The Special (G)One - on Chelsea and how to build a genuine Big Club legacy

I've been giving a lot of thought to the subject of what constitutes a Big Club recently, and yesterday's news has finally got me putting my thoughts down on paper (so to speak). Let it be known that this article is not intended to kick somebody when they are down - and some of my best friends are Chelsea fans - it is intended to be a dispassionate argument based on some of the most reasonable of premises.

The astonishing demise of Chelsea this season is one of the biggest football stories of this and many a year. Currently overshadowed, of course, by the ongoing investigation into the fallout from corruption within football politics at the highest level, but at club level certainly gigantic news. What has brought it about can only be a matter for conjecture, but whilst anything Jose Mourinho does is news in football (he has made it thus), I still can't bring myself to call Chelsea a Big Club. And why is that, I hear you ask... 

In a nutshell, firstly I feel that there is a need to differentiate between a big club and a Big Club. Chelsea are a big club, but they're not a Big Club. They're notorious; not famous. Like an East End gangster trying to muscle in on High Society.

So what are the criteria for being a genuinely Big Club? In my opinion, you need to qualify in a certain number of categories, and I'll list them here:

• A large fan base, irrespective of success on the field of play
• A history of sustained achievement
• A club which has made a mark, or left a legacy, in their own country or in the world of football
• A certain 'je ne sais quoi'; something intangible that indicates 'class' - either on or off the pitch
• A club whose success is not based purely on spending large sums of money, or on bandwagon-jumping so-called 'fans' who follow whoever won the Premier League in the previous season

If there's an intangible word that one can put to these criteria, I suppose that it's Pedigree. And on that basis, here's my list of the Biggest Clubs in Europe:

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris St Germain, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Ajax. A total of 11 (it would have been neat to keep it to 10).

I believe that you can safely say that each of these clubs scores extremely highly on most or all of the first four bullet points - and I don't think that I need to spell out my reasoning to any football fan. But despite the recent history of Real and United spending obscene amounts of money recently to sustain their position - and to a greater or lesser extent succeeding - I think that due to the past you can (almost) excuse those two clubs their recent financial excesses.

In England, there are a number of clubs now plying their trade in lower divisions with far richer histories than Chelsea. I include the likes of Huddersfield, Preston North End, Blackburn Rovers and even Leeds United in that group. Although Leeds are a fine recent example of how the misuse of money can do irreparable damage to a football club. One may wish to add the likes of Bolton Wanderers, Blackpool and Aston Villa to that group. If they had the sort of money that Chelsea have had thrown at them over recent years, their previous history would mean that your average football fan would look at them differently to the way they look at Chelsea. In their day, they were Big Clubs.

Whereas the relatively recent rise of Chelsea - whilst it had started under the much-maligned (until recently, of course) Claudio Ranieri - has essentially been built and sustained on the back of the injection of over a billion pounds of Russian oil money. Without it, Chelsea would likely be vying with the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham for Europa League spots. There is of course no point in denying that Mourinho is a very good coach, and brings success wherever he goes. But - and here's what preventing me adding Chelsea to the above list - what he can't deliver is a legacy.

It is of course distinctly possible that a change of manager will see a massive turnabout in the fortunes of the Chelsea team, and that they will start to rise inexorably up the table towards where the inherent talent of their players dictates they should be. But when a club's recent success is based on shaky foundations, there's not much to fall back on except for the money to get them out of trouble. They have no other Credit in the world of football.

Whereas Manchester United dropped to 7th in their first post-Ferguson season, yet they missed just a single year of Champions League qualification. And whilst they have a massive Ferguson-sized hole still to fill, their fall from grace has been nothing like that of Chelsea. 7th, or 16th?

Whereas following the re-direction of funds into a new stadium meant that Arsenal fell from the lofty heights they had achieved under Arsene Wenger around the turn of the century, he still managed to keep them in 3rd or 4th spot - and that's with the likes of Eboue, Denilson and Bendtner in the side. No mean feat. Does that make him a Specialist In Failure? Compared to the collapse of Chelsea this season, I hardly think so. People may be aware that these days I am no Wenger apologist - I think that he has missed a trick or five by not spending more of the money available to him over the past two or three years - but there is simply no comparison between the genuine legacy that Wenger will leave and the mess that Mourinho has left behind (as he often does). And not forgetting that he is the second Arsenal manager to have created a dynasty, after Chapman in the 1930s. 

I am not questioning Chelsea's right to join the exclusive Big Club Club. What they need to do before they call themselves one is meet the above criteria. If Abramovich is genuinely interested in moving Chelsea into that bracket, he has to build a brand built around those criteria. As we know, throwing lots of money around does not suddenly mean that one has Class. Good intentions, Roman; just the wrong choice of manager. 

And in the same way that I can't capitalise the first letters of 'big club' when I think of Chelsea, I feel much the same about Manchester City. But to give credit where it is due, they are doing loads for their local community etc., and whilst the amount of money they have to spend is of course absolutely obscene they are at least spending a chunk of it in the right way. But whilst that makes them, like Chelsea, a big club, it doesn't make them a Big Club.

Of course, there is a path to becoming a member of the Big Club Club; but it's a club that's not quite as easy to join as some hope it is. 

Pedigree. Legacy. Dynasty. Either put up or shut up, Chelsea FC.

Post-Bayern. Should there be Blues?

I've got three weeks of Arsenal to cover in this post. The question is this: Do I focus on the debacle at Sheffield Wednesday, or the hammering in Munich, or do I pick on the positives that have seen the team win 5 in a row and go joint-top of the Premier League? Actually, let's do both.

As far as The Capital One Cup is concerned; well, it would have been nice to have progressed, and would have continued to give the fringe players and the youngsters - those that aren't out on loan - a couple more outings. Of far more concern were the injuries. As if we needed more! I'll come back to this.

As for Bayern... well, they're a fantastic side. Comfortably the best in Europe. And whilst we took a tonking there were a few positives, as we managed to look good on a number of occasions going forward. No point in getting disheartened, as we won't come up against that calibre of team again all season. Will Arsenal qualify? Well, one can safely assume that Bayern will beat Olimpiacos, and we should expect to beat Zagreb at home. So it will come down to having to go to Greece and win by two goals. Which is doable. But the frustration is that we won't have the luxury of a dead rubber at the end, where we can rotate. Hey ho; such is life and - going back to one of my previous posts - blame the Manager for instilling a feeling of complacency in the team for the first two matches by rotating far too much.

As for the Premier League, we've continued the good run and won well at both Watford and bogey team Swansea; plus a narrow if comfortable win at home to Everton. All great. But the injuries are mounting and today we have the unpleasant matter of a game against The Sp*ds. We need the points to a) keep up with Manchester City and b) keep the noisy neighbours down. I think we'll do it.

Remember this? Twice?

Two more subjects to cover. Injuries, and Mesut Ozil.

So we've hit the standard Arsenal injury crisis. Up to 10 players out, and an injury to a left back would give us a side perfectly capable of holding its own in the Premier League... out injured. Now some things you can't allow for, but perhaps the problems would have been alleviated in the manager had bought a player or two in the summer to boost the squad? Fanciful? I think not.

And now to Mesut Ozil, who one would know from reading previous postings I have always loved. He's not there to track back and do the hard years - though goodness knows he does cover a lot of ground. If anyone saw what Chris Waddle wrote in the Daily Mail yesterday, they'd understand what being a flair player and the linchpin of the side is all about. Don't knock him for what he can't do; admire him for what he can. And that's seeing and doing stuff that nobody I've ever watched can see and do. And finally, this season, he is starting get the recognition from the media and the public in this country that he deserves.

Oh, one other thing. Chelsea. Who isn't enjoying what's happening to them? They're a soap opera, with little or no sign of things improving for them. Keep going, Jose; it's so entertaining.

The Sublime and The Ridiculous

Ridiculous

Sublime

Firstly, an apology. I'm sure that my ramblings have been sorely missed, but my excuse - and I'm sticking to it - is that I've had a massive project to do for work, and then a few family issues to sort out straight afterwards. Admittedly, it has been a long break...

But the end of another Interlull seems a good time to post again. And hopefully I'll get back in the groove from next week. Anyhoo...

Quite a lot has happened since my last post, but going through things chronologically would bore me, let alone you; the reader. So I'll stick to the most salient points from the past couple of months:

The Transfer Window...
...was a total shambles. I can't think that any Arsenal fan could argue with the purchase of Cech, but the fact that he was the sole arrival is frankly incomprehensible. Our rivals strengthen, and we do little, despite the vast sums in the Bank.
And then add to the mix the fact that the Manager knew that Welbeck was going to be out for months as the deadline approached, but still did nothing? I can't spin this as anything but negligence.

Performances and Results 
The Manager preaches a need to be consistent, yet all we can manage on a consistent basis is inconsistency. There have been some solid performances and results (e.g Stoke, Palace, Leicester), and of course the game against United was outstanding in every way, but when you put the performances and results against West Ham, a poor Liverpool side, Zagreb and Olympiakos into the mix, then you can see that the same mistakes are being repeated again and again.
Now, whilst it's difficult to allow for individual errors, I believe that there has been a lack of continuity and consistent thought from the Manager. To make 6 changes for Zagreb - Chelsea 4 days later notwithstanding - is too much. To play Ospina against Olympiakos, having lost the first game in the group, is inexplicable. Yes, rotate by all means, but two or three at a time at the very most. Otherwise you're asking for trouble.
But the really aggravating thing is that we've seen all this before. Repeatedly. So why does he never learn?

Individual Performances
Summarising, I'd say that Cech has to start in goal, the back 4 look settled but Gabriel seems to slot in seamlessly when required at centre half. At full back, both Debuchy and Gibbs look rusty when called upon - all the more reason not to change both of them for the same match, Arsene.
In midfield, we can ill afford a Coq-shaped hole, as we're light on cover. See above... And we're covered everywhere else - apart from up front, where with loans and injuries we're extremely light.
Sanchez is absolutely exceptional, and hopefully on his way to becoming an Arsenal legend. And I simply love Ozil.
We're seeing some cracking stuff all round when the team really gels, but there's still this nagging tug, isn't there, that there are too many cracks in the squad and a lack of power.
Still, we're stuck with it and I'll back the players every time. But I can't say the same for the Manager.

The Champions League
What a mountain the team has set itself. They've now got to take the majority of points from the double-header with the best team in Europe, or they're finished. Or an absolute minimum of three. And still might be finished if results elsewhere go against them. What a mess.
So do they look to finish third and go into the Europa League - and imagine the stick we'll take from Spurs fans if they do! - or just aim to come bottom and concentrate on the League? My opinion is this: despite the whole Thursday-Sunday farrago, I think that they should go for it. I'm jumping the gun and expecting them not to qualify for the Champions League (thus ruining Wenger's proud record - a self-inflicted wound), but at that point they'll be a Champions League quality squad up against a good number of inferior opposition. With the carrot of a more winnable trophy and a guaranteed Champions League spot at the end of it. There'd be considerably more ignominy attached to finishing last in that group and having nothing but blank weekdays in the spring.

Title Rivalry
Well, it's been a funny old season so far, hasn't it? To have this inconsistency and be just two points behind the leaders feels a bit strange. So all we've got to do it become more consistent and we can challenge. And if we can challenge, we can win it. The league doesn't have a single outstanding team, so consistency - plus flashes of brilliance - may just do the trick.
Of those one would expect to be challenging for the title, I have this to say, As regards City, I've been swinging between extremely impressed and watching in disbelief at the horrible performances they've thrown in. United I simply can't see being good enough. They seem dysfunctional to me. And with due respect to Liverpool, Everton, Sp*rs etc. - well, they're unlikely to challenge. Klopp or no Klopp.
Which brings me on to...

Chelsea
As people would be aware, I've had a lot to say about Chelsea. All of which means that their current plight has me thoroughly amused - and bemused.
Their victory over Arsenal was a triumph for the diabolical (some might say downright biased) refereeing of Mike Dean - a man whose name I have shuddered to see slated to officiate an Arsenal match. I must say no more.
As for the rest of their season... well, their Manager set the agenda early on with his treatment of the Team Doctor, and Karma seems to be dealing with the rest. It's absolutely hysterical to observe them playing so poorly - both individually and as a team - and to see Mourinho suffer as a result. To me, he's out of his depth in a struggling side, the excuses are pathetic, he is failing to deflect anybody with his spurious diversions, and the 7-minute rant after their last game was met with scorn and the inevitable fine.
What Mourinho failed to see - probably deliberately - were two things:
Firstly, that whilst whinging about the penalty Chelsea should supposedly have had in that game, he conveniently closed his eyes to the fact that it was the most contentious of three penalties that the referee didn't award. The two for Southampton were nailed on spot kicks; there was doubt for Chelsea's claim.
And secondly, when he moans about his treatment as a result of calling a referee 'afraid', against Wenger's description of Dean as 'weak and naive', he fails to note the most salient point - that he was wrong and Wenger was right.
People say they'd like to see him sacked. Others say they want him to stay. From my point of view, he's doing a marvellous job at the moment and should therefore stay. But if he gets the sack... well I for one would really enjoy that!

Arsene Wenger
I have said it before and I'll say it again. I don't want him to go; I want him to change. But he won't change, so I want him to go. Now there's a dichotomy...

Watford away. The sort of game Arsenal must win if they want to challenge for the title. So COYG. And Come On The Villa!

He just can't help it. And neither can I!

In a week when Arsenal have had a fairly routine win - and I'll of course cover that below - my own football week is once again being dominated by the Chelsea soap opera. 

On the one hand, it was highly amusing watching Manchester City take Chelsea to pieces on Sunday - with the added spice of the John Terry substitution. But yet again the ravings of their manager fill the headlines for me. Will nobody act? 

His season so far...

Firstly, it is worth noting that Chelsea did not win a single pre-season game, and have one point from two matches this season. This makes me happy.

Secondly, the Eva Carneiro incident and fallout. If you don't know who she is, she's Chelsea's Club Scapegoat - sorry, Doctor - who a couple of weeks ago felt the unjustifiable wrath of a man who I suspect may slowly be losing his sanity.

Then there was the thrashing at Eastlands, followed by his preposterous pronouncement that the 3-0 defeat was a 'fake' result; utter nonsense and nobody in their right mind could possibly take that seriously. 

And finally, harking back to his recent assertion that opposition clubs are trying to 'buy' their way to the title, there are two quite obvious points to make. 

1. That this is precisely what New Chelsea FC (founded 2003) have been doing for the vast majority of the past dozen years, and 

2. Chelsea are suddenly going out and spending vast sums of money themselves; a reported (and extortionate) £20m+ on Baba Rahman, a similar figure on Pedro, and likely a further £30m+ (overpriced again IMHO) on John Stones in the next couple of weeks.

For most managers, this is enough antics for an entire season. Yet it's only mid-August!

All evidence of his rank hypocrisy and brazen disregard for the facts. Yet where is the backlash from the press/media? Their counterparts in Italy and Spain didn't stand for it, yet it would appear that in England the vast majority of the press/media hordes are rabid sycophants when it comes to my good mate Jose. 

Why, I simply cannot imagine. Because he is always good for a quote or a story? Get over it, guys, and give him what he deserves, which is little or no respect whatsoever. Question him. Let him walk out of press conferences if he wants to. Don't tiptoe around him. He doesn't deserve your respect. He talks utter drivel, yet people hang onto his every word.

Excellent coach and motivator Jose Mourinho may be, but that's all the respect I'll give him. 

Just to cheer us all up, here's an image of him looking relaxed after Sunday's match:

Now onto more important matters - Arsenal getting back on track last Sunday.

Interesting team selection. No surprise to see Bellerin come back in at right back; he's first choice there now, I reckon. I also wasn't surprised to see Giroud start up front in a tricky looking away match. And with Alexis back it was no surprise that The Ox found himself back on the bench, his mistake for the second goal last week still fresh in everyone's minds.

The key move, for me, was the one I discussed last week. Cazorla slotting back where he is now most effective; in central midfield alongside Le Coq. The fallout of that is that Ramsey gets shunted out to the right, which he claims not to like, but provided that Bellerin is providing the width - plus Alexis stretching the play on the other side - Ramsey's natural tendency to drift inside, and work his way into the box, is actually pretty useful - especially with Ozil's magic feet pulling the strings. All in all, this formation worked well enough last year, and there was no reason to change it. So I for one am glad that the manager went back to it. The question now is could there be matches where he plays Ramsey alongside Cazorla in central midfield, and opts for more pace on the right. Against weaker sides and at home, quite possibly.

Other talking points are the whole Coquelin red card tightrope thing, Kos turning his back on a shot for a second week, and Giroud's early contender for Goal of the Season.

On the first, I would suggest that none of those fouls - apart from the one straight after his booking when he threw an opponent to the floor - were worthy of a card. But it was right to take him off because one more foul would have been enough on whatever totting up process the referee was using.

On the second: Koscielny had a good, solid game. Excellent positioning, good pace, solid marking and tackling. But he HAS to put his body on the line - dare I say it, like John Terry does - and already this year he has turned his back on a shot twice and it has resulted in two goals. Deal with it, Stevie Bould.

Finally, lovely finish from Giroud. That sort of thing is precisely why Wenger may not go and buy someone for £30m+. It's borderline. Look, we'd all like to see fresh blood, but find someone better than Giroud who his club are willing to sell. I defy you to do so.

On to Liverpool at home on Monday night. A proper test, one would think. Except that I really wasn't impressed by their struggles to overcome plucky Bournemouth last Monday. I reckon we'll have too much for them, provided we can shrug off our recent inability to score at home. Just show the team a video of last season's 4-1 thrashing in the same fixture, Arsene. That should inspire them.

COYG!

Expectations, eh...

For football fans, it's all about Expectations. And it's the Hope that kills you.

Are (or were) the expectations of Arsenal fans realistic before the first ball had been kicked; that finally a proper title tilt is/was in sight? I would have thought so, to be frank. But there's a Quantum Leap to be made somewhere between Hope and Expectation, and the pre-season indicated that we could reasonably make that Quantum Leap. But Sunday took the wind very firmly out of our sails - let's hope that it was a blip.

I've given myself a few days to collect my thoughts on what happened on Sunday, and what sort of response one might expect to see from the team. Let's firstly have a look at what went wrong, and try to analyse why:

1. Over-confidence? Arrogance? An expectation that all they needed to do was turn up? Look, the pre-season had gone swimmingly, and home to West Ham didn't look on paper to be the most testing of starts, but one could feel a sort of overwhelming cockiness in the crowd - easily transferred to the players - of 'We've beaten Chelsea. We've signed Petr Cech. Chelsea even obligingly dropped points yesterday. And it's only West Ham.' 

To me, this was a major contributory factor to the performance, and it ought to serve as a lesson. Thank goodness it came on Day One! But notwithstanding that it could easily have been 3 or 4-nil before they took the lead, it was distinctly unsatisfactory.

And unlike two years ago, when they lost to Villa on the first day of the season, this was supposed to be a settled, growing side ready to push for the title. On that showing, they can forget it I'm afraid. But it's early days, and for that we should be extremely thankful.

2. The shape of the team was different to last season, even if the personnel really weren't. No Alexis (short of fitness), and that was fair enough. Giroud instead of Walcott? - no problem. Debuchy for Bellerin? - no big deal except for a consequent lack of pace. 

But here's the big thing; Ramsey had been making noises about wanting to play in central midfield, and whether it was as a result of that or otherwise, Wenger switched him with Cazorla and sent the Spaniard out on the left of the front three. Which against this opposition did not work; the performance was disjointed; Cazorla was peripheral, and Ramsey lacked discipline. If you add in that Ozil barely fired at all... well, there's the problem in my opinion.

3. The defensive shambles: For the moment, I am going to blame some of the issues on unfamiliarity between the keeper and the back four, but they are going to need to be infinitely more disciplined as the season wears on than they were on Sunday. 

Both goals were as a result of a catalogue of errors - for the first Cech set them up too far from his goal, and then came for a ball he had no right to come for. That, combined with a fine delivery and poor positioning by at least one defender, led to the simplest of goals. For the second... well, where do you start? The Ox lost the ball (not for the first time in his career, deep in his own half and leading to a goal), and this was compounded as two defenders didn't move to close Zarate down. But the shot wasn't powerful, yet Cech was going the wrong way, slipped, and it was all very embarrassing. Goodness me, imagine if that had been Szczesny!!!...

4. Inability to move up a gear, or do anything too different. Well, that's nothing new, I'm afraid. Sending Alexis on was a desperate and probably foolhardy move, yet not even he could make much of a difference. They held us off easily.

Wenger claimed later that the team were 'nervous'. To me, that's nonsense. Psychological issues there surely were, but it's difficult to accept that nerves were the issue here.

So now it's a 37-game season. But I don't see that Palace away is necessarily a good start to it. They're a decent side, have bought well in the summer, and Selhurst Park is a tricky place to go. We're going to have to see a vast change in attitude from last week to this in order to achieve the desired result. But Arsenal are a fine side, capable of beating anybody on their day, so it's in their hands.

The issue for us fans, of course, is expectation. We've believed - and indeed contributed to - the hype surrounding the prospects for this season. Perhaps it's no bad thing that this happened so early, and hopefully we can look back on it as an early watershed. Here's hoping.

The only remaining question is on signings. The Benzema thing isn't going away, but I simply can't take it seriously I'm afraid.

I reckon that we do need an alternative up front, but alternatives of sufficient class look to be almost out of stock. Having watched him on Monday, I wouldn't say no to Berahino, to be honest.

But more important is central midfield; I sincerely hope that we're not going to regret not going for Schneiderlin, because for all the impact he has made since January Coquelin is almost certainly not the answer; not on a consistent basis at the level we're striving for. That Polish chap who plays for Seville looked pretty decent when I watched him on Wednesday - and what an incredible game of football that was, by the way! Kongdogbia and Schneiderlin have gone, but he looks a fine alternative. Over to our esteemed leader, then...

On to Sunday, then. Come on Arsenal; let's hit the ground running and forget about last week. Believe.

A most unfriendly Friendly

How lovely to finally break the 'Mourinho hoodoo', even if in an ultimately meaningless game. No points awarded; well, maybe some Brownie Points -  and of course a nice trophy (the third of the pre-season). Job done.

Here are a few talking points from the match and its aftermath:

There is no love whatsoever lost between Messrs Wenger and Mourinho, and having had the opportunity to listen to some of the stuff that the shell-suited Chelsea manager has said to the media over the years about his classy counterpart in the natty suit and tie, I can understand why. Whilst I can understand Wenger's brilliant snubbing of Mourinho on Sunday, part of me asks why he had to stoop to his level and thereby fall victim to possible criticism.

For those who haven't seen it, this is the incident:

http://sport.bt.com/beautiful-game/mourinho-gives-away-medal-after-wenger-blanks-him-91363995901953 

and this explains why they're not on each others' Christmas card lists:

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/9504671/

We all know precisely why Mourinho stood at the bottom of the steps afterwards. Because if he makes it all about him, it distracts the media from looking at his players' performances; some of which were rather disappointing. And then of course there was his criticism of Arsenal in his post-match interviews; claiming that 'they left their philosophy in the dressing room'. Frankly, I think that Arsenal can take that as some sort of compliment - they 'out-Chelsead' Chelsea. And, frankly, why not?

So what of the match itself? There is little doubt that Arsenal are a little further down the preparation line than Chelsea, and that certainly showed early on. As the match wore on, it became clear that there is currently little between the sides; but there is still a month to go until the Transfer Window closes, and it's a long season. Some may accuse me of bias (heaven forbid!), but I believe that Arsenal looked a match for Chelsea, and pretty devastating on the break. Plenty of improvement to come from both sides, I would say. Costa and Alexis to return, for starters.

For Chelsea, the left-back looks a relatively weak link, Ramires remains a thoroughly unpleasant character, and Fabregas and Hazard were both disappointing. Up front, they looked pretty toothless in the absence of Costa; Remy clearly doesn't understand the offside rule and Falcao (as I mentioned in my last post) appears a shadow of his former self - although to give him credit he was making some good runs in the second half). For me, their stand-out player on Sunday was Willian.

As for Arsenal, it was interesting to note the shape and make-up of the side, and I think that it's likely that with so much attacking talent at his disposal Wenger may finally start to pick his teams with the opposition in mind. On Sunday, for example, he asked Ramsey to start in central midfield instead of Cazorla, as it gave a better match-up with Matic and Ramires. He selected Bellerin over Debuchy; perhaps for his pace up against Hazard. He chose Walcott over Giroud in order to exploit a perceived lack of pace in the heart of Chelsea's defence (although ultimately Giroud's hold-up and link-up play will generally prove more beneficial). And he put The Ox in the side; something we may see a lot more of this season. I've got high hopes for The Ox.

Defensively, things looked pretty solid; continuing on from the second half of last season. The shield from Le Coq was pretty solid, all 4 defenders had solid games, and the goalkeeper made one tremendous save from an Oscar free kick at a crucial time. I think that what he does do is give the players in front of him - and us supporters - real confidence. And as a reward for that performance, I am delighted to paste this lovely photo of him :-)

On the whole, it didn't feel too much like a Friendly, and that is as it should be between the two sides that I expect to be battling it out for the title this season. That's hardly an original thought, I grant you. The bookies slashed half a point off of Arsenal's price - 4/1 from 9/2 - and that's probably a reasonable thing to do. Although I reckon 6/1 would be a fairer price; Chelsea have 'been there and done that', after all.

So on we go to the big kick-off next weekend. Arsenal can ill-afford to start slowly, as they did last season. I'm looking forward to a titanic battle for the Premier League; hopefully with the man in the suit coming out smiling in May.

Until next week...

Self-justifying claptrap!

And no; I'm not talking about this Blog. Although others may suggest that it sums up my writing...

So who am I talking about in the title? None other than our old friend Jose Mourinho, who has started the phony war nice and early. He just can't help himself, can he, and he cares not even when he gets his facts wrong?

And here's some good news, folks. I've decided that I'm going to be really disciplined this season and post at least once every week. This is therefore the first one of the 2015-16 season, with thoughts on Arsenal's summer/pre-season, our title rivals and what they've been up to, and some fleeting thoughts on Liverpool and Spurs (who are NOT title rivals). And if my pal Mourinho gets a few mentions, I'm sorry; he gets a rise out of me almost every time he opens his smug mouth. As an aside, I imagine he must love this photograph!        

                                  

On to Arsenal's pre-season: 

Off the pitch, the goalkeeping issue appears to have been well and truly addressed. I think we'd all agree that Cech is an upgrade on what we had; even if he is possibly past his best now, I personally will take him over Szczesny and Ospina every time. With the added pleasure of knowing that his move has really annoyed Mourinho.

Ideally, I'd also like to see cover in defensive midfield, and a world-class centre forward. If there are two areas where inconsistency was shown last season - certainly in the first half of it - they were an inability to break up opponents' play that led to goals, and a lack of goals themselves (Sanchez excluded) from our own forward line. 

On the first point, the re-emergence of Coquelin surely occurred merely by dint of good fortune, and I somehow doubt that Arteta will be sufficient cover for him. On the second, there was far too much reliance on Alexis for too long, and apart from not expecting him to repeat that goal tally this season I feel that we probably need 15-20 extra goals this season compared to last. 

It seems that Wenger is going to rely on a fit-again Walcott, plus bigger contributions from midfield, to make that up; unless circumstances in the transfer market free up the mythical world-class centre forward as they did with the arrivals of Ozil and Sanchez. He's not a transfer instigator, is our Arsene, but he does tend to pick up some tasty scraps in the transfer fallout. And to visit an old theme of mine, having addressed his tactical blind spot midway through last season this is perhaps where our esteemed manager lets himself down; leaving us just short in key areas.

Nonetheless, from what we've seen of Arsenal pre-season (for all that's worth) things seem to be gelling together well and the side look readier than they did a year ago. Although the acid test comes on Sunday, of course. The main issue for Wenger seems to be how to shoehorn all that talent into the side, and in the absence of Alexis I suspect Arsenal may line up:

Cech

Monreal - Koscielny - Mertesacker - Bellerin

Coquelin - Cazorla

Ozil

Ox - Giroud - Ramsey

which has Ramsey bunged in on the wing, and no Wilshere or Walcott in the starting eleven. So, with Alexis still to come back, a wealth of talent going forward and a massive personnel dilemma for the manager.

On to our title rivals:

Manchester United are spending vast amounts of money, and several of those buys look rather tasty. Particularly Schweinsteiger (literal translation is 'pig climber'), a player I have admired for many years. But they still have issues in defence, I reckon, for all their clean sheets last season (most of which can surely be attributed to their soon to depart goalkeeper) plus the lack of goals last year means they surely have to buy someone to play up top - for all that Memphis Depay looks something special. They've got just too much ground to make up, I reckon, in the forthcoming season.

Manchester City have made two shrewd buys in Delph and Sterling, but they need cover for Aguero and more importantly look really light in defence. They need more, and if they end the transfer window with the squad they've got they'll surely fall short again.

And so to Chelsea. Aaah, the little horse have hardly spent any money at all so far this summer, have they? And for all the world-class talent of the likes of Hazard and Fabregas, I think/hope that this will prove to be a mistake. I'll put my neck on the block here and now and say that I simply do not understand the signing of Falcao; if last season showed anything, it's that he is not the same player he was before his knee injury. Add that to Costa's continual hamstring issues, that leaves Loic Remy - and I don't think that anybody can imagine any team winning the title with him up top. On top of which, I imagine that we may start to see a gradual decline in the form of their esteemed captain (my favourite player). So again, unless they buy, the cracks may start to show. One can always hope, as there's plenty of ground for the opposition to make up on them.

On Liverpool, all I can say is that the loss of their best player two seasons in a row must surely continue to hurt them. Benteke looks a useful - if overpriced - purchase, and Clyne is clearly a decent player, but they look miles short still.

I'm not sure why I'm bothering discussing Tottenham. Actually, I don't think I'll bother, except to say that 5th must surely be the absolute limit of their ambition/potential this season.

And so we come to the Community Shield:

Last year's ritual slaughter of Manchester City proved to be something of a false dawn, but whilst it's merely a friendly this is different gravy. The opportunity to score some psychological points over Chelsea really must be taken; and bearing in mind that they've hardly been setting the world on fire in pre-season we have some expectation, despite The Dark Lord's hold over Wenger.

And so to the Mind Games. So far, quite pathetic, really. If that's all he's got, then I'm sure we're all delighted. But it's a phony war, and it's Hazard and Fabregas etc. who we really need to worry about. Here's hoping for a decent performance and a positive result, and I'll see you next week.

Post-Chelsea musings - Tales of The Expected

I'll try to take a different angle than everyone else.

No, it wasn't and for the most part they weren't. Boring, that is. It was a match wracked (for the most part) with tension, no little fear, and a villain or five. But that song would have been music to their ears.

As far as Arsenal were concerned, it was disappointing. But we were up against a bloody good side who quite rightly came with the attitude of What We Have, We Hold. Who wouldn't have done that very thing? They all know their roles, they are set up professionally and pragmatically, and they are extremely difficult to play against when in that mode. But I hold out some small hope for them dropping points on Wednesday, as it happens; they'll actually be coming out to play then.

And the problem was that for all the huffing and puffing - and there were moments when they were on the ropes - Arsenal simply didn't create enough chances or do enough to get the better of them. Courtois wasn't given enough to do, John Terry (for all that he is a heinous excuse for a human being) was magnificent, and the referee was lenient in not booking the thug Ivanovic early on and especially in allowing Chelsea to take forever on re-starts. Plus there were times when the Arsenal intensity dropped; we needed to be at them all the time.

I choose to make little comment on the penalties. None were given, and that was that. The handballs would have been harsh - although at the time I screamed for the Cahill one. Ospina made a genuine attempt for the ball, but got there late. Dangerous, yes; reckless, no. And the tackle for which their Number 4 was booked; such is life - he made a meal of it. Probably something he'd been taught in their weekly 'diving training' sessions (Tutor D. Drogba esq.; Star Pupils Oscar and Hazard).

So they did what they had to do, and they're bloody difficult to beat. But what I feel it did expose is where Arsenal still lack sufficient quality. 

• A new goalkeeper is required - somebody better than we already have. 
• The defence was adequate but rarely tested, and continues to worry me - the trademark ball over the top from their Number 4 to Oscar is the sort of thing that shouldn't catch anybody out
• Coquelin did OK but was harried constantly when he had the ball and we can probably do better than him 
• Cazorla was subdued and I feel a bit sorry for him in the role he is being asked to play
• Ditto Ramsey; another square peg in a round hole
• Ozil didn't, frankly, show enough urgency
• Giroud was shown up for what he actually is - not top class. Terry had him in his pocket all afternoon
• Plus a top-class wide player, please; Alexis, for all his attributes, is not that

3-4 new players required to reach their level. Over to you, Arsene, to buy just two and leave us short again, I'd imagine. The problem is that the players we'd like are all at bloody Chelsea!

Two things to add:

1. On their Number 4... Personally, I didn't boo him; I gave him the Silent Treatment. But nor did I applaud him when he was substituted. And frankly I couldn't understand the thousands who did. He's the enemy now, and therefore not worthy of our energy being expended on him. He means nothing to me now, for all that he carried our team for a couple of years. I suspect that there was a lot more to his move to West London than we know, for all the 'buy-back clause' may suggest

2. To the bloke first up on 6-0-6 who called for Wenger's head on the back of this match. Well, I switched over in disgust the moment you started down that road, so I have no idea what Wrighty said to you, but today wasn't the day to start on that one again. There are many reasons why one could say Arsene Must Go, but on the back of a long winning run and a repeat Cup Final to look forward to, plus holding our own against the Champions elect? Bonkers.

Second, and another FA Cup, is Progress. Let's aim for that. And then we'll see. As I said yesterday, Mourinho and Chelsea need to be stopped, blow by blow. And we'll need help from elsewhere to do that. But we must start inflicting a few flesh wounds ourselves along the way.

One Nil to The Arsenal - and Rosenberg

Arsenal fans of a certain vintage will remember our successful sides of the late 1980s and early 1990s. They started off their run with successive Milk (League) Cup appearances in 1987 and 1988, and then followed it up on one of the greatest nights in club history; May 26th 1989 and that famous 2-0 win at Anfield to clinch the League title. Another title, and a bit more sporadic cup success over the next few years - including the Cup double of 1993 and the (totally against the odds) European Cup Winners Cup win over a Parma side bristling with talent in Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen in 1994  - and then it was all over for a few years until Arsene Wenger arrived.

But enough of the history lesson. The point I'm trying to make is that this was a successful side, but not by any stretch of the imagination a loved one. Admired, I'm sure, but that was where it ended. Liverpool were the glamour club of that era; incredibly successful and brimming with class and style. True, there were flair players at the club - the likes of Davis, Merson, Thomas, the much-missed David Rocastle, and towards the end Ian Wright - but this was a side built on a rock-solid defence that along with a somewhat 'destructive' midfield made them extremely difficult to beat when it really mattered. 

And at this juncture I would like to point out some parallels with the current Ch$ls$£ side - but also some major differences:

One the parallel side, there is the 'pragmatic' managerial side of M0#r^nh0 (hereafter referred to as TDL [The Dark Lord]), and the solid defensive foundations. A side capable of moments of great ingenuity and excitement, but one that is very much set up in Safety First mode. Admired, but outside of SW6 not loved at all. Hark back to George Graham's Arsenal sides, and there's your parallel. Single goal victories ground out week after week, capitalising on opponents' mistakes, etc.

And what, Ch$ls$£ fans especially may ask, is wrong with that? TDL has been charged with bringing trophies to the club, and that he is once again doing. That the success of the club is due in massive part to the largesse of its billionaire owner's gift of £1bn+, and its ability to attract some of the world's top players as a result of that, is not in dispute. 

This is where the lines diverge. That Arsenal side was mainly built on a self-sustained core - home grown players and the odd astute purchase. But that's hardly the case with the current Ch$ls$£ side (or to be fair most really successful clubs these days). But the chucking of money at the issue for a sustained period of almost 10 years has now seen the bloated, unpleasant Frankenstein's monster of West London take its full form. A club that can win the FA Youth Cup for 4 successive years, but singularly fails to bring a single one of those players through to the First Team? A damning anomaly, built round a business model perpetuated by the new FFP rules which they are playing so well with the help of TDL's good friend, the Super-Agent Carlos Mendes (how anyone could have extracted £50m from PSG for David Luiz is beyond comprehension).

What is of course galling for Arsenal fans was the timing of Abramovich's arrival on the scene. It happened at virtually the very moment when the decision to build a new stadium meant a tightening of the purse strings in N5 - and at a time when Arsenal and Manchester United were utterly dominant domestically. Invariably, the injection of unprecedented bundles of cash left Arsenal in Ch$ls$£'s wake. It very much upset the Natural Order of things.

But let us not lose sight of the fact that TDL was sacked the first time around for combining his particular style of football with - at a certain point - a distinct lack of success. In the aftermath of a pitiful 1-1 home draw in the Champions League group stages with Norwegian champions Rosenberg. And perhaps there is a glimmer of hope in that?

Some will point to the fact that Ch$ls$£ flew out of the blocks at the beginning of this season, playing some scintillating stuff and carrying all before them. Even leading to the suggestion in some quarters that they might go the entire season unbeaten (don't make me laugh - only Arsenal do that!). So they do have that capability - and with that side and that money behind them they damn well should have! - but at the moment when he could see that his side were running out of a bit of steam Manchester City simultaneously ground to a virtual halt and so the path was clear to him. Revert to type and defend the cushion the early season performances had given him. And again, why wouldn't you? 

So it's up to Ch$ls$£'s rivals to start to deliver the blows that cut them down. Slow the juggernaut, and then stop it. Start beating them, and start denying the owner what he truly craves, a successful side that is Loved, not merely Admired. 

Starting today, perhaps? The title race is essentially over for this season, but hopefully a marker can be laid down for next season and then other sides can pick up the baton also.

To be frank, all I can foresee for this afternoon is a drab, low-scoring match shaped by the tactics of TDL. Matic and Zouma in front of the back 4, looking to stop the fleet-footed Arsenal attackers exposing the lack of pace of the centre-backs. But it's difficult to take the moral high ground on that if one learns the lessons of history. W

hat Arsenal need to do is find a way round it - look to 'knock them off of their f*cking perch', as Fergie once said about that Liverpool side. That needs to start by scoring the first goal this afternoon.

And look, I've written an entire blog post about Ch$ls$£ without mentioning Fabregas... Damn!!! I almost managed it...

Fools' Gold

Some weeks ago, I started writing a post that was going to be entitled 'One Step Forward; Two Steps Back', but I only like to write fresh stuff and frankly it was nothing new, so I aborted it. However, last night brings things right back into focus.

When things go wrong, Arsenal get them wrong in Spades. Last night was a total shambles, and for all Wenger's talk about the team defending 'suicidally' I don't see how he can possibly park all the blame on the players.

You see, it's all very well to play Alexis, Ozil, Cazorla, Welbeck and Giroud when you're up against a side in the lower reaches of the Premier League, but to have the arrogance (and yes, I chose that word deliberately) to set up like that in the Champions League is to my mind unforgivable. Yes, they missed chances to take the lead and Giroud especially missed a couple of virtual sitters and generally had a stinker, but apart from the first 15 minutes or so there was little doubt about who were the better set up and coached, more organised and more hard-working side on the pitch.

In many ways, it's OK to be given a lesson by the Barcelonas and Bayerns of this world, but this was Monaco, and on paper Arsenal have better players than they do. But even a severely-weakened Monaco side were better than Arsenal all over the pitch. Kondogbia (sign him, Arsene!) and Moutinho were outstanding, but team shape, work rate, closing down and tracking back were where Arsenal were truly shown up.

So the initial team selection was wrong - far too attacking - and I don't think we saw anything change tactically until he hooked Giroud - which he absolutely had to - and then took off our only defensive midfielder - an extraordinary move - to bring on The Ox. Either Ozil or Alexis (is he fully fit?) could easily have gone and some sort of shape could have been kept.

It has been clear for a while that there's something missing from the current Wenger regime. For all his qualities, he simply can't cut it any more at the top table. In the Premier League, sheer financial muscle and the qualities of the players Arsenal attract will drag the side into the Top 4 every season, but is that really enough when disappointment is heaped on disappointment year after year in the big matches. Whilst finishing above Sp*rs is all well and good, and indeed expected, that's really not what it's about. We should be leaving them behind in any case. But for the football fan, at any level, it's the hope that kills you.

From the moment I saw last night's team, I feared the worst, and when the early goal didn't come and the shape and tempo of the game changed I felt it coming. Because I have felt the same feeling before. But it's the lack of reaction that hurts me more than anything. No change to the shape, and no adaption to what is in front of them. For that, I have to blame the Manager. As I said up top, it's all very well slaughtering Aston Villa, but if anyone has been 'suicidal' it's M Wenger.

People would say that those in the anti-Wenger camp only rear their heads when something catastrophic like this happens. To be fair, there's really nothing to say when we're putting Premier League also rans to the sword, but it's been clear to me that confidence has been fragile and the side has been fortunate on occasions even in the past few weeks when they have risen to third, but it all gets glossed over... until a night like last night.

Frankly, I would imagine that Sam Allardyce could get Arsenal into the Top 4. The club needs someone to take them further. Arsene Wenger, for all his qualities, is no longer that man and every big match defeat that goes by reinforces that view.

And so on to the next big match. Manchester United away. They've got the Indian Sign over us irrespective of who their Manager is, and how sh*t they may actually be, so I've gone from expectation to hope in one evening. Let's hope they can lift themselves for that one.