ARSENALS PROBLEMS UP FRONT

I have been looking through recordings of some of our games this season, hoping to find reasons why were not scoring more goals than we are. We create plenty of chances but when it comes to actual scored goals, we don't score half as many as we should.
I know that the statisticians' out there, will throw figures at me to show that we are up there with the top teams, well that's not my concern. I believe the chances we create should produce many more goals.
Now I don't claim to be a tactician, I don't consider myself an expert but having played local football for over thirty years and watching Arsenal for fifty odd, has given me the right to criticise a little.
I love our club and I want us to win everything and I may be a bit touchy after a bad result. At times I want a new Manager and players but most of the time I just want to see more goals, spectacular goals, tap ins, headers, I don't care how they go in!
Watching us play for ninety minutes then a 0-0 result does my head in, especially when I've watched chance after chance result in misses.
No doubt like all fans, I believe we could so easily have a winning team if we lose a few players that have not really made the grade and replace them with players with the skills we need. I am not talking major changes, just in the areas that we all know we are weak in but that's getting away from my point about goals.
I think you would mostly agree that we move the ball reasonably well from the back through to the attacking midfielders, albeit with less pace than I would prefer. Up to this point our possession stats suggest that we are doing ok but I think it's at this stage we begin to stutter, through no fault of our midfield.
We all know we have good attacking midfield unit in Cesc, Nasri, Song, Jack, Rambo AA and Theo must come in there as well. That little group of players is quite formidable, so why can't they move the ball forward to the forwards to allow them to score?
Well for a start, the forward players do not work very hard in finding space for themselves, making it difficult to slip a pass in to them.
More often than not they are not in the positions they should be in to receive the ball and quite often they can be found on the wings or in midfield positions.  Hardly the positions to score goals from is it?
Our forwards should be in a position which allows them to clear their defensive marker and be free to collect a pass from our midfield players. When an attack is in motion our forwards do not get in the box quick enough and very seldom do we have more than one player in the box which again limits the option for our midfielders.
If players want to be called forwards then why are they not adopting the correct position?
If we use three forwards, then that three should be ready to go as soon as we break - so often play has to be held back owing to a lack of forward options and this should not be the case.
Whether this is the managers choice or not I am not sure but a goal scorer out of position is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
We are in need of at least two instinctive strikers, strikers that are both footed can shoot on sight and be accurate. Far too many shots end up being closer to the corner flag than on goal. A true goal scorer would rectify our problems and put us in more positive positions.
To hear a commentator say, it fell to his wrong side is not an excuse for a miss, if a striker cannot kick instinctively with either foot then he should not be used. Now this statement may enrage some supporters as their favourite striker is being criticised but look back on some of the games this season and look at the misses we have had, it may make you think differently.
Just a footnote:
Theo Walcott is a striker, a pacey one at that and he can use both feet. My view is we are wasting his talent shoving him out on the wing. I don't know where his preferred position is, he's possibly happy playing anywhere but, should he be seeking a striker role in order to fulfill his needs, will we see him playing there for someone else other than Arsenal?
I hope not.....
Written by Steve Palmer.

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MOST IMPORTANT TIME OF THE YEAR THE CLOSED SEASON

Morning all,
 Everything has been discussed and debated, so i dont intend to bore you with what you have heard before, i just wanted to share with you some of the things i have come up against in the last month or so, maybe you have had similar, it seems  that anything Arsenal seems to bring a smile on any one's face who is not an Arsenal fan, i have had txts, calls, e-mails, and even shouts from across the streets, from people i have not seen for years, ridiculing, so i have decided that this season is over as far as i am concerned, a daft thing to say when it is still mathamaticaly possible to win the most prestigious competition in our calender The Premier League so that i could then thumb my nose to them But with what i have seen of our team this year, i have convinced myself we are out of the equasion. So i have decided to write about what i consider the most important part of the year, the closed season.

I beleive that decisions in the closed season may well be the difference for us winning some thing next year. Decisions on whether Wenger will continue as Arsenals Manager, decisions on the sale of present players, future players, styles of play, whether we stick with the same backroom staff, bring in a defensive coach, as you can understand the closed season is a time for all involved to reflect on the previous season. Was it succesfull,did the squad live upto expectations, did the manager make the right calls, did his right hand man do his job with good advice. All these points must be discussed and debated over. The shareholders will want to know if their investments will be a sound bet for the coming year, And how much money the Board will put aside for investment in new players. So up untill now, we know that a lot of chat and Board meetings will take place, and finally the decisions they have jointly  come up with.

After all, Arsenal football club is a business, and judgeing by the profits, a very successful business, there must be VIPS who strive for bigger profits, more success and the thought of  new supporters takeing Arsenal as their chosen club to support for the rest of their lives. VIPs are aware, as are we, that new young supporters choosing a team to follow,  like to pick a winning team, and once chosen they pay to follow them for ever. Bums on seats and all that. So to be successful is of paramount importance, so the right decisions have to be made.

As supporters we hope these people know what they have voted for, and their decisions are put in motion. We hope that these ideas will bring more succes than the previous season. As supporters we know that some of these decisions are made before the close season starts, owing to the rise in season ticket prices being announced allready, maybe a sign of future investment. After all nothing can happen at all without the supporters paying their way. Writeing about the closed season has lifted my spirits some what, and i am starting to feel better already, the thought of new signings and a clear out off the old, a new season almost beckening and the glint of silverware on the horizon, supporters will again unite on the terraces with hope in their hearts and a song on their tongues, but wait just a minute, the last six closed seasons were also discussed by these same individuals, and i dont remember much success, but you never know do you.

Written by Steve Palmer

RESPECT, DONT MAKE ME LAUGH

Morning all.
Now that The Carling Cup and The Champions League are behind us we focus on The FA Cup, now before i proceed i would just like to add that although those competitions are behind us i don't believe we should just dismiss them just like that, i believe we should ponder on these losses for a moment, and reflect. The Carling Cup, we can blame ourselves for a mistake at the end of a competitive game and we allowed Birmingham in for a well earned victory no complaints, but The Champions league, now this is a different kettle of fish, i wont bore you with the intricate details as i an sure we have not heard the last of this game not by a long way, which brings me to the Word Respect, now the word Respect is emblazoned on everybody's shirt its an easy word to say an easy word to read, but what does the word mean, the reason the word was included on football shirts, was to show the world and the players, that Respect between the cultures of our world is paramount, it represents Black White Red and Yellow people, from the four corners of the world, so that they can play against one another without hate or malice, compete for the name of the sport they are in as equals.

Hopefully the days of bananas being thrown onto the playing surface and the songs about players mothers are behind us, many laughed and cheered but i hope a lot of it was banter but still hurtful. England has come a long way, allowing Mosques to be built, allowing foreigners to take over every corner shop in the country, every garage, and nearly all the restaurants, whilst not many CofE churches are being built in their parent countries. We have bent over backwards for different cultures and people, to play in our football leagues, the numbers are probably in excess of English players in the Premier League, so i believe we have tried our best to spread the word Respect. The football authorities have made it a campaign, to make the word Respect apparent in everybody's mind, by evicting people that show the lack of it from grounds all over the world.

So tell me, why were Arsenal FC  shown no respect  by the Officials and the Authorities over the abysmal decisions they incurred in their Champions League defeat in Spain. Arsene Wenger asked the referee about his judgement and subsequently receives charges from Eufa and possibly penalties, where is that word Respect now. Probably time to move on to the FA Cup, Saturday see's us at Old Trafford against old rivals Manchester United, i am expecting a very hard fought match, both teams have received losses of late but i wouldn't expect that to stand in the way of the battle, home advantage for Utd, which i never doubted, but our tails are up, and without any interference from the referee, hopefully a fair and Respectful match.

Written by Steve Palmer

THEY CAN CHEAT US BUT WE'LL BE BACK

Morning all,
Its beginning to look a little like last year, get knocked out of one tournament, and another follows. I am not going to talk about, how players react prior to the game starting, there has been suggestion that some of our players, showed a little to much affection for Barcelona's players hugging and kissing even smiling and grinning, well maybe they did, but in my eyes that means nothing. A soldier in a war can one minute be handing out food packages, but in the next shooting the same people, i see this the same way. I would rather talk about the injustice that television has brought to the publics attention, blatant cheating in one of the most watched games this century, the game was watched by a hundred and twenty odd countries, beamed to all the four corners of the planet, and they watched a debacle, they watched as a footballing authority allowed, in front of all those people, a referee  send a player off for absolutely nothing, Well it wasn't for nothing it was to make sure the right team won.

Every supporter will complain about why their team lost, i accept that, they even complain about a decision, maybe a tackle, some may complain about a kiss or a hug, but the fact remains the same, their team has lost, and nothing can be done about it. I was astonished by this referees decision i played it back over and over again what did he do wrong. Well the referee has said that Van persie Kicked the ball away after he had blown for an offside, Van Persie had picked up an earlier yellow card for an incident which could have been overlooked, but owing to the player throwing himself to the ground the Referee felt A hundred thousand fans must be right. But to get back to the sending off, Van Persie receives the through ball turns and shoots, in his rush to shoot it goes astray and robin is dismayed,he turns to go back to his position when the referee brandishes his second yellow and Van Persie is ordered to walk. The timing was recorded for all those that like stats, from the moment the whistle blew to when Van Persie shot was one second, yes one second. it took thirty seconds for a Barcelona substitution in the dying minutes of the game,and that was walking off, but that was acceptable, according to the referee.

We have to accept that the referee was right for his actions, to say he was wrong will bring the game into disrepute, touchline bans and fines have been issued to those that have, and so it must be accepted. I for one am disgusted at the media, after the game, television pundits Graham Souness Jamie Rednapp and Gerald Houlier talked after the game Souness said, At the end of the day the best team won, Barcelona was the best team on the night and in my opinion even without the sending off Barcelona would have continued and won, Rednapp and Houlier agreed in so many words. Well nobody will ever Know, yes Barcelona at that stage of the game had seventy percent of the play, they had been attacking for most of the game, but don't they do that with every team they play, and they don't win them all. They had the same amount of possession at the Emirates but we beat them.

I have now watched the game three times, i replayed certain parts may times, and i have deduced from that, that the referee was instructed by EUFA to make sure that this game went to Barcelona, we were constantly fouled obstructed with hardly any decisions going our way Van Persie said and i know he was embittered but he said, This referee is a joke, he has been all night. Van persie will no doubt be reprimanded for that comment, but he was right, the referee was a joke a sick joke, he shouldn't be allowed to ref kids games but in my eyes ,i can see he did his job and followed his instructions from EUFA so the right team won to the letter, in my eyes this man is a disgrace to the game, a cheat , and a fixer, the manager will not say it but we know, and they know we know.

We were 1.1 when Van Persie was sent off, we were leading the tie, a crucial decision and in my view the wrong decision, many Arsenal fans Talk about the George Graham Defence how strong and resolute it was, well tonight proved that this current  Wenger defence is as resolute, Barcelona had trouble penetrating it and needed the hand of God to reduce us to ten men before they could get in front. our boys worked their socks off defended with passion they fought to the last second, despite of what an ex Tottenham player Liverpool manager and liverpool player said we were cheated and that should not be allowed i am disgusted with the football ruling bodies and worse of all, so called Pundits. The football world is corrupt, it will always be corrupt and we will keep on knocking on that door and they will cheat us every year but they wont break us. Well done those Brave Cheated Players for i am extremely proud of you. Decisions will stop us winning but we will always be there.

Written by Steve Palmer

HAVE THE GUNNERS GOT THE BOTTLE

Morning Gooners,
I would like to start this post off with a congratulations to the Arsenal team, a great result after our abysmal performance at Wembley. A five nil win against Leyton Orient was very emphatic and well deserved, the players were very focused and passed the ball about very effectively, a good one touch goal from a Rosiski fine run, and well executed cut back pass which found Maroanne Chamakh and his one touch, and that was our first goal. I felt relief as that goal went in and i believe the players did as well. It seemed to me that the game was set up for us to win. I couldn't understand Orients tactics for the evening starting from the back and trying to play in the same manner as is our style, which in all honesty was playing straight into our hands, it appeared to me that this was a different set up than from the first game, perhaps i shouldn't question a win, but at the end of the day we made another three million for this replay, when i say we i mean the club not the supporters as they were the ones paying the money, perhaps i am just a bit touchy after the loss at Wembley, but football is a business after all.

That win puts us in the quarter final and we are matched with Manchester United, it appears to me that we will keep on being matched with United in every competition we stay in, so what are our chances against them. Most people would give us a good chance seeing how Ferguson's men haven't been firering on all cylinders, my opinion, we don't stand a chance. Now don't stop reading until i explain why. Against Orient we passed all night and they gave us plenty of space and time to make our passes, and that's what we did all night, our passing must have been close to Barcelona's figures when we hosted them. but when you look at the game again like i have, you see that we very seldom make a tackle, when i say tackle i mean going in with commitment, every tackle which is fifty fifty our players pull out of, i understand that they do not want to be injured but i have noticed this trend more and more. The same thing with heading, very seldom will we win a header, the players jump but only to try and put the defender off, never an intentional effort to win the ball, so what i am saying in so many words is that we are running scared of physical contact.

Dennilson, Diaby,Rosiski, Nasri Eboue Walcott Arshaven, are some of the worst offenders, i have noticed that it is spreading right through the team, Diaby pulled out of several tackles against Orient, that brought him to my attention, now when your defensive midfielder start pulling out you know your in trouble. Wenger said after our last game at Orient, that young Miquel would be left out till he was stronger to go into tackles with intent, i think he should be looking at many more.
Now against a side like Leyton Orient, who dwell in about eleventh place in the league below us, they are starstruck playing against Premier competition, the difference between the teams are massive, and thats why we scored five goals with our so called worst strikers, and fielding what is now called our second string team. Chances of there being an upset were almost zero. Many of the teams in the Premier league are of the same standard as Leyton, and some of them will be playing against them next season, so the point i am making is the opposition last night is not a good example of our might, it was a forgone conclusion we would win.

Now i come back to my statement about us not winning against Manchester United. Now this is a physical side, they are on you, as soon as you receive the ball, especially Vidic Evra Fletcher Carrick They never pull out of any challenge fully committed with one intention to get the ball or player, their forward players will all battle for everything, they jump and win most of the balls in the air, they have a very sound goalkeeper that is very experienced, his nearing retirement but is still one of the best if not the best in the league, what i am saying is that you have to fight power with power as Chelsea did in their latest encounter, and our boys have not got this in them, so when matched with a physical side we normally come unstuck. When our players are rushed they give the ball away, they are frightened of the physical side of the game, i believe we lost the Carling Final because of it, i'm afraid our team are chokers in important games,  their tackling to. Until their bottle is sorted out, i believe we will gradually get knocked out of all competitions we are left in. But maybe, with other teams making mistakes, we may stand a chance in the League.
Have you noticed this trend, or am i just still annoyed at losing a final.

Written by Steve Palmer

GOVERMENT TO GET INVOLVED TO SORT FA SHADY DEALING

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Morning all,
Well what a tangled web they weave, that's the FA i'm refering to, again they show their one sided  and biased decisions to the football world. They don't even try and cover it up, in the instance that i am talking about, Wayne Rooney, plants a forearm smash across a fellow professional in  retaliation, well after the ball had gone, James Mc Carthy floored and  spread-eagled on the ground Ref Clattenburg, claimed he didn't see the incident but still awarded a free kick but no sending off and no booking. Manchester United had looked as if they had got away with an assault on a fellow professional, and Rooney yet again slinks off with a slight grin. The video was shown many times after the game and the footballing world went up in arms, how can a professional footballer get away with what amounts to assault, so an enquirery was launched only for the referees' committee to ask Clattenburg to look at the video and see if he had misinterpreted the incident, Clattenburg viewed and was adamant that nothing was amiss, didn't we not know that was going to be the outcome. The football world was up in arms television and radio programmes have spent days discussing it, but Clattenburg, the Referees Committee, and of course Manchester United, are saying the fuss will all die down in a couple of weeks.

Why do Manchester United  always seem to get away with these kind of incidents, Eric Cantanna, after being abused by a fan launched himself into the crowd with a two footed drop kick, and connected with the fan, Cantanna although banned for several months was allowed to come back and resume his career, a life's ban was the only punishment he could have received but again Manchester United got away with it. Rio Ferdinand was told before his training session he was going to be drug tested after his training, but decided to leave for home after his training claiming he had forgotten. He did receive a ban but he too was allowed to carry on his career.

Manchester United are famous for the amount of penalties they receive, i don't know the official number but it must be a record, i would hazard a guess that they hold the record for free kicks awarded on the edge of the box as well. I have had my doubts with the FA and their officials for many years, and i am pretty sure that every Manager of the football league feels the same way, what i want to ask everybody and anybody is how can they blatantly get away with it, i hate to say it but is there money involved, after all, for years and years Manchester United have been the wealthiest club in England, and is it any wonder the most successful, perhaps there is a bit of truth in the old saying that Manchester United play with twelve men. This week has convinced me that the FA are not playing by the rules, and are definitely using a different set of rules for dealing with anything to do with Manchester United.

At the moment i understand that the Government have launched an enquirery into the Ways the FA are handling the football leagues in this country, the referees have been under the spotlight  as many complaints have not been dealt with to every bodies satisfaction. i would urge the Government to include the Premier League in their inquirery as well as they have pulled away from the rest of the leagues to run themselves, apparently they do not like the money the Premier League is earning to go anywhere but to them.

Football in England has never been more profitable, but in the hands of the wrong people it can quite easily become corrupt, i imagine that the Government have become aware of that, and hopefully get the important people, in the right positions, and get back to the honest and fair for all polices of the past.
We need to get back to discipline where footballers cannot hit one another and get away with it, Players that do not take guns into training with them , players who will not get away with launching attacks on the supporters. We need new people with principles, new people with the guts to see a problem and deal with it immediately, and run a fair and square Football Association, a strict Association which is respected by one and all. Prime Minister Cameron, keeps talking about fairness on the television, i want him and his enquirers, to dig out the dead wood in the FA, and leave it in the hands of people that can run it as an English Football Association should be run, Fair and Honest.

I must admit Arsenal football club have been on the end of some refferee decisions that have only been seen one way, the Diaby incident where he retaliated and subsiquently got sent off and a three match ban, Gail clichey while defending in his penalty box slips and falls while he fights to get up his hand planted on the ground taking his weight the attacking player kicks the ball at his hand and the refferee awards a penalty, the reffereeing standards are getting incresingly worse, at our cup final a clear cut foul by our goalkeeper was blatently missed and a wrong decision was interpreted by the ref, how can these decisions be so bad, when we have extra officials, obviously the refferees are not to the standard they should be who's at fault The FA again. I am ashamed that the Goverment have to step in to put this right, but the FA are incompetant to do it themselves. It appears to me that this goverment want to run the world, i cannot see that happening but i do hope they can sort the FA out because they are without doubt an embarresment.

Written by Steve Palmer