Arsenal supporters have taken to Twitter to express their thoughts following the Gunners’ highly entertaining 3-3 draw with Liverpool.
One of the main criticisms that have been aimed at Arsene Wenger in recent times has been Arsenal’s inability to perform and dictate in the ‘big fixtures’.
The Gunners’ fans must have thought that they were going to witness another defeat against one of the more accomplished teams in the Premier League, as Philippe Coutinho’s early goal was coupled by Mohamed Salah’s 21st goal of the season.
However, much to the sheer amazement of everyone watching, the Gunners responded in style. The FA Cup winners scored three goals in the space of four minutes and 45 seconds to take a surprising lead.
Nonetheless, the North London side were unable to secure all three points as Roberto Firmino scored Liverpool’s third goal of the evening.
Here’s how the Arsenal supporters responded to the draw on Twitter…
Manchester United are safe in a Champions League spot now – barring freak results that see them drop six points on Liverpool and suffer a 14 goal swing to level up the goal difference.
But the run that the Red Devils went on recently – a run of three games without scoring – almost let Liverpool back into the race for fourth and seems to have irked Louis Van Gaal somewhat.
In the summer, Van Gaal spent hundreds of millions of pounds on attacking players, and even David Moyes before him signed Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini. United have one of the most attacking teams in the league and have had to face criticism all season as pundits have commented on the team’s imbalance. United are a little top heavy.
They have a huge amount of world class attackers, so 3 without a goal is just unacceptable for the money they’ve spent over the last year or two.
But that’s not the whole problem. It seems strange to say that United can have spent so much money on their attack and yet be short in that area. But on the evidence of the past few weeks, it’s definitely the case. And Van Gaal must share some of the blame.
Not for his recruitment, but for his tactics.
Over the past few months, United have had success with longer passes. The tactic of throwing a long ball up to Fellaini isn’t quite ‘hit and hope’, but it has left them predictable in the last few games.
Van Gaal was irked again earlier in the season when Sam Allardyce suggested – tongue in cheek – that United were a long ball team. There’s a difference between long balls and long passes – United’s play might have long passes, but they hit their targets. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Or so protested the dutch manager.
The truth is that United work the ball into positions where they can find a cross, and they have to pass the ball a lot to get it there.
[ad_pod id=’ffc-video-small’ align=’left’]
The problem now is that teams have nullified the threat, and United were left trying to pass it through the opposition in the last few games. But Van Gaal’s men have found that just passing in front of the opposition’s defensive line doesn’t work – not unless you diversify the play a bit.
But Van Gaal has looked to address this problem. After the West Brom game he said that they needed to pass it more quickly. That the lack of goals was definitely a concern and one of the reasons was the lack of speed in the build up.
And then he went out fairly swiftly and bought Memphis Depay – a man who’s scored 22 goals this season.
It might sound paradoxical given the ‘long pass’ tactic at the moment, but this signing looks like Van Gaal wants to play even more direct. For LvG, his long ball tactic is too convoluted! It’s funny how Van Gaal can make anything seem sophisticated.
United have to pass the ball around an awful lot in order to give young or valencia etc space to find a cross. Against West Brom, United had 80% of the possession, they had a 90% pass accuracy and Ander Herrera ran the game and made 127 passes – almost 100 more than the West Brom player with the most passes – keeper Boaz Myhill who had 34. And most of those would have been goal kicks and the like. Let’s put Herrera’s volume of passes into perspective – Darren Fletcher, playing in the midfield role for West Brom managed only ten passes and 18 touches of the ball.
Yet United attempted more long balls and crosses than West Brom. Rooney, Carrick, Herrera or whoever Van Gaal uses in the playmaker role, has to spread the play and look for ways to create space. And only then can the ball to Fellaini be played.
But if United are closed down properly as they do this then they need to pass quicker, find space more ably or just change tack. Something they didn’t do against West Brom, Everton or Chelsea. In fact, even when they beat Crystal Palace they were still trying to send it long to Fellaini. Van Gaal might be too sophisticated for hit and hope, but United are the most erudite long ball team in history.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
But Memphis Depay will allow them to change their style from time to time. He gives another dimension. He’s direct, he dribbles at defenders and he likes to shoot.
On paper, he looks like an Angel Di Maria replacement, but actually Di Maria isn’t as direct as Depay. The Argentinian midfielder doesn’t shoot too much, and if you look at their relative goal and assist stats you’ll see the whole story – Depay has 22 goals and 4 assists this season, Di Maria has 3 and 10.
Di Maria is the man to play the key passes and Depay is the man to make something happen on his own. And that’s what United have been missing over the last few games – someone to take the responsibility and create something on their own.
The passing has been good – 90% accuracy against West Brom – but it can only get them so far when the defence is well-drilled. Van Gaal’s addition of Depay will give them something extra to counter a good defence, and their passing won’t be in vain. It’s just a shame he couldn’t play a month ago.
Dark, ominous clouds have become a permanent fixture at Villa Park in recent times, as evident from the club’s recent kit launch. The aftermath of Martin O’Neill’s resignation coupled with huge financial losses and the departure of key players has seen the club plummet towards the foot of the table. Even the appointment of promising manager Paul Lambert has failed to lift the spirits of fans still reeling from the soul-destroying reign of Alex McLeish.
The recent activity from the summer transfer window offered more questions than answers, as the club steered clear of experienced Premier League professionals and instead decided to supplement their already significant number of promising youngsters. However, the return of striker Gabriel Agbonlahor – without wanting to endorse an overused cliché – will feel like a new signing.
Agbonlahor can no longer hide behind his tag as ‘a star in the making’, instead the onus will be on the 25-year-old to act as a talisman as Lambert begins his rejuvenation process. Incredibly, this will be his eighth season as a member of the Villans first-team but few could argue that he has reached his full potential. His lightning speed is his best and sometimes only positive attribute, with many supporters acknowledging that a vast improvement is needed if he is to torment the league’s best defenders.
In recent weeks, the former England international has voiced his desire to play a central role in the heart of Villa’s attack. In order to fashion these claims into a reality he must first match or perhaps better the strike-rate of team-mate Darren Bent, a tall order for a player who struggles to nudge his goal tally into double figures. Furthermore he will have to fend off the challenge of Andreas Weimann and new signing Jordan Bowery, who have replaced Agbonlahor as the talented youngsters trying to infiltrate the starting XI.
The fortunes of Aston Villa will rely heavily on Lambert’s ability to coax the very best out of his players, especially as the squad is littered with individuals desperately clinging onto former glories or struggling to fulfil their much-publicised promise. The former Norwich manager is also renowned for his love of big, burly target men as evident from his affection towards Grant Holt and Steve Morison. This may also highlight why he decided to spend £7m on Genk’s 6 foot 6 inch behemoth Christian Benteke on transfer deadline day.
Whereas Darren Bent harbours the capability to be deployed as a lone striker, I can’t see Agbonlahor effectively shielding the ball away from the physically more dominant defenders. Despite his reluctance to do so, he may have to give up the limelight and begin reinventing himself as winger who can also operate as an inside forward. He may currently lack the creative flair to conjure up an inch perfect cross but his pace and trickery is far more likely to be effective up against a lone full-back. It’s no secret that Villa have failed to replace the attacking wide players of Ashley Young or Stewart Downing and even with the emergence of Marc Albrighton, there is still a vacant role on the flanks waiting to be filled.
If Agbonlahor is gifted his chance to operate as Villa’s fixed point of attack, he must reproduce the sort of displays that previously raised fans to their feet. If his shooting boots desert him then he must continue to hound the opposition with tenacious displays, even if it means letting someone else hog all the goal-scoring headlines. In the absence of Stilian Petrov, the club has lost its influential leader and who better to take up the mantle than a local lad and lifelong fan of the club.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
I still believe there’s a world-class footballer desperate to break free from within Gabriel Agbonlahor; I just hope this is the season we finally get to see him.
Undoubtedly the story of the week has been Wayne Rooney’s new £300,000-per-week contract. The England international finally put an end to the sage that has been his Old Trafford future on Friday by penning a new deal to make him the highest paid player in the Premier League. Naturally, Rooney found the net in his first appearance since putting pen to paper, rasping home a sweet effort in the 2-0 win at Crystal Palace – which may be a vital three points when the season ends. It’s hard to justify such a salary for essentially kicking a ball around in a field, but such is the forward’s importance to United that he may just be worth the massive outlay. Here are three reasons to validate Rooney’s contract.
Goals, goals and more goals
Rooney took his tally to nine in the Premier League against Palace, making him the club’s top scorer in the competition. Although his record is not on a par with Luis Suarez, Sergio Aguero or even Yaya Toure, he has a habit of netting big goals at big moments, and with United’s tendency to throw away points late on, his strike at Selhurst Park was a huge one.
Captain material
With Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic set to leave at the end of the season, both the vice and full captain could be no more at Old Trafford, leaving a massive void in Moyes’ team. Rooney is undoubtedly a big character on and off of the field, and is widely being backed to take the armband and be ‘Mr Man United’.
Work rate
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Silky skills and top goals may be attractive, but any manager would tell you that work rate is just as important. Rooney is by no means a man that shirks his responsibilities, as he proved against Palace with an all-action display. Both before and after the goal, ‘Wazza’ was up and down the pitch supporting his midfield and fellow attackers.
Stoke defender Andy Wilkinson has been charged with violent conduct by the Football Association following an incident with Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli.
Wilkinson is alleged to have elbowed Balotelli during Stoke’s 1-1 draw with champions Manchester City at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday. The incident was missed by the match officials, but after reviewing television footage the FA has decided to charge Wilkinson, who has until 6pm on Wednesday to respond to the charge.
If he is found guilty Wilkinson is likely to be handed a three-match ban. The FA’s statement read:
“Stoke City’s Andy Wilkinson has been charged by The FA with violent conduct following an incident in his side’s game against Manchester City on Saturday 15 September 2012.
“Wilkinson was involved in an incident with City’s Mario Balotelli, which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video. Wilkinson has until 6pm on Wednesday 19 September 2012 to respond to the charge.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Stoke face a tough fixture at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, and Tony Pulis will need his defenders fully focused against an in form Chelsea side.
Seriously, how Jekyll and Hyde do Spurs want to be this season? Four consecutive Premier League defeats that threatened to derail their Champions League dreams wiped out by two wins on the spin and two performances bristling with confidence. Such inconsistency in their form points to a team still trying to establish their identity under a new manager. The man in question, Andre Villas-Boas, remains on his own fact finding missing to locate the all important winning formula that will earn the North London club a spot on Europe’s elite table. But, as the season approaches its half way mark, Villas-Boas needs to find some uniformity with his starting lineup and drill home the importance of retaining focus during a physically and psychologically demanding Christmas period.
This week on FFC is Scott Parker the man Spurs are missing most and which French striker could be on his way to White Hart Lane in the January transfer window?
[divider]
Best of FFC
A transfer risk worth taking for Tottenham Hotspur?
Why Gareth Bale is caught between two stalls with dream move
An inspired January signing for Tottenham Hotspur?
Tottenham’s forgotten man can help turn their fortunes around
Would UEFA intervention make any difference?
Tottenham V Liverpool Combined XI
Time for Tottenham to finally address this problem?
Could Tottenham do a little more on the PR front?
Spurs and Newcastle on alert as Frenchman exit nears
Spurs fight for £6.5m French U21 international
Tottenham consider January move for Sporting Lisbon ace
[divider]
Best of WEB
Can Andre fix it? – Spurs musings from Jimmy G2
Analyise This – Harry Hotspur
Champions league? Michel is ‘aving a laugh – Dear Mr Levy
Gareth Bale Sends A Chill Down Spurs Fan’s Spines – Transfer Tavern
Driving Home with Sandro – Spurs musings from Jimmy G2
The silence is killing us – Dear Mr Levy
So I Wrote To Peter Herbert – Harry Hotspur
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
[divider]
Quote of the Week
[divider]
“The fans have the right to everything in my opinion. They are the ones who breathe the biggest passion for the football club, they are the essence and they breathe the values of the football club. They are entitled to whatever they want to say or chant; disappointment, belief, encouragement, positiveness. It is all down to them, football is about them, it is about their passion. They have the right more than anybody to show that. (As a manager) you have to take it. Sometimes we don’t like what we hear but that’s life.” Andre Villas-Boas says Spurs fans have the right to boo if they’re not playing well
QPR have had a second bid for Peter Odemwingie rejected by West Brom with the striker now set to face disciplinary action following an online outburst, the Telegraph reports.
The Nigerian international illustrated his wish to leave the Hawthorns on Friday by handing in a transfer request as he looked to force through a move to the club’s Premier League rivals.
Albion quickly rebuffed his demands leading to the 31-year-old to vent his frustration at the club via his Twitter account, for which he now faces heavy punishment.
West Brom’s acting sporting and technical director Richard Garlick revealed Rangers had made a second approach for Odemwingie, an improvement on the £2million offered at the start of January, but is adamant no one will be leaving the club before the transfer window closes on Thursday
“QPR have made a second, improved offer for Peter, which we have turned down,” he said.
“As we have repeatedly stated, we have no need or desire to sell our core players.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Garlick also refused to disclose how the Baggies would reprimand the striker for his comments over the weekend, saying: “Since we turned down Peter’s transfer request, he has made his position clear in a statement to the media and via his personal Twitter account.
“This matter will be dealt with internally.”
Make sure you do your Tax Return before the 31st January, click here now
Everton have had a poor season, and with only eight games left of the current campaign it looks unlikely that they will turn it around. The Toffees had a chance to save face by winning the Europa league and for a moment England pinned their continental hopes on them doing just that. But ultimately they were dumped out of that competition in the last 16 by Dynamo Kiev. To make it worse England’s last chance of European glory this season were beaten 5-2 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate.
The Merseyside club were expected to finish close to their last season high of fifth place but now a mid or bottom half of the table position looks likely. Players like Ross Barkley and Seamus Coleman stayed loyal but have recently been linked with big summer moves out of Goodison. Here are three players Everton should buy to strengthen their team in the upcoming window.
Tom Cleverley
Football – Aston Villa v Leicester City – Barclays Premier League – Villa Park – 7/12/14Aston Villa’s Tom Cleverley looks dejected after a missed chanceMandatory Credit: Action Images / Peter CziborraLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representati
Cleverley is currently coming to the end of a year long loan deal with Aston Villa but is apparently willing to snub the Birmingham based club in favour of a move to Merseyside. Manchester United are still his parent club but manager Louis van Gaal is unlikely to renew his contract so he’ll be available to leave for free. Roberto Martinez is said to be an admirer of the midfielder and his experience playing for United could help Everton with their stability issues next season. Martinez and Cleverley worked together at Wigan during 2010-11 so perhaps they have a good enough working relationship to sway the player into reuniting with the struggling Spaniard.
Aaron Lennon
The winger has been on loan with the Toffees since January and so far has been doing a good job. Martinez described him earlier in the season as a breath of fresh air so it seems likely that the club will be taking up their option to permanently buy him this summer. Tottenham have priced him at £6m which is very reasonable and shouldn’t be an obstacle for a club like Everton. Lennon struggled to find his place under new Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino but has been rejuvenated during his time on Merseyside. The 27 year old has made seven appearances with his only goal being Everton’s winner against QPR. The player has settled well with both the team and manager so Martinez would be better off sticking with a talent he has personal knowledge of rather than searching for someone new this summer.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Lewis Dunk
Both Sylvain Distin and Antolin Alcaraz are out of contract this summer so Everton may need to bring defenders in to fill the gap. Brighton and Hove Albion’s Lewis Dunk has been named as a possible signing. Dunk featured against Arsenal in their FA cup fourth round match so he has experience playing against a top Premier League team. As he is currently plying his trade in the Championship Everton would be a big step up but at 23 he is surely ready to make a move into the top flight and Martinez can develop and nurture the young defenders talent if he believes he is worth the effort. Both West Ham and West Bromwich Albion are also rumoured to be readying a bid for Dunk so perhaps a future in the Premier League is inevitable.
With the news emerging that last January, Liverpool met the release clause of, then Atletico Madrid striker, Diego Costa. We now look at what might have been, had the striker opted for Merseyside red, rather than West London Blue…..
It seems strange to think that ‘Super Diego’ only signed for Liverpool 14 months ago. With all that has happened since, it seems like he has been there a lifetime. So how has his first year at Anfield gone?
Signed on ‘Diego Deadline Day’ as it is now affectionately known in Merseyside, Costa needed to make an instant impact, and how he did. After Kolo Toure had gifted West Bromwich Albion an equaliser with only 25 minutes to go, the Spaniard came off the bench to endear himself to the travelling support with an injury time brace to ensure his new side gathered all three points.
The goals continued to flow for Costa during a super run for the club which saw them chalk eleven straight wins, which took them to the precipice of the title. One particular highlight was his hat-trick at home to title rivals Manchester City, seriously denting their hopes of winning their second title. Of course the game also saw the notorious stamp, ending Vincent Kompany’s season.
[ad_pod id=’ffc-video-small’ align=’left’]
All seemed destined for the three pronged attack of Suarez, Sturridge and Costa to propel their team to a first title in over twenty years. Then all the hard work seemed to be undone, the two star men, Suarez and Costa were involved in a training ground bust up, punches were thrown and bridges were burned. Luis Suarez of course would not play another game for the club and the burden of a title challenge was placed on the shoulders of Diego.
Now to Chelsea at home.
The game where one moment swung the title race. Steven Gerrard slipped in midfield leaving Demba Ba a free run on goal, he had to score, he didn’t. Straight into the keeper’s arms, and following a quick throw out Diego Costa was smashing his side into the lead. A lead they would hold on to.
A further brace at Crystal Palace extinguished a rousing fight back from the hosts and Liverpool had done it. A first league title since 1990. Although the whole team fought to ensure the title would be heading to Anfield, it is fair to say had Costa not signed, Liverpool may have missed out on the biggest prize.
Following this, buoyed by his first campaign in England, he spearheaded Spain to an unprecedented fourth consecutive major tournament win, winning the Golden Boot in the process.
Then we move to this season, when the rest of the team struggled, he flourished, dragging his team to many points, which has set up this year’s campaign, as they canter to a second successive title.
If only a team like Chelsea could have signed him, with Mourinho now out of a job he could have only wished for a player like Costa. But alas he is a Liverpool player and quite rightly a modern day Liverpool legend.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Here is to years more of Super Diego.
Win a pair of Puma football boots as worn by Cesc Fabregas and Super Mario by filling in this quick survey!
Arsenal’s slim hopes of leapfrogging London rivals Chelsea and winning this season’s Premier League title were ended as the sides drew 0-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners will be happy with their progress in the second half of the campaign, which has seen Arsene Wenger’s men string together an excellent winning run and power themselves into the top four.
With an FA Cup final to play against Aston Villa also, despite the fact that the North Londoners will not be English champions this term, it looks set to be a relatively successful campaign.
One of the real positives of the 2014-15 season is also an improved record against the division’s top teams, with Arsenal showing this term that they can go toe-to-toe with England’s best.
Last season’s heavy defeats at Anfield, the Etihad Stadium and Stamford Bridge now seem like a distant memory, with the Gunners faring well against the same teams this term.
However, the failure to beat Chelsea at the weekend will leave a slightly sour taste in the mouth.
[ffc-gal cat=”arsenal” no=”5″]
The Blues and their manager Jose Mourinho have been slammed for a lack of ambition and conservative play, but in truth it was Arsenal’s job to break their opponents down – they were the team that were at home and needed the three points to keep the title race alive.
Over the course of 90 minutes that featured plenty of slick passing, energy and gusto from the hosts, few chances were created.
Mesut Ozil had the best opportunity of the game to break the deadlock in the dying moments of the clash but fluffed his lines, while Thibaut Courtois had little to do.
As such, the most frustrating thing for the Arsenal fans will be the strategy of the hosts in the second half.
As Chelsea started to sit back and defend their potential draw, the Gunners had the incentive to take the initiative and really put their opponents under consistent pressure.
With Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott and other attacking options on the bench, Wenger’s decision to introduce the sprightly English pair came too late in the game.
However, the decision to remove Olivier Giroud, a striker that has been in excellent form despite a subdued performance on Sunday, with less than 10 minutes remaining, was somewhat baffling.
Putting two strikers on the pitch, through the middle, with 15 minutes left would surely have had the inevitable champions sweating much more than a continuation of the 4-2-3-1 ploy.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Although Chelsea were accused of being too defensive, the contrary cannot be said of Arsenal, as the hosts did not throw everything they had at a side that started to sit back with 20-30 minutes remaining.
Arsenal continue to develop and will be a threat in the title race next year; being more ruthless and decisive against top opposition like Chelsea in the future could take them to the next level.