Good morning.
Difficult to know quite how to approach this. I can’t even fake incredulity over a season that was such a joy that has turned into, well …an ingrowing toenail.
The soundtrack to the build up of the game itself wasn’t so much the cheery humming of Chas & Dave, more Arry making a series of backhanded confessions about his frankly unforgivable behaviour.
He admitted that Levy & Co. plus others at the club thought he had been distracted by the England business. A backhanded way of acknowledging many of us want to kill him for abandoning us. He told the Independent that he hadn’t got it because he was too outspoken. A backhanded confession he has a mouth approximately 2437 times larger than his brain.
Trawling through Arry’s post match comments since Fabio resigned and the singular theme that has emerged is the one of ‘luck’. Luck has conspired against us. We were ‘unlucky’. We ‘battered’ ’em yet just didn’t get ‘the break’.
Now don’t get me wrong. I can understand when at the fun fair you chuck a ball at a coconut and miss. Bad luck! But to wheel out the absence of a rabbit’s foot, the fact that you forgot to throw salt over your shoulder whilst wearing lucky pants whilst reciting the Lord’s Prayer backwards after a dozen games doesn’t stack up.
The saddest thing is watching our cracking squad being mismanaged by a dithering, deceitful and demented Pearly King with a button eating disorder.
Walker is now our free kick specialist, right winger and occasional right back.
On Danny Rose, he’s thick, for sure, but far from the villain in of the piece. Those that Tweeted abuse at him ought wind it in. There has to be line drawn between letting off steam online and what you say and do in real life. I don’t go to games and boo. I go to scream, sing (after a fashion) and shout the lads on.
And on this subject. Will those of you with such a huge hole in your lives that feel the urge to try and police what people type online …kindly naff off? You’re holier than thou garbage is giving the rest of us who are balanced and normal a headache.
‘Patience!’ ‘Get behind the team!’ ‘This is the best we’ve done in 47 years!’ If you genuinely want to release these upbeat emotions, then buy a bloody ticket and spare the rest of us the religious zealot spiel. Nobody who enjoys free thought is with you. We don’t need policing.
The game was predictable enough fare. At one stage we counter attacked, yes counter attacked to find seven Villans in their penalty area …not including Given.
Tactically Arry screwed up yet again. In a nutshell he waited forever after Rose was sent off and then when we desperately needed a goal, he brought on Scotty Parker. Three at the back was the answer, but he’s too obstinate to even consider it.
The Fulham game could well turn out to be the Tea Time of The Long Knives.
5.009 Shocking goal. He didn’t even move.
4.000 Guilty of being too gormless to wear the shirt.
6.999 He’s largely just what the Dr. ordered.
6.876 Took his goal well, otherwise a commanding shift.
4.003 Good at running, but also frequently outwitted by sheep.
7.234 Does the job of four men every game.
6. 564 A bit wasteful, a bit not quite at the races,
7.001 Better, not worth £40m yet but looking sharper.
6.345 If you stayed on the left son, you’d achieve much more.
7.145 He’d do a lot better with Kyle and Bale playing in position.
7.212 His first touch is routinely iffy. Come on Ade, sort it out!
once again bale on the left,Lennon on the right, arry FRO
I also reckon that as our defence has played pretty well this season, I reckon if Gomes had been in goal we would have at least 6 points more in the bag at this stage.Not knocking fried eels too much as he has been solid but didnt have the shenanigans in front of him that Gomes had.Brad is a bit stiff and a bit slow ,needs some wd40 on his joints.I maintain that Gomes got us in to the champs league with his saves 2 seasons back.
Obviously we’ll never know if we’d have fared better with Gomes in goal (I happen to think we wouldn’t have) but has our defence really been any more regular than last year? We’ve benefitted from a pair of full-backs who’ve been pretty much ever-presents, but it seems to me our central defensive pairing has more often than not been along the lines of ‘who’s fit to play today’ than anything more structured. The chief differences between this year and last (and the subsequent improvement in our ‘goals against’ tally) are Parker and Friedel. I think Friedel deserves a lot more credit than he receives.
I see what you’re saying, but you’ve gotta remember the shambles that Gomes created amongst the defence, whereas Friedel has restored calm and stability…
It’s not all about shot-stopping – just ask Villa fans what they think of Given: great keeper, but terrible communicator & organiser…
everyone has their own take on a given situation,I have my own take seen through my own brain filter of having to have liked Gomes from the off. I also liked Benny from the off to.My take on what you described on his creating confusion in the defence was that he could see them dilly dallying for on the ball in critical situations and decided to get in and do something about it. Thats his job. A few times the defence let players through with the ball at their feet and he was down to the ball straight in no messing.
Unfortunatley when playing the big boys the sky 4 refs used that as an excuse to give penalties and red cards.How come his fumble but stop on the line was given as a goal against cheatski,but Carrols over the line was denied?
Don’t forget it was Gomes and his performance that knocked us out of the europa a few years back when we were pummeling PSV at the lane with berbstrop.
Thats not to say you’re wrong in this instance only Gomes and god knows what is going through his brain when he goes for the ball in any given situation.Just reckon that Ive seen a few goals gone in that this season Gomes would have got in my estimation.
When Jennings first came he made some teriffic saves on occasions but generally he was week in week out pants for the first season and a half.
UncleKev – I would love to see a great mind like Lambert leading the troops at the Lane next season.
Naughton has played on the right most of the season. He is a year behind Walker in his defensive abilities, but is considerably better than Walker at dribbling down the right, cutting into the middle off his right foot and getting around defenders along the goal line (ala Azza). He has been the best crosser of the ball in the PL this season and also one of the two or three best set piece takers.
He is going to give us tremendous flexibility next season. If Walker does go to Manure as predicted, we have the perfect replacement in the wings. If Walker stays but Bale exits, Lennon can be moved to the left and Naughton can slide up front on the right. He is a very accurate long range passer and would make a great CM too.
Walker won’t be going to United (or anywhere else) for the foreseeable future.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17942583
Guardian stats – 63% possession, 19 corners, 22 goal attempts……1 goal – says it all really!!
And Harry is a ditherer..
Not in a press conference he’s not, oh no, not on your nelly……he never dithers with the press, in fact I wish he did, just once would be nice….