Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Paying the penalty - Premcorrespondent

x

As I feared, the Tangerines could not build on their stunning first game with an away win at the Emirates. At 1-0 down I hoped to see how well Blackpool dug in. But then a man sent off made a farce of the test.

x

Not to take anything away from Arsenal you understand. Wallcott showed that there are few players more dangerous when given the ball in the middle of the opposition half. Begs the question why he plays on the wing. If the move to the middle worked for old Terry Henry, why not young Theo who looked unstoppable when he got the ball in a striker’s position.

x

Of course the real unstoppable force in the English League is Chelsea’s Didier Drogba. He inspired a six-nil win last weekend by scoring a hatrick. He inspired another this weekend without hitting the net. His command of the opposition half rivals that of Charlton and Greaves back in the day. He doesn’t even need to flounce around on the floor like a pansy when he’s firing like this.

x

Not that Wigan offered any opposition. They crumbled like freshly backed cookie again. Following four and six goal drubbings they must fear travelling to the scene of last season’s 9-1 debacle next week. The odds of a repeat are only long because the away goal seems implausible.

x

With all of that said, two top sides putting minnows to the sword on Saturday was somewhat outshone by a further 6-0 on Sunday. Aston Villa against Newcastle should never have been a classic. Newcastle’s aim this season is to finish 17th. Villa’s aim is to finish 7th.

x

What a delight then to see Houghton’s Magpies play like masters. Some questioned whether Chris could manage in the Premier League and suggested a bigger name should replace him. Hopefully this will silence such whispers; for a week or two at least.

x

Thankfully 6-0 is not the norm. Closer scores are more exciting; and none more so than Manchester United’s glorious late win at, oh wait, Fulham’s last gasp recovery at home.

x

Scholes showed that old boys can still rule the roost. His strike separated the sides before Davies equalised. That goal made the game frenetic. Fulham and Man U drove hard at each other and there were chances galore.

x

The breakthrough came with seven minutes to play. The corner flew in and Hangeland couldn’t help but turn it past his own keeper. Two minutes later and it was all over. A penalty that went against the spirit of the rules put United 3-1 up. Except it didn’t. With Giggs on the pitch, and Berbatov too, they let Nani strike it. And the keeper saved well.

x

And so it was game on. The United fans fell silent. The Fulham crowd rose and screamed and shouted for something, anything, to get them a well earned point. On the stroke of full time, a corner came across, Vidic lost Hangeland, and he made amends for the own goal his excellent performance hadn’t deserved.

x

Last minute excitement was the order of the day at Stoke too. Spurs took a depleted side to a ground where men have to be men to withstand the physical battering laid on. They coped well and were worthy winners, but Stoke could still feel aggrieved at losing. The ref, like most pundits and camera angles, couldn’t quite confirm that a 90th minute scrambled effort was cleared off the line, or from just behind it, triggering endless chatter in TV studios.

x

And in games few noticed, West Ham lost 3-1 to Bolton Wanderers, Everton drew with Wolves, Manchestarabia beat Liverpool, and West Brom beat Sunderland 1-0.

x

Which leaves one last honourable mention; that of Michael Oliver, the 25 year old referee who took charge of Birmingham v Blackburn. The result was the epitome of mid-table insignificance. But his handling of a tough match was surprisingly strong despite his inexperience. He didn’t even wimp out of awarding a perfectly just penalty.

9 comments:

guitou said...

Premco,
harsh penalty indeed,Chamack was not inside the box unfortunately that killed the game. The refreshing part was the Tangerines coach attitude, he is a real sport.
I'm not sure Walcott in the middle could be as effective.
Why does Wenger play him on the wing? I guess because he is a natural winger, as a sprinter he wouldn't get any space in the middle,(not as much) to use his speed: Besides Wenger has better options with this new season
squad.

Margin said...

Well pleased Spurs showed a bit of grit, Lennon and Bale were stunning, and the keeper's foul on Jenas to stop the third was all that kept Stoke in it.

Could be another good league campaign with away performances like that.

guitou said...

Margin
Adding Lassana Diarra to Gallas? please tell me you are not about to start an Arsenal 2 team. Then we could have the next derby looking like a family reunion.We need to be reassured that nothing has changed and mutual feelings remain the same.

Margin said...

Trust me, nothing will have changed.

Spurs v woolwich will be a big game - so Gallas is unlikely to play as King will be rested for it.

As for Diarra (were it more than internet rumour), part of our dilike for him was that actually he was the rare scum player we unambiguously wanted on our side. (Bit like Bergkamp of the past, and Arsenal fans about Modric now, though they won't admit it until retirement.)

So were we to pull off a coup and sign him - all the better. Gallas though, look up assou ekotto's view on darth vader.

munni said...

Sorry Margin, we don't want Modric, although we do concede he's rather good. And Gallas you can have. He was never really one of us anyway, just a mercenary who did a job for us for a while.

I'm in complete agreement with Guitou's first comment.

For me, Theo is much more effective either staying wide or coming inside from the wing, than playing down the middle, though Wenger's always said he'll turn him into a centre forward eventually. The more I see of Theo, the more I think he has all the right instincts, but doesn't always trust himself enough to follow them - which he'll learn.

And I really hope someone puts I. Holloway in charge of a big club some day.

Really enjoyed Fulham - MU for sheer entertainment value.

Margin said...

Munni

As I said, they won't admit it. ;-)

I do wonder what gameplan wenger gives wallcott each match. He has a lot of talent but rarely does the thing that makes Lennon and Bale productive at spurs - and just slam down the pedal and try to go past people. Too often he plays safe from out wide and just passes towards the middle of the park.

guitou said...

Margin,
Sorry I can't tip you on Wenger's gameplan, it would be like passing information to the enemy.
Try Munni she is more flexible now that Titi moves to NY :-)

munni said...

Oh no, Munni is very inflexible.

Titi can move wherever he wants, as long as he keeps scoring against Spurs ;)

offside said...

Hey Margin, congratulations on your joining the CLub.

Tweet it, digg it