Chelsea beat us fair and square and next years CL entry May 13, 2009
Posted by freekicker in 2008-09 season, Arsenal, Champions League, Chelsea, Silvestre, UEFA.add a comment
I do not think we can complain about the 4-1 loss to Chelsea at home…our biggest loss this season and that too coming after 20 unbeaten games in the premier league. We had our chances and Walcott missed a number of them after creating them and Diaby made the wrong choice by going for a shot which he could have left for Fabregas(given our finishing and luck, maybe he would also have not finished it). Well we had our chances and we didn’t convert, Chelsea did that was the difference.
No point in complaining but I thought Silvestre was partially responsible in letting in the first two goals. Wenger could have probably got a younger, fitter and energetic player than him I am sure. He has a sweet tooth for the French players, it might not work all the time. Atleast not on Silvestre. The goal that he conceded in that ill-fated FA cup semi comes to mind. Agreed, that Fabianski came out too early but Silvestre gave up on the chase mich before that. Please sell him.
I would like to make a separate post on how we can improve the squad but I would definetely like to see a experienced goalie and centre-back in the team, next season. Somehow I have a feeling that our midfield and forward line look decent.
The Guardian has a good report on the implications of the fourth place finish. Here is an exercpt from the article
Uefa has introduced play-offs, which will run alongside the old qualification rounds and contain the teams from the higher-profile leagues.
The fourth-placed Premier League team will enter the final play-off round, together with the fourth-placed finishers from Italy and Spain and the third-placed finishers from Germany and France. These teams will be joined by the winners of ties between the runners-up from Portugal, Holland, Scotland, Turkey, Ukraine, Belgium, Greece, Czech Republic and Romania, plus the third-placed team from Russia.
The 10 teams will then be divided into five seeds and five non-seeds, based on their Uefa club coefficient, and drawn seeds against non-seeds, with the winners of the two-legged ties advancing to the group stage.
Arsenal are certain to be seeded, given their consistent level of achievement in Europe, but the danger would lie in them drawing an emerging team who, because of a lack of a recent track record, are not afforded seeded status. Italy’s current fourth-placed team, Fiorentina, fit that profile, as do Germany’s third-placed team, Hertha Berlin. Even Valencia, currently fourth in Spain, would not be guaranteed to be seeded. Nor might Arsenal relish being drawn against Sporting Lisbon, Shakhtar Donetsk or Celtic, all second in their leagues at present.
The fabulous back four of yesteryears and the Wenger years in video May 9, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Arshavin, Chelsea, Drogba, George Graham, Nigel Winterburn, Steve Bould.add a comment
In a weekend where we take on the might of ever-improving Chelsea under Hiddink, here are some interesting reads and videos.
The Fab Four - Talks about our famous back four assembled by George Graham consisting of Winterburn-Adams-Bould-Dixon/Keown. The second title they won by conceding only 18 goals and losing just once (almost unbeaten, isn’t it)
Arsene Wenger – Those were the days, tracks Wengers 13 year journey with Arsenal. Some good videos
Enjoy the reads and hope we beat Chelsea…Drogba and Arshavin are most probably notable absentees
Lucky Arsenal beat Chelsea December 1, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Chelsea, EPL, Fabregas, Stamford Bridge, Van Persie.4 comments
Before the match started any Gooner would have told you that one point from this game is more than enough, especially when the team is going to Stamford Bridge on the back of 2 defeats. So when with a bit of luck the team beat Chelsea convincingly in the end, every fan would be relishing in it. It’s really different when Arsenal win. You go to sleep feeling nice, and you wake up the next morning feeling even better, especially after you beat one of the strong, title-contenders.
Chelsea applied pressure from the first half and deservingly went ahead by an error from Djourou, which resulted in an own goal. And when Chelsea went into the break leading by a goal, Martin Tyler made a telling statement, Chelsea has not conceded a goal in the second half of any premier league match this season. Well, whatever confidence a Gooner would have had, got drained there itself.
I should say that the way we played was not upto our usual standard. Denilson and Song to some extent were below par and I dont know how many times we ended up giving wrong passes. It was only in the 60th minute when luck turned in Arsenal’s favour. Van Persie who was clearly offside banged a shot into the right corner using his wrong foot. In another three minutes, Fabregas’s freekick was headed down by Adebayor and Van persie turned and swirled a shot past a diving Cech. Anelka and Kalou proved to everyone that they are not exactly the best strikers that a rich club like Chelsea can afford. It was as if the youngsters were teaching the oldies at Stamford Bridge a lesson.
Gallas returned to his old ground amidst a lot of jeers from the crowd throughout the match, but he would have been one of the many who would have left the stadium happier.
“William was outstanding today,” Wenger said. “Absolutely amazing. He came out of that period with a lot of credit and his commitment is fantastic. He was outstanding today, just as he was against Dynamo Kiev. He shows he is a real fighter. Instead of giving up, he’s a fighter.”
“There’s no problem at all,” Van Persie said. “He’s a respected colleague and a very good player. It’s not my day, it’s our day.”
So it is Wigan next saturday and if we can keep the winning run under the new Captain, it would do the chances of this team a whole lot good. Liverpool come to Emirates on December 20th and I would love to see how this team responds to the current League leaders. Till then…
Does Robinho know what he is doing? September 8, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Chelsea, Man City, Real Madrid, Robinho.add a comment
Who knows, he might become a success in Man City but the whole deal stinks. Real Madrid might be feeling good that they were able to dispose him off and make a handsome return in the process. He was uttering only Chelsea ever since Scolari took over at Stamford Bridge and ultimately went to the club in Blue jersey in Manchester.
Here is a good one
The national team, preparing for World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia over the next week, gave a press conference on Thursday. Asked about his transfer, Robinho mentioned Chelsea, and ‘the offer Chelsea made to Real Madrid’ several times in the course of his answer, and when the journalist sought clarification afterwards (‘You mean Manchester City, right?’), the man of the moment blinked and replied ‘yeah, right. Manchester City, sorry,’ before moving onto the next question
How sad is that?
Berba to Utd, Binho to ManC and none to Ashburton Grove September 2, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Berbatov, Chelsea, EPL, Liverpool, Manchester United, Robinho, Transfer, tranfer deals.2 comments
In a midnight of pounds and faxes, transfer deadlines were met and unmet with a host of transfer deals across Europe and England as some of the top Premier league clubs made last minute additions to their squad. Of the notable ones were the long pending transfer of Berbatov to United. It seems the new super rick Sheikhs of Man City wanted to hijack the bid but Berbatov stood firm to commit himself to Man Utd.
But the most interesting bit of transfer happened in the Blue Half of Manchester as City swooped on Chelsea target Robinho from Real. Now that was something that must have irked off Abrahmovic…and I like that 
Here are the list of transfer dealings from the top 4 clubs of EPL…courtesy Telegraph UK
Deadline Day deals:
| Player | From | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Pavlyuchenko | Spartak Moscow | Tottenham | £14m |
| Vedran Corluka | Manchester City | Tottenham | £8.5m |
| Jonas Olsson | NEC Nijmegan | WBA | £800,000 rising to £1.6m |
| Omar Garcia | Athletic Bilbao | Rotherham | Free |
| Vitor Flora | Botafogo | Liverpool | Free |
| Ryan Gallagher | Blackburn | Plymouth | Season Loan |
| Ryan Donk | AZ Alkmaar | WBA | Season Loan |
| Kamil Zayatte | Young Boys Berne | Hull | Season Loan |
| Blerim Dzemaili | Bolton | Torino | Season Loan |
| Nadim Belhadj | Lens | Portsmouth | Season Loan |
| Ignacio Gonzalez | Valencia | Newcastle | Season Loan |
| Mark Bunn | Northampton | Blackburn Rovers | Undisclosed |
| Louis Saha | Manchester United | Everton | Undisclosed |
| Steve Finnan | Liverpool | Espanyol | Undisclosed |
| Peter Guloisi | MTK Hungaria | Liverpool | Undisclosed |
| Sean Evans | Manchester United | Aberystwyth | Free |
| Collins John | Fulham | Nijmegen | Free |
| Rachid Bouaouzan | Wigan | Nijmegen | Season loan |
| Andriy Voronin | Liverpool | Hertha Berlin | Season loan |
| Jonathan Grounds | Middlesbrough | Norwich City | Three-month loan |
| Jean-Francois Christophe | Portsmouth | Southend United | One-month loan |
| Gabriel Zakuani | Fulham | Peterborough | One-month loan |
| Javan Vidal | Manchester City | Grimsby | One-month loan |
| Danny Higginbotham | Sunderland | Stoke City | Undisclosed |
| Carlo Nash | Everton | Wigan Athletic | Undisclosed |
| Daniel Cousin | Hull City | Rangers | £4m |
| Antonie Sibierski | Norwich City | Wigan Athletic | 5 month loan |
| Martin Cranie | Charlton Athletic | Portsmouth | Season loan |
| Xisco | Newcastle United | Deportivo La Coruna | £8.2m |
| Dimitar Berbatov | Manchester United | Tottenham Hotspur | £30.75m |
| Fraizer Campbell | Tottenham Hotspur | Manchester United | Season loan |
| Michael Tonge | Stoke City | Sheffield United | £1.5m |
| Tom Soares | Stoke City | Crystal Palace | £1.5m |
| Julian Gray | Fulham | Coventry City | Season loan |
The top 4 clubs’ tranfer activities this year -
Arsenal
IN
Samir Nasri Marseille £12.8m
Aaron Ramsey Cardiff £5m
Mikael Silvestre Manchester U £750,000
Amaury Bischoff Werder Bremen Undisclosed
Francis Coquelin Stade Lavallois Free
OUT
Alexander Hleb Barcelona £11.8m rising to £13.5m
Justin Hoyte Middlesbrough £3m
Gilberto Silva Panathinaikos £1m
Mathieu Flamini AC Milan Free
Jens Lehmann Stuttgart Free
Kerrea Gilbert Leicester Season Loan
Havard Nordtveit Salamanca Season Loan
Nacer Barazite Derby 5 Month Loan
Armand Traore Portsmouth Season Loan
Chelsea
IN
Jose Bosingwa Porto £16.2m
Deco Barcelona £7.9m
Fabio Paim Sporting Lisbon Season Loan
OUT
Steve Sidwell Aston Villa £5m
Khalid Boulahrouz Stuttgart £4m
Tal Ben Haim Manchester C £3m
Claude Makelele Paris St-Germain Free
Harry Worley Leicester Free
Anthony Grant Southend Free
Andriy Shevchenko AC Milan Undisclosed
Ryan Bertrand Norwich Season Loan
Shaun Cummings MK Dons 1 Month Loan
Slobodan Rajkovic FC Twente Season Loan
Ben Sahar Portsmouth Season Loan
Michael Modubi Westerloo Season Loan
Jeffrey Ntuka Westerloo Season Loan
Emmanuel Sarki Westerloo Season Loan
Jimmy Smith Sheffield Wed Season Loan
Hernan Crespo Inter Milan Season Loan
Claudio Pizarro Werder Bremen Season Loan
Lee Sawyer Southend 3 Month Loan
Jack Cork Southampton 6 Month Loan
Adrian Pettigrew Released
James Simmonds Released
Phil Younghusband Released
Liverpool
IN
Albert Riera Espanyol Undisclosed
Peter Gulacsi MTK Hungaria Undisclosed
Vito Flora Botafogo Free
Robbie Keane Tottenham £19m rising to £20.3m
Andrea Dossena Udinese £7m
Diego Cavalieri Palmeiras £3m
David Ngog Paris St-Germain £1.5m
Nikola Saric Herfolge £600,000
Vincent Weijl AZ Alkmaar Nominal
Christopher Buchtmann Borussia Dortmund Undisclosed
Philipp Degen Borussia Dortmund Free
Emmanuel Mendy Murcia Deportivo Free
Zsolt Poloskei MTK Hungaria Season Loan
OUT
Steve Finnan Espanyol Undisclosed
Andriy Voronin Hertha Berlin Season loan
John Arne Riise Roma £4m
Scott Carson WBA £3.25m
Peter Crouch Portsmouth £9m rising to £11m
Danny Guthrie Newcastle £2.5m
Anthony Le Tallec Le Mans £1.1m
Charlie Barnett Tranmere Free
Besian Idrizaj Wacker Innsbruck Free
Harry Kewell Galatasaray Free
Godwin Antwi Tranmere 6 Month Loan
Adam Hammill Blackpool 6 Month Loan
Jack Hobbs Leicester Season Loan
Robbie Threlfall Hereford Season Loan
David Martin Leicester6 Month Loan
Sebastien Leto Olympiakos 2 Year Loan
Craig Lindfield Bournemouth 4 Month Loan
Manchester United
IN
Dimitar Berbatov Tottenham £30.75m
Davide Petrucci Roma £200,000
OUT
Dong Fangzhou Released
Gerard Pique Barcelona £4m
Chris Eagles Burnley £1.2m
Mikael Silvestre Arsenal £750,000
Richie Jones Hartlepool Free
Michael Lea Scunthorpe Free
Kieron Lee Oldham Free
Conor McCormack Triestina Free
Scott McManus Crewe Free
David Williams Oldham Free
Tom Heaton Cardiff Season Loan
Ferbin Brandy Swansea 6 Month Loan extension
Danny Simpson Blackburn Season Loan
Fraizer Campbell Tottenham Season loan
Lee Martin Nottm Fst Season Loan
Craig Cathcart Plymouth 6 Month Loan
Michael Barnes Released
Sean Evans Aberystwyth Released Free
Chris Fagan Released
Away at Craven Cottage August 23, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Chelsea, Craven Cottage, EPL, Fulham, Silvestre.add a comment
After deservedly getting 3 points from their match against West Brom, though just by a solitary goal, Arsenal travel across the city to meet Fulham at Craven Cottage on week 2 of this season. It was heartening to see Manchester United being held by Newcastle at Old Trafford but the way Chelsea demolished Portsmouth is trouble for all the other teams in the league. Chelsea this season increasingly looks like the team to beat.
On the injury front, Fabregas, Rosicky and Diaby are still not available for selection. Alex Song is back from Olympics and if he has got enough rest, should be playing in the centre of the park with Denilson. Samir Nasri seems to have shrugged off his injury that kept him out of the French squad. That should be interesting. On the other hand, Fulham would be missing Andy Johnson whom they signed from Everton dues to injury.
Wenger should look to start the season like he did last year when we had 8 wins in 9 games. That is the kind of start which can drive the confidence in this young side and give them the momentum to chase the title. Chelsea slamming in 4 goals against a team United failed to score (Community Shiled) is bad news, especially when you see that the goalkeeper who let in 4 is David James!!! Eboue’s position is a debating point across many an Arsenal forum and I would like to see him be the first choice replacement for right back or winger. If things go well, maybe Vela will also get a chance to play in this match.
Toure should be starting the match with Gallas alongside him. Another interesting bit of transfer was the signing of Silvestre from Manchester United. He is 31 and French and is a versatile player who can play as a central defender or left back. It seems he has come cheap at 750k pounds. Smart Purchase? Yes. But every Gooner is looking forward to Wenger buying an experienced holding midfielder to strengthen the team than such buys. As of now it is a wait and watch game from Wenger’s side and he will in all likelihood throw in a surprise come the transfer deadline.
Season 2008-09: Contenders – I August 12, 2008
Posted by freekicker in 2008-09 season, Champions League, Chelsea, EPL, Europe, Manchester United.add a comment
Manchester United
With both the domestic and the European titles under their belt, they would be brimming with confidence this time around. They would ideally be looking at retaining both the titles and in doing so become eligible to be the best United team ever. Ferguson has managed to retain his talismanic winger Ronaldo for one more season and has not made any notable buys so far. He is short of one striker and is eyeing the Spurs spearhead Berbatov who Ramos is reluctant to sell as he has already lost Keane.
The community shield was won in the penalty and it once again showed the fighting skills of Tevez and the youth and exuberance of Nani in the absence of Ronaldo and Rooney. But are they good enough to win the league this time also? Needs to be seen, as I can see them challenging the others only if they buy one more striker. This could be the last season for Van Der Saar, Giggs, Scholes and Gary Neville in this team. Queiroz has already left for Portugal and it is quite odd to see Alex Ferguson without his partner in coaching.
With Ronaldo and Rooney missing the beginning of the season I think United will lose their momentum initially though they will come back strongly. But how will Ronaldo play after his operation, will their new striker(if they buy anyone) fit in well with the team, can the Defenders put in one more stellar season? A lot of questions but I think they will not prosper as they did last year.
Prediction: Finish 3rd in the league
Chelsea
A new coach, old players and couple of good additions, Chelsea just look bigger and better this season. Having got Scolari as the coach who admitted openly that his only motivation was money, Chelsea did the best they could in getting a good coach. The other important thing they did was retain the services (so far) of Frank Lampard, their star player. With Drogba now looking at seeing out his contract and Ballack in some good European form this team will be pushing all limits this time around.
Deco was a wonderful signing and I wonder where he would fit in as the Chelsea midfield looks packed with talent. They have to make sure Lampard, Ballack, Essien, Deco, Joe Cole all get to play now. Scolari’s man management skill will be tested and if his past experience in handling the Brazilian national side is anything to go by then he definitely will. He is still pursuing Robinho and wonder if that is required at all.
Last year they know how close they came to winning the league as well as the Champion’s league. People like Ballack and Deco have shown their class in the just concluded Euros and would like to give it one more shot and honestly I think this year’s Chelsea team has got a better cutting edge than the previous season’s. They can maintain the winning momentum for 38 games and now they have coach who will provide the spark.
Prediction: English Premier League Champions
Transfer news and new kit July 3, 2008
Posted by freekicker in 2008-09 Squad numbers, 2008-09 season, Aaron Ramsey, Adebayor, Alex Ferguson, Arsenal, Arsenal Away Jersey, Arsenal Home Jersey, Arsene Wenger, Arshavin, Berbatov, Carlos Vela, Chelsea, David Villa, Deco, Drogba, EPL, Gareth Barry, Liverpool, Manchester United, Robinho, Ronaldo, Samir Nasri, Scolari, Theo, Walcott.3 comments
With the Euros over,time for some transfer news.
Manchester United – Ferguson has come out in the open and has said that he is looking for only one signing this season to strengthen his team. The position has not been specified but I presume it should be in the forward line given the injury prone Louis Saha might leave or get injured again. Lets not talk about Ronaldo and his impending transfer to Real Madrid. I feel United should just cash in as much as they can over him and pay off their debts. Will they go for Berbatov needs to be seen.
Chelsea – With Scolari coming in at Stamford Bridge,the playin style of the club is sure to change. And on his first day in office, he got Deco on board, something that Jose Mourinho could not do. Now this latest addition to the midfield means Lampard and Ballack are going to have competition for the second place. Does that mean Lampard will leave the club, again a debating point. Scolari is also strongly rumoured to get Robinho from Real as well. Now that should be interesting. Will Drogba be their come the start of the season, remains to be seen. Arshavin is the latest one who is tipped to be heading to Stamford Bridge this season.
Liverpool – Rafa is not good at buying players and to make it worse his hands are tied this time around with the transfer funds. The Gareth Barry tussle with Aston Villa is really sad, infact it is worse than the continuing Ronaldo saga. Barry has been asked to train on his own and Martin O’Neil has made it clear to Liverpool that they should pay 18 million if they want to see Barry in a red jersey next season. Fair enough. Do they have the money to buy David Villa??? No I do not think so.
Arsenal – Nasri is in. I hope he plays better than his Euro performance in an Arsenal jersey. Hleb stories have become silent and Adebayor stories on the rise in the last few weeks. Ade’s salary demands if it is true is showing him in a poor light. It is strange how one good season can make a player think so highly about himself. If he had made this demand at the end of next season after scoring 20 goals, it would have looked better.
The official jerseys are on sale from today. Here is the home jersey
And here is the rumoured to be away jersey
Also the 2008-09 Arsenal first team squad numbers have been finalised few weeks back. Notable ones;
12 Carlos Vela
14 Theo Walcott – ya he gets Henry’s number. Now only if he could play like him
Of EPL wages & finance and Samir Nasri May 29, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Chelsea, Deloitte, Diarra, EPL, Flamini, Hleb, Samir Nasri, Telegraph.2 comments
Deloitte published it’s much publicised Annual Review of Football Finance today which covers all the European leagues. It is not any secret anymore that EPL pays its players the highest wages and also bring in the most money by the TV deals as well as the other marketing activities. Chelsea and Manchester United top the list of clubs running on debts and poorly managed as a Footballing club when you look at the Finance part of it.
Arsenal though are third on the list but they have been well planned with respect to the move to Emirates stadium. The assets owned by the club are the highest in England. The stadium utilisation has been the highest in the league at 99.5% and this goes on to show the fans flocking the stadium to see the beautiful passing game of Arsenal.
Telegraph gives a club by club analysis.
Various news websites have reported the signing of Samir Nasri but it is better to be confirmed once the official statement is made on this. The French team for Euro has seen Diarra and Nasri making the grade and Flamini not making it. Probably Diarra got the nod ahead of Flamini because Diarra might be a more flexibile asset to the team as he can play right back as well.
Nasri can play both on the left as well as the centre and would straightaway replace Hleb if he leaves the club. More as and when something concrete is reported.
