England Are Completely Pathetic!

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So a toothless, lacklustre and boring England disappoint once again – this time drawing against Israel.

There are so many problems with the whole England setup at the moment it’s just pathetic.

Firstly the manager. The fact is Steve McClaren is completely average manager – and I cannot emphasise that enough. He is more of a PR man than a football manager and his only real achievement to date was being Alex Ferguson’s right hand man when Manchester United won the treble in 1999. And wasn’t he England’s 7th choice anyway?

Then onto the players who actually wear the shirt and represent us on the pitch. Because we now have one of the best leagues in the world, we have a situation in this country where we totally overhype our own players beyond belief. The problem is because the game is so big the players actually believe their own hype and think they are world class. But even on a technical level, were are a million miles away from the Brazilians, Italians, French and even the Germans of this world.

And this is made even more depressing when you compare our ‘progress’ – and I use that term lightly – against the neighbouring nations in the qualifiers.

Scotland currently still on top of Group B with 12 points, in a group that includes France, Ukraine and Italy.

In Group D, The Republic of Ireland are currently in 3rd position with 10 points – the same total as the Czech Republic. Only Germany are above them with 13 points.

And onto Northern Ireland. After trouncing Leichtenstein 4-1 last night they sit in 2nd place with 10 points, only 2 behind the leaders Sweden. And that’s in a group also contains Denmark and Spain!

It beggars belief how we are stuggling in such an easy group.

Now I’m sure there will be numerous excuses including fixture congestion in England, and injuries to key players like Michael Owen. But if we can’t find 11 decent players to field and beat Israel then something is wrong.

And surely other national teams have their own problems as well. We need to stop looking for excuses all the time!

God, why the hell do I waste time watching International football?

What Does The Future Hold For Arsene & Arsenal?

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Wenger admitted like most Arsenal fans that he felt ‘lost’ after our exit from the Champions League and consequently left Arsenal out of all the cup competitions and all but out of the Premiership race.

And like most Arsenal fans you start to question the future of the club – we have become a top 2 team to a top 4 team in the matter of a couple of seasons.

Last season could have been so much different for Arsenal. Wenger has been long considered a great manager, and a person who changed the face of English football with improved eating habits and new training methods – as well as introducing some of the most attractive football ever seen in the league.

But unlike Mourinho, Benitez and Alex Ferguson – Arsene Wenger has never won the Champions League, the one competition he wants the most. And last season it looked like all his hard work had paid off when Arsenal reached the final of the Champions League – and a 1-0 lead got him even closer to his dream. But poor refereeing and even worse luck took away the trophy and all the accolades Arsene would have received and deservedly so, but it just wasn’t to be…

A Champions League success last season would have put all the ‘transistion season’ talk in the background and our poor league form with it. But along with this season, our last campaign will be regarded as a failure.

A lot of people have called for Wenger’s head which, well – I’m undecided about it all to be honest.

There is no doubt Wenger has pulled Arsenal from mediocrity into one of the biggest teams in England, but is he the man to push on and continue that success?

I guess the biggest question at the moment is whether this is the end of Arsenal pushing for honours? Will we look back at the last couple of seasons in the future and think that this was the moment we slipped back into mediocrity?

Dear god I hope not.

The problem is the face of football is changing, and not just in England. Wenger’s idyllic vision for beautiful football with success brought some of the greatest football I have ever seen but because football is all about business and the money more than ever these days it seems clubs will pay any price for success on the pitch.

And I hate to say it but with our style of football if Arsenal were playing in the Spanish League we would be competing for the title.

We all wonder where the club will be once Wenger has left Arsenal – can anyone else do what he has done for our football club?

And has Arsene had enough?

Next season will be his biggest test since he’s arrived at Arsenal. When he first arrived there was the dominant force of Manchester United who monopolised the Premiership but Arsene managed to win the double in his first full season. Since then, it was Arsenal and United at the Premiership summit but now Chelsea’s millions have raised the bar. After a couple of seasons United have finally mounted a challenge but can Arsenal do the same?

On the plus side, Arsenal should have a full strength squad for the start of next season with Thierry Henry, Robin Van Persie, William Gallas and many others having been out for most of this campaign.

There is no doubt Arsenal have done well in pushing with Liverpool this season without major first team players out for lengthy periods. Our injury problems have been comparable to that of Newcastle and you cannot dismiss the absence of Henry, Van Persie and Gallas in particular. Chelsea fall apart when Cech and Terry are missing and Manchester United have been fortunate this season with their key men being fit for most of the season.

But I am not turning to the injuries as an excuse or having a pop at United (although I would love to) – injuries (or lack of) are part of the game and you have to soldier on.

With Rosicky and Gallas settled into their second seasons Arsenal will be a big force along with fit again regulars such as Henry, Fabregas, Van Persie, Gilberto, Toure, Eboue, Clichy et al.

But questions need to be answered on certain areas of the pitch and certain players in the squad.

Should Arsenal keep Julio Baptista? There’s no doubt he is a decent player but at times his touch has been very poor and despite impressing earlier on in January the fact is that when Arsenal have needed to rely on him he hasn’t performed. He has had a decent run in the team but continues to miss opportunities you really should take at this level. Possibly he needs a year to settle into the pace of the Premiership but with a fully-fit Henry, Van Persie and Adebayor then he will be lucky to make the bench.

The same could be said for Jeremie Aliadiere. After showing signs of promise in the Carling Cup he has shown the jump up to Premiership level is just a bridge too far for him, and if you’re not going to make it after over 7 years with the club then maybe his time is up.

The other players that people have been wondering about are Hleb and Freddie.

I’m a big fan of Freddie and I might be in the minority here but I still believe that he has something of offer the club. There’s no denying that he might have lost a bit of pace but he is one of the few players who when presented with a goalscoring opporunity – he will take it. He is still one of the best finishers at the club and I for one would be sorry to see him leave.

And onto Hleb. People slate him because he doesn’t shoot and it could be said that he isn’t up to the physical nature of the league despite being in his second season at the club. I personally think that his ball rentention is excellent and he is one of the few people in the team who has the ability to play that killer final ball which has been lacking in the couple of months he has been out injured. And I think the criticism over conceding that foul against PSV is unjustified.

So where do Arsenal go from here?

Reyes Returns / Wenger Fights / Everton Preview

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The curse of leaving Arsenal has struck again as Jose Antonio Reyes looks like he is no longer wanted at Real Madrid. Now he doesn’t want to return to Arsenal and is looking to move back to Sevilla in the summer – funny how that because Sevilla are top of the Spanish League he wants to go there! This guy is more of a mercenary than Lucas Neill!

But would Reyes be worth a place in the Arsenal squad next season?

I will admit that I thought we could have done with his energy at times this season and whatever you say about him he’ll put his foot in and run for the cause. Not many people will agree with me but I thought Reyes was a decent player for Arsenal.

Arsene looks to be having one of those seasons as he is facing a disrepute hearing from the FA for telling it how it is with the crap officials in Cardiff. And Wenger’s best mate Raymond Domenech has continued the war of words, say that he has a clear conscience and it must be know Henry has played for Arsenal 3 days after playing for France.

Er… isn’t that because he plays for and is under contract at Arsenal? Surely you’re not blaming Wenger for not resting Henry because he played for France days before an Arsenal game? Thierry Henry is an ARSENAL player and resting one of our best players isn’t the best way to win a football match!

But then again wasn’t Domenech the guy who was criticised for treating Makalele like a slave?

Anyway, we play Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday in what should be an interesting game. Kolo is back after his suspension and should partner Gallas in the centre, although Eboue and Clichy are out with injuries so Wenger will have to re-shuffle the back four.

Adebayor, Henry and Van Persie are out so it looks like the forward line of Baptista and Aliadiere will start and hopefully they will start to remember where the goal is.

In more positive news, Rosicky and Hleb look to be fit again so we should have more penetration in the final third – especially with the fact Rosicky actually shoots from distance!

Predictions?

Hopefully we’ve finally managed to get our shooting boots on so I can see Arsenal winning 2-1. Everton will probably score at home, and probably from a set-piece.

Where Do Arsenal Go From Here?

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I love being right usually but unfortunately my prediction yesterday that PSV will score at the Emirates and therefore Arsenal would need to score 3 goals to progress ended up coming true.

So what happens now?

I’m not sure to be honest. Arsene has a lot of thinking to do, and despite all the highs of the season with the young squad the fact is Arsenal have been dumped out of 3 competitions in the space of 11 days.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe that Arsenal need a rehaul in the squad – we have a fantastic defence when all the options available, with Toure, Gallas, Senderos, Djourou, Eboue, Hoyte and Clichy who are more than capable at the back. Our midfield is also strong with Gilberto, Cesc, Denilison, Diaby and Flamini and we have Freddie, Hleb and Rosicky who can play out wide.

Our problem is in attack.

Arsenal create so many chances that the Chelsea, Blackburn and PSV Eindhoven games should have been finished in the first 60 minutes.

We do not have anyone who can put the ball into the net.

We don’t have a Drogba and we don’t have a Benni McCarthy – proper strikers and typical centre forwards who know how to finish.

These guys need one chance and they will score.

And unfortunately for us they proved it in the Carling Cup and FA Cup games against us.

Last night when Arsenal opened the scoring thanks to an Alex own goal, Cesc and Adebayor had big big chances to put the game beyond doubt.

I even ended up asking myself does Arsene actually practice finishing?

To create so many clear cut chances and not take them is criminal and has cost us the season.

The problem is Thierry Henry is not as direct as he used to be and for some reason seems less ruthless in attack. Possibly he is suffering from a lack of service from the likes of Vieira and Bergkamp who used to create excellent openings for him and feels that he needs to be more creative himself for the good of the team.

Van Persie’s absence has not helped, although can you rely on him to score 30 goals a season which is something we need?

He is the most clinical player in the team but we can’t rely on one man.

When we went unbeaten in the league you could pick out a number of players would could score – Pires, Freddie, Bergkamp and Henry were the favourites but we also had a knack of scoring with our defenders too.

Goals win games and we’ve been suffering this season.

The Fact Is Arsenal Need 3 Goals Tonight

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PSV Eindhoven will score tonight.

And Arsenal will have to give one of the performances of the season so far to progress to the next round.

PSV are one of those European teams who are efficient, organised and generally under-rated and that was our downfall in the first leg when we conceded the lead in Holland.

Would we have been so sloppy if we were against Real Madrid, Barcelona or AC Milan?

And a big problem is that in Heurelho Gomes they have a goalkeeper who is immense. Arsenal will have to be super-clinical if they are to beat him tonight.

How many times have we seen this before? Arsenal have dominated at home and remain undefeated, but we have a problem (or possibly curse) or conceding at the Emirates.

Matthew Taylor, Rafael van der Vaart, Denny Landzaat and Shabani Nonda are just some of the players who have pulled out spectacular goals when Arsenal have been seemingly in the driving seat.

So Arsenal will have to be careful.

PSV can sit back and they will get chances to steal a goal on the break and even if Arsenal score they still know one goal will settle the tie.

But even though I think PSV will score, I still believe that Arsenal have enough at home to progress – and we have a knack of putting the pressure on late in games at the Emirates, just like against United, Wigan and Spurs in the Carling Cup.

The big news is that Thierry has been considered fit enough to start tonight if Wenger sees fit. Only Wenger knows if Henry can do a job tonight and I’m sure his decision hasn’t been helped by the long-term injury to Van Persie and the lack of finishing from Baptista and Aliadiere against Blackburn last week.

Eboue and Hoyte are out, so it looks like Djourou will fill in at right back. Senderos, Flamini and Rosicky are also out so you would expect Freddie and Hleb to play on the wings tonight and stretch a defensive PSV side. Toure returns from domestic suspension and will play alongside Gallas with Clichy on the left.

Diaby is also in the squad but with Freddie’s clinical finishing you would think the Swede would start tonight despite just coming back from injury recently.

Gilberto is expected to go back into midfield after a couple of games at centre-back and scored a good headed goal against Reading at the weekend and I have a feeling that we’ll need his aerial presence tonight!

Walcott, Baptista and Aliadiere are all in the squad as well but you would expect Thierry’s dancing partner Adebayor to start against Eindhoven. He has so much energy, can create all sorts of problems and hopefully it will be one of those nights where the front two click.

Arsene recognises that we have to be ruthless when we’re presented with chances, and lets hope we’ve been saving our goals for tonight after missing numerous chances against Blackburn, Chelsea and PSV in the first leg.

There is no doubt Arsenal will create enough chances tonight – but will they take them?