English League Football [26th Feb - 2nd Mar 2010] **spoilers**

jakeke said:
I think you can forgive him for calling that tackle unacceptable in the heat of the moment after him seeing it from 10 yards and no replays :)
Click to expand...

Maybe if it was the first time it's happened then you could forgive him (I used to) but it's not and it's becoming tiresome now.
 
BaZ87 said:
Maybe if it was the first time it's happened then you could forgive him (I used to) but it's not and it's becoming tiresome now.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about him repeatedly seeing his players legs get broken as I imagine that's becoming very tiresome for him too. Accidents or not, it's awful for him and everyone involved with the club. Same as I imagine it was for Liverpool when it kept happening, did Benitez say it's fine every time when he was asked about it?

Houllier on when Carragher got a leg break

"I said after the game that it was a tackle that could have resulted in a broken leg, and sadly that is what has happened," the Liverpool manager said. "To me it was a coward's challenge and Neill's reaction was also appalling because he then complained about being sent off."

Houllier added: "I am gutted for Jamie. He won't be able to play for six months, yet Neill will be playing again in three matches. I can imagine what Graeme Souness would be saying if one of his players had a leg broken in a similar way."
Click to expand...

Managers just don't like to see their players get broken, to start complaining at a manager when he's not happy about one of his players being destroyed for 6 months+ is scraping the barrel. There's no way they can be happy.

An angry Houllier said today: "Carra was injured at 3.10pm on Saturday and the apology came 48 hours later. It was absolutely pathetic.

Added Houllier: "Of course I understand these things happen. But what is unacceptable is their lack of grace and dignity.
Click to expand...

One where he uses the same word as Wenger.
 
Last edited:
Who was it that broke Nasri's leg on the training pitch? Was that more or less unacceptable than a competitive game?
 
jakeke said:
Are you talking about him repeatedly seeing his players legs get broken as I imagine that's becoming very tiresome for him too. Accidents or not, it's awful for him and everyone involved with the club. Same as I imagine it was for Liverpool when it kept happening, did Benitez say it's fine every time when he was asked about it?
Click to expand...

Benitez nor Liverpool fans blamed Lampard for Alonso's broken ankle, nor did they blame whoever it was that broke Cisse's leg at Blackburn because neither were malicious tackles.

To be fair, a lot of Arsenal fans have been very gracious, a few of them and their manager haven't though.

Btw, you're attempts at defining an unacceptable tackle to defend what Wenger said is cringeworthy. We all know what Wenger meant when he said it was unacceptable.

edit:

Go have a look at the Lucas Neil challenge on Carra and then you'll understand his comments. Also Baros broke his ankle in the same game but Houllier didn't complain about that because it was just an unfortunate incident.

edit2: Houllier's reaction to Baros's broken ankle:
Milan has a broken ankle and will be operated on Saturday or Sunday it's a bad injury.

But the referee did the right thing - it was not even a foul, Markus tackled properly and got the ball and it probably happened when he fell over on the floor.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Diaby, I fully imagine Wenger was equally as devastated as the Ramsey injury, I know I was. Also, if you quickly look on youtube for that leg break you can see it was as much Nasri's fault as much as Diaby's. It wasn't a tackle from Diaby, Nasri stole the ball as Diaby was shooting

I've seen the Carragher challenge, just as dangerous and stupid as the Cana one on Eboue a few weeks ago except Wenger didn't react the same as Houllier

The Baros one was different since Shawcross didn't get the ball so it was an obvious foul

I think to wrap this up it's fair to say that managers have every right to be aggrieved when they see their players leg get snapped from an unfair challenge. He works with Ramsey every day and they obviously have a good bond. If you were playing on a Sunday morning and your mate got his leg snapped you'd be unhappy. It's human nature surely? I don't know the first thing about Ramsey as a person but I felt gutted about it. Imagine how involved Wenger is with Ramsey, I'd be devastated if it had happened to somebody close to me.
 
Last edited:
Good article by C.Waddle about Theo Walcott in the Times - "He doesn't have a football brain and doesn't seem to have improved anywhere since arriving at Arsenal".

I've been saying that for like 2yrs now lol but nice to know some pundits can see this guy for who he really is instead of kissing his *** at every opportunity and using age as an excuse.

How he still gets into the england squad is beyond me.
 
He'll be going to the World Cup so I guess he's fooled Capello and Wenger too. He must be damn, damn good at deceiving all of these top level managers.
 
BFCTom said:
He's played out of position 99% of the time to be fair.
Click to expand...

And even in the position that he usually plays in...hes still utter **** in all honesty.

Saying that i have to wonder why Wenger et al play him out of position??...if thats the case??...surely if Wenger wants him to play in a different role then he needs to get with the program ie make the adjustments to his game so he can be more versatile.

Still rather have him shipped out so at least we get some money for him...fact is if he went to another team he wouldnt get much time on the field:p.
 
BFCTom said:
He's played out of position 99% of the time to be fair.
Click to expand...

I think his biggest problem is that he doesn't have a certain position, his poise and delivery isn't good enough to be a winger and he isn't smart enough to play as a striker in an Owen type role even though he has the pace.

He IS going backwards as a player, losing confidence in the process.
 
jakeke said:
He'll be going to the World Cup so I guess he's fooled Capello and Wenger too. He must be damn, damn good at deceiving all of these top level managers.
Click to expand...

I think the word is called 'potential' ....but w/out progress that is all he currently is.

He can't run through defenders in the EPL unless he has a paddock to run into, most world class defenders will laugh at him and if their scouts are doing their job they already know how easy it is to shut him down.......although to be fair he does most of the work for them via putting his head down and running straight into them.
 
Last edited:
Well, you must know something Wenger and Capello haven't learnt in their long and successful careers

They've probably learnt not to judge a player at 21. It's not that hard. You'd have probably binned Iniesta too when he was 21. That would have been a great decision

They've also probably learnt that somebody who's been injured for a year doesn't just slip into the swing on things within a few weeks. It takes ages to get your body and head right again. The only thing you can do is keep playing them through their bad form, only way to see it through
 
Last edited:
jakeke said:
Well, you must know something Wenger and Capello haven't learnt in their long and successful careers

They've probably learnt not to judge a player at 21. It's not that hard. You'd have probably binned Iniesta too when he was 21. That would have been a great decision
Click to expand...

Do you actually get to any games and talk to real fans? I am not alone mate i goto quite a few home games @ the Emirates and i haven't talked to many that really rates Walcott anymore, he has had more than enough time at Arsenal to flourish but he has not shown any improvement.

Comparing players is stupid tbh and Iniesta is a poor example anyway, totally different players.

Walcott was doing what he is doing now @ 16 ....where is the development? i cannot see a single area where he has actually improved.....it's a simple question. You have a feel for the game or you don't ....he seems to find it very hard to know what to do at the right time ....whether that is something he can learn is unknown but he certainly hasn't moved forward in this area so far.

I'd take SWP and Lennon over Theo everyday of the week because at least there is an end product even though neither of them are perfect either.
 
Last edited:
If you're asking whether or not I think 'real' football fans have sensible opinions then the answer is no.

I go to as many games as I can and usually find the real lowest of the low at the games who just shout obscenities for 90 minutes and talk absolute rubbish and boo every time somebody misplaces a pass (especially at the Emirates, I think Arsenal fans are amongst the worst in the country)

I've watched every Arsenal game for the last 3 or 4 years and know what Walcott is capable of and also know that he's playing well below what he can right now and I think it's clear why, he's a confidence player who hasn't played more than a game or two in nearly a year and isn't even fully fit yet.

Capello has said himself that Walcott is running low on confidence and will be fine when he's fit. I agree completely with his assessment
 
Last edited:
He's always been a striker, you can see that in the way he plays. The more and more he's stuck out on the wing, the more he's losing confidence.

He actually makes half decent runs and if he was up front where he can use his pace to get in behind, I'm sure he'd be more effective.

I agree that he hasn't lived up to his price tag and hype, although it's a lot of pressure on someone so young. That all started off when he was taken to the last world cup, which should never have happened.
 
I thought his movement for England the other night was excellent, he was constantly darting around and trying to create space but never got a particularly good ball played through
 
jakeke said:
Capello has said himself that Walcott is running low on confidence and will be fine when he's fit. I agree completely with his assessment
Click to expand...

He is fit, did you not see him flying after those balls the other day :p

I'll take bets he doesn't goto to the WC in his current form, 3mths is a long time.
 
marscay said:
He is fit, did you not see him flying after those balls the other day :p

I'll take bets he doesn't goto to the WC in his current form, 3mths is a long time.
Click to expand...

I agree that he doesn't deserve a spot on current form, I'm confident he'll be much better by the summer, he's already started to improve slowly. He'll be ok. It takes a month+ to get fully match fit, he's getting there but he's said himself he's not quite there and I think that shows on the pitch too
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom