Tag Archives: She Wore

A Tale of 2 Spaniards

Leave a reply

Santi Cazorla

I have seen horrendous injuries before. Aaron Ramsey, Eduardo, and more, but the news last week about Santi Cazorla saddens me more.

Even though it was an innocuous challenge at the time, one which did not cause too much stress, the photos that came out last week were deeply saddening.

I think the primary reason why the news about his 8 operations, gangrene, and potential of never walking again, let alone play football was so distressing was because of the type of person Cazorla is.

He is the happiest man in the world. Always playing with a smile on his face. A cheeky little bugger who clearly enjoyed life. And then his career was nearly cut down, his life nearly changed forever.

And then we come to the amazing part.

At no point over the last year have we seen Cazorla not smile.

Despite it clearly being a hard time in his life, every picture of him recovering, or on social media, he and the instantly recognisable smile on his face.

He never seemed to let things get him down. Other players would have been complaining, informing others every second of their distress. Cazorla didn’t. He just got on with things. And did it with a smile.

Even when things got nasty with Arsenal fans calling for his contract to be terminated, he battled on, smiling.

Even last week, when the pictures came out, I saw he fan say “why is Cazorla still contracted at Arsenal. Wenger has turned on him to another Diaby. We should just get rid”.

This type of fan probably also moans that the club has lost its position as the classiest club in Britain.

Sometimes our fans really are classless. Having a go at a man who could have died. Complaining that the club are treating him and helping him walk again.

These fans who moan need to take a look at Cazorla. He had a life threatening injury and is still smiling. What has gone so badly wrong in their life that makes them so angry all the time.

I hope Cazorla does return in the new year. I hope he does play again. And I hope Arsenal continue to give him the treatment he needs to get back on his feet – even if his contract expires.

Santi, I hope that in the face of adversity, I can smile my through it just like you.

David Silva

Great player. Always been a favourite of mine. Proper little genius.

A story came out this week that Arsenal had the opportunity to sign him way back in 2005. We didn’t. He ended up at Manchester City.

People have jumped on this as “another that got away”, yet all it does is prove how easy football is in hindsight.

In 2005, David Silva was just 19. Manchester City did not sign him until 2010. 5 years later when he was 23. It is not like we turned him down and he went straight to City.

At that point in 2005, he had just spent a year on loan at Eibar in the Spanish 2nd division. Arsenal did. It feel he was ready physically for the Premier League.

Valencia also clearly did not feel he was ready for their team either. In 2005/06 they loaned him out to Celta Vigo and it was not until 2006/07 that he started to play for the side whose youth ranks he came up in.

As I say, football is easy in hindsight. For every David Silva that makes it, there are 100s of youngsters who do not make it.

Role the clock back to 2005, Arsenal had Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg in the squad. A 19 year old David Silva would not get a look in.

“But we could have signed him to develop him” you cry. Well at the time we were developing two their Spanish youngsters.

The first was Jose Antonio Reyes, who at the time was considered by everyone as the future of Spanish football. He was just 21 and was already in double figures in caps for Spain. Back to that word hindsight, who would have thought Reyes career would fall off a cliff? He got 21 caps for Spain, the last in 2006 – the year Silva made his Spain debut.

We then come on to the second Spanish talent.

An 18 year old kid called Frances Fabregas Soler. A wonderkid, to use Football Managers terminology.

Cesc is 16 months younger than David Silva, and in the 2004/05 season, had just broken into the Arsenal first team. He was playing Premier League football for the champions whilst the older David Silva was in the 2nd division in Spain.

Cesc would very quickly establish himself to be one of the best midfielders in world football. David Silva was still trying to establish himself in the Valencia first team.

Top clubs scout every top young player. The David Silva story has only come to light due to Arsenal playing Manchester City at the weekend.

In 2005, Arsenal had better players in and around the first team who were better than David Silva at the same age. And one who was a lot better than him despite being 16 months younger.

You would have to be an idiot to try and claim that Arsenal should have discarded Cesc to bring in David Silva.

Keenos

Most honest view of the Arsenal situation

3 Replies

 

City are really good

After 11 games, Manchester City are already 8 points clear. 11 wins and 1 draw. With a goal difference already of +31 (Liverpool finished 4th last year with a GD of +36), they are an awesome outfit with threats all over the pitch, and off the bench.

You would expect a team who have spent £500m on incoming players to not have a weakness, and it is probably a failure of previous managers that they have not been in the hunt for the last 3 league titles.

In recent years, Manchester City have not only spent big, they have spent well. The likes of Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus will be amongst the best in the world sooner rather than later.

In Kevin de Bruyne, they have the best player in the league, perhaps one of the best in the world.

They remind me of Arsenal in 2004. Match winners all over the pitch. For Henry, Bergkamp, Pires, Ljungberg and Vieria, read Aguero, Silva, Sane, Sterling and de Bruyne.

What sets them apart from the rest this season is what they have off the bench.

Against Arsenal they were able to bring on Gabriel Jesus, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernado Silva. There entire bench cost over £200m. They spent nearly £200m this summer alone, yet only two of the 5 incoming players started.

Incredible strength in depth. You could make an 11 out of their B team that be a challenge for every other Premier League side (Bravo, Danilo, Kompany, Mangala, Delph, Gundogan, Yaya, Foden, Zinchenko, Jesus, Bernardo).

They have already beaten Liverpool (5-0), Chelsea (away, 1-0) and now Arsenal (3-1) this season.

17 games played in all competitions, they have yet to lose.

City are really good

Arsenal are not as bad as expected

Some fans were expecting (almost hoping) Arsenal to get destroyed.

Whilst it is no doubt that the better team one, City attacked and defending as a team, Arsenal competed for much of the match.

We were not humiliated like Liverpool, and the 3-1 scoreline was boasted by a debatable penalty and an offside 2nd goal.

Arsenal have been heavily criticised and written off by many in the press but, Manchester City aside, there is no much between Manchester United in 2nd and Arsenal in 6th – just 4 points in fact.

Through in Europe, into the League Cup Quarter Finals, and in the race to be best of the rest in the Premier League, the hundreds of words written about our demise are clearly agenda driven and for hits.

Let’s remember we have actually won trophies in recent years. Liverpool and Spurs, who are often written about in positive terms, have been pot less for a while.

With Spurs at home up next, Arsenal must win. And we should win. As we are not as bad as many make out.

Alexis can leave

And you can throw Mesut Ozil into that as well.

If you do not want to be at Arsenal, you know where the door is.

We have had bigger and better players than Alexis Sanchez in the past, and we will have bigger and better in the future. If you think Alexis is too good for Arsenal, that he is bigger than Arsenal, please join him going through the exit door.

Alexis is a terrific player, but he is an individual. Someone who wants the glory. A player who seems to only pass to others who he knows will pass back to him. Someone who throws a strop if he is not passed the ball – even if others are in a better position.

When he is scoring 30 goals a season, and winning us games on his own, you can understand the shrugs of the shoulder and mood swings. But when he is not performing to the high levels, it is detrimental to the team.

Sanchez now reminds me of Thierry Henry in his last year at the club. He does not want to be here, is underperforming, and is blaming everyone else.

Just 1 goal this season, he has given the ball away more than any other player, and only Olivier Giroud has a lower pass completion percentage.

His attitude stinks.

Coquelin must leave

Francis Coquelin’s desire is never in question. But maybe instead of trying to gee-up the away fans with aggressive hand movements, he should concentrate on his own game.

He is average and has been horribly exposed at the highest level time and again.

Against Manchester City, he was playing centre back. Not his natural position, but over the years I have seen the likes of Michael Carrick slot into defence and do a job. Coquelin just does not have a brain.

It is incredible to think that it was 3 years ago, Arsenal were telling him his time at Arsenal was over, and yet he is still our only specialist defensive midfielder.

The fact that we have not signed an improvement on Coquelin in 3 years is misconduct of the highest order. It is disgraceful.

For the B team in the cups, he thinks is a cross between Xavi and Iniesta. He is hopeless.

He will be 27 in May. He should have been shopped out years ago.

Why is he still there?

VAR is needed

The only part I disagree with.

Arsenal have been on the wrong end of some decisions this season – Watford, Stoke and Manchester City – but VAR will ruin the game.

In its current form, it will slow the game down too much. Recently I saw a referee take 3 minutes to come to a decision.

Goal line technology has been brilliant. One reason why is because FIFA demanded it will only be bought in if it was instantaneous. VAR is anything but.

I am not a fan.

Keenos

Worst away trip ever

Leave a reply

Win, lose or draw, you try and not let the football get in the way of a good day out at the football.

Over the years following Arsenal over land and sea, I have seen some brilliant results and some horrendous results. The later often turning into a massive drinking session resulting in the game being forgotten about. I have had some quality nights out after a defeat.

Yesterday, however, has to be up there with one of the worst games ever. And it has nothing to do with the.

Let me try and paint you a picture.

10 of us met at Euston. We were not hopeful of a win, but we would not let that get in the way of a day out to Manchester. Quick visit to the Sainsbury’s just outside the station to pick up a selection of lager and a bottle of vodka. Text comes through to my phone

Your 10:20 train to Manchester is nearly ready. Please head to the concourse and we will text you the platform shortly.

So there we are, 10 of us, waiting just infront of Upper Crust looking out the board. Or train says preparing Not long now until the platform is up.

5 minutes later, we are still waiting. And another 5 minutes. Then it turns to DELAYED, so I look at Twitter;

 

Great.

Having been to a training course in Manchester the week before, when the exact same signalling problem occurred and we were delayed by 2 hours, I feared the worst. We were already cutting it fine(ish) by getting into Manchester at 13:05, no time for a pint in the Mayfield, head straight to the ground. Any delay would risk us missing the start.

About 15 minutes after the delay came up, it flashed up CANCELLED. Great. At the same time, the next train, the 11:20 that would get us in at 13:55 also flashed up cancelled.

So here we were, with a few beers each, at 10:40 in the morning. The sensible bloke would head home, stick the beers in the fridge, and get them out for when the game starts. But we are not sensible.

Instead we went outside the station, took over one of the benches, and decided to drink the beer until we had decided what to do.

1 and a half cans in, one of the lads looked at the board. The 11:20 is boarding he shouted. Sod it, lets jib on – knowing that our tickets would be valid. So we jumped on, headed straight to first class, and took up our seats.

Train left on time. Result. Be in Manchester by 13:55. Taxi to the ground, we will be in by kick off.

Just as we went through Coventry, and announcement came over the tannoy. Please note this train will be diverted due to problems between Rugby and Stafford. This will add an additional 15 minutes to our journey. Great.

That would have us in at 2:10. We were going to miss the start of the game. But at least we would be there.

Train arrives at 2:10, get in the cab at 2.15, get to the ground. As we were walking round the ground, we heard Manchester City’s first goal go in. Great. Already 1 nil down and we have not even got in yet. Brilliant.

The game is for another day, another blog, if I can be bothered. A predictable result.

Out the ground, hiked it the station, time for a quick pint.

17:35 train home, get back to Euston for 19:35, train back to Loughton, kebab, shower, bed, up for work at 5:30am this morning. Should be easy.

Well it would have been easy had Virgin Trains not then cancelled the 17:35 due to lack of train station. Not a problem, there is a 17:55, lets jump on that, head to 1st class again, only 20 minutes late.

The train was busy, people standing in the aisles throughout, but we had seats. If ever trains are delayed or cancelled, just head to 1st class, the guards will rarely move you.

Making good time, through Crewe, Stoke, Milton Keynes, then we hit Watford, and the train stops. No announcement, radio silence. 30 minutes we sat there just inside of Watford, train not moving. We checked out Twitter and noted people saying that they had been were on a 3pm train from Manchester and were still not at Euston, they had been waiting outside Euston for 3 hours.

Great, we thought. Another delay. As a traffic jam of trains was outside Euston, all slowly making their way in, unloading the passengers before moving off, we knew we would be in for a long night.

Every 20 minutes, we moved about 500 metres. It was slow. Very slow. The train was due to get in at 20:09. It was already 21:09. An hour late. We were at Kilburn. Still very few announcements.

We wondered why we had not been allowed off at Watford Junction to jump on the unaffected London Overground or London Midland. That would have made sense. Instead we were in a queue, with no beer, in an overcrowded train.

The time clicked round to 21:30, then 10 o’clock. Finally at 10:30pm we got into Euston. 3 hours late. Jaded. Mentally tired. Frustrated.

If it was a Saturday, we would not have cared. We would have got on it at the George just outside Euston and by midnight would have no longer cared. But it was Sunday. A blasted Sunday. And we all had work this morning.

Brilliant.

Thanks to the train companies, we ended up with nearly 4 and a half hours worth of delays. That is longer than a train journey to Manchester and back.

What a horrible trip.

Keenos