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December 25, 2004

Merry Christmas everyone

Just a quick Christmas Day note to wish you all a very merry Christmas. 'Tis the season to eat, drink (again) and be merry! Have a great one!

Posted by gcurtis at 10:10 AM | Comments (0)

December 22, 2004

Football attendances on the up again!

A new survey in the Daily Telegraph shows that football attendances throughout the Football League are up again this year confounding the claims of the doomsayers.

With an impressive 13.4 million people attending games in the Premier and Football Leagues so far this season (an improvement of 2% over the same point last season), only League Two has seen a significant decline in attendances. The Championship had the biggest improvement (partly thanks to the arrival of the large crowds attracted by relegated Leeds United, Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers) with an increase of over 10% compared to last season. Overall, the Football League looks like it will be healthier than last season - which was the best in 40 years! The F.A. Premier League similarly suffered with the replacement of the generally high-capacity stadiums of the relegated teams with the lower-capacity Selhurst Park (26,309), Carrow Road (24,349) and The Hawthorns (28,003) and posted a small overall loss in attendances this year:

Despite this small decline in overall attendance, the Premier League is still in very good shape with sixteen of the twenty clubs having average attendances that are over 90% of their stadium's capacity, ten of them (including the Gunners) over 95% and four (Manchester United, Fulham, Newcastle and Pompey) over 99%! Only Villa, Blackburn, Palace (surprisingly for a relegated club) and Everton average out at less than 90% of their stadium's capacity - this despite the fact that both Villa and Palace actually saw increases in attendances this year.

The average attendances at Elland Road, Walkers Stadium and, to a much-lesser extent, Molineux, show the dangers of relegation with Leeds and Leicester seeing declines in attendances of 21% and 24% respectively - in human terms that sees over 7,000 less people through their turnstiles for each game.

Though Arsenal's average attendance is down slightly, we still average 98.3% of the capacity of Highbury, though we are somewhat shamed by Fulham, whose move back to Craven Cottage now sees an average crowd that leaves just 60 seats spare and Pompey who seem to leave just 49 of their 20,101 seats empty for their home games. The top ten teams, by average percent of capacity filled this year are:

Posted by gcurtis at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

December 21, 2004

London Calling, December 21st

Dear NY Gooners,

Rompey Pompey
Not what one would call a vintage performance but 3 points are 3 points and at the end of the season games like this will be forgotten. Arsene is giving it the old "we showed great character" line and let's be honest, there'll be plenty of teams that go to Fratton Park and will come away with nothing; step forward the Mancs.

We started well enough with Van Persie justifying his selection, but he really must learn to use his right foot more as too many times he turn on his left and lost possession. Flamini reminds me of a fly, zipping around midfield but, unlike a bee, having no end product. Bobby had another of his 'its cold and everyone is booing me so I'm not going to play' days.

We huffed and puffed but didn't really create a great deal with them having the two clearest chances. The second half was a complete reversal and we should be grateful that Ricardo Fullar is crap or else we could have found ourselves at least one down. The defense looked only slightly better than they have in recent weeks but since the return of Sol it has been looking more solid with every game. The winning goal came from the most unlikely of players charging from midfield and hitting a pill driver of a shoot into the net: Sol. And what a goal it was, I hope Vieira took note. I spoke with a Pompey mate of mine who went to the game and he said that they felt they should have had a draw but they don't mind losing to us following the good sportsmanship we showed there last season (bar Bobby that is). So our boys left the frozen south coast with the three points and the race is still on.

Without wanting to sound all humbug at this time of the year why do fans wear those stupid hats with "Santa is a * fan", when everyone knows that Santa is a Gooner.

Cult Heroes Eleven
Whilst having a curry the other night with my Gooner mates Glen, Brian and Metin we got on the subject of our cult heroes and who would make our Arsenal cult eleven. Remember they may not have been the best players of that time, in fact most were very bad but they had the affection of the crowd for one reason or another:

Keeper - Pat Jennings
A player who was loved by both ends of the Seven Sisters Road. Sp*rs said he was over the hill; well, 4 cup finals, 2 World Cups and 7 years later, he was.
Right Back - Pat Rice
Our current No. 2, Pat is honest to say that he was never a great player but he trained and gave 100% for Arsenal. He played in 6 cup finals and our 71 double side, which wasn't bad for an average player.
Left Back - Sammy Nelson
Will always be remembered for 'Mooning' the North Bank after scoring against Coventry one year, just for a laugh.
Centre Back- Willie Young
Pushed out of The Lane and we picked him up on the cheap. Willie was full of heart and he quickly won our affections. There was nothing better than seeing Big Willie charging up the field for a corner with the North Bank singing '6 foot 2, eyes of blue, Willie Young is after you, la, la, la, la,la'
Centre Back - Tony Adams
Mr. Arsenal. Nothing more to say.
Right Midfield - David (Rocky) Rocastle
You could tell he loved playing for Arsenal. He was the cool guy that looked like he had just stepped off the set of Miami Vice (one for the youngsters there). He was the type of person we all wished was our mate and I will never forget how he cried the day he was sold.
Centre Midfield - Liam Brady
One of the greatest players to have ever pulled on an Arsenal shirt. Oh how we cried when he left for Italy. Seven years of depression after he left.
Centre Midfield - Patrick Vieira
This summer aside, he has been our leader on and off the pitch and when his song is sang around Highbury with gusto the hairs on the back of my neck still stand up.
Left Midfield - Perry Groves
George Graham's first signing and we should have seen the signs from that. Had one of the best chants ever "Perry Groves at No.1, Perry Groves at No.2..we all live in a Perry Groves world"
Forward - Ian Wright
When George Graham bought him we thought he was mad since he was in his late 20's when he arrived. He scored goals for fun and you could tell he loved every minute he was on that pitch. He still has trouble when he is on TV talking about Arsenal without saying, "we".
Forward - Charlie George
He was the original fan who stepped off the terraces onto the pitch. He played for the crowd and we loved him for it. He had more skill in his left toe than most today's players have in their entire body but he never really used it to the best of his ability.

I Heard It Through The Grape Vine
AW feels Mr. Ed(u) thinks too highly of himself and will be glad to see the back of him

Life After Arsenal
Steve Walford. After leaving Arsenal he went onto Norwich and Leicester before going into coaching. Became one of Martin O'Neals coaches at Wycombe and then followed him to Leicester and now with him at Celtic.

Spotted out and about
Ashley Cole at the 'Funky Buddha', a club off Leicester Square with a chick from some girl band.

Players We Have Been Linked With This Week
Shay Given (Newcastle) Keeper
Dean Kiely (Charlton) Keeper
Antti Niemi (Southampton) Keeper
Roy Carrol (Mancs) Keeper
Francesco Toldo (Inter) Keeper.
George Shiachourou (Brotherhood United) Keeper for my brother-in-law's under-18 side. Well we have been linked with every other keeper so why not him.
Ledley King (Arsenal feeder club) They will do their boll*cks if we nick him as well
Valeri Bojinov (Lecce) 18-year-old Bulgarian striker.

Useless Arsenal Trivia
One of TH14 sporting heroes is Michael Jordan.

Celebrity Gooner.
Henry Cooper, former British heavyweight boxer who knocked Ali down in the early 60's.

This weeks 'Totally Irrelevant' link to Arsenal
Quincy Owusu Abeyie was not named after the 70's TV pathologist 'Quincy' played by Jack Klugman.

With your permission I will be taking a two week break to try and enjoy the festive holiday with my family. I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and here's hoping that Santa brings you everything you wish for, because just remember "he knows when you've been good or bad" and if that's the case then let's hope the Mancs get nothing this year.

By the way what's the best way to make Eggnog?

All the best,
Teabag

Posted by gcurtis at 12:26 PM | Comments (1)

December 17, 2004

It's not looking good for Boxing Day TV...

SoccerTV.com is no longer reporting coverage of our Boxing Day game against Fulham. If there's any change in this I'll report it, but right now it's not looking like we'll have a game (even on tape-delay) to pop out on the day after Christmas... shame!

If you do need to escape the house to chill out for a while, Nevada's will be showing all the available games, including ManUre v Bolton (go Bolton, go), Chel$ki v Villa, West Brom v The Scousers, and maybe the Pompey v The Scum game on FOX Sports World Canada (though not live since its broadcast time of 11am conflicts with the Manc game).

Posted by gcurtis at 02:59 PM | Comments (3)

It's Bayern Munich in the Champions League

The votes have been cast again and you'd have prefered to have had FC Porto in the First Knock-out Round of the UEFA Champions League. Not a bad choice, since they're obviously not the team they were last year. Real Madrid and Werder Bremen would have been your second choice, though given Bremen's current performance, I have to wonder why? At the draw this morning though, Arsenal were paired with Bayern Munich with a potentially historic trip to the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday February 22nd, and the Germans returning to Highbury on Wednesday March 9th, 2005. The fixture list for the season has been updated with these new games. The full draw for the First Knock-out Phase was: Real Madrid vs Juventus FC Porto vs Inter Milan Barcelona vs Chelsea Werder Bremen vs Lyon Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen PSV Eindhoven vs Monaco Man Utd vs AC Milan Bayern Munich vs Arsenal

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With that over with, it's time to look forward to the January transfer window. Given the rumours circulating about Shay Given's imminent departure from the Toon and the possibility that van der Saar could leave Fulham before the end of the season, who would you like to see between the posts for The Arsenal - one of our established players, one of the reserves or someone new? If you choose other, leave a comment for this post letting us know who you'd want!

Posted by gcurtis at 02:45 PM | Comments (0)

UEFA chicken out... thankfully!

At UEFA's Executive Committee meeting yesterday in Nyon, Switzerland, the European footballing body decided to postpone a decision on squad size limits and rules on "homegrown" players. Citing concerns over possible legal action from either clubs or the EU, UEFA has decided to discuss the issue further with its members and put off any decision until the next Executive Committee meeting on February 2nd and 3rd next year.

Posted by gcurtis at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)

December 15, 2004

It's simply a bad idea!

When UEFA's Executive Committee meets tomorrow, it is expected to endorse proposals which will limit both the number of "non-homegrown" players in a first-team squad and the overall squad size and submit them to UEFA's next full Congress in April.

Knowing that there's no way around the EU's Bosman Ruling (which enforced the free movement of labour throughout the EU), UEFA has taken a different tack this time around, suggesting that a club will be forced to include at least eight "homegrown" players in the first-team squad. Being "homegrown" means that the player would have to have come up through the club's (or nation's) academy, but doesn't mean that the player has to be of the same nationality of the club itself. The proposals will also limit a club's first-team squad to a total of 25 players (the same number of players that a club submits as "eligible players" if they compete in the UEFA Champions League) in order to ensure that a club can't simply leave these "homegrown" lads on the bench or even off the subs list for a game.

UEFA argues that adopting these proposals would "level the playing field", "enhance a team's local reputation", "protect young players from abuse by big clubs" and help "protect and help develop national teams" and insists that the changes would ensure the continued success of The Beautiful Game. But is this really so?

For one, I don't see a threat to the game from success, nor do I believe that a "level playing field" is necessarily a good idea. For example, American Football's (yeah, the pointy ball kind) governing body - the NFL - decided to implement a salary cap for teams a long time ago in an attempt to level the playing field and limit the success of the dynastic teams of the day (for example, the 40-whiners and the Cowboys). The result of this change was indeed a levelling of the playing field; trouble was that it led to a levelling at a lower level than it had been previously. The game now is acknowleged as being more boring and prohibits much long-term success - after all, as your team gets more successful your wage bill increases exponentially, requiring you to cut expensive players and bringing you back to the same level as other teams, prohibiting your continued long-term success.

Now I realise that we're not talking salary caps here, but my analogy in some way demonstrates that a level playing field may not be at all desirable nor, in my opinion necessary. Maybe I'm too England-centric, but I don't see that the influx of foreign players (and the obvious disparity between the number of such players in the top and bottom of the League pyramid) has either reduced competition in the League or prevented teams from progressing within the League system. Many people point to the dominance of Manchester United and Arsenal in the Premier League as an example of this imbalance and insist that these proposals would help solve that "problem", but was it foreign players that led to Arsenal's dominance of the League in the 1930s, or Liverpool and Everton's lock-up of the title in more recent times or even, for that matter, United's dominance of the League in the 1990s (when their team was in fact based around a core of "homegrown" players? The English League is cyclic and teams will always have periods of great success, and periods of mediocrity and failure (well, except for The Gunners who've haven't been relegated since they rose to Division One in 1919 and haven't finished below 12th in the top flight for a very long time now :-)). It's also unfair to say that the difference in quality between the top and bottom teams is simply the fact that the top teams are hiring foreign players. Admittedly, they are hiring the best foreign players, but it may surprise you to check out, for example, Exeter City's squad and see how many of them have come from other countries. None of these rule changes would alter this, but it would have an immediate negative effect on the transfer market, probably pricing the top foreign-born players (and the best English players in England) out of the reach of all but the richest clubs - probably the opposite effect that UEFA are aiming for.

Another side effect of limiting the number of players who can go to the clubs who right now have the big cheque books is that it will reduce the money flow to less successful teams who are breeding this new talent in their academies. Several clubs have saved themselves from bankruptcy, or provided funds to allow them to improve several positions in their squads with the sale of a promising youngster to a bigger club. Although this would obviously continue, the amount of cash they would be bringing in from such sales would probably decrease dramatically, reducing their ability to increase their own competitiveness.

UEFA's second claim that the proposals would "enhance a team's local reputation" is interesting (UEFA bizarrely believes that "that homegrown players are important to maintain the connection between a club and its fans"). I wonder where they got the idea that this was needed in the game. Again, I may be coming at this from a English perspective, but I don't see that Arsenal's (or any other club's) local reputation is harmed or reduced by virtue of the presence of a large number of foreign players. Then again, much of a team's new local support is built from generations of previous support within a family or a neighbourhood and is pretty much guaranteed as long as the club exists (except in rare situations where they completely screw their fans - as Wimbledon, sorry the MK Dons, did a couple of years ago). Most clubs are looking to increase their non-local support, hoping that by doing so they can increase their revenue, in order to improve facilities and buy new talent (either when they're young, to develop a player, or from other clubs to improve the overall quality of the squad). I've never heard an argument from a fan that they'd support their club more, or choose to support one particular club simply because it has more players from that club's academy - and remember that the rules won't ensure that more Londoners get into, for example, Arsenal's academy. In fact, it's more likely under these rules that clubs with good scouting organisations will look abroad for the best talent and bring them into the academy - perhaps even displacing the local talent that UEFA claims to support so much.

The silliest arguments are that the proposals will "protect young players from abuse by big clubs" and help "protect and help develop national teams". Since, as I've already pointed out, the rules do not insist that a homegrown player has to be born in the same country as the club, these changes are unlikely to reduce the demand for promising youngsters. In fact, it will result instead in many of these youth players ending up being unable to fulfill their promise after being rejected by all the top teams who've filled their quotas, leaving them to play for mediocre teams that may be less able to develop their talent - let's not forget that there is a big difference in training facilities and staff between the top teams and the less successful ones. One UEFA statement even included the ridiculous claim that the German team in EURO 2004 found it difficult to find a striker "because 65 per cent of the attackers in that country were not German"... no, no, no... it was difficult for Germany to find strikers because they hadn't produced any decent ones for a while. This has nothing to do with the number of foreign attackers in the Bundesliga. After all, France has a fine strike force, yet none of their main ones play in France and a lot of the strikers in the Premier League are foreign, yet England could call on Owen, Smith, Rooney and Defoe - not to mention all the youngsters who are on the cusp of an England cap.

Let's examine what effect these proposals would have on the current Arsenal first-team squad. Right now we have 37 players who are included - and have played some part, 22 in the League, a similar number in Europe and the rest who've played against Premier League opposition in the League Cup and FA Community Shield.

The rules would limit the squad size to 25 and the number of non-homegrown players to 17. Only Ashley Cole and Justin Hoyte are academy graduates who've played in the League, so it's easy to work out that three of the other players who appeared in the EPL for Arsenal would never have got the chance under the new rules. Who would we have dropped? Cygan for one I guess, but who would have filled in for Sol when he was injured? Would Dennis have been given a contract extension if the new rules had been in place? I doubt it... who would we not have bought, or not have put in the first squad to provide his place? How would you ever give a chance to a promising youngster who is unproven under the new rules which limit the squad to 25 players. You can't put them out in meaningless League Cup games to give them a chance, after all, you'd pretty much be stuck with them in League games too - unless you simply dropped them and replaced them with another, perhaps more promising player... effectively ending their career with the club (and when and how could you change who's eligible and who's not... for example, the Champions League only allows a limited change, once, of who is in that 25-man eligibility list).

Immediately out of the squad would be Sebastian Svard, Danny Karbassiyoon, Johan Djourou, Olafur-Ingi Skulason, Artuo Lupoli and Jeremie Aliadiere. None of them came through the academy, nor would they displace any of our regular starters. You can also lose three of the actual academy graduates from the first-team list (I'm sort of presuming that Stack's gone anyway). Ash, Hoyte and Pennant would obviously be in, but who would you drop from Chris Wright (GK), Michael Jordan (GK), Ryan Garry (D), Philippe Senderos (D), Gael Clichy (D), Ryan Smith (M), Jordan Fowler (M), Sebastian Larsson (M), Quincy Awusu-Abeyie (S) or John Spicer (S)?

Even were these proposals accepted, they would have little effect on our starting line-up (except as noted above, to reduce the possibility that the club would take a chance on retaining someone like Bergie or hiring someone like Senderos). The changes would however mean that the number of youth players making the first-team squad would probably be limited to a subset of the eight "homegrowns" allowed. After all, with 17 non-homegrown players allowed, you would want all of these to be experienced and able to fill in for the regular starters without impacting your club's chances of challenging for top honours. Why would you bother putting Quincy Owusu-Abeyie in the squad when you could get an experienced, proven striker instead? Maybe you might, but I really don't see it myself...

The cynical side of me suggests that the real reason UEFA are pushing these proposals is to reduce the power of the G-14 (a grouping of some of the most successful European clubs, which includes Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United from England), who they regard as a threat to their authority and also, by virtue of the limited squad size, further their (and FIFA's) ambitions to reduce the number of fixtures in a season - and thus, assuredly, reduce the size of a League to sixteen teams. I could be wrong but, in any case, UEFA are encouraging fans to have their say in an online survey. Take it (it's pretty quick to complete) and have your voice counted... I certainly have!

Posted by gcurtis at 10:48 AM | Comments (2)

London Calling, December 15th

Dear NY Gooners,

The Chavs'
It's games like this that make me feel glad that I have a season ticket. The atmosphere was electric and put paid to the Highbury library label, which just goes to show that when the occasion arises so to do the fans. In fact the only time the crowd went quiet was when we conceded a corner or free-kick, when you could hear a pip drop. When are we going to learn to defend set pieces? We went into this game with the media saying that this was the day that the "champions-elect" would put us in our place but, although we did not win, we showed that we are not yet ready to hand over our crown.

We had the chances to win this game but then again so did they, so a neutral will say that a draw was a fair result; but I'm not a neutral and I'm gutted that TH14 did not put away a chance at 2-2 to win the game. Special mention must go to three players; the first is Almunia who during the build-up this week has been ridiculed by almost everyone in the press and radio but Arsene had enough confidence in him and he repaid that faith with a fine performance. He may not be the long term answer but he will do for now. The other two players that I think deserve special praise are Fabregas and Flamini, two pups who were given no chance against their two more experienced opponents but cometh the hour cometh the man and boy did they cometh. Fat boy Lampard definitely had one of his quieter days and this was down to Flamini's harrying and Fabrigas' fine passing. Talking about fat boy he really has taken the label of one of our most hated opponents: he and John Terry are both cut from the same cloth but for some reason opposition fans do not hate Terry as much as Lampard. Terry seems a fair and honest player but Lampard for some reason comes across as a horrible little shit, the sort of person who, I bet, when he was at school would rat on his mates if he thought he would look good in front of the teacher.

The Chelski fans turned up sang their filthy racist songs and left. Thank god we only have to endure this sort of scum behavior once a season. Friends of mine who sit near the away supporters said that they faced a constant barrage of racial abuse and threats of violence throughout the game, the sort of behavior not seen at grounds for nearly 25 years. When they asked the stewards and police what they were going to do, all they got back in return was "what do you want us to do, arrest them all". Well the simple answer there is, yes and maybe that way they will learn that this sort of Neanderthal behavior is not welcome in modern day football grounds. They should kick this sort scum out of football forever.

All in all it was not the result we were looking for but it could have been much worse and if they think it's all over then they had better get the fat lady to stop clearing her throat because we are not ready to give in.

BBC Radio London Sports Awards?
Around this time of the year awards are being handed out like confetti at a wedding and last week saw the Radio London sports awards. Now, although these awards mean very little to most people, as they are voted for by listeners of Radio London, I thought you might want to see the list of final winners.
Team of the Year
After going the whole season unbeaten there really could only be one winner here, our beloved Arsenal.
Manager of the Season
Well considering the first winner who else could it be but AW... no, it was Ian Dowie for getting Crystal Palace into the Premiership. Apparently guiding your team through the whole season unbeaten in one of the toughest leagues in the world means nothing to some people.
Performance of the Season
Okay I was split on this, either our fine performance coming from behind against Liverpool over the Easter weekend to win 4-2 that give us our final push to the Championship or our draw at the home of our arch rivals to clinch the title. Wrong! Apparently the London listeners think that Millwall's FA Cup semi final win was better than both of those.
Player of the Season
Surely there could only be one winner here, TH14: 30 league goals while helping us go the whole season unbeaten should win this category for him hands down. Wrong again! This year's BBC Radio London player of the season is... Frank Lampard. Being in the top three for both the World and European player of the year plus winning the Premiership does not mean as much as some fat git from South London who won nothing (again) scoring a couple of goals at Euro 2004.

I Heard It Through The Grape Vine
Sol is dating Dido and that's why he will sign a new contract and stay with us. Some fans will do anything to keep our top players at the club

Life After Arsenal
Peter Storey was an important part of our 1971 double winning side scoring vital goals from midfield most notably the injury time equalizer against Stoke in the FA Cup semi-final. He was sold to Fulham to end his playing days. He was fined for running a brothel, we was arrested for trying to import South African Krugerrands and finally imprisoned for smuggling hard porn in the spare wheel of his car from Amsterdam.

Spotted out and about
Jose Antonio Reyes with his family at La Paella Spanish restaurant on the Southgate roundabout, North London.

Players We Have Been Linked With This Week
Anderson Silva (Racing) Brazilian defender/midfielder/forward, not really sure.
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) Like we have any chance of getting him.
Steve Simonsen (Stoke) Keeper. The last player we bought from Stoke was Steve Bould

Useless Arsenal Trivia
In the 'Old Days' teams would play each other on a home & away basis on Christmas day and Boxing day.

Celebrity Gooner
Michael Watson, former middleweight boxer

This weeks 'Totally Irrelevant' link to Arsenal
We currently have a player on loan at Bournemouth called John Spicer, but pound for pound he would not cost as much as the worlds most expensive spice, Saffron.

All the best,
Teabag

Posted by gcurtis at 09:28 AM | Comments (8)

December 14, 2004

No TV coverage for the FA Cup Third Round

The Football Association announced some bad news for Gooners today when they announced three of the four televised FA Challenge Cup Third Round games today:

Posted by gcurtis at 11:20 PM | Comments (2)

Freddie out of Pompey game

Freddie Ljungberg, whose performances last month brought acclaim from supporters and teammates alike, is sidelined for this weekend's trip to play Portsmouth at Fratton Park and has been referred to a neurologist in an attempt to find the root cause of his migraines. Speaking as someone whose mother suffered terrible migraines throughout her life (and ended up semi-addicted to pain-killers as a result), I hope they can diagnose the reason for Freddie's affliction and come up with a plan to alleviate or "cure" the problem.

In other injury news, Jermaine Pennant - who would normally be thought of as a sub for Freddie on the right - is still sidelined with a hamstring injury and is doubtful for Sunday's game, as is Pascal Cygan who is still suffering from the back injury he picked up in our trip to Eindhoven. Edu is still reported as returning to full training on December 19th, but is listed as "very doubtful" for Sunday's game, while Aliadiere and Gilberto are still out for some time yet (Gilberto will be reexamined by the team's physios in the New Year and Aliadiere could be back in March or April).

Posted by gcurtis at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)

Still leaking goals and it's got to stop now!

The Boss admitted after the game that The Gunners would not retain the Title if we can't sort out our defensive woes soon. Luckily we're still well-placed as the run in to the New Year commences. The Christmas week games can, as is the case in most years, have a big effect on a team's placing in the Premier League table, with four or five games within a two-week period. They're also widely regarded as games which will either provide a boost for, or harm, morale as a team moves into the final title run-in through May.

Right now we're in a good position to perhaps take advantage of the schedule, still being just five points behind Chel$ki in the table with a relatively easy fixture list over Christmas and the New Year. Up next is Portsmouth who are suffering after the resignation of Redknapp and his management team. On Boxing Day we're hosting Fulham - whose performance in yesterday's game against United was flattered by the flat, unimaginative play of the northerners, then it's off to St James' Park to face the Toon in midweek. New Year's Day sees us travel to The Valley to face Charlton Athletic - a team with a lot of promise, most of which has not been translated into results, having drawn two and lost two of their eight home games so far this season - and then in midweek we host Citeh, who have only won two of their eight away fixtures.

With these opponents, I strongly feel we should be able to come away with the full fifteen points from the games leading to the first of our FA Cup weekends. If so, we can at worst be just five points behind the Rent Boys - with five months left in the season.

Chelsea themselves have some tough fixtures. Norwich on Saturday should be an easy three for them, but Villa's visit on Boxing Day may prove a tougher nut to crack. The Villans haven't won at The Beach for a couple of years now, but the results have been tight and a draw is certainly possible. After that, they've probably got a three-point trip to Fratton Park and an almost-certainly tough visit to Anfield on New Year's Day. With any luck, the Scousers would be able to sneak a win there and force Chelsea to drop more points. The final game of the holiday period for The Rent Boys is the visit of the surprisingly robust Boro but they'll probably take all three points - though maybe the Romford Pele can score a screamer or two (you know he doesn't like Chel$ki)! My best case prediction would be that The Gunners would be tied on points after the New Year's Day games, but more likely is that we'll be just three behind.

Everton's Christmas challenges are light with a trip to Ewood Park to meet relegation threatened Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, followed by the visit of Citeh on Boxing Day, a midweek trip to The Valley, popping to The Lane to meet The Scum on New Year's Day, then hosting Pompey at Goodison Park. None of these teams seems to particularly threaten The Blue Scousers - though given the surprise of their League position this late into the year, who knows what might happen. Hopefully they'll lose some points and fall into third or fourth.

Manchester United's schedule is like ours - no serious opposition, but they'll have to play better than they did yesterday against Fulham at Craven Cottage if they want a chance to position themselves for the New Year's chase for the post. Next week they face Palace at home, which should be an easy match for them, then they host the often-upsetting Bolton Wanderers on Boxing Day. Bolton have a habit of upsetting the Mancs at home, having beaten them twice in the last three years (2002, 2003). They were even able to hold them to a draw at the Reebok earlier this year and have done the same to both us and the Rent Boys. This is probably the toughest fixture for the Mancs and the most likely to drop them points. In the middle of the Christmas week they travel to Villa Park, then they're off to the Riverside to face 'Boro on New Year's Day and then The Scum visit Old Trafford for their normal thrashing there. I guess United could lose points over the next three weeks, but they'll still be well within range of the Title assuming that their normal late-season win-streak sets in soon (I still believe personally that ManUre are the biggest threat to our being able to retain the Title, despite Chelsea's form this season so far).

How we progress as the New Year begins will be dependent on our fixing the problems in our defence this year. Before I'm accused of buying into media hype of "a crisis at the back", perhaps it is worth noting the difference in that performance between last season and this. At the end of last season, our final table stats looked like this:

So far this season, with just two games left before the half-way point, our stats are:

The biggest fact that stares at you from this comparison (besides the obvious points that we have lost two games and drawn as many games at Highbury as we did through all of last season) is the massive difference in how many goals our defence has allowed. Through all of last season we allowed just 26 goals into our net - 14 at home and 12 away. Although we are well on our way to replicate our performance in scoring goals last season, we have already allowed other teams to score 22 goals - 11 at home and 11 away. This means that just two games away from the midpoint of the season, we have let in just four goals less than we did in the entire season last time round. More worryingly, half of those goals have come from set-plays. Going back to the original article, The Boss is quoted as saying:

While I can agree about the inexperience of our makeshift midfield - especially considering the loss of Gilberto, whose play as a defensive midfielder often prevents the opposition from getting into dangerous positions from which they have a chance of scoring - I find it difficult to believe the argument that our fullbacks are short - after all, as The Sun points out, they haven't suddenly shrunk in the last few months. Obviously, the absence of Sol at the back made a big difference to the strength of our defence, especially in defending against balls in the air, but Ashley's been burned a few times this season and our goalkeepers seem to be lacking confidence in those in front of them. Hopefully a good run of results (and the possible return of both Edu and Gilberto in the New Year) will change this around. We can normally be guaranteed to score but if our defence can not sort things out at the back then we'll probably have to suffer a few more last minute draws or losses over the next few months. We could also do with not giving away the ball stupidly in midfield anymore, but that's a subject for another article.

Posted by gcurtis at 10:55 AM | Comments (1)

Still whining about *that* kick...

Chelsea's goalkeeper Petr Cech has become the latest Rent Boy to criticise the free-kick that led to The Gunners' second goal on Sunday, landing himself in pretty hot water with the F.A. after suggesting that the referee, Graham Poll of all people, may be a Gooner. That's rich!

For one, Poll has been one of the most despised refs by Arsenal fans, dating from his refereeing for the December 2001 Newcastle game at Highbury, that resulted in Sol Campbell's dismissal and our last loss that season. Perhaps more importantly, it seems to have been forgotten by many that Arsenal were the first team to have been victimised by the "quick free-kick" - Ian Harte scored a winner at the start of the 2001/2-season when Leeds visited Highbury. After the game, the rules were re-explained to a confused public and Arsenal themselves took advantage of the whistle-less kick when Henry scored a winner against Villa last year. Chelsea also have used this tactic to good effect (something they seem to have conveniently forgotten) when Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink took a quick free kick that would prove the difference in their 3-2 victory over West Ham in an F.A. Cup game in February 2002.

Cech however, perhaps because he wasn't with Chel$ki back then, does not seem to understand any of this. Worse, for him, is that he brought Poll's judgement into question when he said,

The F.A. are, of course, bringing him up on a charge over this accusation, though it's likely he'll just end up with a fine rather than a suspension.

Posted by gcurtis at 10:32 AM | Comments (3)

Get your vote in...

Just a reminder - if you need one - to vote in the current NY Gooners poll. Voting ends on Friday when the draw for the UEFA Champions League First Knock-out Phase is made. Right now FC Porto and Real Madrid seem to be the teams most want to see The Arse drawn against, but voting's tight.

Posted by gcurtis at 09:02 AM | Comments (0)

December 09, 2004

Match Preview: Arsenal v Chelsea

Welcome to a new series of posts that'll bring the Match Previews you used to find in the old fanzine to the web site. I'll try and preview all the upcoming games, a few days before the fixture, so long as demands on my time allow. These posts will include injury news, head-to-head comparisons and memories of previous notable recent fixtures, as well as my prediction for the squad. - NY Gooner

	Arsenal v Chelsea
	Sunday December 12th @ 11.05am EST Highbury, London
Despite the alleged goal-keeping crisis and our predictable dip in form through the month of November, Gooners should take heart in the fact that, since the formation of the Premier League, Chelsea have never beaten The Gunners at The Home of Football in that competition; their last League victory at all coming at The Bridge in September 1995. The head-to-head record between The Arsenal and our West London neighbours is heavily in our favour, especially in the last few years with Arsenal having won 14 out of 24 Premier League games, neither team getting an advantage in seven, and The Rent Boys taking all three points in just three games (all of which were at The Beach). This time, of course, we'll be missing our captain, Patrick Vieira, who is suspended for this game after picking up five yellows so far this season - but this may prove to be a blessing-in-disguise given that the game's being officiated by the beast from Tring - Graham Poll. Equally as worrying is the continued absence of Gilberto and Edu in midfield, leaving our youngsters to again fill in the gap in the centre, all while defending against The Rent Boys potent attacking threats. Luckily our defence is back to full strength with Lauren, Toure, Campbell and Ash all being available for the game - though who will be behind them between the posts is less clear. My suspicion is that The Boss will stick with Almunia. Everything he says seems to suggest that he's hoping for a good result for the Spaniard to bolster his confidence - though, of course, the opposite could remove him from contention forever. I suspect that Dennis and Henry will almost certainly start up front, but expect to see Reyes at some point in the game (maybe from kick-off if Freddie has another migraine) - after all, he does seem to like scoring against Chel$ki (three goals against them since he joined the club last season). Given all this, my team prediction for Sunday's game is thus: Almunia Lauren Toure Campbell Cole Ljungberg Flamini Fabregas Pires Bergkamp Henry Bench: Lehmann, Clichy, van Persie, Reyes, Senderos/Hoyte Hopefully the lads will be well up for this game, losing it not only allows Chelsea to go eight points clear (which is more than an inconvenience at this point in the season), but also allows Everton a chance of overtaking us and Manchester United to get within 1 point of us - a psychological setback that needs to be avoided if at all possible. Interesting facts: Should Freddie play and score, that would be his 40th goal for The Gunners. Assuming Sol plays, he will be making his 350th League appearance. If Arsenal take all three points, this will mark the club's 150th home victory in The Premier League. Notable Recent Games January 1st, 2003: Arsenal 3 - 2 Chelsea This was a quiet game for the first 80 minutes with the only goal coming from a Desailly own goal off a Bergkamp strike. The match broke-open in the 81st minute when van Bronckhorst struck from 20 yards out for his second goal as a Gunner and, in the 82nd minute, Henry appeared to have put the game beyond doubt with Arsenal's third. Chelsea fought back though and after goals from Stanic and Petit in the 85th and 86th minutes, they almost had the equalizer when Hasselbaink narrowly missed a dangerous cross just before the final whistle. May 4th, 2002: Arsenal 2 - 0 Chelsea In 2002, Arsenal and Chelsea met for the first time in an FA Cup Final. Arsenal were obviously the more hungry team after feeling that they had been mugged by Liverpool in the previous year's final and it showed in their dogged defence in the face of a determined performance. 0-0 at the half, Ray Parlour became an unlikely hero in the 70th minute goal from 30 yards out in fact, when he received the ball, the commentator said, "Oh, its okay, its just Ray Parlour", as he broke through the Chelsea defence. Freddie, on fire in the closing months of the 2001/2-season, sealed the victory, and Arsenal's third Double, when he scored a brilliant, curling, FA Cup goal in the 80th minute.		Arsenal v Chelsea Head-to-head statistics P W D L Premier Lge. 24 14 7 3 Football Lge. 110 43 33 34 FA Cup 18 8 6 4 League Cup 3 2 0 1 Other 2 0 1 1 Overall 157 67 47 43
		Injury News Jermaine Pennant is expected to be available for selection after recovering from a hamstring injury. Edu is still out with a toe injury and unexpected to return before December 19th (for the Pompey game) Gilberto's back injury is still troubling him and the club will make a further decision about his return in the New Year Jeremie Aliadiere is making good progress in his recovery from a knee injury and may return before the end of the season
		Premier League Table: P W D L Pts Chelsea 16 12 3 1 39 Arsenal 16 10 4 2 34 Everton 16 10 3 3 33 Man. Utd. 16 8 6 2 30 Middlesbrough 16 8 4 4 28
		Recent Match-Ups: 2003/4 Season Euro: Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea Euro: Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal EPL: Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal FA Cup: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea EPL: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea 2002/3 Season FA Cup: Chelsea 1-3 Arsenal FA Cup: Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea EPL: Arsenal 3-2 Chelsea EPL: Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

Posted by gcurtis at 11:51 AM | Comments (3)

Arsenal v Chel$ki with some "friends" from FOX

As I'm sure you all know by now, The Gunners are hosting The Rent Boys in "the most important League game since the last one^TM"(*) on Sunday morning at 11am.

What you might not be aware of, is that bouncy Steve Cohen (co-host of "that dreadful FOX Football Friday TV show^TM"(**)) is going to be in Nevadas with a film crew shooting a bit for next Friday's programme. Apparently he doesn't know how many Gooners there are so let's make sure we turnout in force... This is our chance to get more recognition on a larger scale, so bring your singing voices with you (and get there early if you need a couple of beers before joining in).

Hopefully we'll get plenty of songs like,

...etc., etc. Not to mention plenty of our own songs (team and player).

When we show up en masse, we're the largest supporters' group in NYC (bar some CSCs) so let's let everyone know that!!!

(*) "the most important League game since the last one^TM" is a trademark of Sky Sports :-)
(**) "that dreadful FOX Football Friday TV show^TM" is a trademark of Grahame Curtis...

Posted by gcurtis at 11:27 AM | Comments (15)

Wilson endorses Lehmann

Former-Gunner and goalkeeping coach for The Arsenal, Bob Wilson endorses Jens Lehmann to stand between the posts for this Sunday's game against The Rent Boys in today's Times. He analyzes the situation at London Colney and compares Arsene's continuing search for a permanent replacement for David Seaman with the problems the Mancs have had in replacing Schmeichel. He concludes his commentary saying:

Read the whole thing to find out his reasons behind backing our German keeper - he makes a lot of sense...

Posted by gcurtis at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)

December 08, 2004

Freddie's your choice for November

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Well, the results are in, and after several stellar performances by Freddie Ljungberg on the right wing, you've chosen him as the NY Gooners' Player of the Month for November 2004. Spanish youngster, Fabregas Cesc - who put in a great performance in yesterday's important victory at Highbury - came in second, with Tel in third. Here are the final results; don't forget that if you want to discuss this poll, you can use the "comments" link below! The final scores from today's games are in and, with Monaco, Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid joining the twelve teams that had qualified last night (or before), we now know who'll be our prospective opponents. Since we're a first-placed seed, we cannot meet any of the other first-placed finishers (Monaco, Leverkusen, Juventus, Olympique Lyonnais. AC Milan, Inter or Chelsea). Neither can we be matched against PSV Eindhoven (since we were in the same first round group) nor Liverpool or Manchester United (since we're in the same national association). Given this, we can face any of the following five teams: Barcelona, Werder Bremen, FC Porto, Bayern Munich or Real Madrid. Which brings me nicely to the subject of the new poll... which team would you prefer The Arsenal to be matched up with in the Second Round knock-out? The poll will run until the second round draw, in just over a week's time (Friday December 17th)

Posted by gcurtis at 04:41 PM | Comments (1)

TV Coverage Update for Christmas

Gooners can look forward to an excellent Christmas and New Year of TV viewing with almost complete coverage of our games up to the end of February.
SoccerTV.com's daily update confirmed that the following games will be televised in the US (and thus will be shown in Nevadas):

This means that the only game we'll miss will be the Arsenal v Citeh thriller on Tuesday January 4th (when FOX have, for some inexplicable reason, chosen to go with the dull fare expected to be served up when The Scum visit The Theatre of Screams for their regular yearly thrashing...), while only one of the games in the next three months is tape-delayed (Fulham's Boxing Day visit to THOF).

It's also likely that our FA Challenge Cup Third Round game at home to The Potters will be televised after being moved to Sunday January 9th at 9am EST (2pm GMT) to avoid both The Arsenal and The Scum playing at home on the same day - obviously to protect the Tott'numb fans from being ridiculed by large crowds of Gooners... (as opposed to individual ridicule, which is a day-to-day happening).

Posted by gcurtis at 12:38 PM | Comments (0)

December 07, 2004

London Calling, December 7th

Dear NY Gooners,

Brum-day Afternoon
The day started with me not being able to find any parking at the station because of all the Christmas shoppers heading into the West End; thankfully that was the only setback. The main talking point before the game was the inclusion of Almunia for Lehmann, was this the end for the German or just a kick up the backside? Whichever it is I do not think that either will be our keeper next season.

After so many dropped points recently the tension inside the ground was being felt by everyone and the play in the first half reflected it. As in previous weeks, passes went astray and the tempo was just not there and although we scored in the first half no one felt relaxed having seen us drop so many points to so-called weak teams in the last few games. Thankfully Birmingham are in a worst run of form than us at the moment, so they gave us very little to worry about, bar one shot on the turn by Morrison, which Almuna fumbled at but managed to redeem himself before it went it. As the game reached the final ten minuets you felt that if they did managed to score heads would have dropped. As it was, we did get the second and the reaction of the team and the crowd was one of total relief as if that was the goal that saved us from relegation. The third goal was just a consolation but most importantly we also kept a clean sheet. I never thought I would be so pleased to get three points at home against Birmingham in December. Our season may not be back on track just yet but at least we are heading in the right direction.

Bloody Blue Kit
I say let's get the blue kit scraped now before it's too late. We have not won a competitive game this season whilst wearing this kit (I do not regard the Charity Shield as a real game). We should have the same club policy that Celtic do in that we should not have blue anywhere. I will sing "Come on you reds" and "Come on you yellows" but I can never bring myself to sing come "Come on you blues". Lets get rid of it now and never have it ever again no matter what the marketing people at Nike say about blue being aesthetically pleasing to the eye, well it might be in the world of fashion but not when we can't get three away points.

Chelskavich
And so we wait for the visit of the Chav's from South London this weekend and for the first time in years we are not the top dogs in London. We have often swapped top spot with other London clubs during the last 40 years, Tottenham in the early 60's & 70's, QPR (yes, that's right, QPR) in the mid 70's and even West Ham in the 80's, but we have always been seen as London's top team.

In the last few seasons we have seen the emergence of what has always been regarded as London's 3rd team Chel's, but this time it is not just on the footballing front that they are competing with us, it's on the financial side. There is no question that they can not touch us when it comes to success because 1 Championship and a handful of cup trophies is nowhere near us for history and silverware and, although they have always had a solid away following, there is no doubt that we have always had the larger fan base. But in the last couple of seasons, with the injection of Roman's billions, Chels' have the greater financial clout of not only us, but any other team in the world. There is no doubt that the man is here for the duration and anyone who thought that he would get bored after a couple of seasons and bugger off to find something else to fuel his hunger are living in hope more than anything else. He recently transferred the majority of his shares to his eleven year old son as a gift (?). This could be looked at in one of two ways, the first is that he is a very generous Daddy who loves the club so much that he wants to keep it the family for years to come or the second is that it's some tax dodge. I know what my theory is.

I am going to be brutally honest here and I know it will upset some people but here goes, I am worried about Chels', I worry that they will grow so much that no one will be able to compete with them, let alone us. Our new stadium will help us more than if we had stayed where we are, but whereas we will become millions of pounds wealthier in years to come, Chels' are talking in billions and that's just from one income. They do not have to worry about the team being successful, fans through the turnstiles or TV revenue for their money to come in, they just turn to their sugar daddy and ask for some more of his loose change to buy another world class player. Now money doesn't always buy you success, as was proven last year but money and a good manager goes a long way to getting you it. Our hope is not so much for Abramovich to walk away but that the ambitious Mourinho decides that he wants a new challenge and they end up with another Claudio.

I Heard It Through The Grape Vine
Pennent wants to sign a new contract but AW is still not convinced he is Arsenal quality.

Life After Arsenal
Gus Cesar moved away from Arsenal as quickly as we could find some mug to buy him. After plying his trade in the lower leagues and Scotland he ended up in Hong Kong playing for a local side. Was introduced to the banking fraternity and has made a fortune from investments. I always said he was a banker or something similar anyway.

Spotted out and about.
Mr. & Mrs. Ed(u) at Toys R Us on the A10 Enfield with a film crew for his "Premiership Diary" program. He bought a new cot and some toys for his new baby.

Players We Have Been Linked With This Week
Theo Walcott (Southampton) Teenage sensation.
Robrigo Taddei (Sienna) Brazilian midfielder/winger
Javier Mascherano (RiverPlate) Linked again with the Argentine wonder kid
Andrea Consigli (Atlanta) 18-year-old youth team keeper
Emmanuel Petit (?) Again
Jean-Pierre Fanfan (PSG) Defender
Carlo Cudicini (Chelskavich)
Keeper Sebastian Frey (Parma) Keeper

Useless Arsenal Trivia
The marble hallways of Highbury are not natural marble but a reconstituted material of a marble and cement mix.

Celebrity Gooner
Spike Lee, film director and good-mate of TH14.

This weeks 'Totally Irrelevant' link to Arsenal
The burgers inside the ground are rank and tasteless.

All the best,
Teabag

Posted by gcurtis at 08:18 AM | Comments (6)

FA Cup Third Round fixture details

Arsenal's Fixture News Service is reporting that the Arsenal v Stoke City game will be played at 9am EST (2pm GMT) on Sunday January 9th. This should mean that this game will be shown live at Nevadas. If there needs to be a replay, it would be played on Tuesday January 18th at 2.45pm EST (7.45pm GMT).

Posted by gcurtis at 08:12 AM | Comments (0)

December 06, 2004

Team news for Rosenborg

The Arsenal will be missing lots of key players in tomorrow's UEFA Champions League group phase game against Rosenborg in Highbury thanks to injury and suspensions.

Missing through suspension will be Lauren and Vieira (whose captaincy will be taken by Thierry Henry for this game) after they were both red-carded in the draw against PSV in Eindhoven a couple of weeks ago. On the injury list are two of our other key central midfielders - Gilberto and Edu. Gilberto is out until at least the New Year (if not the whole season), as is Edu. Also missing is Pascal Cygan, who injured his back in Eindhoven, though Bergkamp should be back in the squad.

In my opinion the biggest losses are Lauren and, as has been the case for weeks now, Gilberto. I'm still not convinced about Hoyte as a replacement for Lauren - in his last few appearances he's been less than impressive - though I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, with Cygan injured, the option of moving Toure into the right-back position becomes less than likely, since Senderos is probably not ready for the prime-time yet...

In midfield our options are quite limited (and here was me thinking in pre-season that midfield was where our greatest squad depth could be found). With all our first-choice central midfielders out we will have to put our faith in the youngsters winning a tough midfield battle. Cesc is obviously going to get the call, probably supported by newcomer Mathieu Flamini with Pires and Freddie on the wings.

Up front we're limited by squad depth again, with our choices really limited to Dennis, van Persie, Tel and Jose. Personally I'd have liked to have seen The Boss give Tel a rest and leave him on the bench. Van Persie could partner Dennis up front (with Jose on the bench to fill in in midfield later in the game), which would let us get a better look at a young player whose performances so far (though limited to a Perry Groves-like role) have hinted at great promise for the future. Unfortunately, Henry is guaranteed to be up front - he has already been named as the captain! Given the tough Sunday game we've got against Chelsea, here's hoping that he gets taken off after 60 or so minutes; after all, he'll be needed all the more then given Vieira's enforced absence for that fixture.

Anyway, here's my prediction for the line-up (and, yes, I'm assuming that Wenger will stick with Almunia between the posts):

Posted by gcurtis at 11:56 AM | Comments (4)

Knut Borch on trial with The Gunners

24-year old Tromso keeper Knut Borch, a hot prospect for the future,, is apparently on trial with Arsenal after being spotted by scouts watching the Scandinavian Royal League.

The keeper, who is expected to be selected for the Norwegian national team soon, was delighted with the chance to impress in north London, saying,

Posted by gcurtis at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)

Campbell set to re-sign

The Beeb are reporting that Sol Campbell is set to sign a new three or four year contract with the Gunners. Talking of the new deal, which is expected to be announced officially in the next two weeks, Sol said,

Posted by gcurtis at 11:44 AM | Comments (0)

December 05, 2004

It's Stoke in the FA Cup

The Gunners will be hosting Coca Cola Championship side Stoke City in the Third Round of the FA Challenge Cup in January after the draw was held this afternoon in England. League Two leaders Scunthorpe will be visiting The Rent Boys at The Beach, while Manchester United will welcome Exeter City, from the Conference, to the Theatre of Screams.

These games will all be played on the weekend of January 8th and 9th.

Click on "Show me more" to see the full draw...

The full draw was:

Posted by gcurtis at 11:59 AM | Comments (0)

Got pictures?

I've added several new galleries today, including Neil's pictures from the Liverpool and Manchester United (in the Carling Cup) games at Nevadas.

There are also some pictures from Keef and Chandler's holiday in Peru (accompanied by the NY Gooners' banner and Teabag sent some others in from the West Brom game which can give you an idea of the sights on match day (if you've never been to Highbury) or bring back some pleasant memories for those of us who've been away from home for a while.

If you have any pics that you'd like to see in the galleries, drop me a mail at gooner at nygooners dot com.

Posted by gcurtis at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)