Ranting, puffing and panting

A very happy Wednesday to you all, no mid week game this week, which is a touch if you ask me. Given what happened Saturday in our lunch time kick off away at Birmingham, I think a week away from the playing field will give the squad time to get their heads right by evaluating things a little more.

It’s difficult not to start with the general footballing topic this week of Eduardo. A terrible terrible injury which I don’t think could have been prevented. I don’t know where to start on the issue, I have read so many opinions and different views on the matter that its difficult not to let any stories sway and change your own opinion of the incident.

First and foremost I’d like to wish Eduardo all the very best on the long winding road to recovery. Playing regular football for the majority of your life, and then being told you have got to take 9-12 months out the game is difficult to come by. At first you can feel lonely, but it always helps knowing that there’s a selection of friends who also represent the same team that all want you back as quick and as safely as possible. Arsenal.com have set up a page on the website which allows fans the chance to wish the Crozilian all the very best.  Not just Gooners though, any fan, any fan who was generally hurt by the tragic extent of the injury over the weekend, and lets face it, if it didn’t detest you or make you feel for the guy, then your not really a football fan are you?! If you would like to add to the 22,000 messages of support already, check the link www.arsenal.com and follow the instructions from the screen.

So, the incident its self then. The game was barely 3 minutes old when Martin Taylor just lunged in, there’s no doubt Alex McLeish would have said to his defence before the game, something along the lines of, “rattle them”, “make them know your about”, “from the off give it your all and get stuck in” or something along those lines. Likewise I have no doubt that Martin Taylor dived in with little intention of inflicting a broken left fibula as well as causing an open dislocated ankle, but the lunge however was with the intention of making contact – whether or whether not the ball was there – causing Eduardo to feel rattled for the remainder of the game. That, I have not one doubt over. The consequences of the tiresome lunge were extremely fatal, and the main talking point is how do we stamp them out – scuse the pun. These types of tackles only ever seem to happen in the English Premier League, they don’t happen in spain, or Italy, France, or Germany or anywhere, so why in England? We know the English league is the most physical in Europe, its why a lot of players who are clearly blessed with flair bottle coming over some of the time. There’s no guarantee that a foreign player from another league will settle, regardless of how he’s regarded in that league. Shevchenko being the main example. The ones that do settle have all taken their time, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Thierry Henry even – there opening 6 months were far from extravagant, but look how they ended up? This is due to the physicality of the Premiership. So the next question I guess is, who implements the physical side of the Premiership, why is it, and who’s fault is it?

Lower league managers whose players lack in the technical ability when playing more established sides?

The FA, who I think it’s painfully obvious doesn’t do enough on many football issues, let alone this one.

The media for not portraying these incidents thorough enough?

After all, breaks like this haven’t exactly been constant, but there’s been a few, too many if you ask me. Dave Busst’s were never forget, but players such as Roberto Di Matteo, Luc Nillis, Pierluigi Casiraghi, Alan Shearer, Alan Smith, Djibril Cisse, and Kieron Dyer this season have all suffered from joints twisting in directions they really shouldn’t be turning in. So are we doing enough? Are these just freak accidents which we can’t help? Just players being unlucky, or suffering from misfortune?

Maybe, to some extent. But the media still don’t do enough to portray the fatality which concurs from such injuries. The papers are more obsessed with printing what nightclubs the national sides players go to. F*ck them I say. Bollocks to them f*cking all.

Its difficult reading the papers as an avid Arsenal supporter, I know it sounds like sour grapes, and us being hard done by, but the media really do lay into us at every given opportunity. Arsenal are to blame for England's failure to qualify for the European Championships, Arsenal haven’t any English players so were lay into them, write them off the title and every other trophy, unleash a volley of abuse and negatives towards any Arsenal player which acts up manager included.

All the media have seemed to have been covering is William Gallas’ reaction at full time Saturday. Well as daft as he may have looked, at least he f*cking cares. He’s spent the whole week helping Sagna come to terms with the unexpected death of a close family member, he sees a good mate of his laying on the floor half crippled from a crude x-rated lunge, and then to make matters worse, referees attempt to become the star of the show by making controversial late decisions with the hope it will be made into a big thing (publicity stunt) – Yes Clichy should have been more aware, but the last ditch tackle was a tackle, and he won the ball, it was by no means a penalty. At least he’s not yelling at referees or linesman throwing there red and yellow cards on the floor like John Terry. William Gallas cares a lot about this club, he wants to succeed as much as he wants to be looked up to. Just because he’s the captain doesn’t mean he doesn’t need an arm round his shoulder from time to time either.

It makes you wonder the media’s reaction if there beloved Wayne Rooney, or David Beckham would have been on the receiving end of a tackle from a Lyon or Mighty Duck player doesn’t it? After all they set up campaigns like “kiss Rooney's foot” when he suffers from his seasonal hobby, a broken metatarsal.  That’s a good 6-12 weeks of recovery time there… hardly the 9-12 months of rehabilitation Eduardo would have to go through. It’s not our fault Rooney's clearly too much of a lump to be twisting and turning, weaving In and out of defenders on a regular basis – 3 broken bones in his foot in 3 years just about sums that one up I think.

The coverage on Wenger has been poor as well – yes he came out criticizing Martin Taylor, but he was clearly f*cked off with what had happened, and later retracted his comments (which haven’t really been spoken about either).  I do think his “to stop Arsenal you have to kick Arsenal” comment couldn’t have been more spot on though. The hype that comes with playing Arsenal, the stereotypical thought that were a young side who can’t cope with the physical nature of the modern game is constantly spoken about by every one in the country. Its true, we have struggled against the Blackburn's and Bolton's over the past few seasons, but still, there’s no doubt we are kicked to bits where as other clubs simply can’t match our footballing ability and the way we play. It sounds like I’m a whining moaning Gooner, but the facts are there, there’s no doubt were victimized – between 2002 and 2004 even Man Utd couldn’t match our general game play, and they had to resolve to just booting us up in the air.  The Neville's, Rio, Keano, Scholes, Fletcher, O’Shea, and Ruud used to just kick lumps out of us, its no wonder players like Reyes didn’t settle, they wasn’t allowed to. Managers know they are not as good as us, and I agree that it was only a matter of time before an injury to this extent happened to one of our players – see, even I’m getting heated writing about this now?!

Former players Sebastian Larrson, and Fabrice Muamba who as we know both play for Birmingham are having their cheap digs as well.  One can’t help but think some sour grapes have been bought?  Both lacked in the technical ability to force there way into the starting line up, and the brain capacity by the looks; They didn’t make the grade, they wanted to stay, but we wanted them out, simple as. An incident like this has given them the perfect opportunity they’ve been waiting for to dig at our club and Professor Wenger-Hawkins.

“his (Wenger's) whole team were the same. Arsenal were in a bad mood all game. They were very unsportsmanlike."

Hmm… I wonder why they were in a bad mood. Quotes like this go to show why these types of challenges won’t ever be rid of our game. There’s defending your team mate, and then there’s acting like a sulky little slutty 7 year old. Slutty though has no reason to be in that previous sentence, I just felt as if it sounded fitting. These players shouldn’t comment, there talking as if the challenge wasn’t a bad one. Stephen Kelly for example –

“It was harsh Tiny (Taylor) being sent off. Tiny has gone in and it wasn't a malicious tackle”

“I don't think you can send a player off for that. That's football. It can happen. It is an accident”.

What a f*cking load of horse bollocks. Yet again players are condemning these challenges as a thing of the norm. I’d love to see there opinion if they were on the receiving end from Cesc, Gallas, or someone.  Christ, imagine the hatred in the media if one of our players went in like that? There would be a petition to send him back to his nationalities country or something, perhaps even a public hanging made watchable on a pay-per-view, box office deal or something? You know, £16.99, with a couple of warm up sacrifices before hand.

Right, enough’s enough on that matter, I’ve had my rant, and I couldn’t care less whether I’ve made a point or not.

Villa home this Saturday 3 o’clock… Let’s hope we have a few faces back. Rosicky would be nice. Van Persie would be even nicer. Rosicky and Van Persie together would be like a spiritual mythological dream made only real by every God combining there forces and healing powers they share, together in a sort of magic fork like trident thing, pointing and aiming it in the appropriate direction. In other words, I doubt there both feature at all if I’m honest.

All this talk and I haven’t been able to talk about Theo. Am I the only one who feels like his Dad when he plays? I want him to play so well, and I want to encourage him to score by giving him a fiver every time he does. I was a tenner down Saturday. We may need to rely on Theo more then we thought now…

Until next time, keep it red.

ScottyDavisGooner