**SPOILERS** The Football League Cup 2010/2011 Final
- Thread starter Greenlizard0
- Start date
arsenal fanmate of mine said today would define the rest of the season for them... Damn right, not going to win a thing Actually Arsenal were the only lucky team today, lucky not to be down to 10 men within the first few minutes of the game
Love all the bitterness in this thread, only Arsenal fans would harp on and on about teams playing negative football against them following a defeat and complaining for pages on end about a non event that was that little push on whathisnames head
I do think the Carling Cup is gaining some more appeal now even for the big teams. A few years ago it wasn't taken so seriously, but I think the "bigger" teams are realising its hard to win the CL, PL and FA cup. This has been illustrated by the gunners who haven't won anything in ages.
Associate
- Joined
- 22 Jan 2008
- Posts
- 2,218
Arsenal have a mental problem and have had for a number of years
Thats what you get (amongst other things) when you buy cheap in bulk and have little "built" in experience of winning over and over
Fergie has bought cheaply in the past (£5.5m / £7m for Evra/Vidic) - and yes they did diabolically in their first match, but they were also surrounded by players experienced in winning things , who could help them through the next few matches and they havent looked back since.
How many players in the Arsenal squad have won anything significant (or even got close) - Cesc, VP....anyone else? and one of those is nearly always injured (what stat was in the commentary today, VP has played 20+ EPL fixtures once in the 6 years at the club?)
There is no collective belief that they can win something. Admittedly there was only 5 minutes or so (incl injury time) left but did ANY Arsenal player believe they could get back to 2-2 at the end (which would at least give them another 30 mins to get another)? Everyone knows that Utd try until the last second (as has been shown on multiple occasions), and until recently Chelsea have had the same, or at least its been working until recently.
How many 1st choice (or verging on) players were out there today for Arsenal, 5 or 6 maybe more? VP , Nasri, (Arshavin?), Wilshere, Song, Sagna & Szczesny - maybe a couple of those are debatable 1st choice I dont know, but that must be about right.
AW may not have had lots to spend - but he COULD have spent £20m on a player per season in the last few years and the money would have been available , and the club would have been in a MUCH better position and maybe even have won a few trophies in the intervening period. That money (maybe not on the first player, but after 2 or 3 seasons of doing it) would have bought this mental strength to the team that it desperately requires
As he mentioned on the VT before today's game - AW's policy is very admirable IF it works - the problem is that the last 5 years it hasnt and really doesnt look that close to winning. At the final hurdle the squad doesnt believe in itself enough
Always so near - yet also always so far (yes Arsenal fans, you can carry on about the CL final you got to, this final today - but to be so near and yet that far away from winning it - it could be argued it makes the situation worse rather than better after several near misses)
There are some stunning naturally gifted players in the Arsenal squad (JW, Nasri, even Szczesny probably to name a few) but there is a big question mark whether they can become the best players they are capable of becoming if they continue to lose games like today and dont build the mental toughness to see things through until the end and actually win something.
Thats what you get (amongst other things) when you buy cheap in bulk and have little "built" in experience of winning over and over
Fergie has bought cheaply in the past (£5.5m / £7m for Evra/Vidic) - and yes they did diabolically in their first match, but they were also surrounded by players experienced in winning things , who could help them through the next few matches and they havent looked back since.
How many players in the Arsenal squad have won anything significant (or even got close) - Cesc, VP....anyone else? and one of those is nearly always injured (what stat was in the commentary today, VP has played 20+ EPL fixtures once in the 6 years at the club?)
There is no collective belief that they can win something. Admittedly there was only 5 minutes or so (incl injury time) left but did ANY Arsenal player believe they could get back to 2-2 at the end (which would at least give them another 30 mins to get another)? Everyone knows that Utd try until the last second (as has been shown on multiple occasions), and until recently Chelsea have had the same, or at least its been working until recently.
How many 1st choice (or verging on) players were out there today for Arsenal, 5 or 6 maybe more? VP , Nasri, (Arshavin?), Wilshere, Song, Sagna & Szczesny - maybe a couple of those are debatable 1st choice I dont know, but that must be about right.
AW may not have had lots to spend - but he COULD have spent £20m on a player per season in the last few years and the money would have been available , and the club would have been in a MUCH better position and maybe even have won a few trophies in the intervening period. That money (maybe not on the first player, but after 2 or 3 seasons of doing it) would have bought this mental strength to the team that it desperately requires
As he mentioned on the VT before today's game - AW's policy is very admirable IF it works - the problem is that the last 5 years it hasnt and really doesnt look that close to winning. At the final hurdle the squad doesnt believe in itself enough
Always so near - yet also always so far (yes Arsenal fans, you can carry on about the CL final you got to, this final today - but to be so near and yet that far away from winning it - it could be argued it makes the situation worse rather than better after several near misses)
There are some stunning naturally gifted players in the Arsenal squad (JW, Nasri, even Szczesny probably to name a few) but there is a big question mark whether they can become the best players they are capable of becoming if they continue to lose games like today and dont build the mental toughness to see things through until the end and actually win something.
Last edited:
I didn't see the match for the following reasons:
1/ It was the Carling Cup
2/ It was the Carling Cup
3/ It was the Carling Cup
It's funny though because despite being in Australia, there seem to be a lot of Brummies crawling out of the wood work. I don't know about you guys (can't be arsed trawling through the whole thread) but I've never cared about the Carling Cup, unless of course you win it, then it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
...until you win something better, then it goes back to being a meaningless honour and the trophy gets tossed in the skip.
Speaking of skips. Hired one today and by the time we put our stuff in it, it was half full. ****.
1/ It was the Carling Cup
2/ It was the Carling Cup
3/ It was the Carling Cup
It's funny though because despite being in Australia, there seem to be a lot of Brummies crawling out of the wood work. I don't know about you guys (can't be arsed trawling through the whole thread) but I've never cared about the Carling Cup, unless of course you win it, then it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
...until you win something better, then it goes back to being a meaningless honour and the trophy gets tossed in the skip.
Speaking of skips. Hired one today and by the time we put our stuff in it, it was half full. ****.
Soldato
- Joined
- 22 Oct 2004
- Posts
- 9,086
- Location
- Berkland
Shocking really, but you have to say, Arsenal play like carp, and Brum played very well.
It hurts lots being a Cov fan with a lot of love for Arsenal (I go to watch them more than Cov).
It hurts lots being a Cov fan with a lot of love for Arsenal (I go to watch them more than Cov).
Caporegime
- Joined
- 7 Apr 2008
- Posts
- 25,121
- Location
- Lorville - Hurston
Shocking really, but you have to say, Arsenal play like carp, and Brum played very well.
It hurts lots being a Cov fan with a lot of love for Arsenal (I go to watch them more than Cov).
how did we play like crap? we had more attempts on goal. there GK was easily more busier then ours. why do u think ben foster got man of the match?
we was far from crap. bham scored a lucky goal gifted by yours truelly.
bham did play well but so did arsenal and extra time would have been fair for both teams.
Arsenal basically handed the trophy to bham. no if's or buts.
I hope the bookies lost a mint - favourites my ****
Arsenal should have been out of it after the 1st minute (a penalty with 1st choice keeper sent off / man down)
Wonder who would have come off if the linesman had got it right - Song or an attacking player? (Would have thought Song or more defensive, as in that postion AW might as well completely go for it rather than take off VP for instance and restrict goal chances even further)
edit - Thinking about it , I wonder if the linesman's decision in the 1st minute defined what the result was - ie wouldnt have been surprised at a much better display from Arsenal had they gone a man down at that point.
Arsenal should have been out of it after the 1st minute (a penalty with 1st choice keeper sent off / man down)
Wonder who would have come off if the linesman had got it right - Song or an attacking player? (Would have thought Song or more defensive, as in that postion AW might as well completely go for it rather than take off VP for instance and restrict goal chances even further)
edit - Thinking about it , I wonder if the linesman's decision in the 1st minute defined what the result was - ie wouldnt have been surprised at a much better display from Arsenal had they gone a man down at that point.
Last edited:
Soldato
- Joined
- 22 Oct 2004
- Posts
- 9,086
- Location
- Berkland
They were crap compared to what I have seen them play like before. They didnt seem to be able to flow like they usually do. Hey, maybe I talk rubbish, but everyone is allow an opinion.
Birmingham get a Uefa cup spot, 5th in the league gets the 2nd and depending on whether we have 2 CL teams in the FA cup final so will 6th place.
Well its not really "our" UEFA cup spot
but anyway...as it currently stands, 5th is UEFA cup and Birmingham have UEFA cup from winning the Carling cup.
6th might be UEFA cup too, but only if someone in the top 5 or Birmingham win the FA cup, if that doesnt happen then the UEFA cup entries with be 5th, 6th and Birmingham. If the winner of the FA cup isnt in the top 5 or Birmingham , then the UEFA cup entries will be 5th, FA cup winner and Birmingham.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 7 Apr 2008
- Posts
- 25,121
- Location
- Lorville - Hurston
so no praises for bham at all? everything down to how crap we played?
sorry but i dont agree. bham played well. arsenal played well. maybe not at our very best but we still played well. stats dont lie. if we played pants we would not have had soo many chances and their gk ben foster being man of the match..
far from pants our performance.
To be fair, Arsenal didn't play that well. Birmingham did pack their box at times but when Arsenal are playing well they pass through teams 3 or 4 times a game to create fantastic chances, there wasn't much of that yesterday, and the speed of the passing/movement from Arsenal was not the same as when they're playing well. Arsenal were average really, a typical Cesc-less performance
Soldato
- Joined
- 22 Oct 2004
- Posts
- 9,086
- Location
- Berkland
I do have praise for Brum, they played well and chased them down, but I would have thought that if Arsenal had played better than they did and managed to complete a lot more of their passes and not go on so many one man runs (yes Sammi, I thought on a couple of attacks he took the ball to far) then they would have comprehensively played them off the pitch.
On the flip side, they have played worse.
Soldato
- Joined
- 2 Apr 2009
- Posts
- 5,759
- Location
- Location, Location!
I don't get why some Arsenal fans care so much.... it's the carling friggin cup, merely the warm up for the F.A cup, which is still not that important for any of the big clubs unless you randomly get to the final, only then does it become important.
If you're playing champs league week in week out and fighting for the Prem, why would you even care...
let the kids all get a run out... instead you have van persie picking up injuries before the important barca game. Very clever.
If you're playing champs league week in week out and fighting for the Prem, why would you even care...
let the kids all get a run out... instead you have van persie picking up injuries before the important barca game. Very clever.