Blast From the Past.....A Reminder..

On Saturday  I took to the football pitch with my friends almost after a 3 year absence which meant my fitness level  was on the downside but I still managed a 5-aside with friends and some thing that rarely happened occurred and that is I scored a goal with my head....yeah its a surprise even to me because since my years of playing street football with friends I rarely score, talk less of doing so with my head....the one and only time I did score with my head was about 5 years ago when I was captain of my local street team (I was made captain because I was the worst player so I was given the armband to boost my confidence)....that day I stole a friend's goal by heading a ball that was crossing the line into the net and celebrated wildly and yesterday I scored with my head but unlike the last time, I didn't steal a friend's goal...the goal meant a lot to me because it reminded me of the past and I went back home a happy man.

Berbatov's skilled blast

On my arrival back home, I put on the television and it was Fulham vs Stoke playing and within minutes of my arrival Berbatov blasted the ball home and reminded us of his quality. This is a man that has often been called languid and uninterested, a man with a passing resemblance to Count Dracula. Yet from his time playing for Bayer, Spurs, Man united and now Fulham...no one has ever called him unskilled...It was a stunning individual performance, a top right volley from the right corner of the penalty box that rocketed into the right top corner of the Stoke's net that left the Stoke's goalkeeper stunned...that definitely is a blast that reminded many of his quality.....did u see that goal? Is there anyone in the premier league or elsewhere that has skill as classy as the Bulgarian ???

AC Milan shock victory against Barca

The vast majority of football followers had Barcelona down as their sure winner before what followed on Wednesday night and they were reminded of how good Ac Milan and indeed Italians are at defending that they restricted this great Barca side to just two shots on target. There is no getting away from the fact that there are no Maldinis, Nestas, Stams, Cafus, but those who ignore Italian football, put it down or even outwardly oppose it, are simply rallying against one of the finer arts of football because even today Italian football is the king of tactical ingenuity and Ac Milan is one of the Italian football powerhouses.  Barca certainly had the edge in technique, there was just no breaking Milan down..surely this current Milan defenders won't even make the bench in the past but on Wednesday night they reminded us all of how great they were in the past and they might even return to that greatness sooner rather than later...Will Barca go through to the next round or will Ac Milan complete their defensive mission?????

Bayern Munich making waves

In 1999 when Bayern lost the champions league final to Man united....a certain Sammy Kuffor cried his heart out and they returned two years later to claim the top prize after which they went underground without reaching the final of champions league again till 2010 when they were beaten by Inter Milan and then again in 2012 only losing by fate to Chelsea in the penalty shootout. They are  reminding everyone again of how powerful they are  by reaching the CL finals twice in three years and might possibly get to the final again but Can they end their bad return of one victory in four Champions league finals outing???? Will luck favor them this year after humiliating Arsenal at the emirates???

Bundesliga on the rise

It seems German football is gradually returning to the top of world's football. With Dortmund, Schalke and Bayern still unbeaten in the champions league this season...are we seeing a change in football dominance or will the premier league and la liga bounce back after recording no victory??? Barca, Arsenal. Malaga, Madrid and Man united all failed to win their last 16 first leg match??? Only time will tell

Capital Cup Final

For the first time in the 20th century no club in the so called big four or now big six with the inclusion of spurs and Man city made it to the final of the league cup...Swansea are the favorites but will Bradford cause an upset??? All I know is that even if Bradford win, they won't be playing Europa league football next season because the cost of playing in its group stage is high says their Club Chairman....May the best team win...
Till next time....happy Sunday y'all 

Rotten Tooth

A few days ago I had to pay a visit I wasn’t so happy to. I had to visit the dentist to get my tooth removed. The pain was unbearable to say the least. However, it was very necessary for me to feel better and stronger. Once the tooth was removed I had severe pains for a few hours but after that I felt way better.

Yeah, what does this have to do with soccer right? A bad tooth is like a player that has overstayed his welcome and cannot effectively contribute to the team. Teams normally get rid of such players and get better players who have a lot to contribute to the team. But what happens when a team sells off its best players and gets a replacement that is not as good (it’s even worse when the team sells off the players to teams in the same league). I doubt you still don’t know who I am talking about. Well if you don’t I am referring to the “SHOPPING MALL” of the premier league – ARSENAL.

 Furthermore, continuing with the analogy. Arsenal has consistently sold off its best players every season. It’s like having to pull out ones best tooth instead of the bad one. It makes no sense whatsoever to me.  The list of players who have left the emirates in search of more money, trophies, glory etc is quite long Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy, Emmanuel Adebayor, Alex Song, Kolo Toure, Thierry Henry, Ashley Cole, Robin Van Persie. The most annoying part of it is that most of these players that left in search of trophies and more money have all gotten both with players winning a collective 75 trophies since 2005.

The usual consolation given by arsenal is that the team is making the most amount of money of any other team buy selling its best. Is it really? The teams profits have continued to decrease each year due to ‘reduced level of exceptional gains from player sales’ – Arsenal.com.

Arsene Wenger is a great manager no doubt and has led the team to 11 trophies since 1996.  The ripple effect is there for everyone to see. If a team sells off its best players in order to make a profit every season they leave room for other players to develop and get better. If the sold off player go on to win trophies with their new teams soon the developing  players would realize that they stand little or no chance of winning a trophy in the team. They are tempted to leave too.

In 2011 Arsenal went on to commission the sale of Gaël Clichy £7,000,000, Jay E-Thomas £1,500,000, Cesc Fábregas £35,000,000, Emmanuel Eboué £4,000,000, Samir Nasri £22,000,000 and Armand Traore£1,200,000 at a total of £71,000,000 and In 2012 Van Persie left too for a reported £20,000,000. Arsenal has gone really all out to increase its financial prospects but at what cost to its rankings in football.

After watching the Bayern Munich game it has become clear that the Arsenal Management has certainly lost the plot. If they are really interested in making money maybe starting a bank, Night Club,Strip Club  etc should have been a surer bet. Top teams in football simply do not commission the sale of their best players nor do they let them enter their final years of their contract without renewing them to avoid a decreased transfer fee or quick sale. This is the main problem with arsenal. They want to pull off the impossible, winning trophies and making lots money.  Sort of like eating your cake and going back to the fridge thinking it’s still there.

Arsenal has sold players that change games and that make a great contribution to the team and all of whom would place Arsenal further up the world football rankings, allowing them to increase the clubs marketing potential and bring in increased competition income. 

The truth to the Arsenal saga is that although they pride themselves on being financial stable they are far from it, a club cannot continue to sustain selling their key players season upon season and there will come a point when the club is no longer able to compete to the degree it wishes. The current season is a wakeup call to the board and the club that it needs to change it's philosophy  what is known is that they have a huge chance of missing out on Champions league football this season and that 'will' have a devastating effect on the clubs income.

With the rapid development of Jack Wilshere and the praise he has been receiving in the media lately I bet all sorts of alarm bells are going off in the head of the coach. I bet when Wenger sees players like that develop that fast all he really sees are money bags running around the pitch. I really hope Arsenal doesn’t pull out their best tooth and Jack isn’t the next to go. Well till next time let us see if arsenal can pull off the impossible and beat Bayern in Munich and then go on to win the Champions league trophy and end the long wait, I must confess it still looks pretty much like a movie is Gunn-lywood 2 possible????

Till next time let’s stay TRUE 2 SOCCER  

GUNN-LYWOOD

Before i say anything else, i want to clarify that true2soccer is not an arsenal blog; but you have to admit that they give the juiciest stories in football. Its almost like a warehouse of everything we’d like to read about soccer.....drama, drama, and drama. At the back of their second exit from a cup competition by a lower league club(this by the way has never happened under wengers reign, let alone twice in a season), comes a public meltdown from Mr wenger, just a day before facing last years champions league finalist in what is arsenals only(very slim though) chance of ending their seven year trophy drought. This should only happen in movies.

I had quite a few accusations about going overboard in my last post about the state of affairs at the Emirates, you can imagine how sad and surprised i was to see the events that have unfolded since the defeat to blackburn(for the record that was sarcasm). so up next is the bavarians, who by the way are in the form of their lives, having not conceded a goal in 2013. Im assuming(just assuming though) that they are overwhelming favourites. So for my own amusement (and im hoping yours too)....since weve been presented with a possible cinematic masterpiece...lets see what could possibly await Arsene and his team when the end credits start rolling.

So  at 7.45pm this night,the opening credits open with a theme song (bring me down by kanye west)...and opens with Arsene giving an inspired team talk reminding them that qualifying for the champions league is actually more important than winning the competition, and as far as they can make up to 350 pases in the match, theyre winners to him. The players roar,running to the pitch chanting ‘ARSENE KNOWS BEST’. Meanwhile the bayern players wait on the field having not trained since their arrival in to london, instead opting to visit the london eye and the london dungeon  siting the need to win the uefa fairplay awards when asked by reporters(such arrogance).

So the match kicks off, and arsenal are three nil behind in the first fifteen minutes courtesy of a hatrick from manuel neuer(two goal kicks and a penalty kick), but arsenal are winning the possession count by 90%-10%.  At the death of first half, ramsey is put through on goal,dribbles the keeper,but decides to shoot the ball at a bayern fan who calls him commando instead of ‘rambo’. The whistle is blown ,and its time for the half time team talk. Wenger tells them to refer to the first team talk. Second half kicks off ,and muller immediately hits the bar. The match wears on till the 75^th minute....the fans are booing, the players are frustrated, and then the substitute board is raised .....you wont believe it,arshavin in for wilshere. The boos increase.....fans walk out in multitudes...but it was their loss because they did not witness the greatest comeback in the history of football.’CAN YOU BELIEVE IT’ shouts the commentator; Arshavin scores four goals,and assists two more, and is given the match ball and all the bayern players boots. Wenger runs to the cameras and shouts’I TOLD YA’.

 

so like all the classic movies about the underdog ceasing the day, can arsenal give us a fairytale to talk about till the return leg at-least  or would we get what we and the rest of the world expect? by the time the end credits start rolling we would find out; and by the way, watch out for part 2.

 

Mistakes and the 5 stages of Grief.....The Arsenal

I have learnt a lot in life from my mistakes. They have taught me lessons I probably wouldn't have been taught  if I had done a PHD (not like I have the brain for one),so in conclusion I am going to make many more mistakes... but and a very big but...I won't make these mistakes intentionally....I am a bit confused now because it won't be a mistake if I knew I was making one..let's move on and you just might understand me better. This weekend was cup action and for many clubs,cup competition comes as the last chance to win a trophy for the season. The most prestigious cup competition in the world as they say is the FA cup but what makes it even more prestigious is the fact that any team can beat anybody,big names don't  count. They call it the magic of the FA cup,so this is not a competition that mistakes should be made.

Arsenal are one of the many clubs that had the FA cup as a chance to win a trophy,seeing as they have gone 7 years without one.However, they are in the champions league but a buffet definitely stands out better than a set meal especially if u don't know what that set meal is. It was a mistake not starting with his strongest team against Blackburn and you could say he was resting them for Bayern Munich come Tuesday but Arsene should secure the competition he has a better chance of winning.It is understood that Sir Alex had wanted to rest players against Everton seeing as United had the champions league match with Real Madrid but City losing to Southampton gave him reason to stick to a strong team as he would want to secure the premier league. In other words,Wenger made a big mistake not securing a win in the FA cup.No disrespect to Blackburn but you might think any team put out by arsenal should win especially at home to Blackburn  a team in the championship..but the mistake here is disrespecting the magic of the FA cup.

There is grief going around north London Arsenal's biggest rivals,Tottenham are ahead of them on the table,there is struggle to qualify for the champions league and it looks like from 7,it will be 8 years without a trophy unless Arsenal wins the champions league...there are 5 stages of grief,they say and at the moment arsenal seems to have cleared every stage.

First stage : DENIAL 

There is no doubt that Arsene Wenger is the most successful manager in the history of arsenal,he changed the football philosophy of the club and made them a delight to watch.For the fans,he creates players from nothing to something and makes profit as he has a remarkable business mind. In his 16 years reign as a manager,he has gone 7 years without a trophy and  every season seems to be to qualify for champions league.Has Wenger failed to keep up with the times,has he lost his way? Arsenal is still a big club and most fans still shout in Wenger we trust....
 
Second stage : ANGER

Arsenal have the highest ticket prices in the country and possibly Europe. Their entertaining football and  of course you get to see world class players as they always make the champions league.But the fans need to know that they are getting their moneys worth and nothing more than a trophy will equate that worthiness.You should always be loyal and support your team but paying so much and getting nothing back must be annoying especially as in the past couple of years,arsenal keep losing their best players..don't know about you but I will be angry seeing as Arsenal make profit every year.I must say,arsenal fans define loyalty.

Third stage : BARGAINING
 
We understand that there is money to be spent every summer but arsene wenger says that talent is hard to find.He does have a point but based on the fact that majority of players at arsenal, get into their last years of their contract,I would think most of that money is used to negotiate the contracts,recently,6 players just signed contracts at arsenal,jack wilshere,Aaron Ramsey,Kieran Gibbs,Oxlade, Chamberlin, Carl Jenkinson and Theo Walcott.Walcott signing a 3 year contract and the others each signing for 5yrs.I would think that a lot of the supposedly spending money is used as part of these negotiations.I might be wrong but till proven otherwise,I just may be right
 
Fourth stage..DEPRESSION

The glory days of arsenal has been a distant memory. A child of 7 years who supports arsenal fan would have never seen a trophy raised at the emirates(apart from emirates cup).Players have left and as the seasons have gone by,the settlement for 4th place seems to be the target.Arsenal have gone to championship contenders where the likes of man united,barcelona were their rivals but now rivalry remains in london as their season is also defined by how well they beat Tottenham. Its depressing seeing how almost all the players that have left have won a trophy,Clichy,Toure,Nasri, Henry....etc and their best player of last season had to leave because of a little boy crying inside of him.

 
Last stage : ACCEPTANCE.
 
We don't win but we are not in debt and we make profit every year. We don't win but play the best football in England. Dont forget we qualify for champions league every year and we make players out of nothing...these are some of the arguments arsenal fans hold on to.
 
There is certainly GRIEF.
 
Arsenal has a good team and a good squad of players. Its hard to understand why there have been a trophy drought for 7 years. Is it a case of don't blame the manager or the players don't give enough, should they go out and buy already known names in the game?Has a no win mentality been imprinted in the mind of the players? Or should it be accepted that their time has just come to an end?till then mistakes and grief clouds the best team....the best team in North London.
 
In more words to come...sabi boi

YOU DECIDE

                                         

The growing debate about whether arsene should stay or go has reached end point atimes this season, due to their consistent inconsistent displays(see what i did there?). when it comes to Arsene Wenger, there's always that ‘exception to the rule’ privilege afforded to him by supporters and the press alike. But the million naira question is, how long can he get away with all the excuses that he has been giving, or the ones that have been afforded to him?. There are obviously two sides to the argument as there are to a coin. Theres one corner with the financial stability and organised running of the club; and then theres the often-talked-about trophy drought.

So the question posed here is....is it about which factor outweighs the other.....or which one makes more sense for a footballing institution like Arsenal. Is it okay for a club of the Gunners’ stature to go so long without a trophy(the cobwebs in the cabinet are literally reproducing). Well, in this article question ill try to ask a few questions.....and well  ‘attempt’ to answer them myself.

Is there really any money to spend?

We have heard over the years that Arsene has refused to spend the ‘ enormous’ amount of money in the club bank, but in reality how true is this?. Of-course there usually isnt any smoke without fire, but this smoke is increasingly looking like one from a stick of matches(in-case you didnt get that part,i mean its hard to believe). It doesnt just seem logical that with all the problems hes having with his squad ,he wouldnt want to invest; but then again this is arsene Wenger.

Have his recent buys been below par?

I sincerely think his last four buys have been very good business, although the ones before that have a questionable few. The jury’s still out on Giroud though, but i can only see him getting better. Monreal has fitted seamlessly into the team, and i believe he was a quality addition. My only concern is were the buys enough to make this team a championship winning team?...based on current evidence,it would have to be a big NO.

Do the players feel its okay by the club’s standards to just compete for a champions league spot?

This is a big concern for the fans; especially hearing the manager repeatedly defending his proud champions league record. It now seems that is our benchmark for success; because in all honesty the first eleven(or even fourteen), look very good on paper. I keep asking, would this team be in this position if motivational managers like sir Alex, or ‘the only one’ were in charge?.......thats for you to decide.

Are his backroom imposing themselves enough?

Its been ‘common’ knowledge that the arsenal back room staff have always been ‘yes’ men. The arrival of steve bould  was supposedly going to change things. It seemed to be the case for the first few weeks of the season, but we have steadily reverted to type at an alarming rate. Dennis bergkamp, has been touted to join the team, but is he going to oppose his former manager?. Do the club need stronger characters in the back room to challenge Wenger when they dont agree with some of his ideas?......once again,you know what to do.

Has he tried to justify his buys?

This is one area most managers are guilty in....but sometimes the arsenal manager takes it a bit too far. Dont get me wrong, this approach has given rise to some of the best players arsenal has seen, but the difference between then(when we won things), and now(well,you know), is now putting faith in growing talent has a bigger say in our results than it did then. At that time we had a buffer of world class players, and very few ‘young bloods ‘ were thrust into the action without due process. We have put too much faith in some certain players at the expense of our success, and the irony those same players leave the club claiming they want to win things(life huh?).

So ill stop there. That is not to say he doesnt have his many good sides. Even the current squad is showing signs of stability. The normal thing to say would be , we just need to add 2 or 3 world class players and we would have a complete team, but we've said that so many times in the past that theres no point. Our priorities these days are to keep our quality players, rather than adding to them. When one comes in, another goes out....we are always a team in transition. So in the end is Wenger still worthy to oversee this club?is he past his ‘sell by’ date?should we still have faith in him because of his history with us? Are arsenal fans over reacting?......you decide

Till next time......

The Other European Cup

“Baled” Out

The Welsh Player once again had to step out to save Tottenham with two fantastic free kicks that would have been a problem for any goalkeeper on any day. Bales fantastic run of form continued last night as he made sure Tottenham would return to France with a one goal advantage. Lyon gave a good account of themselves on the night tho, they were even denied a penalty when Gomis Bafetimbi was brought down by Jan Vertonghen. Bale on the night gave an exceptional paradigm of what a match winning performance looks like.

Tottenham 2-1 Lyon

Super Sub

Chelsea came out tops in Czech after supersub Oscar scored just less than 1 minute after coming off the bench with a beautiful partnership with Hazard slotted the ball into the bottom corner. Personally I think the best chances of the game fell on the laps of Daviv Lafata in the first 45 minutes but on both occasions he seemed to be aiming more for the stands than the post. As Sparta return to Stamford Bridge they will look to deny the Champions league defending champions from becoming  the fifth club to have won all European cups adding to haul of records which also includes being the first defending champions to be sent packing in the group stages of the champions league.

Chelsea sure has a good chance of going through but they once again showed why they were eliminated from the Champions league.

Sparta Prague 0-1 Chelsea

Resourceful Reina and Wasteful Suarez

Liverpool failed to make their chances count against a very determined Russian side with Luis Suarez having the lion share of the misses. This is coming on the heels of Liverpools latest home defeat to West Brom by the same scoreline. In my own opinion looking at the misses by Suarez in both games I think he really needs another striker to challenge him to do better. Reina on the other hand looked sharp and very efficient in goal with a couple of brilliant saves but still notwithstanding his saves Liverpool still fell short.

Zenit St. Petersburg  2-0 Liverpool,

We should have won.

 “We should have won”, those were the words from Alan Pardew after what was a very unlucky night for the host team. Having two goals ruled out for offside and having some clear goal scoring opportunities missed, Newcastle will be hoping for better fortunes as they head to Ukraine for the second leg of the match. Cisse had a game to forget with two goals ruled out for offside and a few missed chances. The visitors had few good chances too but their most lethal player in my opinion was Marlos, who threatened the Newcastle defence with a few deadly balls. The team with the advantage come the second leg seems to be Newcastle.

Newcastle United 0-0 Metalist Kharkiv

Happy Vals day from Madrid with United..

There is a certain degree of awareness you always take to a different country. As the saying goes ..when in Rome,do as the Romans do....but other than blending in and acting like the locals,in sports you go to the oppositions territory knowing your strengths and using them in trying to win the game. The nature in which Manchester United went to Madrid was one of acceptance,knowing there were particular areas they couldn't match Real Madrid in,nevertheless,they went with no intention to blend in with the locals.

 
Jimmy Murphy (only coach to take Wales to the worldcup) told Sir Bobby Charlton that as a football player you represent your club and the fans,the fans come to watch you,putting aside their worries and issues for you to take that pain away.Win,draw or loose,they only want to know you tried your very best and you have 90mins to prove just that. Real Madrid were not out played by United  but United would be happy with their game plan. Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo scored against his old team but the united fans take pride in the fact that when he wore the red jersey,he was the worlds best player and not second best to Messi.
 
Mourinho described this game as a game the whole world was waiting to see and it certainly lived up to expectation. Matches like this was the reason that the small boy in RVP was screaming and shouting and Ronaldo against his old team mates added to the recipe of an already sweet meal. The match certainly lived up to its hype as both managers certainly went for the win. There was a high spread of tension as both fans kept holding their faces as the game went end to end but through it all Man United have taught  the world 3 very important lessons

 
1.Draw,win or loss...play your best.

On paper, Real Madrid had won the game. With the arsenal in terms of players they have anybody would have picked them to win. United showed strength in their defending and still took the game to Madrid .As a fan this is a performance you will be happy to see.

2.Recognise more than your role
 
Undeniably, there are certain players that can't and won't play beyond their role but in this case,every player was ready to put in their best. RVP was everywhere,defending very well and even had a couple of chances...in such occasions,you should recognize that you can do more than just what you are cut out for.

3.Pray your goal keeper has an A game.

There was sanctimonious joy for a lot of United fans knowing that Casillas was going to miss this fixture but Madrid acted quickly to find themselves an able replacement. He had some good saves and kept the game level. De Gea was outstanding and showed his critics there is more to him than pilfering a doughnut.

 
Before the game there was a lot of talk about Ronaldo and RVP. They certainly lived up to the talk but the two men most fans will remember especially Man United  fans will be Danny Welbeck and David de Gea. They kept the tie alive...and we all wait in anticipation for the 2nd leg...the song don't stop believing is still playing loudly...
 
For those of us that have no one to spend vals day with....united and madrid have shown us love,should last us till the 2nd leg...happy vals day.


In more words to come......Sabi Boi