Time To Dump Any Complacency In The Loft
Mar 30th, 2012 by 'holic
Loftus Road it is then. I wish I was going back there. I mentioned when we played Rangers at home that my first visit to their place was a week after we had been humbled by Swindon at Wembley in 1969. I had many eventful times there. Notably being greeted by a local constable on one occasion who turned out to be a classmate at school. Just for a second I was a bit worried! I was also chucked out of the ground by a couple of his mates for being a bit ‘enthusiastic’ in my assessment of a penalty miss by the late Alan Ball in a League Cup quarter-final defeat there in 1976. I walked round the other side of the ground and back in an exit gate. Good memories.
Tomorrow should also be an atmospheric afternoon at a proper little old-school stadium. Rangers are, not unexpectedly, fighting for their Premiership lives in their first season back since losing their top-flight status in 1996. Mark Hughes, who turned his back on Fulham for a bigger challenge, certainly faces a tough job keeping the hoops up. Starting on Saturday they face the current top five in their last eight games.
There is no doubt in my mind that this game is all about us. If the Arsenal of the last five weeks turns up, then we can be confident the points will be secured. The difference inΒ the spirit, both on and off the pitch, has been noticeable. All of the right noises are coming out of the club, fully aware that the fragile ally that is confidence could be sucked out of the side if complacency is allowed to creep in. Arsene hit the nail squarely on the head earlier.
βWe are focused on QPR, believe me. We know that is always a tricky game for everybody and that is what is important to us. After that we focus on the next one and our capability to finish the season in a strong way depends on just how much we focus on every game. Things can change very quickly. Our sport is fragile and we have learned something this season from a very difficult period. Urgency and focus are vital to keep your level up.β
It looks as though Laurent Koscielny is fit so is added to the squad that were on duty for the three goal taming of Aston Villa last week. Mention of Villa cannot ignore the news today that Stiliyan Petrov has been diagnosed with leukaemia. I’m sure you will join me in wishing him and his family the very best in the weeks and months ahead as they deal with that situation.
The ‘holic pound has sought a 3-1 outcome for a while now it seems. I am staying with it on the basis that it must happen sooner or later. Shop around and you will find twelves against that outcome. Gunners Gaming have an interesting 7/2 against a red card in the match. If Joey Barton starts you have to consider that a distinct possibility, given our recent meetings with the horrible little sod. It shouldn’t need saying, but I trust those involved tomorrow have been warned in no uncertain terms not to get wound up by his antics.
So with a degree of jealousy I wish those going to the game a great afternoon. The Walkabout on Shepherds Bush Green is the main away pub these days, I am told. Enjoy it. The rest of us will play hunt the streams and pray the hard-working and confident Arsenal produce yet another impressive performance to extend a productive run and strengthen the grip on a Champions League berth.
Cheers ‘holics.
154 Responses to “Time To Dump Any Complacency In The Loft”
First!!!
Please tell me you heard this week’s Arsecast???
Arshavin is hilarious!!!
A massive 3 points on their way! It could
be 4 or 5 tomorrow! Money on rosicky
scoring!
I’ll take 3 points any which way.
Given the manager, and their predicament, I think this could be a tough game for the Arse.
Agreed on Stan Petrov ‘Holic – makes you stop to think that, today’s footballers, pampered as they are, are subject to the same fates as the rest of us.
Barman, Please send back this rancid order of complaicency and chips! π
Evening Holic ,
Nice preview Sir . Tough little game tomorrow , tougher than many people seem to think . Kos must play , (if fit) .
My record at Loftus Road , ( played 3 lost 3 ) , is not a good one , so people will be pleased to know that I shall be safely ensconsed in the away juicer of choice tomorrow .
Saw us lose in the FA C up there in 1990 , a game that perhaps persuaded George Graham to buy David Seaman . Also saw a defeat there at the start of the 87-88 season that proved to be Charlie Nich’s last game for the Gunners . The one before that was in the early eighties where we were well beaten and my only memory of it is that our sub was the laughably useless Lee Chapman . What a game changer he was !! Reckon we would have been better off if we’d had Lesley Ash warming up .
Trev from the last drinks – Speedo Cords and Smoking Jacket – Evening Wear for the discerning Gentleman – I’m liking your thinking Sir π
This is the sharp end of the season. Virtually the games are pointy-sticky ones from here on in. Six of our eight last opponents will be fighting for a place in Europe or scrapping to avoiding relegation. Either of the other two, Stoke and Norwich, could be doing the same with a run of wins or losses, and Pulis’s mob are pointy-sticky anyway. Three points any way is the order of the day for tomorrow.
Seventh Heaven.
3 points tomorrow – don’t care about the score.
Hughes will have Zamora under instruction to put it about a bit – could be awkward or a big score to us, given the right attitude.
Ok, eighth, cheers Ned π
QPR, QPR, QPR, QPR ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha . . . . .
Might have a bit of that 7/2 if there’s a similar bet on offer at my usual bookie.
Sorry, Trev. In penance, I’ll make you an honorary member of the Eight Immortals for the duration.
and that should have been “Virtually all the games…” Damn you, iPad virtual keyboard…
A win by 2 or more goals.
I will not ‘enjoy’ you in wishing Petrov all the best, but I will certainly join you. π
Good night.
Already spotted Ollie. π
Evening all.
Another well balanced preview holic.
I must say that tomorrow is yet another must win game for me. I agree totally. If the Arsenal of the last 5 weeks turn up then I think it will be another fruitful afternoon. I also think this is a massive game psychologically. The Spuds have blown a 10 point lead. We play 24 hours before them. They can all witter on about what they want for as long as they want but the fact is that they know they have problems. They know they are low on confidence. They have a pop gun attack that musters loads of shots, however most could not hit a cow’s arse with a banjo. A good win tomorrow would be another big kick in the balls for them. Anything less will give them a boost.
So, time to man up again. I sincerely hope that we are all raising a glass or two by the time the clock strikes 5 tomorrow afternoon.
Keep the faith.
Sorry if someone had already mentioned it in the previous drinks, but I just realized, it is Mike F…ing Dean for tomorrow. The evil trio of Dean, Barton and Hughes, to many villians in just one episode. And I hoped for a non nervous game.
Fine preview ‘Holic. I am very nervous about this trip to West London. It’s sure to be a real scrap and we will get little or nothing from Mr Dean. Meanwhile ‘Sparky’ will be giving Arsene his full verbal treatment again while Joey will be doing the same on the field. It’s going to be a real trailer park experience for sure. Focus, discipline and hard work will be required from all our boys. COYRs.
Some of you are starting to worry me now π
Good preview Holic.
Barton & Hughes – what a pair of odious cunts. Their presence alone should fire the boys up to put in a good performance.
I’d love to see them relegated and Hughes turfed out on his arse at the end of the season.
I have twice your dose of Celtic gloom and pessimism mate. I liked your analysis that all we need is a performance like the last five. I am sure you are correct. Focus, discipline, fast passing and hard work off the ball. It will be a scrap though as they will be wound up by Hughes to believe they can rough us up – its always been his approach to us. This team needs to show our rediscovered toughness. Big game for Bac, Kos, TV5 and Gibbsy. With help from the 5 in front of them.
My optimism is founded on the twin rocks of Guinness and Bushmills.
Life is good tonight.
We’ll deal with tomorrow another day π
I am always amazed when our downfall is plotted before kick off because the choice of ref is discovered. No one alive knows what Mike Dean will do tomorrow. Chill out. We are The Arsenal. We are on a great run of form. The last thing we need is a load of negativity based solely on a Jasper Carrot look a like.
Man up. If Dean fucks up then deal with it at 5 tomorrow. For now, let’s not speculate. Let’s continue to champion The Arsenal. If we play well then the performance of the officials should not even bother us.
Sad to see Hughes take this club down. Used to live on Askew Road around 85 and always remember hordes of blue and white on Saturdays and thinking I never see any away jerseys amongst them, must have been a shit kit. 3-1 sounds about right with RVP to end his goal drought π
Let’s hope we see our strikers spinning the hoops round and round as we march forward in a positive direction. Will be tough but I’m hoping we upset Hughes, Barton and Zamora. Would be brilliant…
It’s good to see the positive attitude around the bar this evening, Mike Dean aside. I also don’t want to mention the shameless and faceless television executive who is responsible for our stream searching tomorrow. Up the Arse!!!
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/football/mikel-arteta-i-may-not-be-cesc-fabregas-but-i-can-still-be-vital-for-arsenal-7603117.html
Snir,
Good article on Arteta, and it sounds like he has a very good head on his shoulders. He brings the team the important qualities of maturity and equanimity, as well as a lot of skill and know-how on the pitch.
I love Mikel. He’s been so great for us this season despite being asked to play more defensively. Let’s hope we can keep him away from the clutches of Barcelona π
RIP Rocky Rocastle. Never forgotten.
This is one of those Saturdays when I just want those 3 points so that I can spend the weekend in peace. No hassle. Just three points
I hate waking up early on saturdays
Cheers holic.
Alcohol <3
Girls <3
Arsenal <3
Agree with Steve T about the unneccesary focus on who is the ref. Let’s focus on what we shall do and nothing else – which is to keep pressing high up the pitch, winning the ball back early and never give QPR a second to breathe because if we do that then we’ll win it. And as Steve also said, this is a great opportunity to put massive pressure on Looting Town. With so few games to go, every game we can keep up at least the three-point distance is a huge step towards finishing third.
Eight games to go, i.e. if we win tomorrow that is 12,5% of the home stretch already done no matter what happens on Sunday afternoon. We are so close to achieving something that for so long seemed impossible, so let’s finish the job too.
Have to admit though to feeling strangely nervous about today. I don’t really know why, maybe it’s because we now are in a situation that just two months ago I just could not see us being in and I had almost forgotten how to deal with the emotions of being the chasee instead of the chaser? π
(Oh, and on a rather depressing note: last Saturday I was in London drinking beer wearing a short-sleeved shirt in the beautiful, warm and sunny weather. Today I am in Stockholm – and it’s fucking snowing outside… π )
The only time I have been in Stockholm
we lost 8-2 to the scimbags…I won’t be
going back anything soon! Although there
is a great American sports bar as you cross the
bridge entering the old town.
I’ll be at the game today so confident on
the 3 points!
I rather like being the chasee π
The Year of the Gooner: that sports bar is the Arsenal Sweden boozer for all Arsenal games! (except for today because they can’t show the game due to the stupid decision to not allow broadcasters to air more than one Sat 3pm game, feckin feckers)
And it’s actually a Swedish chain, they just want it to look American π
Wolfgang, it doesn’t count if you actually WANT to be caught…
Oh π
What’s all this about the Broadcasting ?
Does this mean the away juicer of choice won’t be able to show it ???
tabs, they might – it depends on what channels they’ve got. It’s on Setanta Ireland so if your juicer has that one then they can show it. Or, of course, if they go all illegal and use streams they can of course show any game π
Morning folks. I confess I’m having some difficulty summoning much enthusiasm for the game later. We have a pretty rubbish record there, and I’m somewhere near the back in the upper tier – so apart from probably being unable to see much, I’ll also be at risk of having my head taken off by one of Zamora’s Row Z specials.
Karmically we are surely due a 3-1 at least. With a red for Barton. It is, after all, a special and sad anniversary today. So COYRs.
Wherever you’re watching folks, have a good ‘un.
Lars – that explains the number of gooners
in the bar then! It is as good a sports bar as
you could hope for. I think they gave popcorn
away free (not a bad tactic in a pub) and that could be
the clincher to get the women in the pub
to watch the football!
Me: just want to duck into this pub for a quick
couple of pints and see a bit of football…
Other half: not football again?!?!
Me: but they have free popcorn, and you
know you like popcorn π
Year of the Gooner: they do indeed give away free popcorn, a great way to make people more thirsty so they buy more beer π
snowy, a red for Barton as the cherry on a victory cake would be nice indeed, but I don’t want to be greedy so three points for the Arsenal will make me a very happy man in any case!
Cheers Lars , should be ok , the Landlord is Irish , and it’s usually an irish channel we’re watching . Whether its setanta , i have no idea .
Morning Snowy , heh and have a good time avoiding those Zamora specials ! π Unfortunately , he always seems to give us problems , despite his clear and obvious knobheadery .
A sad anniversary indeed , RIP Rocky .
On a happier note , 1 year today since I took my first drink at the Holic Bar , so I guess the drinks are on me π
Morning Boys, Making a visit to the valley today for no other reason than a free beano :)) Saying that hope they smash the Orient to many LWCs view them as a second team for my liking π Going for 3-1 the Arsenal,
Sad news about Petrov wish him well especially on days like today RIP Rocky gone but never forgotten a True Arsenal Legend,
Lars – yeah I know it’s a bit greedy, but what the heck! Aim high. Like Zamora π
Cheers tabs – and happy drinkiversary!
Should have added gotta back Johnie Jackson as the first scorer today he may play for Charlton but he’s Arsenal to the core π
Heh @ the Snowman.
Mind your head – if not today, then tomorrow morning. π
*Polite applause from the balcony and Feelgood raises his bat*
Que here for you cup final tickets the PA was heard to say But up Popped Rocky Rocastle to ruin Tottenhams day, Oooooooooooooooooooooo Rocky Rocky Rocky Rocky Rocky Rocastle, Great Days great memorys Great Man,
Morning Snowy. Funny thing is it isn’t a sad day for me any more. Rocky’s name evokes the happy memories now. That smile, the goals at Old Trafford, Anfield, the Lane. Celebrating with Mickey in ’89. The boys grew up together, became stars together, had fun together.
Still love him to bits. Always see his eyes when I meet Ryan.
On an entirely unrelated matter, it’s a big weekend for the Speedo Massive in the HT Cup semi…
…but then again Smallballs knows all about semis… π
Holic couldn’t agree more he sums up everything that was good about that team and those days π As a kid he was mine and many others hero at the time and when I was lucky enough to meet him he was everything you’d hope he would be Top Top Man
Heh Holic π π
Off to see what’s going on in Fantasy Land !! If I’d known I would have made a couple of transfers . I believe The Speedo Massive are injury ravaged at the moment .
Have a good one at the Valley Chippy .
Greetings from Dubai. The locals here are tipping a joint called Goodfellas Bar (nudge nudge, wink wink) as the local Gooner bar. So I’ll give it a try. In seat for 5.30. Kick-off at 6.00 pm local time. Enjoy it, all. I’m thinking 4-0 to the good guys in red.
Morning ‘holic – hear hear. Such great memories, and such a great man.
And zico – advice heeded! (Aunty Beechams at the ready…)
@ 46
One year and still roaming freely?
Talk about care in the Community π
Have a great day out Comrade.
Happy anniversary TaBS. How do you recall these things?
Morning BtM, good luck in Dubai.
Morning Feelgood.
I am a little concerned about the paucity of links this afternoon.
http://www.footballstreaming.info/streams/todays-links/
Holic , I just knew it coincided with Rocky’s anniversary , because my first drink was about the great man .
Morning Dr Z .
BtM , don’t forget the Factor 95 . How’s the Fish and Chips in Dubai ? π
Hey Holic,
Onstream, Snir will no doubt come to the rescue π
BtM, Dubai? Mixing with the enemy before next Sunday?
Ready for any eventuality with Mac and netbook…
@ 63
What, no beer fridge?
Who is Mac??????
He carries the knife, Steve π
Today is a warm beer day, zico, with Shepherd Neame Spitfire a pound a bottle in Sainsbury. I will be starting on the case at kick-off time π
Team: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Rosicky, Ramsey, Song, Arteta, Walcott, RVP. Subs: Fabianski, AOC, Djourou, Gervinho, Chamakh, Benayoun, Santos.
@arseblog
QPR – Kenny, Diakite, Hill, Derry, Taarabt, Mackie, Barton, Taiwo, Ferdinand, Onuoha, Zamora. > Subs: 7 other cunts
Nice write up and happy streaming lads.
Lars, here in the Lowlands I( still have the choice of 4 3pm kick offs.
The City, Villa and Everton game will be shown a long with the mighty Arse.
I got a fully booked Indoneasian buffet evening here in the bar so I’ll only be able to catch glimpses of the first half. The HD recorder will be on full duty and I’ll have a media block out until I can watch it, as live, later.
Enjoy the game my friends.
Happy anniversary, Tabs and Rocky. π
Re: Tabs @41, If we all had your 10 out of 10 life it would be an easy walk or tube ride down to the away juicer of choice, wouldn’t it?? π
A good link, anyone? As ‘holic pointed out the choices seem few and far between so far, and I would prefer not to have to download any software such as twatcast.
It appears that Clichy and Nasri are enjoying their annual Spring Swoon as City’s results have taken a nosedive …
Ooo Rocky, Rocky….I’ll have a drink to that.
Happy anniversary tabs!
Should be a cracker today, time to throw our full support behind the boys and will them over the line.
Come on you Arsenal,
Come on you Arsenal,
Give us a goal boys,
A glorious goal boys,
Give us another one toooooooo….
Is it any coincidence that Mancini has left Nasri and Clichy out of today’s team, with Nasri (Mr. Complacency with a capital C) dropped completely?
UreeeeeeDDDSSSSSSSSS!!!!! To putting the souper hoops to the sword
And big, BIG LOVE to the real Rocky – one of the very best and born a South London spit away from where it all began
Cheers for the streams links Holic. That Shepherd Neame Spitfire sounds right tasty on a very chilly Saturday afternoon here in The Shires. Might wander down to Mr.Sainsbury’s emporium later to procure a few samples mysekf.
Thoughts today are with Rocky and the mighty first teamers who will take on Hughes’ c*nt army headed by that total twatspatula Barton. If ever there was a player who will be sent on to cause ‘professional unrest’ with his litany of dirty tackles and deliberately provocative behaviour then it will be him. No doubt, actively encouraged to do so today by his c*nty manager
Come on you mighty Reds! Show these Rs why we’re third from top and they’re third from bottom.
UTA!
sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/106723
http://lsh.lshunter.tv/static/popups/8879802552560.html
If you get ‘good’ bandwidth Sopcast channel 106723 ‘holics. sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/106723
You watch it in HD from setanta in english.
Here`s to 1-4. Cin-cin π
crap goal given away
COYRS
Vermaelen having a Weston π
Yup, that was a poor goal.
Come on Arsenal, settle down…
We are playing Hughes’s Blackburn, same tactics employed here. They’ve been physical but we have to fight back. I don’t think they can keep it up for 90 .
FEO!
Thhhhhheeeeeeeoooo 1-1
A fantastic post!
The-o, The-o, The-o
We’re back to being a one man team again π
Get in there Theo!
I think that was a self-assist though π
Heh, indeed Cannons.
I’m giving him a yellow for that!
Mike Dean is all kinds of cunt, isn’t he?
That goal came out of nowhere, great work from RVP and excellent from Theo. We’ve picked it up since then but QPR were bossing it before that. Hopefully we can kick on in the 2nd half and finish the job..
Know it’s not AW’s way to make early subs and that (plus we’re not losing etc) – but can’t help thinking – with the way they’re playing – this one’s crying out for us to put The Ox in the mix
Hello ‘Holic, yes he is. Is there any other kind of ref in the PL?
Ramsey out wide is complicating things really. TV5 having a mare
Good goal Theo to pull us back into this, come on Arsenal!
Arsenal reserves beating Citeh 2-1 with goals from Larsson and the greatest striker that ever lived.
Agent Bendtner putting plan CC well into action now …
Holic, I think calling Dean a cunt is like stating the obvious π
We were under pressure for quite some time in that first half as QPR were playing really well. Maybe Verm was warming up but there was quite a big space in front of the goal at times. Need to tighten up at the back. If we settle ourselves and keep the ball moving quickly, we can get at them when they tire…
Oh and, if I hear this commentator say “QPR needs to get in Arsenal’s faces” one more time I’ll break my computer
Lester agree either Gerv or the Ox on for Ramsay so we offer some threat down the left..
Harsha- Agree on Ramsey I would prefer the OX with direct runs , Vermaelen had few problems with Zamora but he seems to have sussed him out and got things better as the game went on
COR I’m listening to some cunt saying Zamora is bullying every one of our players every time he succeeds in holding the ball up. What a prick…
Zamora is annoying the fuck out of me.
He comes in hard and we don’t get any calls, and when we go in hard on him he falls over crying. Cunt…
post?
WU, I think we’re listening to the same stream! It might be that cunt that Alan Davies was bitching about a couple of months back. Tommy Smyth or something? Not sure if it is him though…
Should be an interesting 2nd half, we need to outfox muscle with smarts and switch the play more in midfield and out wide. Seems like Mark Hughes has told his side to just clatter people like he did and hope for the best. Great to see Theo in confident form….early 2nd goal please in 2nd half.
Saw my mate Laura with her Rocky banner before kick off. Bless David Rocastle, if you are a younger gooner you missed out on one of the very best and a true gentleman to boot.
Btw holics, Bendtner has scored on City to put Sunderland 2-1 up
Nicely worked goal, good reflex by theo, COYG. Hello everybody.
CoR – You listening to 5live? Well if you aren’t, they’re saying almost the exact same thing – “they need to get stuck in more”, and I’m with you on that, it’s pissing me off something chronic. Almost like they’re encouraging them to Shawcross someone.
Wankers.
Yeah Rmbo’s great but they’re forcing us to play in front of them/across them and leaving little space behind. If they don’t get stretched there’s nowhere for Rambo to arrive late and get on the end of things. The Ox or Gerv swerve can both beat the man in front of them from a standing start, and start creating havoc, maybe – imho
Right then – Rambo to nick a second half hatrick! CoMonUredSSSSSS!
This game is crying out for the OX
Come on guys. We win this and then we have a chance to cut the difference to 6 points with Citeh next week.
what – another crap goal
Dear oh dear… TV is having a fucking mare… all going pear shaped..
Vermalen is having one of those days. he seems effected by the QPR’ antics
Dunno who is worse here. Vermaelen or fucking Dean…
Come on there’s fucking ages left.
Let’s turn this fucker around and make it a comeback to remember!!
Come On Arsenal!!!!
Gerv on for Ramsay not before time…
Ramsey still in? Nice
TV by a stumble or two ‘holic…..having a ‘mare
Bugger, crap goal conceded. Let’s hope we come back again and keep ahead. Where’s ox?
urgency, boys, urgency!
Fuck me Chamakh on! Oh well shit or bust…..
who’s playing left back? rambo?
why didn’t we go to the bench 15 mins ago?
aiiii, stream SUCKS.
joey barton is a cunt. just sayin’.
song’s ball out for a goalkick, very typical of today’s play.
COME ON!!!
come on, come on, come on…it’s such a joy.
arrrrrsenal, arrrrrsenal fc! we’re the greatest team the world has ever seen….arrrrsenal, arrrrsenal fc! we’re the greatest team the world has ever seen…
paddy kenny kicks when he wants to, and dean does nothing about it.
arrrrsenal, arrrrsenal fc!
Harsh reality check, sticks in my craw to say this but QPR deserve the win, no excuses.
Bollox.TV off
Bollocks
aaaah, fuck.
spot on, wu. we were off today, and both those goals were from calamitous defending. and rvp looked like he picked up a niggle. oh well, still in 3d, let’s rip off another 7 straight starting next weeks against the oily blue cunts.
Didn’t play well enough to turn things around, end of story.
I hope they find that cunt who was trying to hit van Persie with that coin at the end there…
This is going to be one tight finish for the 4th and 3rd spot. Not played well today Dean never helps we know that, Verminator on the other hand had one of those days.
The QPR pitch looks like the under 7s pitch. We don’t seem to do well in small pitches but no excuse we simply did not turn up today.
They seem to up their game for the bigger teams and our players should’ve been aware of that.
Funny comentator was saying Arsenal players behave as if they are not allowed to be touched then Barton falls over, then he says good play from Barton to win a free kick. Anyway we’ve been here before we’ll get going again
I don’t blame just him for today’s game but I don’t understand what people actually see in Ramsey. We use to had this type of player for years, his name was Denilson. The exact same player. Error prone, soft on the ball, slow as hell, no creativity. I feel sorry for Ramsey, I do, but for Arsenal sake and my sake, please no more of him in the team this season.
And Dean is a cunt as I previosly sad.
Disappointing doesn’t even cover it. The match was lost early with AW’s lop-sided line-up. Man of the match performance by Ramsey to break up any attacking play by the reds. Vermaelen with an absolute howler. Out of position all day long. Not good enough.
That was an October performance. Never got going with any pace. Never got a controlling grip on the game. Fair play to QPR for not letting us do so. Without being able to generate much by way of attack, we were always going to be vulnerable to a defensive mistake. We made a couple. Both cost us (though the defence wasn’t as bad or soft as the Sky commentator kept banging on about). Still not sure about this starting line up with Ramsey on the left in the front three. Makes us play narrow and all the wide attacks go down the right, which let QPR defend narrow to their advantage. Plus Theo, regardless of his goal, had one of his anonymous days. Even more annoying to have dropped three points when Citeh dropped two and Chelsea won away. We have to put talk of second aside until fourth or third is secured.
Possibly one of the worst performances in league since the dark days of early season. No urgency, no fluency in passing and no organization at the back. On a better day for RVP we would have probably still been saved by him…
Rambo does slow down the game, why not start with Gervinho who had a decent game last week? And why not bring Ox earlier?
Those who say that we do not need any more creative midfielder, today’s game demonstrated the need for creative inspiration when nothing is going well. We relied on RVP too much to provide that bit of magic when the team is not playing well, and we need more players like that instead of simply trusting that a returning from injury Jack and aging Rosicky would deliver consistently.
QPR have beaten Chelsea and Liverpool at their tiny little ground so this result was not a total surprise. The run had to end at some point, it is how we react that matters, still a lot to play for. We’ve seen worst performances this season
Ah well, we can have no complaints can we? We started too slowly and couldn’t get going at all. Hughes always play like that against us – no matter what team he manages. I think that it was a mistake to play Ramsey on the left and have Gerve & the Ox on the bench. One of them should have started instead..)0;
North Bank- Theo had nowhere to go it was like playing in a cage. there was no space, few times he would push the ball in front of him only to run out of the pitch. this game was suited to the OX on the right and Gervinho on the left and not Ramsey
AW is famously stubborn about not using “game plans” for a specific player but TODAY decided to leave our attacking option of the left (Gervinho) on the bench in order to negate the all-galactic cuntery of Joey Barton. Unbelievable. Our narrow attack played into the greedy hands of a limit QPR defence which features one of the most limited defenders in Europe (Anton Ferdinand). AW simplified the defensive job for the Gers by having only RvP to worry about. The myopic strategem fell further into desperation when Chamakh was introduced to PREDICTABLY little effect. Boo! Arsene decided to “fix” what wasn’t broken.
The Vermaelen – Zamora thing is a mystery.
Gives him a torrid time every single time.
Just like Ngog and Kos.
Dr F@142: spot on. In the previous few games, RvP has just played very well, not awesomely, but others stepped up with goals to replace those the skipper is not scoring of late. Not today, though. But if we haven’t got control of midfield and don’t play at pace through it, then we don’t create chances.
I don’t think Ramsey is that bad a player. He is just not a wide front man. As we’ve seen with TV5, Djourou and, dare I say it, Arshavin, even good players don’t sparkle when played out of position.
WC@145: Mostly Theo cut inside, leaving space for Sagna to push forward wide. If there is no attacking width, because there isn’t a wide left player, it means he is running into a compact defence. Which is what happened time and time again. When he pushed the ball wide to Sagna, the cross, again, went into a crowded box, with no one running from deep. One time that did happen, Gibbs got in a header, which didn’t miss by much. One time Theo did go wide, he got to the byline but a bobble of the ball messed up his cross. Whether it should have been the Ox and Gervais starting in place of Theo and Ramsey, I don’t think matters too much. But I agree that two out of Theo, the Ox and Gervais would have been the right starting line-up.
SG@147: or Senderos-Drogba.
Our creativity in the final third comes from getting between the lines and then short passing through the seams of the back line. The more we allow sides to defend narrowly, the narrower those seems are. The more we stretch defences, the wider they can be. It is pretty basic. And we need wingers as well as full backs to do it.
NBN @ 148, I think Ramsey would one day be a very good player, but right now his game is a hindrance to the way we play with this line-up. He has an excellent work rate, good desire and eagerness, and decent passing range and goal scoring ability. His two biggest problems are lack of pace, not only in movement but also in thought (takes that little bit of extra time on the ball), and a lack of spatial awareness that very top class creative players must have. The first one would come with better fitness and practice, the second one is hard if one does not have it. This is where he suffers considerably in comparison with Jack, or Goetze or Ozil or even Kagawa, all players in his age group.
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How dare the Arsenal have the audacity to lose. Did the team really believe winning 7 games in a row, was something special. Why we see that all the time, don’t we. Hmm, ever have a bad day at the office. Cut them some slack, they know they blew it. Trust me. Holic, some nice bits of background in your post, enjoyed it. Rocky, you have a place in my heart son, and always will.