The Arsenal Strip Show

Like myself, if you’re an Arsenal supporter, you might be furiously fending off nasty comments from the Chelsea and Manchester United faithful, or just tearing your hair out in exasperation. Against Chelsea yesterday, after yet another promising start, the Arsenal succumbed to the ugly determination and sheer [brute] strength of a lesser deserving team.

My disappointment is so immense, I can’t help comparing watching the Arsenal week after week to going to a strip club, week after week. You get to watch some great ass, but if you don’t get any action from one of the lovelies on show, it becomes an expensive waste of time. Just like the Arsenal; fantastic moves but they don’t get to score…

Football is about scoring goals; the intricate passing and fluent movement should be just a bonus. Sometimes… no most times, an ugly goal or two will do just fine. It’s time some of the players showed that they’re not just ballerinas in baggy shorts, dancing across the turf.

I’m actually convinced that Wenger, being the shrewd economist and tactician he is, is actually colluding with the board by playing percentage football. My theory is that he just does enough with his (showy, but ultimately inadequate) team, winning games to keep the fans interested….just so that they can continue keeping the club profitable. Perhaps he’s trying to seal his place seat on the board of directors.

I read about one fan last night who is determined to start supporting another club. Who knows how many others there are. I know that the die-hard faithful will stay, but these performances are hurting the club.

It’s time Wenger showed us that he can coach as well as make profits. I’ll tear the rest of my hair out in appreciation.

Aaarrrgghh, another bad sporting weekend

arsenal-crestAnother big match lost, this time 2 – 1 to Chelsea. Arsenal are arguably the best football team in Europe. Manager and coach, Arsene Wenger has with somewhat limited resources, put together some of the best young (and older) talent available on this planet who play a brand of football  which for the purist, is unsurpassed for sheer brilliance, fluid passing motion, and the pleasing effect that remains long after a game has concluded. However, the team is dogged by constant injuries to key players, several at a time. Arsenal contested this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against the big guns of Chelsea with a completely make-shift back-line, including reserve goalkeeper, because of injuries. If it’s not the midfield or forwards who are decimated through injury, it’s the defense. Will this team ever experience a time when their entire squad are fit and available?

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The Sharks have lost, two weeks in succession, this time by a narrow margin (13-10) to the Crusaders, who are the reigning Super 14 champions (although  their form this season belies that title). The Sharks could have had that title a couple of seasons ago, but were denied by an oversight from the referee. The Sharks have got to be one of the unluckiest rugby teams around; they always seem to cop some of the most dubious refereeing decisions, and somehow manage to get key players injured at the most crucial times. But the team is gifted with some of the best talent anywhere in the rugby-playing world, North and South of the equator. They just looked a bit jaded this week (and last), and maybe that bye this coming weekend is much needed to revitalize and join the fray, anew.

After watching both the Sharks and Arsenal losing this weekend; I considered how monumental bad luck seems to hound both these teams who deserve so much more than they are currently getting in terms of results and recognition. I even contemplated that perhaps there is a supernatural presence out there conspiring against these teams; and maybe a god that resents human achievement does indeed exist…

Gunning for Glory

The Gunners have been to “Hull” and back, and after last night’s Champions League performance against FC Porto (Arsenal 4 – 0), it seems they are ready to face all their demons, and not just the Red Devils. There is serious talent in this squad, and I can’t wait for them to “Leave-a-pool” of tears in their wake from Chelsea, United, Barcelona, Real Madrid and the rest…