[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Talha: *
Arsene Wenger called Charlton's Matt Holland a Diver - need i comment?
[/QUOTE]
Its amazing how he can say that with a straight face and absolutely no sense of irony :D
isn’t it sad that even after all those records you guys have not won yet? I think its a good team but may not handle pressure well. Shearer is one of my fav players and his retirement from national was a big disappointment to me. The team however has potential..but potential is not enough.
RaMo- Arsene Wenger really is something else. In the U.K. everyone's favourite joke seems to be who will be the new manager at Tottenham or Liverpool or Arsenal or whatever? Answer : Ian Duncan Smith! I didn't fully understand that at first until my good mate explained to me in a little more detail what was going back down in the U.K...
Fraudz - thank-you yes we are agood side and i do agree - we have to win something. I think we will this season - we had a good shot at League Cup this year which we blew it last night :( - hopefully the UEFA Cup though there are some very good sides in it this year like Barcelona, Valencia, Liverpool, Parma, Dortmund, Roma - and Newcastle - not to mention those who will come down from the Champions League.
you are not alone ;) - Alan Shearer is one of my favorite player too - he is definitely one of the greates players of our era.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Talha: *
...hopefully the UEFA Cup though there are some very good sides in it this year like Barcelona, Valencia, Liverpool, Parma, Dortmund, Roma - and Newcastle - not to mention those who will come down from the Champions League.
[/QUOTE]
Yes Talha, you can pretty much add Arsenal to the above list as they don't look like progressing any further in the Champions League. What gets my end up is why Champions League failures like the Arse should be given a 2nd chance by getting a free entry into the UEFA cup. And to rub salt into the wounds, the Arse are now favourites to lift the UEFA cup... a competition they are not even in at the moment.
Its a funny old game, init?
MM
Yeah i have to agree with you 100% there Mystery Man - plus financially just making it through to the first stage of the Champions League gets you more money than winning the UEFA Cup - i don't think sides should come down like that at all.
I don't think Arsenal will quite become favourites - i mean their record against Valencia is truly abismal! And that's of course assuming they manage to get 3rd place in their group. Though this really should be in the Champions League thread!
Also i think it also buggers up the numbers a bit too!
I think things should go back to the old way of when it was just the Champions (of the respective football association) who made it into the Champions League and the cup winner into the UEFA cup (after of course the Cup winners Cup got scrapped) as these days there are way too many sides in Europe.
Anyway enough about this in here - this i think warrants a seperate topic on the state of the game - i'll start a thread on that.
Good Lord - i m digusted at the result - we should have won it - this is beyond my imgination - how could Alan Shearer missed the late penalty? :(
anyway Chelsea next for us i think - and if we can win that boy we would be back in the title race - I have to say though that Fulham have gone through a weird periods - they have started the season off great - but then they lose to us(Newcastle) at home - go and win away at Manchester United but then lose again at home to Liverpool!
Goal of the Week - MU's Roy Keane's left-foot strike
[thumb=D]_39522337_manutd_pompey1_3001.JPG[/thumb]
*Manchester United substitute Roy Keane collects Gary Neville's throw-in on the corner of penalty area... *
[thumb=D]_39522339_manutd_pompey2_3001.JPG[/thumb]
*Keane spins away from a crowd of defenders and curls a left-foot shot beyond the outstretched arm of Shaka Hislop *
Easy win for MU over Portsmouth - 3-0 - MU has kept the pressure - and they are serious about to be at the top of the Premiership.
Arsenal break Spurs hearts](BBC SPORT | Football | Premiership | Arsenal break Spurs hearts)
Arsenal 2-1 Spurs
Arsenal rode their luck in the north London derby to sink Spurs and extend their lead at the Premiership summit.
Spurs looked on course to end a barren 11-season barren sequence at Highbury as they deservedly led through Darren Anderton’s early goal.
But after the miserable Helder Postiga squandered two gilt-edged opportunities to double the advantage for David Pleat’s side, Arsenal struck back to snatch a vital victory.
Robert Pires scored a hotly-disputed equaliser, then Freddie Ljungberg hit the winner 11 minutes from time via a wicked deflection off Ledley King.
Spurs were left shattered after a battling display, with Postiga the undisputed villain of the piece.
Arsenal gave a first Premiership start of the season to Kanu as they attempted to continue their recent supremacy over their arch-rivals.
But it was Spurs who stunned Highbury by taking the lead after only four minutes through veteran Anderton.
KEY MOMENTS
4 mins: Darren Anderton puts Spurs in front
69 mins: Robert Pires scores a controversial Arsenal equaliser
79 mins: Freddie Ljungberg scores a deflected winner for Arsenal
Postiga and Robbie Keane were involved in the build-up, and when Lauren hurried a clearance Anderton was on hand to stab the finish past Jens Lehmann.
Arsenal responded instantly, with Thierry Henry forcing a fine save as he dived full length to turn his shot around the post.
But the central figure of an often abrasive first half was Portuguese youngster Postiga, who wasted two glorious chances to score his first goal since his £6.5m summer arrival from Porto.
Postiga twice failed to take advantage of poor back passes from Lauren, first over-running the ball and then allowing Lehmann to save at his feet once again.
The first chance sparked angry scenes when Lehmann was caught - but they were two desperate moments for a striker short on confidence.
Tempers had frayed throughout the first half, with the theatrical Pires involved in several angry exchanges with Spurs players.
Keller kept Spurs ahead with another fine save from Henry, who needed lengthy treatment after being accidentally caught in the throat by Steven Carr’s arm.
Spurs continued in an attacking vein after the interval, taking advantage of a ragged Arsenal performance which eventually saw Wenger introduce Dennis Bergkamp for Gilberto on the hour.
And just as Arsenal’s play was descending into frustration, they equalised in controversial circumstances after 69 minutes.
Spurs appealed for offside as Henry raced through, and even though Keller saved, the ball ran loose for Pires to take the easiest of chances.
And the game was turned on its head 10 minutes later when Ljungberg’s shot to a wicked deflection of King and looped over the helpless Keller.
Great day for Chelsea BBC SPORT | Football | Premiership | Chelsea thump sorry Magpies
Chelsea 5-0 Newcatsle
we were without Alan Shearer - and it was never going to be easy for us today - simple.
Dyer was out for you as well wasnt he? Tough game without 2 of your best players. Also from what I've read the penalty was a bit dodgy (although O'brein should have been sent off) since Mutu was pulled just outside the box put stayed on his feet long off to fall inside the area.
Realistically, with Liverpool losing to ManU at home, its a 3 horse race (at least at this stage). Its the 3 months in the New Year that will prove crucial to the title race, as its in those months that Chelsea have always struggled in the past. If we can keep up with the Gunners and ManU by March then its going to be a very interesting finish.
Gunners are doing quite well especially considering all the obstacles and challenges they are faced with.
that5-0 pummeling of newcastle showed just where that team stands, yes shearer was not there but he would be trying to score goals not stop goals. unless having shearer there would have meant a 5-6 result, i dont think his absence made a difference..the net result would be the same i.e. chelsea win, maybe not by that margin. newcastle needs to just fire all of their defense..
Whats up with Titus Bramble? He looked like such a promising defender, but now it seems like he's getting worse with every game and not better. Definately at fault for some of Newcastles poor defending in recent games.
Talha, what a geezer. Thanks a lot for the detailed write up mate, much appreciated.
There are two games that I look forward to each season and as luck would have it I missed this one even though it was shown LIVE on ESPN / STAR Sports on Saturday. All I knew about the game was that my beloved Spurs went down 2-1 to the gooners. However, your write has cheered me up as it sounds like we finally put up a spirited performace and should have clinched a rare vistory at Highbury.
Anyway, I shall be back in UK for the return fixture at ‘The Lane’.
C’mon on you Spurs…
MM
Mystery Man - you're welcome. :)
Fraudz - you are right and wrong in bits. We were very much understrength - we had no Alan Shearer - no Keiron Dyer - no Johnathon Woodgate, no Craig Belammy - we had our best defenders out - our best players out - our biggest play-maker out - if you can follow Fraudz - we conceded 5 goals without our best defenders - we were rubbish in the middle of the park and up-front because we had a 3rd rate strike-force (errors there from Sir Bobby) and a pretty weakened midfield too.
RaMo - CORRECT - it wasn't a penalty - i don't wanna make a huge cry of it but that should have been a free kick - i don't think Adrian Muthu intentionally tried to win a penalty - in his credit i think he actually tried to stay on his feet as long as he could so that's why when he went down he was in the area.
Titus Bramble is absolutely awful - he shows no promise whatsoever! For some reason Sir Bobby likes him but he's absolutely rubbish! He should be put on the transfer list.
As for the title i would say its not even a 3 horse race RaMo - i would say it's just Arsenal and Manchester United again to be honest - i can't really see anybody else involved - I think we(Newcastle) and Liverpool are both out - and you will make up to the top 3 - so it looks like its between us(Newcastle) and Liverpool for that final Champions League place.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Talha: *
Mystery Man - you're welcome. :)
Fraudz - you are right and wrong in bits. We were very much understrength - we had no Alan Shearer - no Keiron Dyer - no Johnathon Woodgate, no Craig Belammy - we had our best defenders out - our best players out - our biggest play-maker out - if you can follow Fraudz - we conceded 5 goals without our best defenders - we were rubbish in the middle of the park and up-front because we had a 3rd rate strike-force (errors there from Sir Bobby) and a pretty weakened midfield too. .
[/QUOTE]
talha, I aunderstand where you are coming from, but there should not be such a vast gap between your starters and your the second wave.
had this been a 1-0 game or a 2-1 game, heck even a 3-1 game, i would have said that having some of the people out was the difference between victory and defeat, but here it is a pummeling..a blow out..which means one of two things
1) even witrh the best players on teh field necastle would have lost, but with a narrower margin
or
2) newcastle would have won if it had some of its starters playing. This means that newcastle bench strength is bad, and the performance gulf between the starters and replacements too wide than a team should have.
Gunners if you noticed were able to surprise everyone this season by doing well even after all the challenges they faced.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Talha: *
As for the title i would say its not even a 3 horse race RaMo - i would say it's just Arsenal and Manchester United again to be honest - i can't really see anybody else involved - I think we(Newcastle) and Liverpool are both out - and you will make up to the top 3 - so it looks like its between us(Newcastle) and Liverpool for that final Champions League place.
[/QUOTE]
In past seasons i would have agreed with you that its a two horse race, but I've got a good feeling about this season. Don't know if we can win it, but I hope we can give Arsenal and ManU a good run for their money. I imagine the situation will be clearer by the end of Jan. If we're still with those 2 then, then its a 3 horse race.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Fraudz: *
talha, I aunderstand where you are coming from, but there should not be such a vast gap between your starters and your the second wave.
[/quote]
Yeah you are definately right there - but we do rely heavily on individuals. I have to say that without Alan Shearer we would have probably been relegated in the last 5 years or so - he is our true saviour. Also Shay has been outstanding for us in goal this season - another player we rely heavily on - and it is showing with our weakend defence how badly we need Johnathon Woodgate back in all too - along with Keiron Dyer - you can see how much creativity we're lacking at the moment.
[quote]
Originally posted by Fraudz:
had this been a 1-0 game or a 2-1 game, heck even a 3-1 game, i would have said that having some of the people out was the difference between victory and defeat, but here it is a pummeling..a blow out..which means one of two things
[/quote]
But had we have had some out players back it wouldn't have been such a battering! The thing is had we have had say Dyer back then he would have been sprinting up and down the pitch as usual - as a whole we would have played better - Chelsea wouldn't have been able to attack us constantly - the ball would have been in their half of the field more. Also had we have had Alan or even Craig we may have taken some of the chances we would have had
[quote]
Originally posted by Fraudz:
1) even witrh the best players on teh field necastle would have lost, but with a narrower margin
[/quote]
Yeah which would have been a more likely possible outcome - but i think what you fail to see if the whole context of the game would have been different.
[quote]
Originally posted by Fraudz:
2) newcastle would have won if it had some of its starters playing. This means that newcastle bench strength is bad, and the performance gulf between the starters and replacements too wide than a team should have.
[/quote]
Yeah as i said we do rely on our star players a lot yes but the thing is that its not that there's a huge gap - its just that we don't have the depth and strength in squad to say have the quality of players in our first team in say our second team - and not many sides do - barring Chelsea of course whom everyone seems to be comparing every other side to.
Where as they could possibly just go out and field an equally good side if their first 11 say was rested or injured or whatever most sides probably couldn't. Not that that actually matters as barring Frank Lampard Chelsea don't really have a single stand-out player.
[quote]
Originally posted by Fraudz:
Gunners if you noticed were able to surprise everyone this season by doing well even after all the challenges they faced.
[/QUOTE]
Yeah that actually brings me on to my final point - Arsenal somehow with all the players they've loaned and injuries they have are still somehow unbeaten. It's beyond me how they've managed it - Viera has had injury problems whole season and Freddie has had a few problems too - Giovanni they loaned but still they do seem to win.
Undoubtedly they have got a lot more luck on their side and they do cheat a lot more but they do still seem to get the results. But one thing i will say is that other sides don't take advantage of their weakend side - Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle were all better than them in the League matches this season and yet they were the victors in 2 of the 3 games and got a draw in the other - and that was only *just. *
Anyway you'll see how much better things get for us when our players return.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by RaMo: *
In past seasons i would have agreed with you that its a two horse race, but I've got a good feeling about this season. Don't know if we can win it, but I hope we can give Arsenal and ManU a good run for their money. I imagine the situation will be clearer by the end of Jan. If we're still with those 2 then, then its a 3 horse race.
[/QUOTE]
RaMo - a Chelsea fan? :)
well i would not speculate about 2 or 3 horse race but definitely i have to say Chelsea has been the surprising ball club this season - and if Chelsea's wins the Premiership - then you have bought the GODDAMN league!
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Talha: *
Where as they could possibly just go out and field an equally good side if their first 11 say was rested or injured or whatever most sides probably couldn't. Not that that actually matters as barring Frank Lampard Chelsea don't really have a single stand-out player.
[/QUOTE]
Yup - guilty as charged - I'm a Chelsea fan :D And as for that statement about Chelsea not having any standout players I'm going to have to really disgaree with that and put it down to sour grapes on your part ;). Lets go through the team shall we? Up front we can pick between Crespo, Mutu, Hasslebaink and Gudjohnsen. You're telling me you wouldn't want any of those playing for your team?? (Ok ok, Gudjohnsen's probably not in the same league as the other 3). In midfield theres Lampard, Veron Makalele and Duff. Granted that Veron doesn't always perform but the other 3 would be picked in any premiership side, especially Duff. In defence, we have Terry, Gallas, Desailly and Johnson who are amongst the best in the Premiership. As for goalkeeper, theres no way you can say that Cudicini isn't an outstanding keeper!!
No - you seem to miss the point entirely RaMo! i would say that Frank Lampard is the one true stand out player in the side. Would you say that there was too much of a difference between say Claude, Juan and Damien? I would say they were playing just as well as each other. I'd say all 4 strikers were at the same level - can you say either one is particularily further ahead than the others? And i'd say it was the same at the back too to be honest - okay Carlo is well ahead of everyone between the sticks but that's different. But what i was saying was that even if that wasn't the case Chelsea's second side would be just as good as say most first sides in the League and what i was trying to say is that most sides don't have that luxury of not being overly dependant on individuals. Which also co-incides with what i was saying that now everyone seems to be comparing themselves and other sides to Chelsea.