Manchester United had the chance to beat Chelsea not only today but for what could possibly would have been a large part of next season. United had only beaten Chelsea previously on one occasion and having successfully wrestled the premiership title away from the londoners, today was the perfect opportunity to assert that dominance. They did have chances to do so, and now may regret the fact that they did not win this game.
Who will now know what the effect of Chelsea losing today would have meant as the club may have transpired to lose certain personel and second guess the season that has just concluded. As it stands the season has not been an outstanding one for Chelsea but however it has not been a terrible one. The victory in the F.A. Cup will have put a positive spin on the club and now they will have the holidays and summer to re-group and come back stronger for the challenge of regaining the premiership. The competition for the main prizes again seem to be coming from Manchester United, Chelsea and I think Arsenal will be there also if they can get off to a good start particularly. This season has concluded with no apparent top dog in the english game. Yes United did win the league but today Chelsea have stated that they are going to be vying for that position also, they have stated their hunger for the fight. Arsenal -if injury free- can join the fight for the title next year, but for now United have lost the psychological initiative.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Horseracing Week 2.
Last week I picked "many volumes" and it really was never in the running. I am now negative one point. In an effort to get into the positive stakes here is my pick for Sunday 20th May.
Ripon 3.40 "My Paris". It has a very handy weight pull with Rio Riva and has had a recent victory and a good jockey.
Ripon 3.40 "My Paris". It has a very handy weight pull with Rio Riva and has had a recent victory and a good jockey.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Arsenal Season review.
This has been an Arsenal season like no other. Last season was quite simply the worst season Arsenal had ever had under manager Arsene Wenger. Arsenal had to rely on another team and an improbable "lasagnegate" situation in order to finish in the last champions league position. Fourth was a big drop from the lofty heights of the Invincibles. The season was largely called a year of transistion whether the team liked it or not.
Now one year later Arsenal find themselves in only a slightly better position having secured the same fourth position with a few games to spare and having contested another final. Arsenal have gone in recent times from being the winners of such prizes to now being the runners-up and getting to finals without winning any. Arsene Wenger has started the process of re-building and his plan is now in year two. The reality of a Chelsea who has had unlimited funding for the last 3 years has caused Wenger to start again with a new blueprint for success. Casting away the older members of the Arsenal recent past Sol Campbell, Patrick Vieira, Edu, Ray Parlour, and perhaps the biggest ones Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp. Due to the current state of the team Bergkamp and Pires have not been replaced properly, for so long Bergkamp had provided the flair and inspiration, the incisive pass and the fast counter attack whilst Pires has provided 10-15 goals consistently from wide positions. Arsenals decline has seemed to coincide with that of Bergkamp and there seems to be very few current members of the team that can do what Bergkamp used to do. Fabregas who just turned 20 years of age is the only player who seems to be trying to do the job of Vieira and Bergkamp together. That is surely too much to load onto one young player. All of the goals are now coming only from the strikers and very few are coming from midfield, with our player of the year Gilberto contributing 10 goals and he is supposed to a defensive holding midfielder. We are too well endowed with passing midfield players Fabregas, Hleb and Rosicky and they do not score enough goals.
This Arsenal team is totally different from the team in recent years, they are very bad at defending set-pieces and especially corner kicks and a lack of concentration has seen the team too often concede the first goal. It is very hard to win games in the premier league if you concede the first goal, although Arsenal have shown great character a number of times to come from behind to win or draw games. How many more points would this team have amassed if they had not conceeded a number of those goals first. The transistion to the new stadium has taken its toll also with a number of points dropped at the stadium in the first half of the season. There is however cause for great optimism as the team has scaled the heights against the best, they have beaten the best team twice home and away and drawn twice with the second best team and won once and lost once against the third placed team. It has been lapses against the lower teams that has cost this team. Arsenal are a team that at their best can beat anyone but with injuries and inconsistencies resulting from the younger players inexperience.
Arsenal need to add a wide player in the mould of a Ljungberg or a Pires someone who can add some goals from midfield. Ribery will suit, that and an injury free campaign, the adjustment ot the new stadium and some of the younger players growing up a bit will all contribute to a better campaign next year.
Now one year later Arsenal find themselves in only a slightly better position having secured the same fourth position with a few games to spare and having contested another final. Arsenal have gone in recent times from being the winners of such prizes to now being the runners-up and getting to finals without winning any. Arsene Wenger has started the process of re-building and his plan is now in year two. The reality of a Chelsea who has had unlimited funding for the last 3 years has caused Wenger to start again with a new blueprint for success. Casting away the older members of the Arsenal recent past Sol Campbell, Patrick Vieira, Edu, Ray Parlour, and perhaps the biggest ones Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp. Due to the current state of the team Bergkamp and Pires have not been replaced properly, for so long Bergkamp had provided the flair and inspiration, the incisive pass and the fast counter attack whilst Pires has provided 10-15 goals consistently from wide positions. Arsenals decline has seemed to coincide with that of Bergkamp and there seems to be very few current members of the team that can do what Bergkamp used to do. Fabregas who just turned 20 years of age is the only player who seems to be trying to do the job of Vieira and Bergkamp together. That is surely too much to load onto one young player. All of the goals are now coming only from the strikers and very few are coming from midfield, with our player of the year Gilberto contributing 10 goals and he is supposed to a defensive holding midfielder. We are too well endowed with passing midfield players Fabregas, Hleb and Rosicky and they do not score enough goals.
This Arsenal team is totally different from the team in recent years, they are very bad at defending set-pieces and especially corner kicks and a lack of concentration has seen the team too often concede the first goal. It is very hard to win games in the premier league if you concede the first goal, although Arsenal have shown great character a number of times to come from behind to win or draw games. How many more points would this team have amassed if they had not conceeded a number of those goals first. The transistion to the new stadium has taken its toll also with a number of points dropped at the stadium in the first half of the season. There is however cause for great optimism as the team has scaled the heights against the best, they have beaten the best team twice home and away and drawn twice with the second best team and won once and lost once against the third placed team. It has been lapses against the lower teams that has cost this team. Arsenal are a team that at their best can beat anyone but with injuries and inconsistencies resulting from the younger players inexperience.
Arsenal need to add a wide player in the mould of a Ljungberg or a Pires someone who can add some goals from midfield. Ribery will suit, that and an injury free campaign, the adjustment ot the new stadium and some of the younger players growing up a bit will all contribute to a better campaign next year.
HorseRacing picks through the summer.
Just for the hell of it I am going to pick a horse each saturday or each week and starting with 1 unit stake lets see if I am going to be in the positive stakes or negative stakes.
Todays selection is in the Lingfiled Trial and the names is "Many Volumes". Lets see how I do through the summer.
Todays selection is in the Lingfiled Trial and the names is "Many Volumes". Lets see how I do through the summer.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Update: Arsenal Vs Chelsea will be title decider.
With Manchester United leading 1-0. Tommorow Arsenal will play for themselves in order to claim third place in the premiership- a situation Arsenal must improve on next year. If by some happy coincidence this will mean Chelsea and especially Cashley Cole do not win the premiership and lose their champions tag then I will be all the more happy.
I do however have a distinct feeling that Cashley Cole will have some kind of phantom injury which will enable him not to be selected to play against Arsenal. Arsenal are not at full strength but nevertheless I hope that they can win tomorrow. Certainly I do not expect them to lose. Tomorrow will be sweet as Mourinho will have to shake Wenger's hand and then make some kind of perverted excuses for the reason that they did not win the premiership this year. Start thinking Mr Mourinho.
I do however have a distinct feeling that Cashley Cole will have some kind of phantom injury which will enable him not to be selected to play against Arsenal. Arsenal are not at full strength but nevertheless I hope that they can win tomorrow. Certainly I do not expect them to lose. Tomorrow will be sweet as Mourinho will have to shake Wenger's hand and then make some kind of perverted excuses for the reason that they did not win the premiership this year. Start thinking Mr Mourinho.
Now Chelsea are happy to look to the future!
I'm sorry Mr Mourinho, you cant now say that this team is going through a period of re-building and that in the future the Chelsea team will win such prizes that they were not able to win this year. Shevchenko (30 million) and the other high profile transfers Ballack and (Cole) signalled Chelsea's intent to take any/all of the major trophies this year not next year. What was patently obvious last august was that Chelsea were serious about retaining the premiership -something they probably took as a given- and very very serious about winning the champions league. The champions league was the whole reason why they brought in the two high profile players and it was widely regarded that Chelsea would be one of the favourites to win the highest european club trophy.
Now Mourinho is happy to say next year will be better for them. They will have lost the premiership by tomorrow evening and have been dumped out of europe in the last few days. It appears that the F.A. cup will be their last chance for a semi important piece of silverware. Everyone would agree that the premiership and europe are the two top trophies for the top teams. Now Chelsea who have already won the Carling Cup wrestling the trophy from the grasp of the Arsenal "kids", will have to go toe to toe with Manchester United just to have a semi sucessful season. Would the F.A. cup and the Carling cup be enough for a financial giant that Chelsea is?. I dont think so... and this is presuming that Chelsea even win against Manchester United. For both teams can soon turn their attentions to the final in a couple of weeks as the premiership will be won quite soon and its not going to London.
This is not how the season was supposed to be for Abramovich and his Chelski henchmen.
Now Mourinho is happy to say next year will be better for them. They will have lost the premiership by tomorrow evening and have been dumped out of europe in the last few days. It appears that the F.A. cup will be their last chance for a semi important piece of silverware. Everyone would agree that the premiership and europe are the two top trophies for the top teams. Now Chelsea who have already won the Carling Cup wrestling the trophy from the grasp of the Arsenal "kids", will have to go toe to toe with Manchester United just to have a semi sucessful season. Would the F.A. cup and the Carling cup be enough for a financial giant that Chelsea is?. I dont think so... and this is presuming that Chelsea even win against Manchester United. For both teams can soon turn their attentions to the final in a couple of weeks as the premiership will be won quite soon and its not going to London.
This is not how the season was supposed to be for Abramovich and his Chelski henchmen.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Champions league final - I make Liverpool favourites.
Having won their way through to the final of the champions league final, Liverpool look set to repeat their thrilling victory over AC Milan. Chelsea have been dispatched by a gutsy Liverpool victory in going to penalties and Milan will feel a very familiar and nervy deja vu in which they will fear another defeat.
If Liverpool can bring the game to Milan and the game becomes tight then Milan will fear an inferiority complex and wonder if they are going to be good enough to prevail. My best guess is that they will not prevail and as in 2005 Liverpool will become champions of europe again.
If Liverpool can bring the game to Milan and the game becomes tight then Milan will fear an inferiority complex and wonder if they are going to be good enough to prevail. My best guess is that they will not prevail and as in 2005 Liverpool will become champions of europe again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
