I don’t read everything in the sporting press, obviously, but so far I have not found any serious condemnation of the tactics of Blackburn in the press. On Match of the Day the BBC commentators laughed at the diving, and noted the attack on Almunia, but left it at that. The notion that Allerdyce had sent out the team to cheat and maim brought no comment.
O’Neill at Aston Hold Your Head did however comment. He attacked Aston Villa supporters. If you recall, the Lord Wenger clearly didn’t like the way the home support had turned on the team of late, but he did nothing other than withdraw his “thank you for your fantastic support” comment in his programme notes – and even then he did thank everyone for going to Rome and making lots of noise. But he didn’t start raving in the press (or if he did, I missed it) against the people who pay his wages.
The fact is that Hold Your Head fans (the club is named after its infamous tactic this season in which any player that goes down is told to hold his head so the ref stops the game) have booed Gabriel Agbonlahor – the player they cheered like mad when the club used its head holding tactic at the Ems. What good does Mr O think his attack on the supporters who pay the wages will do the club? The next thing he’ll do is close the ground and just show matches on TV because the crowd “disturbs the players”.
Actually it has been a weekend for great comments by managers. The Redknapp character said of comments by Tottenham supporters, “I have never heard such crap in all my life.” Such a sheltered life he must have lived – but yes, that is normally what I think of the things the Tinies say.
Sir Alex F-Word also did his famous “we were the better team” thing after at 1-4 home defeat. And I am sure Ben E Tez said something stupid, but I couldn’t be bothered to listen to him. Sam the Slug did a big snort in his post match interview which made him sound like a pig. So no news there.
And thus the weekend closes, and what have we found? Shed fulls of fans before the game in the Ems cheering Liverpool, and the whole of north London cheering the Tiny Totts. How extraordinary.
Alex Song (one of the two players I nominated in Highbury High at the start of the season to be real revelations this year) really turning into a masterful midfielder, and the ability to score four goals with our entire first three choices of centre forwards all missing.
Almunia also developing into a terrific keeper, and Arshavin….
And there’s still Jack W waiting in the wings.
The only sad news is that it is seemingly true that Rosicky has had another set back and is out for another month. But Cesc and Adebayor, Eduardo and Theo should all be playing for us full time very shortly. Plus Arshavin, Denilson, Song. That’s effectively seven new players overall.
Makes it hard to remember what the fuss about not replacing Hleb and Flam was all about really.
(c) Tony 2009.
Tony,
just out of curiosity, who is the other player you nominated in HH at the start of the season to be real revelations this year?
For Highbury High I was supposed to nominate just one, but I cheated and nominated Alex Song and Carlos Vela.
Tony
thanks!
I had a bet at the beginning of the season with a gooner friend on who’d have a breakthrough season. It was very hard to pick just one, so we settled for two players each. So far my picks are doing me very very proud – Denilson and Vela.
Just when I posted that long comment on Hughes being more vicious than Allardyce, Fat Sam sends out a team against us with the deliberate aim of mutilating our players systematically, and repeatedly. Arshavin was late on the pitch in the 2nd half because one of Fat Sam’s thugs injured him badly in the foot — deliberately. How Djouf was still on the pitch after his assault on Almunia is beyond me. And Pedersen? There are no words.
And of course, as you write, NO MEDIA OUTRAGE OVER THAT FILTHY ASSAULT ON ALMUNIA. Zip. Nada. There’s a very good reason for that.
The English media worship Fat Sam. They deride and dismiss a genius like Wenger but they bow in adoration at a cretin like Fat Sam.
I sometimes wish Arsenal didn’t even play in the Premier League.
Tony, there was one MASSIVE shock this weekend, however, in English football. I thought I’d been transported to an alternate universe. An English FA referee awarded a penalty AGAINST the Manchester scum at OT!
And if that wasn’t shocking enuf, in the SAME GAME, he sent off a Yoonited player!
When was the last time we saw a penalty awarded AGAINST the mancs at OT??? When was the last time we saw a Yoonited player sent off at OT???
And when was the last time we saw that happen IN THE SAME GAME???
So…will Wiley get punished because he violated one of the unwritten rules in English football? Just like that other referee was punished when he sent off John Terry v. Man City when he rugby-tackled Jo, preventing a clear goal-scoring opportunity?
encouraging but another league slips by…
Tony,
If you haven’t, try to look at the first 2 goals the Liver scored against Real last Tuesday (the second one effectively killed the tie) and tell everyone if that game was a shattering, overwhelming win the media made it out to be. Needless say, Arsenal was the least deserving team to go through the last 16 CL for them, as if the countless chances in the first game against Roma never happened.
It reduces the authenticity of your own voice unless you find a way to look at football beyond the issues raised by the media. It is true that they try to shape people’s way of seeing things the way they want it, which isn’t always good for our team. Wenger almost always disregards the media’s discussion of activities on the pitch. Like he said last week, he happens to have been in this business for 29 years. Why arguing with some charlatan reporter about whom to field?
The media don’t understand the game. They create marketable “news.” But that’s the reason why we come here to read your stuff. Keep us posted with the stats, give your own analysis and humor. It ain’t worth your time trying to discredit the mainstream media.
Top comment Nhan but it is worth it really. If we all kept quiet and their ‘news’ was not repudiated somewhere than that would be very dangerous indeed.
I agree NY. A good referee for a change. Perhaps even they get fed up with all the posturing and cheating sometimes.
As for teams like Bl@ckburn, I would not miss them at all. I think the day will come when the likes of Arsenal will chose to play the best in Europe ever week and leave all these p*ss poor excuses for football clubs to compete for the ‘Premiership’, the most overrated league in Europe.
I loath them. The media and the Bl@ckburns.