventually signed for Arsenal, I was stunned but over the moon. I felt that we had finally replaced Brady. Although, I, like many other Arsenal supporters had never seen him play. I believed the hype.
I was wrong.
Nicholas turned out to be another disappointment. He only scored 11 goals in his first season, but for some reason he held cult status. The fans worshipped him. Young men copied his mullet haircut, which was known as a"Charlie." Fans sang a song about him to the chimes of Big Ben. This could have been due to his "champagne lifestyle" of partying, drinking, and sleeping with Page 3 models. It could have been his wonder goal against Spurs where he went past 3 Tottenham players before beating the keeper.
It could have been that we were desperate.
The early 1980's recession was bad. We were still in the middle of the Cold war and constantly reminded that we could have nuclear war with the USSR at any time. The Falklands war had only ended a year before. Lee Chapman was crap and so called England star Tony Woodcock had palyed his best days at Nottingham Forest.
I needed Charlie Nicholas. I needed good news and his signing provided it.
Just over twenty-five years later we find ourselves in another recession. The Cold War is over but the threat of nuclear attacks still hangs in the air - if you believe what you are told. The world is different today but the economic news is gloomy - just like it was back in the early 1980's.
But I am a happy man.
At 12:00 noon today, I watched SKY Sports news. Reporting live, outside The Emirates stadium, standing in the snow was a man holding a microphone surrounded by smiling Arsenal fans. "The Arshavin deal is all but done," he said. "The Russian midfielder has completed his medical, the two clubs have agreed a fee. The transfer just has to be finalized by the Premier League."
A big cheer went up by the fans. They didn't care that they had only seen him play in Euro 2008. They didn't care that he could be another Charlie Nicholas. They just wanted him. The gloom was over. The transfer saga was finally done.
Charlie Nicholas was the first.
In the summer of 1980, Arsenal fans were in an optimistic mood. The past three seasons had seen them reach three successive FA cup finals - which was a big deal back then - and a European Cup Winners Cup final - the clubs first European final in 10 years. Although the club only won the FA cup - in 1979 - during that period, the future looked bright.
That was until they sold Liam Brady - the clubs best player - to Juventus. His departure left me absolutely gutted. The man was my first Arsenal hero, and was, in my eyes, irreplaceable.
The following summer they sold Frank Stapleton to Manchester United. He had replaced Brady as my new Arsenal hero. But I couldn't understand why he joined a team that had finished the previous season in 8th place - five places below Arsenal. United in my eyes were not bigger than Arsenal.
I soon became disillusioned. Arsenal were now a selling club.
The 1981-82 season was a major disappointment. We were knocked out of the UEFA cup by Belgian part-timers K.F.C. Winterslag, got beaten 2-0 by Everton in the FA cup 3rd round and finished 5th in the league - behind Spurs, who also knocked us out of the League cup. It didn't help watching Spurs win two back to back FA cups -1981 and 1982 - as well as play more attractive football. They had Ardilles, Hoddle and Villa. We had league defeats to Swansea City - both home and away - Notts County and Stoke. The country was in the grips of a severe recession, unemployment was up and my spirits with regard to Arsenal were down.
In the summer of 1982, Arsenal tried to appease fans with the signings of strikers Tony Woodcock and Lee Chapman. But both were disappointments, especially Chapman, who only scored 4 goals in two seasons.
The 1982-83 season saw some improvement. Arsenal reached the semi-finals of both the League and FA cups. However, this achievement masked the real truth. We were average, as was shown when Manchester United beat us 6-3 on aggregate in the League cup and then 2-1 in the FA cup. United were superior in those games and to add insult to injury Stapleton was banging in the goals. I've hated them ever since.
That season United finished 3rd, Spurs 4th, while we finished 10th in the league. We had an average home attendance of just over 19,000. Both statistics were a better indication of how bad we had become. The football we played was boring and made any team managed by Sam Alladyrce look like Brazil.
During those depressing days you never mentioned winning the title. It was something that was never going to happen. The equivalent would be vacationing on Mars next year. You get the picture.
But in the summer of 1983, everything changed.
We signed Charlie Nicholas, the young, exciting, Scottish striker who played for Celtic. Nicholas had just scored 50 goals and won the Scottish Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards. Every club seemed to be after him.
His transfer was a real saga. One week he was going to this team, the next week he was signing for that team. He held talks with Manchester United and champions Liverpool. The top Italian and Spanish clubs were also interested. So when Nicholas eventually signed for Arsenal, I was stunned but over the moon. I felt that we had finally replaced Brady. Although, I, like many other Arsenal supporters had never seen him play. I believed the hype.
I was wrong.
Nicholas turned out to be another disappointment. He only scored 11 goals in his first season, but for some reason he held cult status. The fans worshipped him. Young men copied his mullet haircut, which was known as a"Charlie." Fans sang a song about him to the chimes of Big Ben. This could have been due to his "champagne lifestyle" of partying, drinking, and sleeping with Page 3 models. It could have been his wonder goal against Spurs where he went past 3 Tottenham players before beating the keeper.
It could have been that we were desperate.
The early 1980's recession was bad. We were still in the middle of the Cold war and constantly reminded that we could have nuclear war with the USSR at any time. The Falklands war had only ended a year before. Lee Chapman was crap and so called England star Tony Woodcock had palyed his best days at Nottingham Forest.
I needed Charlie Nicholas. I needed good news and his signing provided it.
Just over twenty-five years later we find ourselves in another recession. The Cold War is over but the threat of nuclear attacks still hangs in the air - if you believe what you are told. The world is different today but the economic news is gloomy - just like it was back in the early 1980's.
But I am a happy man.
At 12:00 noon today, I watched SKY Sports news. Reporting live, outside The Emirates stadium, standing in the snow was a man holding a microphone surrounded by smiling Arsenal fans. "The Arshavin deal is all but done," he said. "The Russian midfielder has completed his medical, the two clubs have agreed a fee. The transfer just has to be finalized by the Premier League."
A big cheer went up by the fans. They didn't care that they had only seen him play in Euro 2008. They didn't care that he could be another Charlie Nicholas. They just wanted him. The gloom was over. The transfer saga was finally done.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Togo No Go
Below is the match report which barely mentions the shock of that horrendous miss by Emmanuel Adebayor away to Portsmouth in 2006.
http://www.arsenal.com/match/report/0708portsmouth-1-1-arsenal-match-report
It is exhibit A in the case against the off-form striker. That miss made me as angry with an Arsenal player as I've ever been. I questioned his ability to ever make the grade.
Exhibit B is the player's public fallout with Niklas Bendnter. That it happened versus Spurs made it infinitely more embarrassing.
Exhibit C is the player's inconsistency. We're seeing it in full bloom at the moment.
http://www.arsenal.com/match/report/0708portsmouth-1-1-arsenal-match-report
It is exhibit A in the case against the off-form striker. That miss made me as angry with an Arsenal player as I've ever been. I questioned his ability to ever make the grade.
Exhibit B is the player's public fallout with Niklas Bendnter. That it happened versus Spurs made it infinitely more embarrassing.
Exhibit C is the player's inconsistency. We're seeing it in full bloom at the moment.
Yesterday was a match in which Togo had to score. Instead, he disappointed almost every Arsenal fan who watched the game. Many wrongly directed their anger at the man who for the first 20 minutes was the most effective player on the pitch, Emanuel Eboue – he being the default scapegoat since nary a bad word could be said about the solid performance by ex-captain William Gallas. In reality it was Adebayor who was absolutely dismal.
While I admit having made a drastic turn around from harsh critic to sincere, patient, and admiring supporter of the player since that miss at Fratton Park, I can no longer point to the extreme work rate, the near record-breaking output of 30 goals last season, nor his commitment to our cause as positives. In a troubled season, his has been a poor return on a well publicized promotion.
My disappointment peaked yesterday when Carlos Vela delivered a ball to the big man's feet from the left wing position, deep inside West Ham territory. Togo managed to lose the ball and instead of making what became his trademark sprint after the lost ball, he ambled back from deep within the offensive third as West Ham tried to pretend they had an interest in attacking. Vela was next seen recovering the ball on the right touch line, inside Arsenal territory – he covered the amount of ground and made the kind of effort that would normally make one forgive Adebayor's wage dispute with the club last summer. The same club that he himself admitted has given him the platform to be a marquis name.
Yesterday's three points were absolutely vital. I was at The Emirates Stadium on New Year's Day 2008 for the same fixture. Eduardo opened the scoring with a typical Eduardo clinical finish. Togo would later score an amazing goal from what seemed and impossible angle. He worked hard all match, causing Matthew Upson and Co. all manner of problems. Yesterday's less than mediocre performance by the team in general and Togo in particular just about ended out title hopes. My only solace is that for much of last season, we were top dogs and cruising. I never give up but it looks very difficult indeed.
If selected for Tuesday's FA Cup replay, anything less than a Man of the Match display from the under-performing striker will leave his value to the club in major doubt. I will no longer be able to defend him when his critics point out that six of his 30 goals last season were scored against relegated Derby County. I will no longer be able to defend him when they question his commitment. I will no longer be able to hold back my anger with him when he fails to hold his end of the controversially re-negotiated deal his agent forced on the club during the close season.
I might have to accept that Togo can go.
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