Bournemouth game summed up everything that’s wrong with us. If anyone was in doubt, it showed us why we went so close and didn’t win the title in our last 2 seasons. We lacked creativity, we made mistakes, the manager didn’t know how to handle a 10-men situation, we didn’t know how to win against a bottom half team because we didn’t have an alternate plan, and the worst part is, we have seen it all but haven’t made an effort to fix it!
We lost against Aston Villa last season, that gave City a hope to win. They did win all of their games comfortably and we struggled. So far this season, we have managed to put up a fight against the better ones, win at Tottenham away and a 2-2 draw at Etihad which we should have won, but we have given away easy points against the likes of Bournemouth and Brighton. That’s 5 points when the season is not even halfway there, when we know it will come down to a point or two towards the end of the season.
Second, we have gathered 3 red cards in 8 games so far. What the actual fuck! Declan Rice against Brighton and Trossard’s against City were controversial but WE KNOW PGMOL is there to fuck us up. We can’t fix that situation, we had tried but we can’t, and there’s no point to keep blaming ’em and their bad decisions. We need to be extra careful in not picking up cards and we need to stop giving away games like these.
Third, Arteta should do better in handling the team. A 10-men game against City asks you to park the bus but not against the likes of Brighton or Bournemouth. We were so dull on Saturday that I was doubting if we have won even with 11. You are playing with 3 defensive midfield players, your CB is out for the game, and you bring a defensive LB in place of an attacking player? Why not sub any one of the Merino, Partey or Rice and keep the attacking front 3 as it is. It just showed you were happy with a 0-0 and had no desire to win. City game was different because you were 2-1 up and you had a lead to protect.
Fourth, where’s the creativity? I know you like your creativity from the wings, but at the end of the day, they are primarily defensive players. You had a midfield packed of 3 DMs. You probably would have given yourself a reason that Odegaard was not available, but everyone knew that we needed to replace ESR, if you were so hell bent on selling him. Odegaard can’t play 38 PL games + Champions League + other cup games with 100% fitness and form. And you had Nwaneri available. You deliberately chose to play 3 DMs against a low block team when we need creativity to win. That midfield will struggle without Ode, that’s for sure, and unless you don’t play what’s available at your disposable, you would end up in this same situation.
We have a midfield that can’t create. We have a striker that can’t score on his own. We are in a mess here.
—
Sorry for the rant, but we have renewed Mikel’s contract for 3 more years, and it’s his 6th year already with more than half a billion net spend and nothing much to show up. If you prefer judging the progress with ‘playing XI worth’ and ‘almost won’, good luck to you but coming 2nd is called ‘falling behind’ for the rest of the world.
Good honest post, Ambarish. There’s more breaking down internally I feel. My reply to KP offers more thinking about why, Ambarish.
KP
Totally agree, but one wonders why such a self assured player as Saliba, why he didn’t do just that. White had no chance, but the form Maya has been in with his aerial gymnastics of late, he may well have got something on the ball.
1:0 down early doors isn’t a done deal for the game. Brilliant thinking, as it seems to have alluded our players and press alike.
There has been a general slight downturn in our confidence and fluidity of play this season. Our normally assured back line looks nervous, and well they should be because our tactics haven’t changed. Other coaches know who to nullify or hamper their repetitive play. This nervousness means we take an extra touch or two where the openings, as you said, are really fine margins of passing through the eye of a needle, pre-assist type through balls, when the busses are parked.
Busses are getting better packed as we saw with Wolves who lasted until the last 25 seconds Marc said. City had no answer and few shots on target because Wolves were so well drilled. Only one piece of magic drew dividends for City pretty much all game with a few great saves by Jose Sa.
I imagine the coaches are going to be looking at City differently now. Wolves have shown the ways and I’m looking forward to seeing how others teams adapt their tactics to keep City on edge and the back foot at times.
Got to give kudus to Gary Oniel for that defensive performance masterclass.
We are a yard off the pace too often. White is being challenged more and now showing signs of next what we need to land a title or CL cup.
Has Saliba’s head been turned by RM with their recent overtures? Coincidence or something more internal in the squad with El B? Mostly, Saliba is playing his usual languid pace and doing ok, but he lacks some sharpness of last season.
Tross was as bad as it gets with that hospital pass, but for me, why was Trossard starting ahead of Marts? I think , as I always do, it was poor selections again. We needed pace and EL B chose guile who was too easily snuffed out by such a well drilled small pacy side.
Surely you meet pace with pace to try to keep them on the back foot and reduce their overlaps.
Don’t know if you saw the City game, but tactically Wolves were best with Pep scratching his shiny dome as Wolves countered with one touch football leaving City chasing shadows.
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=gary+moore+chasing+shadows&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Rodri is such a big miss. I think the goat term is applicable to the player. City are soft bellied now, and can be got at with quick counters was identified yesterday. Worth a watch if nothing else for the highlights, as it was brilliant for the neutrals.
There are many small things wrong at the moment where injuries have highlighted them more. However, the biggest issues are players playing in unnatural positions and the changing tactics needed to accommodate such out of positional players.
I hope we can regroup and think better after the next international break because City even being softer, with Pool, Chavs and Villa are playing much better than we are now.
Ambarish – totally agree – a blind man can see the problem but El B cannot. Bournemouth have a young manager with potential for greatness – it is still potential. He probably thought he had one the lottery when El B preferred to use 3 DM’s. Perhaps Rice thinks he is the answer and be Roy of the Rovers – he is a good DM and nothing else. If we are to be fighting for the title we need somebody in the squad to be better than Odegaard so there is more than one option to control forward play.
Saliba’s head is already in the Spanish Capital – it has been for a long, long time.
Ambarish—it’s really quite simple, besides the players MA inherited, he’s added no one with any creativity up top, minus Ode…like I’ve said, it’s bully-ball time for our little project manager, so the possibility of countering when a man down or overcoming a deficit against a steady side has just become exceedingly more unlikely…this is a front-runners tactical approach that relies far too heavily on set piece dark arts and those who would rather park the bus than find themselves on the wrong side of a good old waxing…so the plan might be new, but the one-trick pony moniker remains relevant…simply put our MIT still can’t seem to walk and chew gum at the same time
To be honest we can’t complain about the Rice red card – complain about the lack of consistency but that just means other players should be booked not Rice getting away with it.
After that Arteta is and always has been a defensive coach, even when we win matches they tend to be mechanical performances and this season’s its been worse. As for a lack of creativity well you can’t depend on a single player never getting injured and when you have just sold ESR who as if by magic is suddenly fit it just confirms Arteta doesn’t like players who “aren’t” his, quite simply because it has to be about him except when it goes wrong when its everyone else’s fault.
We’ve had basically no competition for 2nd the last two seasons my guess is we’re going to get some this time and he’ll fail miserably.
Hi Tony
Great point you make about the City v Wolves game. Clubs might be looking at the bus parking blueprint we attempted in our game against those cheating scummy bastards and try to replicate it. Nearly worked for Wolves. Easier with a full team of course but many be thinking of reporting to a 6-4-0 set up as a means of extracting a point.
County played the team top of the table in the league below and looked a bit jaded with 75% of their first team. It ended nil nil with and immediate penalty shootout which we won 5-3.
Back to the league fixtures this weekend. I’m driving the bus 🚌🚌🚌 again.
NORG
Do you or anyone else have an idea of just how much Saliba would sell for? 60, 80 million?
It’s a huge relief to watch Eddie Unket look really ordinary for someone other than Arsenal.
Cunt.
Just got back from New Zealand.
Sterling. A pair of cunts.
Just been reading, Ancelotti is on a 42 unbeaten stretch in Madrid.
That’s who our fucking manager should be.
Instead we got this fraudulent cunt.
Can’t be fucking bothered any more, the zombied fan base rate this slag.
Ambarish
Knowing you look for the positives that can’t have been an easy post to write. Sadly, it’s what we are witnessing. We just got to keep hoping until there is none left from our results. Same each year where deep down we all know it will take a miracle for El B to lift the PL trophy.
Sure, I dislike the man intensely, same as Marc’s levels, but it doesn’t cloud my football judgement for my team.
We have the squad now to struggle through, but with a quality 8 and 9 added, we could be lifting a few PL trophies in the next 5 years.
Problem is we are more likely to lose players, as Wenger did. Not to El B’s lack of ambition, just lack of know how, even after 5 years and having a £b+ squad at his disposal, where he basis our tactical advantage of set piece goals.
If we didn’t have them, where would we be in the laugh today?
All we can do is hope Ambarish……..
AF
Ancelotti was my choice to succeed Wenger. Steady the ship for 2 seasons rebuilding with the odd cup win and being in CL again.
KP
The wheels on the bus go round and round…. Brilliant stuff, KP. When I finally get over to get my Hasselblad kit, I’ll try to join you for a game and others who are free or could put up with me lol.
Marc
Arteta has demanded we arrest the red card collection we seem to be gathering from being nervous and employing playing tactics ill suited to the game, where the dark arts have to stop and players play in their best positions with Rice back to his best as 6 DM.
Why can’t we just play simple one & 2 touch winning football our squad is capable of with the right tactical nous?
Are you at the game tonight?
TRVL
It’s the same argument you and I and others have that we have never had a real 8 with the high tempo attacking abilities of Ode. Not sure Merino is the right fit, but will know in a few games. Merino doesn’t look as mobile as our Ode is, which could be down to lack of game fitness and his height and build. Ode is tall but has a slight build.
How do you see the Shakhtar game going tonight? Any thoughts on our line up with pool in mind at the weekend? I assume Saliba plays?
Too late for me, so will catch in the morning. From what I read Shakhtar are 4th in their Ukraine league with mixed results.
I’ll follow you thinking here, as I know very little about European mainland football as I’ve never followed it bar half an eye on CL sides when we play them.
“Shakhtar showed their defensive fragility against Atalanta in their last Champions League outing and will be hard pushed to keep the score down in north London. Their only hope is that Arteta rests some players ahead of next weekend’s clash with Liverpool. Providing they avoid a fourth red card of the campaign on Tuesday, they should get back to winning ways with little fuss”
Tony—I haven’t watched Shakhtar this season except the highlights from their 3-0 loss to Atalanta, so I don’t have much to offer up…now they did secure an away draw against Bologna and they do have a couple younger talented pieces, Sudakov and Bondarenko, both who’ve drawn some PL interest, but this should be one of our easiest CL fixtures, especially at home
if MA cocks up this one, things could get rather noisy around here and rightfully so…that said, the troops should be all fired up after the events of the weekend, so a blowout should be in the cards, but that might be easier said than done given our glaring lack of clinical finishing up top…a competent manager would field a whole host of “second stringers” and save his best lineup for the weekend, but MA’s ego is so fragile that he could easily start our best available 11…knock on wood that no one of any import comes up lame against this far inferior side…Cheers
Thanks TRVL I’ve not had the time to follow our CL path as yet. Sounds like a potential for a good score as you suggest to put confidence in our boots again.
All eyes on El B then……
KP
Saliba will make it easier for RM. My guess AFC will demand in the region of £115M. Initially Arteta didnt want him however letting him go does not look good for him.
Meanwhile over in Plymouth, Wayne Rooney keeps waking up with 5 bluebirds circling around his head.
Hi NORG
Rooney has absolutely nothing to offer as a manager. That Plymouth game was a gift to Cardiff although I was nevertheless surprised by the result. He seems neutered, low on energy and ideas. After fucking up at Derby and Birmingham, it’s evident he ain’t cut out for management. Oh dear!
From a bluebirds perspective, 5 x 1 nil victories would have been better but they’re possibly starting to turn a corner after a dismal few months. Omer Riza (ex-Arsenal apparently) seems to be getting some sort of tune out of them finally…
Turning to Shaktar, if we can’t see them off by 4 or 5 goals tonight, then we have no right to be in the CL.
That’s probably a jinxed guarantee of a loss following a 95 yard attempted back pass from Jesus in the 98th minute after the most dour of goalless games.
KP
A friend of mine trained Rooney as a Everton 9 year old. At 9 he scored a goal when he was in his own half and spotted the opposition goal keeper way off his line. This was on a full sized pitch. My friend described his stature as ‘built like a brick shit house’ and followed it up with ‘but he has shit for brains’. He needs to retire and spend carefully.
“Data has revealed that Arsenal are refereed the most leniently out of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ sides, with Manchester City the most harshly treated, according to Opta. Despite the Gunners having had three players sent off already this season, and generally feeling hard done by in the way in which they’ve been officiated, one key statistic suggests this may not be the case. Across the first eight gameweeks of the Premier League season, Arsenal have averaged 5.39 fouls committed for every yellow card they’ve picked up, a higher rate of fouls per booking than the rest of the ‘Big Six'”
hopefully this will stop all the officiating conspiratorial nonsense, although I highly doubt it
No Saka, Ode or Timber and Jesus and Marts are starting in place of Merino and Sterling today…interesting to see who plays on what side…still no proper link-up midfielder, so clearly MA doesn’t trust Ethan
Match day post is live now.