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.
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.
posted by Cameron at 10:55 AM
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