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...
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