Oh my....

Well, over the last two weeks I traveled to our nation's capital for a conference, and suffered through a long international break for football. So, this past Saturday I was rearing and ready to go (well, I got up at 6:45 am) to watch the Arsenal take on Liverpool. The Gunners made it through the internationals without too much injury trouble, and Eboue, Ade, and Clichy, were all back in the lineup alongside Toure. It seemed the squad was in decent shape, although they were still short Henry and RvP up front. Also, the last time Baptista was up Merseyside, he score 4, so he should have had his shooting boots on again. Right? Absolutely wrong. The Gunners were totally lifeless, save Ade who ran the whole time and had at least a couple bounce off the woodwork. But the rest of the team didn't seem to show up. Pool were attacking the ball with incredible vigor and deserved the win. It was tough seeing Crouch get a hat trick (Argghh!!), but at least he didn't do that stupid robot dance. I would have had to shoot myself otherwise.

It seems the squad has lost all desire to play. An analogy I heard recently is that they are like a racecar running low on fuel, hoping to coast across the finish line in a decent enough position to make the Champions League next season. That will not work though. It is amazing to me that players like Baptista, Aliadiere, and Hleb, who have been called out this year and are on the edge of staying or leaving, have shown so little. Baptista had an easy sitter on Saturday and shanked it. Not just putting it wide, but I think it actually came back towards him it was such a rubbish strike. He had another great chance and his first touch was so awful the ball rolled directly to the keeper. Those are two chances he should have converted on. Hell, he should have at least put them on target and made the keeper work to keep them out. Maybe he is trying to lull the entire Prem into a false sense of security and he'll come out feet a' blazin. I have serious doubts. They worst part of it is that when he gets sent back, Reyes will get sent this way. Talk about a no-win situation. My head hurts.

I pray this is a wake-up call to the rest of the squad, though I doubt it as the losses to Everton, Blackburn, Chelsea, and PSV should have been those as well. There are 8 matches left and Arsenal have a game in hand. It would be nice to see the squad come together, finish strong, and secure a CL spot before the last day of the season. Lets all hope it is so.


The Arsenal Youth squad play today in the second leg of the Cup semifinals at Old Trafford. The young Guns go in with a one goal lead, which is nice. I would love to follow it as it is the best chance at silverware the club has (besides the ladies) but alas, I have to go to a meeting that will be a complete waste of time. Anyway, come on you Young Arsenal!!!

To add to the misery of the last week, Plymouth conceded two goals and had a man sent off in the first 15 minutes at Ipswich on Saturday. Holloway had this to say:

"The only positive from the day is that we are flying home rather than having a seven-hour coach ride."

Kind of sums it up doesn’t it. The Argyle are currently in 13th place on 52 points, and are all but out of the promotion playoffs (66 points and up). As distressing as it is, at least the Argyle have been playing better under Holloway and have been making improvements which will be a benefit next season.

That is about all the horrible news I can take for today.

Adios.