Winning the title is not easy – it is a rollercoaster of emotions

3 Replies

This season is not my first rodeo. Not my first title race.

I have seen us win the title from a losing position (1998), lose titles from winning positions (1999, 2003), romp away with it (2004) and stumble over the line to victory (1989).

Every title race has always been a rollercoaster of emotions. And this year has been no different.

We are in an era of football never seen before.

Four of the last 5 seasons the champions have got north of 90 points. And twice during that period, the runners-up got over 90 points.

In the previous 25 seasons, the league was only won with 90+ points 7 times.

When we won the league in 98, we lost 6 games and drew 9. 15 games we dropped points in.

2002 we dropped points in 12 games – losing thrice and 9 draws. 2004, we went unbeaten, but still dropped points in 12 games.

In this current era of 90+ points, you can not afford to drop points in more than 10 games and expect to win the league. In 3 of the last 5 years, the champions have dropped points in just 6 games. That is simply incredible.

And that makes dropping points away to West Ham so much more painful.

In years gone past, you could go to West Ham, go to Southampton, go to Everton, come away with just 2 points and still win the title. In 2023, failing to get 3 points in those games will cost you the title.

A mate of mine says every week “wining the Premier League is not easy”. He then usually follows that with a rant as to how some fans think it is easy to get 90+ points and romp away with the league.

The fact we could get 90 points this season and fail to win the title shows just how hard it is to be champions.

Yesterday we had a sliding door moment.

At 2-1, up stepped Bukayo Saka with a chance to restore Arsenal’s two-goal lead. Two minutes later it was 2-2.

“Hit them hard, hit them early” was the game plan. And 2-nil up after 15 minutes, we were talking about how many we would get. In the end we dropped points. And with that it could be the end of our title chances.

We looked lost in the second half. Not structure or intensity to our play. We never looked like retaking the league after going 2-2.

After Manchester United, Aston Villa and Bournemouth, I blogged how we can no keep expecting to score in the last minute to take 3 points. And Sunday at 2-2 it just never looked like we had what it would take to grab a winner.

Tiredness is not an excuse, we are only playing once a week. You simply can not drop points against a relegation threatened side when 2-nil up.

I am not really sure what else to say. Two days on and I am still gutted. But then I remember this is the hardest league in the world to win.

But as my mate says, we are still top of the league with a 4 point gap.

We will go again, whether it is this season or next. We have a great young team with a fantastic manager. But right now it hurts.

In other news, we have seen the pile on yesterday over the way players “treated” the mascot.

It needs to be noted that at no point have the mascots family said they were mistreated by the club, nor have any club mascot or their family every mentioned their disappointment at the day.

This is just a pile on by those bland football accounts who copy/paste content for hits, added to by some gutter press and celebrities who will do anything for attention.

The club does a lot wrong, as we document, but Junior Gunners is one area they have always been very attentive.

It is laughable that many of these accounts said “they all have their headphones on” and “no player spoke to her”. Yet the video they posted showed the majority did not have their headphones on and many did speak to her. It is alsmot they like post videos without watching them and steal others comments.

The day for a mascot is much more than welcoming the players as they come off the bus. The 1 minute video was just part of a brilliant day for the young lady. A day these faceless accounts are now trying to drag through the mud.

Interesting to note one account piling on is called “The72”.

The72’s brand is built on hating everything Premier League. Last week they contacts us with an enquriy to buy SheWore.com. “We’re looking to broaden our current portfolio…we think shewore.com would be a good addition”.

So a company built on hating the Premier League is looking to buy a Premier League clubs blog to expand. Maybe the cash cow of the “The72” brand has dried up and they will soon be rebranding “The92” and deleting all those tweets attacking Premier League sides.

The72 website is also interesting viewing. The entire site is covered with gambling advets. So you can see where their morals lie…

From trying to be an Arsenal blog to slaughtering Arsenal players in the space of 4 days. Alright lads. It is a no from us!

Attacking Arsenal, people calling us a “nasty club” and saying “this is no surprise from them” just highlights people just read the headlines and do not take the time to learn about the club they are commenting on.

Players do so much seen and unseen for younger fans, from zoo visits, school visits, hospital visits and more. Sadly, many of these big accounts only highlight a perceived slight by a club as that is what gets them the RTs and follows.

Have a good Tuesday.

Keenos

Match Report: West Ham 2 – 2 Arsenal

3 Replies

West Ham United (1) 2 Arsenal (2) 2

Premier League

London Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park London E20 2ST

Sunday, 16th April 2023. Kick-off time: 2.00pm

(4-3-3) Aaron Ramsdale; Ben White, Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhães, Kieran Tierney; Martin Ødegaard (c), Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka; Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli.

Substitutes: Emile Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Jakob Kiwior, Leandro Trossard, (Jorge Luiz Frello Filho) Jorginho, Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson, Matt Turner, Reuell Walters.

Scorers: Gabriel Jesus (7 mins), Martin Ødegaard (10 mins)

Yellow Cards: Thomas Partey

Arsenal Possession Percentage: 72%

Referee: David Coote

Assistant Referees: Lee Betts, Timothy Wood

Fourth Official: Stuart Attwell

VAR Team at Stockley Park: VAR Andy Madley; AVAR Nick Hopto

Attendance: circa 66,000

As every match is these days, today’s game is important on so many levels; firstly to get some distance between ourselves and Manchester City (obviously), and secondly, the opportunity to be victorious in a London derby. We are at full strength this afternoon, although it has to be said that it is good to see Emile Smith-Rowe back on the substitute’s bench today, following a period of injury.

A fast start from both teams, and as early as the fourth minute, when there was huge appeals for hand ball as Said Benrahma’s shot was charged down inside the penalty area. VAR has had a look but it clearly hit Rob Holding on his elbow, which was tight into his body, but thankfully no penalty was awarded. Three minutes later we took the lead when Martin Ødegaard slipped a neat pass through the West Ham back line to Ben White on the right and he squared it across the face of goal for Gabriel Jesus to tap in. Three minutes later, we grabbed a second when Gabriel Martinelli spotted Martin Ødegaard running around the back of the West Ham defence and floated the perfect ball for the him to volley past the goalkeeper for a classy goal. Two up in ten minutes! We immediately went hunting for the third goal, and we pressurised the home team constantly. Although they did have a free kick awarded to them on the dge of our penalty area shortly afterwards, Declan Rice’s shot hit our defensive wall and bounced off and into the crowd. Shortly afterwards, we had two good chances to score a third, but they both came to nothing. After all our pressure, just after the half hour mark, West Ham were awarded a penalty when Gabriel slid in late on Lucas Paquetá inside the penalty area after Thomas Partey gifted possession to Declan Rice, unfortunately. Saïd Benrahma madeno mistake from the penalty spot to get a goal back for the home team. Thomas Partey was awarded a yellow card after a silly tackle, and suddenly the game started to swing back in favour of the home team, whose turn it was to put us under pressure now. Aaron Cresswell nearly got a second goal for West Ham just before half time, but thankfully he was adjuged to be offside. In injury time, Gabriel Jesus received our second yellow card of the game when he tripped Michail Antonio; minutes later, somehow we managed to get to the half time break a goal ahead as referee David Coote blew to bring proceedings to a close.

West Ham got the second half underway and almost immediately they started to pile the pressure on us, with Michail Antonio getting mighty close to scoring, and five minutes after the restart, a Martin Ødegaard free-kick found Bukayo Saka, whose volley bounced off a West Ham defender for a corner; then Michail Antonio clearly handled the ball inside the box and as such we were awarded a penalty. Bukayo Saka took it, and his shot went wide of the post. As if that was not bad enough, Jarrod Bowen grabbed the equalising goal shortly afterwards. The goal certainly fired up the home team, as the ball barely got out of our half for a while after the goal. Somehow, we managed to break out and Kieran Tierney played a good ball across the face of the West Ham goal, However, Gabriel Jesus could not reach it but Bukayo Saka picked up the loose ball before his cross to the far post was headed behind by Jarrod Bowen. We did have a few chances here and there, but the home side started to look quite dominant at times. With eleven minutes of the game remaining, Leandro Trossard played a great ball into the penalty area, looking for the run of Gabriel Martinelli but the ball went all the way to goalie Lukasz Fabianski. We lost concentration at the back, only for Michail Antonio to hit the top of our bar with a header, which was a massive let-off. With five minutes of the game remaining, Mikel Arteta made a double change as Reiss Nelson and Fábio Vieira replaced Gabriel Martinelli and Kieran Tierney, just as Bukayo Saka sent a header wide of the mark. The inspiration of the substitutes saw us pressurise the West Ham defence, but after a Martin Ødegaard free-kick went nowhere, he was replaced by Eddie Nketuah in the last minute of normal time. In injury time, both sides had their chances to score, but a draw was the order of the day.

Unfortunately, we have let slip a two-goal lead again to draw two-all. Just how damaging will that be for the us in our title battle with Manchester City as we dropped points from a winning position for the second match in a row. There are now just four points between us, and City have a game in hand as well. Although we are now unbeaten in nine Premier League matches since a three-one home loss to Manchester City, in reality this is two points dropped and we have to wonder how we did not gain a victory this afternoon ast the London Stadium. We have seven matches left to play, and we host Southampton at home on Friday, before Manchester City entertain us at the Etihad Stadium on 26th April. Keep going, chaps.

Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Southampton at the Emirates on Friday, 21st April at 8.00pm(Premier League). Be there, if you can. Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Is today the last time we will see Declan Rice in a West Ham shirt (and will it be an Arsenal shirt next season?)

1 Reply

Today we can not drop points.

It is going to be very tight at the top until the end of the season, and the league could end up being won on goal difference.

With tricky trips to Manchester City and Newcastle still to come, we need to ensure we win the other 6 games, starting today. That will take us to 91 points.

Quick maths would mean City have to win 7 from their last 8 to also finish on 91 points, and that would likely see them win the league on goal difference.

We need City to drop points in at least two of their remaining 8 games. If they only drop points in 1 game, we need to win at St James Park. Not an easy feat. That will take us to 94, exactly the same as the maximum points City can get. And that will again see them probably win on goal difference.

But all this means nothing if we do not get the 3 points at the London Olympic Stadium.

For once, we face a team who have had a mid-week European away game whilst we had a rest.

How often have we seen us struggle on a Sunday following a tough Thursday match on the continent? This time, it is our opponents who had that tough away game whilst we have had a clear week.

David Moyes did rest a few against Gent – Aaron Cresswell, Lucas Paqueta, Kurt Zouma, Michail Antonio and Tomas Soucek were all on the bench. But hopefully we should gain that advantage of having a week to focus on the game against West Ham who could only prepare for it on Friday.

As with all teams in Europe, they tend to start their next fixture a big sluggishly. We need to be quick out the blocks and hit them hard in the first 15 minutes.

It was gutting going 2-nil up to Liverpool only to draw 2-2. But West Ham are no Liverpool and the council house stadium is no Anfield. We go 2-nil up in the first 20 minutes, we will not be losing points.

We have been linked heavily with Declan Rice again mid-week. It is a deal that does not seem to go away. I think the West Ham man will be a superb signing.

Rice has the defensive attributes and awareness to compete with Thomas Partey as the sole defensive midfielder. He also has the ability to replace Granit Xhaka further forward.

With Champions League football next season, there will certainly be enough games to accomodate all 3.

We will play at 46 games in 2023/24 (38 PL, 6 CL, 1 FA Cup, 1 LC). It will probably end up being above 50 as we progress in domestic and European cup competitions.

Partey has not started more than 24 games in a single season since joining us, and we have been managing his injury issues this season. So straight off the bat that would be 26+ starts for Rice. By the time he plays a few further forward instead of Xhaka, you can easily picture him starting at least 35 games, and probably coming off the bench a dozen times.

Rice will also provide an option at centre back. We could potentially sign him, afford to sell Rob Holding, and then rely on Rice being Saliba’s cover. Although a lot of that could depend on how long-term Saliba’s back injury is.

Further up the pitch, Rice offers something different to what we have.

Xhaka and Martin Odegaard are very good on the ball. But neither drives forward from the middle of the park, breaking those lines.

Sometimes you need to use a battering ram rather than a locksmith to break down a door. And Rice is very good picking upo the ball and using his power to get through the lines.

Yaya Toure was brilliant at this. Getting the ball on the half way line and using pace and power to set up an attack. It is certainly something we miss.

Years ago Jose Mourinho spoke about wanting players who could transition the ball. Either from defence to midfield or midfield to attack. The quicker you do it, the quicker you get your opponents running backwards.

Someone like Cesc trasnsitioned the ball with his passing. Michael Essien would do it with his running.

If teams are playing a low block against us, you put Rice on and see if his direct playing style can break down the opponents. He will win free kicks, he will break the lines.

He is still just 24, but will bring experience and more leadership. He is the next England captain.

When next season kicks off, Xhaka and Partey will both be in their 30s. And both also have just 2 years left on their contracts.

Sign Rice this summer, he competes alonside the pair of them. Then in 2-years we could afford to let both leave for free and will only need to sign one replacement.

Today could be the last time we see Rice in a West Ham shirt against Arsenal. Next season he will hopefully be in the red and white, and getting booed by the West Ham neanderthal’s.

UTA.

Keenos