I Should Have Been Drinking...

It’s Monday. Not much more can be said about that. Phone calls and meetings started before the first cup of coffee was brewed, so we all know how my morning started. Also, I still have a bit of the football hangover from yesterday’s draw in the FA Cup 4th round with Bolton. There was no booze involved in the match watching (a shock, even to me!) but the play of Arsenal yesterday and the fact that the Gunners now have to play at the Reebok in a fortnight has left me with a bit of headache and upset stomach. The boys were a bit flat in the first half and never really got things going. They were OK, but not great. Just good enough to go into the half level at 0-0. All Gooners were hoping the boys would be buoyed at halftime by some inspirational speech, but before they could get themselves on track, Bolton scored to go 1-0 up. Crap. Here we go again. Arsenal stepped up a bit after that and had good possession, but they weren’t able to get too many good shots off. There was a bit too much of the old ‘pass it around the box’ again, looking for the perfect goal. Sometimes you just have to pull the trigger and hope for the best. A deflected shot has won many a match in football. Anyway, the Gunners kept up the pressure and Kolo scored off a free kick floated into the box by Cesc with about 12 minutes left in the match. The winning goal never came and a dreary trip north awaits the boys.

The new spirit of Arsenal, which I discussed last week, was there to some extent, but it didn’t shine through like it has recently. A part of the problem may just be the players are getting tired. It is hard to maintain a high level of play and energy for a long time. The club has had a number of big matches lately and the kids may just be running low on gas. The extra replay won’t help, but not much you can do about that now. But also, there may have been a bit of a lack in the confidence department for this match. Bolton have been somewhat of a bogey team for the Gunners over the last few seasons. They don’t play beautiful football and are physical on the pitch, but that is what they do and it should be no surprise to the boys in red and white. Bolton and Fat Sam know they can get into the heads of the Arsenal players and they take full advantage of it. The Gunners need to block out previous performances and go into the match knowing they can destroy them. If Arsenal can beat Liverpool at Anfield 3-1, then they should have no problem at the Reebok on the 14th. That is the mindset they need.

In golf yesterday, Tiger Woods won yet again at the Buick Invitational (for the 3rd year in a row), which put him at 7 consecutive PGA Tour wins. This breaks his old record of 6 and makes him second only to Byron Nelson who strung together 11 in a single season in 1945. Woods started the day 2 back off the lead, but held strong and took the lead sometime during the day when I was running errands. When I tuned back in he was 2 up with 2 to play. Charles Howell III had a chance tie, but missed both an eagle and birdie putt, which took all the pressure of Tiger. It is truly amazing what Tiger seems able to accomplish. Golf is a sport where wins are typically few and far between. Unlike tennis, where the top player seems to win most every tournament they enter (look up Federer on Google) most golfers hope to make the cut, let alone a top 10 finish. As Nick Faldo mentioned yesterday, most golfers earn 80% of their annual winnings in 20% of the tournaments. For Woods to keep coming out and winning everything he enters, it is really something special.

Enough for today.

Adios.

Smells Like Gooner Spirit!

Hallo my friends, it is a glorious day here in CCTX!! The sun is finally shining and the Arsenal put one over on Man U and Sperz this week. Things couldn’t be better! Well, the winning lotto numbers, a new car, or even a nice ham sandwich would make the day better, but I digress. If you follow Arsenal or English football at all, I’m sure you’ve the news of the Gunners come from behind win (2-1) and draw (2-2) with the Mancs and Scum. Therefore, I don’t really need to go into details and you can get more info here and here.



What I’d like to discuss is this newfound “spirit” the club has found. Where did it come from, how is it maintained, and can it be maintained? I have heard many say you have to have confidence to win. Others say you need heart. Obviously skill is important too. It seems, though, that this spirit is a conglomeration of all of this and is a very fickle thing indeed. The last season and half are proof of that. In my opinion, spirit is like a slot machine; you need all three to come up at once for it to work. A lack of one means spin again. Whatever analogy you like though, it seems this spirit has permeated the locker room of the club and that is a great thing.

Lets look at how we got to where we are. In the 2003/2004 season, the team were undefeated and won the league. They had some great chemistry among the players and achieved a remarkable feat. The following season, they lost a few players and Chelsea came on with a money fueled machine to take the league. The Gunners still came home with a trophy, but that was due to a narrow win over Man U in the FA Cup. Granted it is very hard to repeat an undefeated season and you can only do worse, but it seemed to impact the club some. The next season should have been a glorious one as it was the last one at Highbury, but with the departure of key players like Vieira and Edu, a string of injuries, and a very young replacement squad, a good deal of the swagger left the club. The technical abilities of the players were still there as Wenger trains like crazy, and there was still some confidence, but not tons. The big missing ingredient was heart/grit. A lot of the younger players were trying to find their place and the senior players were passing the blame a bit and didn’t have the drive. How many times did we see Henry just trotting around with a scowl on his face? Now, this isn’t to say there weren’t times of brilliance where the club destroyed opponents and did well enough to reach the CL final, but there were plenty of times where we didn’t and we had to rely on Sperz crapping out at the end of the season to get 4th place and a Champions League spot.

So on to this season. The club in its new home stumbled out of the gate with some losses and draws to teams they should have beaten, and it seemed like more of the same. Henry was exhausted after a long World Cup, there were some key injuries, and the squad was still young. There were a few good performances, but when they went down a goal, the heart and desire to get the equalizer or winner just wasn’t there. The big turn around seemed to happen when Henry went out injured and wasn’t going to be back until the New Year. I know many are thinking, “How could the loss of one of the best players in the world be a good thing?” Well, here you go: Henry was tired, had some injuries, and most importantly, seemed to have a bad attitude. He is the captain of the club and he was shirking his duties. He needed a break. The young and new players to the squad now had two choices. Run around hoping for a win, or decide they would give it their all and show they deserved to be on the pitch. Luckily, they chose the latter. Midfield wonder Cesc Fabregas seemed to be at the center of this charge and vice-captain Gilberto helped pull the team together. They then went 7 matches without a loss. The boys got stuck in and were able to adapt to their opponent’s play. But most importantly they showed a desire to win. The heart was back and the club were coming up 7’s! Henry was at every match encouraging the players and also used the time to reflect on what he needed to be doing as both a player and captain. Everything seemed to be working out.

Then, during the congested Christmas season they went to Sheffield United and lost 1-0. They didn’t really play that bad and lost on a somewhat lucky goal, but it was a loss and it could have destroyed the newfound spirit in the club. Instead, they all sat down and decided losing wasn’t for them. “We said after the Sheffield United game that something had to change,” 19-year-old Cesc Fabregas reported. “We needed to be stronger in every part of the game. And since then we have showed everyone that we have changed.”

The next match would be the proving ground for this statement. Henry came back and they took on Charlton at home. The matched started a bit slow but things quickly picked up and the went on to win 4-0. Hurrah, the Gunners seemed to be back! But 2 trips to Anfield for FA Cup and Carling Cup matches were about to come up and this would be an even bigger test for the team. Liverpool are a tough team, but the Gunners were even tougher. The kids and Henry all played with fire and heart, which brought them a 3-1 win in the first match. The second match pitted a youth squad against a first XI from ‘pool. The young guns took on the challenge and Baptista blew the scousers out of the water with 4 of Arsenal’s 6 goals in a 6-2 win. The next watch was away against a tough Blackburn team and even though they went a man down early in the match, they never gave up and won 2-0. The spirit is back.

The biggest proof for the return of the winning spirit was the Man U match last Sunday. The Gunners played well and went down 0-1 in the second half to a wonderful cross from Evra to Rooney who headed it in. Here was another crossroads for the club. The team chose the fighting route and received the encouragement from the crowd and their gaffer. They kept attacking and pressing, then late in the match, Scholes got the ball in his half and was trying to hold up play and preserve his team’s lead. Both Cesc and Rocicky were having none of this and went after the ball like 2 terriers trying to get a bone, and finally broke free with the ball. At this point, seeing the drive and persistence of the two, I knew they were going to set up the goal. Sure enough, Rosicky crossed it in and even though Henry didn’t get a good touch van Persie was screaming in on the far post and put it in for an equalizer. Afterwards, instead of settling for a draw, which would have been a good result after beating ManU earlier in the season, they keep attacking and looking for a winner, which came 3 minutes into injury time off a header by Henry from an Eboue cross.

This spirit shone again last night when the young Guns took on a Sperz starting XI and got a draw after going 2-0 down. It seems the spirit and drive to win is back in north London and I hope it stays. How to maintain it is difficult, but I think that now the seed is planted, it will grow and develop. Seeing the players show the same love for the team and desire to win that I and other supporters have has made the recent wins even more fantastic. The two spirits seem to feed off each other and it can only get stronger.

Now that I have gotten myself all worked up like a little girl, I’ll think I’ll call it a day.

Adios.

Thanks for Everything Ralphie & Trouble in Paradise

We made it friends! Somehow the City of Corpus Christi managed to survive the bitter cold and not end in frozen apocalypse. So, with that, let’s get the show on the road!

There are a few tidbits out of North London today and the biggest, in my opinion, is the sale of Lauren to Pompey on a 2 ½ year deal. I am sad to see Lauren go and was hoping he could win his way back into first team football. Eboue can develop into a great player (if he can get the diving and play-acting under control) and Hoyte is doing OK, but nothing beats experience. Laure gave the club his all and never let up. He wasn’t the best defender in the world, but it takes more than skill to be a good footballer. Drive, heart, and years of experience mean a lot. He will be sorely missed and all the best to him at Portsmouth.

In other Gunner news, it appears that Robin van Persie may possibly be healthy for the Manc match after being ruled out only yesterday. He picked up an ankle knock this week in training and scans are being done today to determine his fitness. As the match is on Sunday, I’m betting he is available, though he’ll be on the bench. I expect to see Adebayor up front with Henry. Ade gives defenders fits, especially Rio “I wanna be funny like Ashton Kutcher… that’s a good gag innit… but I should have been focusing a bit more on football in the World Cup, etc. etc.” Ferdinand. RvP on the bench can add some new direction and fresh legs though. We’ll see, and I still think it will be a tough match, but I’m leaning (of course) in the Arsenal direction.

Across London in the west part of town, stories continue to abound over the disaster that is the Chelsea locker room. Manager Jose Mourinho (giant ego) and owner Roman Abramovich (billions of $’s and an even bigger ego) have supposedly been butting heads lately over issues such as Schevchenko playing, transfer kitty’s, etc. The dynamics of the manager-owner-player relationships over there are very interesting indeed. So, let’s start with the owner. Roman Abramovich is a Russian billionaire who purchased Chelsea in 2003 and is someone who wants to flaunt his wealth and have the biggest and best. He currently owns 4 of the largest yachts in the world, big houses, helicopters, etc. So it stands to reason that he wants the best football club in the world. Therefore, he opens his checkbook and lets then manager Claudio Ranieri buy who he wants. But, just buying players doesn’t mean you are going to win trophies, which is what happened and Ranieri was booted out of the club. RA then signs Jose Mourinho who had just won the Champions League with Portuguese side Porto.

So Mourinho comes aboard, buys some more players at ridiculous salaries, and wins the league. He does the same the next year, though it isn’t as big of a blowout as it was the previous season. So now we are in his third year there, he brings in 2 more big signings (Ballack and Shevchenko) for £30m each, and neither are really producing as they should, especially Sheva (who is rumored to be best buds with Abramovich). Alongside this, there are a rash of injuries (Terry, Cech, Cudicini, etc.) and Man U gets off to a great start in the league. Suddenly, Chelsea are not top of the table but second. This wouldn’t be so bad for many clubs, but RA wants to be the best. The pressure is on.

So the rumors of riffs and player problems begin to pour out of The Bridge. RA is all over Mourinho, Mourinho says he needs money to get new players, the players think Sheva is a mole, and on and on. But here is what I think is happening. While Chelsea were winning, RA pretty much let things go and didn’t interfere too much. He knows Mourinho has a big mouth and a bigger ego, but he was producing so let him be. Now, the results aren’t up to RA’s snuff, and he is starting to meddle in the club. He wants his ego sated and thinks that with all he has spent, the club and players should produce. True to some degree. Mourinho feels he is the lynchpin in the organization and he needs whatever he asks for. This a bit true as well, because as we’ve seen, you have to have the players as well as the management to win. So it seems the club have two giant egos and one small roof. Mourinho won’t stand for it and will probably leave in the summer, with the club being hard pressed to find a better manager (rumors have it Sven is being courted, which proves my point). In addition, some of the players may go because they aren’t getting playing time (Sheva, Wright-Phillips) or just want out. So Chelsea will be where they were when Ranieri was manager and will slip in the table. Roman may try to revive the club but it will be hard to relive the glory of two consecutive League titles and he’ll probably grow weary of the club soon after. Maybe he’ll sell it or he’ll stop putting in so much cash and expect the club to support itself, which will mean no more unlimited signings. All in all, I think the days of the big bucks and lopsided club finances are drawing to an end, and I can’t be happier. Not just because I support another club, but because it will be good for all of English football.

Finally, if you are Plymouth fan and tell everyone you’re Argyle till you die, you may need to rephrase it so that you are Argyle forever. Plymouth have just signed a deal with the Co-Operative Society's funeral services in order to offer fans a true club send-off. Packages are reported to offer “endless options for you to tailor your funeral to reflect your love of Argyle, from tastefully decorated coffins to having the catering at Home Park.” Not a bad way to go! Time to put your order in Graeme!

Adios.

A Bit Nippy Out!

My current residence, as many know, is in Corpus Christi, Texas, which is in a pretty warm climate, similar to Orlando, Florida. As a result, most of the time the weather is warm (to blazing hot) so when a cold front moves through, panic sets in. The temperature around here has dropped into the 30’s with some areas actually dipping below freezing! AHHH! The local news, which normal features stories of bats and bees (really!) has revved up their coverage to near hurricane status and is reporting it from every angle. In turn, the citizens have begun to horde food and other goods like they were going to be snowed in for months. Stores are out of water, canned food, and firewood. Plus there seems to have been a run on charcoal, though I can’t understand why. “Hey Paco, its getting cold. Fire up the Coleman!” Anyway, pray for our survival so we can make it until tomorrow when it will be back in the 50’s.

Back to more pressing matters: SPORTS!! The Arsenal have this week off and are preparing for the arrival of Manchester United this Sunday. Many Manc fans are excited because they won’t have to travel all the way to Manchester to actually see a match. (bad da dum, ching!) There has been much debate on the message boards about who will be playing, who has the better squad, will it be a close match, etc. In my opinion, this will be a tough, close match and it will probably be decided by a single mistake by one of the teams. An errant back pass, a poor clearance, not closely marking a man on a set piece, etc. The teams are very closely matched and you can never count United out. The Gunners will be at home and have a new grit to them, so they can’t be counted out either. So, my prediction is: I don’t know, but I’m hoping for a Gooner goal! Trailblazing stuff there, huh?

Speaking of Man U, they have a new Dong on their team. I hope he goes by his first name. If he does, I’ve got $20 for the first person to send me a picture of a Manc in his jersey!

Plymouth Argyle have won their last 2 matches, away to Norwich (3-1) and last Saturday at home 2-1 over Peterborough. This is a good turn of events for the Pilgrims, though they are still mid-table on 12 points. But only 5 points separate them and Colchester in 6th place, where they can vie for a promotion spot. Argyle have also signed Chelsea youth striker Scott Sinclair, 17, on a month’s loan. Holloway helped train him when he was a wee lad of 10 and hopes he can do some good over the next few weeks.

Enough for today as I have to keep an eye on the impending cold!

Adios.

..Going Beck to Cali, Cali....

Actually, I think so! Thanks for helping with the intro LL.

As I’m sure you’ve heard, David “Becks” Beckham, has jumped out of the tailspinning plane that is Real Madrid, pulled the cord on his new golden parachute, and landed in sunny L.A. Remember, you heard it here first folks (well, you heard it here awhile ago)! Anyway, the 31 year old midfielder has signed a new lucrative contract worth an estimated £128 m over 5 years. This number is heavily laden with incentives, endorsements, etc. but if he were to get everything possible out of it, that would translate to nearly $1m a week. Not a bad chunk of change.

Now, old Golden Balls can’s spit without causing a storm of controversy, and this move is ripe with it. First, the management isn’t too pleased with Becks’ new deal to say the least. True, this is the January transfer window and since he is out of contract this summer he is eligible to talk to other clubs. But, Real president Calderon, for some strange reason, doesn’t think that Beckham and co. were able to put together such an extensive contract in the opening two weeks of January. This means he was negotiating with another club out of the transfer window, which is a big no-no. Also unhappy is coach Fabio Capello who thinks that David’s head isn’t in the right place and has said he won’t play for Real again this season. Not that Capello picked him for many matches so far, but now his pine riding is assured.

Then there are the football pundits and talking heads who feel Beckham has sold out and went for the last pig payday instead of trying to play top flight football. They may have a point, but so what. I am sure the money is a wonderful thing (one weeks wages from him would change my life!) but he is in essence a footballer. At times an overhyped footballer, but much better than me and many others. In the last year he got knocked out of the World Cup after a dismal England display, he gave up the England captaincy, he lost his spot in the England squad, and now is no longer starting at Real. So, if he wanted to play first team football, where would he have gone? There are rumors that many of the Premier League sides wanted him, but after he long run with Manchester United, I don’t think he would have wanted to go back to England. Bundesliga? I doubt it, but maybe. Another Spanish side? They wouldn’t want to pay his wages. And a Serie A side in Italy? Possibly, but again his wages would be very high and it wouldn’t be assured he was a starter. South America? They tend to export players and have much lower payscales than Europe. Australia? Hah! Asia? Posh isn’t having that for sure. So it boils down to the U.S. and in L.A. he and Posh can live it up and have BBQ’s at the Cruise’s house.

I’m sure there is a bit of both sides in his decision to come to the U.S., but is it really important? Though he is way too flash and, in my opinion, being paid WAY too much, hopefully he can do some good to US soccer. He already has a soccer academy in L.A. and will be a very recognizable figure to youths all over the country. He can do a lot to promote the game and get media attention for the sport just because of his name. In essence, Alexi Lalas and the Galaxy (and the MLS as well) have purchased a big name spokesman. So if it drives increased interest in the league and the sport, good. The sport could use it. Now if we can only get the rest of the players pay up and the clubs to develop youth academies instead of relying on college soccer, then we might be getting somewhere. Baby steps though.

In Arsenal news, the Gunners have been tearing things up lately with a run of bashings in the north of England last week. First, the Gunners took on Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup and trounced them 3-1. Then, the boys returned a few days later for a Carling Cup semi-final. You’d think that the scousers would be looking for revenge and would take advantage of Wenger’s decision to continue with a young squad made up mostly of reserve players. Well, Julio Baptista had other plans and scored 4 of Arsenal’s 6 goals to really shame ‘pool. Finally, last weekend the crew loaded up for a trip to Blackburn to face a squad that we demolished 6-2 at the Grove a few weeks ago. Blackburn, who are known for rough play and are tough at home, seemed to have the upper hand after Gilberto was sent off on a straight red for kicking out at arsehole Savage (who gave Gil a few knocks) and it looked like the Gunners brilliant run might be over. But once again, the new-found Gunner spirit showed through and Arsenal won it 2-0 off a nice header from Toure and another brilliant goal from Henry. The league title is most likely out of the question, but this play can help instill a sense of team cohesion and confidence that will carry on to the Cup competitions and into the next season. I think Arsenal are going to be very deadly next year against an ageing Man U and a Chelsea that are coming apart at the seams.

There is loads more to discuss, but we’ll handle that later this week. My traveling is dying down so I have more time to waste time at work!

Adios.

Don't Call it a Comeback....

What a difference a hammy, sciatica, and a few weeks of rest can make! Arsenal captain Thierry Henry was pulled back into the lineup last night a week early due to a striker crisis (which turned out to not be as bad as we thought) and was back to his old goal scoring, happy self! Leading up to yesterday’s match, Henry was still a week away from being back in the squad, Adebayor had a knack, and Robin van Perise supposedly had an ankle injury. But, to Pardew’s surprise, Henry was called up and RvP made a miraculous recovery. Well played Arsene, well played. Hleb was also fit again and completed the midfield that consisted of Rosicky, Gilberto and wonderboy Cesc. Seeing this formation and knowing that their top goal scorer Darren Bent was out to injury, the Addicks pretty much seemed resigned to the fact that they were going to lose. They sat back and put very little pressure on the Gunners when they had the ball. As a result, Arsenal were able to have time on the ball and pass it around freely, which typically ends up in a goal frenzy, which is what happened. The match ended 4-0 but could have been a lot more except for a poor decision on a disallowed Henry goal and Charlton keeper Scott Carson who had a number of outstanding saves.

The Gunners came out firing from the opening whistle and never seemed to let up. After a number of missed chances and saves, Henry opened up the scoring by putting in a PK after RvP was taken out through a professional foul in the box by Sankofa (who got a straight red for his efforts). Charlton’s new gaffer, ex-West Ham manager Alan Pardew, had issues with the red afterwards but he is an idiot and none of the players, even the one sent off, had any issue with the call by ref Mike Riley. After resuming play, the pressure kept mounting and just before halftime, reserve right back Justin Hoyte played a nice give-and-go with Henry to be sprung clear giving him an opportunity to curl a shot around the keeper to the far post. Congrats to Justin on his first Premiership goal! Both he and Henry were beaming and went into the locker room full of high spirits. The second half started off with even more pressure as Arsenal were given more time and room on the ball. Bad move by Charlton. Rosicky hit the woodwork yet again (I’m going to start calling him Woody until he gets a Prem goal) and there were countless other opportunities. The third goal came from van Persie on a PK after Henry was clearly tugged down by his jersey in the box. There was nothing that Riley could do but point at the penalty spot. Henry graciously gave the kick to Robin who put it home with such authority that you couldn’t find a keeper that would have saved it. The final goal gave RvP yet another brace this season and was a brilliant chip over the keeper after a nice through-ball from Flamini.

The Gunners were riding high and finished the match with no new injures and I have my fingers crossed that they can get through training this week without picking up another. Other than having a healthy, happy Henry, I was even more excited to see other players looking to create their own goal scoring opportunities and taking shots. There were a few times last night where they looked like they wanted to pass the ball into the goal, but other than that they were all looking to get in a good shot, especially van Persie who is on 12 total goals so far this season. The Gunners have 2 trips up to the Merseyside to play Liverpool in both the FA Cup and League Cup. If they can keep the same attitude and work rate they will advance in both competitions.

Over here in the States, there has been a ton of College football played recently, but I haven’t really been bothered to watch any after the Aggies got spanked by Cal in the Holiday Bowl. The game started off good with A&M holding Cal to a 3 and out and then marching down the field to score a touchdown. But that was pretty much it and the Aggies were abused after that. I couldn’t even finish watching the game it was so bad. I don’t think that Coach Fran is the man for the job, but the athletic department has yet to consult me on it. I saw that the Boise St. win over Oklahoma was a great game and am glad to see that the Broncos did so well (and remain undefeated this season). I was going to watch the Rose Bowl, but when I saw that USC was up over Michigan I turned the channel as there is hardly anything worse than seeing a happy Pete Carroll. Argh, that guy drives me nuts! Anyway, LSU plays Notre Dame tonight in the Sugar Bowl, so I may catch some of it, and then sometime next month the national championship game will be played between Ohio State and Florida. I am pulling for Ohio State solely based on the fact that I REALLY can’t stand the Gators. Six years living in Florida and having to listen to Spurier and Gator fans has embedded a deep dislike of the school and all associated sports. So….. GO BUCKEYES!!

In Olympic news, the Chinese are planning on taking the torch up Mt. Everest on its way to Beijing in 2008. Supposedly the flame will go up the mountain from the southern slope in Nepal before descending to the north into Tibet. I guess it will show that the Chinese are a powerful nation and can conquer any task, like the invasion of Tibet in 1950 and the exile of long ball hitter, the Dalai Lama (The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking). Good move China in bringing that up. Good move.

Finally, an Official says Britons like getting drunk too much. Thanks for the update there Einstein. That’s like saying breathing is important.

And with that tidbit,

Adios.

Merry New Year - Ahhh Haa Haa Haa Haaaaaa!!!!!

Merry New Year friends! It's Beef Jerkey Time!!! Anyway, the holidays are finally over, a new year is upon us, and great things are in store for us all. At least that’s what I’m hoping for! Come on Lotto! Anyway, I am back in action, fully rehydrated, and ready to do some blogging.

The holiday season is a busy one in football, well in England anyway, and there were a ton of fixtures over the last 10 days. Well, 4 to be exact, but that is a lot of matches over a short timeframe. Plus, the stack-up of matches is continuing through the new year. Just before Christmas, the boys from North London hosted Blackburn Rovers and went down early yet again. This match had snooze-fest draw written all over it, but it seems the kids wanted to impress Santa so that he would bring them a new Bentley and turned it up a notch in the second half to win 6-2! Adebayor looked great and van Persie had a couple of crackers as well It seemed the kids didn’t need talisman Henry to get the job done.

Once the pressies had been opened and the turkey eaten, the crew drove over to Vicarage Road in northwest London to take on Watford. The Hornets are a decent enough side and though they just moved up from the Championship this season, they couldn’t be underestimated. Pretty much the same side the played Blackburn was put out against Watford and we looked pretty good after Gilberto nodded in yet another goal in the 19th minute. But the ketchup and mustards were down for long as Smyth leveled the match 4 minutes later. It seemed we were having a bit of trouble on the road yet again, but van Persie found the back of the net in the 83rd minute after turning American Demerit around and slotting home a brilliant left footed shot. Two wins either side of Christmas and all was looking well. But, Adebayor picked up an injury and was set to miss the next few matches.

So, after traveling to north London, the Gunners had to pack up and travel to Yorkshire to play Neil Warnock’s Sheffield United. Adebayor was ruled out for the match due to injury as well as Hleb who picked up a shin niggle in training, Walcott who hurt is back, and Djourou who pulled a hamy. This was on top of Henry, Ljungberg, and Gallas who have been injured for ages. But, even with the injuries, the Arsenal beat United 3-1 at the Grove earlier this season, so it shouldn’t be too tough of a match, right? Wrong. Cesc was rested for the match, so we lost some midfield flair, and the pitch was in utter shambles. There was standing water in some areas! Plus, the Blades were out for a win to help keep them above the relegation zone with less than half the season remaining. The Arsenal started out OK and there were a few good chances that weren’t converted due to poor first touches and bad finishing. Had one of these gone in, the Gunners could have pulled out a win or a draw. The goal by United though was well deserved as Nade turned and burned Toure and put a well placed ball past Lehmann, who had come out a bit too far, to put them up 1-0 just before the half. In the second half, Blades keeper Paddy Kenny tweaked himself on a goalkick and had to be replaced by midfielder Jagielka (as Warnock rarely puts a backup keeper on his sub bench). So this is a good omen for the Gunners right? Wrong. It wasn’t until just before the final whistle that there was even a decent shot on goal! There was no change to the level of play in order to take advantage of an inexperienced keeper. This meant that the Gunners ended the year on a sour note. Even worse, Robin van Persie and Baptista picked up a injuries to add even more chaos to the Arsenal strike force.

So the boys head home today to face Charlton and their new manager, ex West Ham gaffer Pardew. It is rumored that Henry will be pressed back into service as the only fit striker now is Aliadiere, who has failed to impress me over the years. The Gunners really need to get all 3 points today and cannot lose. The league title is out of reach, but a 3rd or 4th place finish will be critical to maintaining a spot in Europe next season. Let’s hope that some of the grit the team showed in earlier matches shines through today. I know that some of the poor performances of late have been due to fatigue and a rash of injuries, but some heart today might push them through for the win.

There are loads of other things going on, but I’ll try to address them later in the week. Also, if you need a drink, check the cushions of your sofa for money instead of selling your kid’s dog!

And on that note,

Adios.