2/01/2006
A season in the wilderness
Fuck's sake...it just keeps getting worse and worse, doesn't it?
With this loss, we have 8 on the season. In the previous 3 seasons before it, we had a total of 11 defeats. With that in mind, it's easy to bitch and moan and stamp your feet about how this isn't good enough. Well, actually, people who say that are right in one respect - we are a big club, and you do expect to go most seasons without losing 6 games, let alone 8 or more. That said, shit does indeed sometimes happen...and, we're not the only big club that this has happened to. One need only look at what Lazio have been through lately as a shining example (then again, that's too easy...you can just call that karma for being supported by a bunch of Neanderthal racist shitheads).
All of that said, this has been a frustrating season not only because we're losing, it's frustrating because of who we're losing to. As a reminder, here are the lowlights that we've all suffered through this season:
Community Shield: Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea
League: Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal
League: Middlesbrough 2-1 Arsenal
League: West Ham 0-0 Arsenal
League: West Brom 2-1 Arsenal
League: Bolton 2-0 Arsenal
League: Newcastle 1-0 Arsenal
League: Arsenal 0-2 Chelsea
League Cup: Doncaster 2-2 Arsenal (in normal time)
League: Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal
League Cup: Wigan 1-0 Arsenal
League: Everton 1-0 Arsenal
FA Cup: Bolton 1-0 Arsenal
League: Arsenal 2-3 West Ham
Looking at this, some interesting things jump out at me. Of course, it's beating a dead horse at this point to talk about our woeful away record. However, besides the fact that most of these losses and draws have come against beatable teams, notice that only twice have we scored two goals in these losses/draws. In seasons past, goals flew in all over the place, but we'd always make multiple key defensive mistakes to lose 3-2 (much like today's match against West Ham). For the most part, though, our losses have been dour affairs where our opponents capitalize on one gigantic mistake in order to see us off. Offensively (especially on the road), this team has been brutally fucking awful...we've been shutout 11 times in all competitions this season. Worryingly, 8 of those have come in the last 2 months alone.
Looking at that (and our injury list), it's easy to imagine how this season can get even worse...like we're in the terminal velocity stage of freefall. It's now three losses on the trot, and we have one win in our last six matches. As the villain from the Princess Bride would say, "Inconceivable!" That's the plain facts...now, we delve into the how and the why.
Many Arsenal fans believe that our entire season failed because we didn't buy people in the offseason. But, honestly, is this lineup THAT bad (hindsight is cheating for this exercise)?
Lehmann - Cole, Campbell, Toure, Lauren - Pires, Gilberto, Fabregas, Ljungberg - Henry, van Persie/Reyes
Honestly, though the bench was always a little thin, that's still a team that should have been able to run through the average and the poor alike without very many problems. Squad depth is important, but for teams at the top, it's a factor that is a bit overrated. For example, look at our friends from up in Lancashire...they have tons of injuries and players out of position just like us. But, can you honestly say that their squad is so much deeper than ours when fucking Rio Ferdinand is playing in the center of midfield? Come on, now!
The main problem, as Arseblog has pointed out several times this season, is that the performance from our established regulars has been absolutely shocking. Sol Campbell is the worst offender, but the one positive we can take from tonight's loss was the fact that he was subbed at halftime. That's exactly what Wenger has to do from now on, even if we're going to have literal embryos on the field rather than just the figurative ones at this rate. Fuck him and fuck his ego...here's a wakeup call, sunshine. You wanna play again? GET FUCKING STUCK IN, SHITHEAD. He gets pushed around more often than a senior citizen on the fucking subway during rush hour...for a guy his size (previous injuries or not), that's just unforgivable. It's not just Sol, though...our central midfield really should be Flamini and Fabregas the rest of the way. I don't care if Gilberto is a World Cup winner, and I don't care how much we're paying him. Based on performaces, Gilberto would be lucky to hold down a place in the fucking Reserves. Freddie has fallen off the face of the planet, and age has finally caught up to the Ice Man (and to Pires as well). Reyes runs his heart out every game and makes it look like he's trying, but the bottom line at the end of the day is that we fucking bought him to score goals, and he's not doing it.
Not only that, but the injuries keep hitting the same positions. You can't expect to go through a whole season without losing, say, your starting left back. But, to lose both your starter AND the backup in a given position (especially one as difficult to fill as that), and that's just some bullshit luck right there. And, it's not just injuries...the cunting African Cup of Nations has taken away Toure and Eboue, which has exacerbated the problem.
Anyway, this is all fairly obvious. However, the bright spot is that some young players have been given the chance to prove that they might belong with the first team, such as Kerrea Gilbert, Johan Djourou, and Sebastian Larsson. On top of that, reinforcements are coming with Diaby and Adebayor, and we have a great young wild card in Theo Walcott. The downside, of course, is that this season is destined to be one in the wilderness, where we'll be especially lucky if we can finish in the Champions League places. Even as a true-red Gooner though, I don't think you can play the violins too loudly for us. In the entire history of the Premiership, we've never finished worse than second. That's an AMAZING run, and even though the Manchester cunts got the better of us more often than I'd have liked, I still feel honored that I got the chance to see it. If we have one shite season (and it's still only shite in a relative sense...I mean, we could be supporting fucking Sunderland for fuck's sake) to get the kids ready for a decade-long charge, then fuck it...make it happen, Arsene. I'll live with it, and if you guys out there are smart, so will you.
Anyway, for next season, here's what I'd like to see at each position.
GK: Lehmann has not been at fault at all for our nightmare season...in fact, he's been a legitimate high point, and he should at least get a look in to be Germany's No. 1 at the World Cup. But, for the future, I think we need to find a keeper who can take us into the next 6-7 seasons...Lehmann's been great, but he's not that guy. I'd like to see him go and finish his career back home in Germany, while we have someone who can take us into the future. As far as the backup goes, I'm fine with Almunia or Poom.
LB: Assuming we don't have another Cole/Clichy injury apocolypse, we're set here.
CB: I hate to say it, but I want Sol gone. I'd very much like to see a first-choice pairing of Toure and Senderos, with perhaps one signing here in the offseason to ensure a semblance of competition for places...unless Arsene is convinced that Gilbert is the real deal, that is.
RB: Assuming we don't lose Lauren and Eboue at the same time again, we're set here.
LM: At this point, I have no faith in Pires (for the long term, any), and I think everyone knows that I'm not the biggest fan of Reyes either. However, I think Hleb should get a third of the season next year to determine whether he really is the bust that everyone says he is. I think he'll eventually come good, but we'll see. That said, I'd like to see us buy a left-sided player to put the pressure on Hleb and Reyes.
CM: With Flamini, Fabregas and Diaby here, we're not in terrible shape. If we can buy a world class player with experience here, then of course that's the move to make. I'd like to see those three get the majority of the games from now on, and if it means Gilberto fucks off to whereever, that's fine with me. Still, three first-choice players for 2 places isn't enough for a club of our stature, so perhaps one buy here would do the trick.
RM: Hleb and Eboue can both get some time here, I'm sure. And, Theo Walcott is certainly waiting in the wings here as well...although I'm not sure what we can expect out of someone so young in the shortest of short-term thinking. But, with Freddie being absolute fucking pants this season, this is perhaps our most gaping hole that needs to be addressed in the offseason. We NEED a right winger in the worst possible way.
F: You know, I think we're absolutely set here. With Henry and van Persie, there's a top pair that should be going strong for at least 4-5 more seasons. Adebayor is there for backup, and Bendtner and Lupoli are hungry to make their mark. Even still, if we can get a world class striker, then you can't really turn that down.
So, in short, my dream scenario would be to see Cygan, Campbell, Gilberto, Freddie, Pires, and Bergkamp make their graceful exits, and replaced with a central defender, a right winger, and maybe a CM or a striker if they're world class.
What do you all reckon?
With this loss, we have 8 on the season. In the previous 3 seasons before it, we had a total of 11 defeats. With that in mind, it's easy to bitch and moan and stamp your feet about how this isn't good enough. Well, actually, people who say that are right in one respect - we are a big club, and you do expect to go most seasons without losing 6 games, let alone 8 or more. That said, shit does indeed sometimes happen...and, we're not the only big club that this has happened to. One need only look at what Lazio have been through lately as a shining example (then again, that's too easy...you can just call that karma for being supported by a bunch of Neanderthal racist shitheads).
All of that said, this has been a frustrating season not only because we're losing, it's frustrating because of who we're losing to. As a reminder, here are the lowlights that we've all suffered through this season:
Community Shield: Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea
League: Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal
League: Middlesbrough 2-1 Arsenal
League: West Ham 0-0 Arsenal
League: West Brom 2-1 Arsenal
League: Bolton 2-0 Arsenal
League: Newcastle 1-0 Arsenal
League: Arsenal 0-2 Chelsea
League Cup: Doncaster 2-2 Arsenal (in normal time)
League: Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal
League Cup: Wigan 1-0 Arsenal
League: Everton 1-0 Arsenal
FA Cup: Bolton 1-0 Arsenal
League: Arsenal 2-3 West Ham
Looking at this, some interesting things jump out at me. Of course, it's beating a dead horse at this point to talk about our woeful away record. However, besides the fact that most of these losses and draws have come against beatable teams, notice that only twice have we scored two goals in these losses/draws. In seasons past, goals flew in all over the place, but we'd always make multiple key defensive mistakes to lose 3-2 (much like today's match against West Ham). For the most part, though, our losses have been dour affairs where our opponents capitalize on one gigantic mistake in order to see us off. Offensively (especially on the road), this team has been brutally fucking awful...we've been shutout 11 times in all competitions this season. Worryingly, 8 of those have come in the last 2 months alone.
Looking at that (and our injury list), it's easy to imagine how this season can get even worse...like we're in the terminal velocity stage of freefall. It's now three losses on the trot, and we have one win in our last six matches. As the villain from the Princess Bride would say, "Inconceivable!" That's the plain facts...now, we delve into the how and the why.
Many Arsenal fans believe that our entire season failed because we didn't buy people in the offseason. But, honestly, is this lineup THAT bad (hindsight is cheating for this exercise)?
Lehmann - Cole, Campbell, Toure, Lauren - Pires, Gilberto, Fabregas, Ljungberg - Henry, van Persie/Reyes
Honestly, though the bench was always a little thin, that's still a team that should have been able to run through the average and the poor alike without very many problems. Squad depth is important, but for teams at the top, it's a factor that is a bit overrated. For example, look at our friends from up in Lancashire...they have tons of injuries and players out of position just like us. But, can you honestly say that their squad is so much deeper than ours when fucking Rio Ferdinand is playing in the center of midfield? Come on, now!
The main problem, as Arseblog has pointed out several times this season, is that the performance from our established regulars has been absolutely shocking. Sol Campbell is the worst offender, but the one positive we can take from tonight's loss was the fact that he was subbed at halftime. That's exactly what Wenger has to do from now on, even if we're going to have literal embryos on the field rather than just the figurative ones at this rate. Fuck him and fuck his ego...here's a wakeup call, sunshine. You wanna play again? GET FUCKING STUCK IN, SHITHEAD. He gets pushed around more often than a senior citizen on the fucking subway during rush hour...for a guy his size (previous injuries or not), that's just unforgivable. It's not just Sol, though...our central midfield really should be Flamini and Fabregas the rest of the way. I don't care if Gilberto is a World Cup winner, and I don't care how much we're paying him. Based on performaces, Gilberto would be lucky to hold down a place in the fucking Reserves. Freddie has fallen off the face of the planet, and age has finally caught up to the Ice Man (and to Pires as well). Reyes runs his heart out every game and makes it look like he's trying, but the bottom line at the end of the day is that we fucking bought him to score goals, and he's not doing it.
Not only that, but the injuries keep hitting the same positions. You can't expect to go through a whole season without losing, say, your starting left back. But, to lose both your starter AND the backup in a given position (especially one as difficult to fill as that), and that's just some bullshit luck right there. And, it's not just injuries...the cunting African Cup of Nations has taken away Toure and Eboue, which has exacerbated the problem.
Anyway, this is all fairly obvious. However, the bright spot is that some young players have been given the chance to prove that they might belong with the first team, such as Kerrea Gilbert, Johan Djourou, and Sebastian Larsson. On top of that, reinforcements are coming with Diaby and Adebayor, and we have a great young wild card in Theo Walcott. The downside, of course, is that this season is destined to be one in the wilderness, where we'll be especially lucky if we can finish in the Champions League places. Even as a true-red Gooner though, I don't think you can play the violins too loudly for us. In the entire history of the Premiership, we've never finished worse than second. That's an AMAZING run, and even though the Manchester cunts got the better of us more often than I'd have liked, I still feel honored that I got the chance to see it. If we have one shite season (and it's still only shite in a relative sense...I mean, we could be supporting fucking Sunderland for fuck's sake) to get the kids ready for a decade-long charge, then fuck it...make it happen, Arsene. I'll live with it, and if you guys out there are smart, so will you.
Anyway, for next season, here's what I'd like to see at each position.
GK: Lehmann has not been at fault at all for our nightmare season...in fact, he's been a legitimate high point, and he should at least get a look in to be Germany's No. 1 at the World Cup. But, for the future, I think we need to find a keeper who can take us into the next 6-7 seasons...Lehmann's been great, but he's not that guy. I'd like to see him go and finish his career back home in Germany, while we have someone who can take us into the future. As far as the backup goes, I'm fine with Almunia or Poom.
LB: Assuming we don't have another Cole/Clichy injury apocolypse, we're set here.
CB: I hate to say it, but I want Sol gone. I'd very much like to see a first-choice pairing of Toure and Senderos, with perhaps one signing here in the offseason to ensure a semblance of competition for places...unless Arsene is convinced that Gilbert is the real deal, that is.
RB: Assuming we don't lose Lauren and Eboue at the same time again, we're set here.
LM: At this point, I have no faith in Pires (for the long term, any), and I think everyone knows that I'm not the biggest fan of Reyes either. However, I think Hleb should get a third of the season next year to determine whether he really is the bust that everyone says he is. I think he'll eventually come good, but we'll see. That said, I'd like to see us buy a left-sided player to put the pressure on Hleb and Reyes.
CM: With Flamini, Fabregas and Diaby here, we're not in terrible shape. If we can buy a world class player with experience here, then of course that's the move to make. I'd like to see those three get the majority of the games from now on, and if it means Gilberto fucks off to whereever, that's fine with me. Still, three first-choice players for 2 places isn't enough for a club of our stature, so perhaps one buy here would do the trick.
RM: Hleb and Eboue can both get some time here, I'm sure. And, Theo Walcott is certainly waiting in the wings here as well...although I'm not sure what we can expect out of someone so young in the shortest of short-term thinking. But, with Freddie being absolute fucking pants this season, this is perhaps our most gaping hole that needs to be addressed in the offseason. We NEED a right winger in the worst possible way.
F: You know, I think we're absolutely set here. With Henry and van Persie, there's a top pair that should be going strong for at least 4-5 more seasons. Adebayor is there for backup, and Bendtner and Lupoli are hungry to make their mark. Even still, if we can get a world class striker, then you can't really turn that down.
So, in short, my dream scenario would be to see Cygan, Campbell, Gilberto, Freddie, Pires, and Bergkamp make their graceful exits, and replaced with a central defender, a right winger, and maybe a CM or a striker if they're world class.
What do you all reckon?
