THE FOOTBALL THREAD Vol 2

[fgl]

FA Cup Round 5

Old Trafford

Saturday, February 16, 2008, 5.15pm

Manchester United

-

Arsenal

-





By Richard Clarke
Saturday will be an occasion in which Arsenal and Arsène Wenger have to dig deep.
The manager admits he must delve down into his squad just to put out a side against Manchester United in the FA Cup Fifth Round tie. On Friday afternoon, the Frenchman claimed he had only 14 fit outfield players and several struggling members of his squad would have to travel up north in the hope of recovering overnight.
With that in mind, those who emerge from the tunnel at Old Trafford know they will have one almighty battle on their hands.
Apart from the injuries, Arsenal are actually in fine fettle right now and the word "treble" has just started to peek into the odd press conference. Of course the manager dismisses the notion out of hand but it is certainly not stretching a point to suggest that Arsenal's future in all three remaining competitions will be influenced by this game.
Last weekend Wenger's men moved five points clear of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League. Surely a win at Old Trafford with an injury-ravaged side would give them a psychological edge when they return in April for the critical fixture in the title race?
Secondly, Arsenal entertain a resurgent Milan on Wednesday in the Champions League Knockout Round first leg. And, at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Wenger was certainly suggesting that Saturday's game would set the tone for a vital week.
"We will dig deep tomorrow because we want to win the game and we want to qualify," said Wenger.
"Manchester United are a big club and certainly they will want to respond to the two disappointments they had recently, so it promises to be an interesting tie tomorrow.
"We will fight, don't worry. It's always better to win because it makes you stronger. I believe highly in that influence. You want to win and you want to win the big games especially because it makes your whole squad stronger.
"And I certainly feel they are still in the title race anyway. Two games ago we were second. That shows you how quickly it can change from one day to the next. And this year, it changes very quickly."
Wenger could do with his injury situation doing something similar before the 5.15pm kick-off (UK time) on Saturday.
Nine players are out and three will travel with injuries. The definite absentees are: Johan Djourou (groin), Robin van Persie (thigh), Abou Diaby (calf), Manuel Almunia (sick), Denilson (hamstring), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Theo Walcott (thigh), Alex Song (muscular) and Bacary Sagna (personal reasons). The travelling players are: Philippe Senderos (knee), Gael Clichy (hamstring) and Emmanuel Adebayor (hamstring).
There was a moment of humour - even though it is no laughing matter - at the press conference when Wenger was asked if a youngster like Henri Lansbury, 17-years-old, might be drafted in.
"Lansbury has glandular fever," replied the manager.
Of course, Manchester United have the same three trophies in their sights. They are not suffering the same injury crisis and it could be argued their upcoming Champions League tie will be a little less testing.
However Wenger believes both sides will go for it on Saturday, especially as replays are not required at this stage of the season.
"I expect them to play a full strength side," said the 58-year-old. "Maybe I’m wrong but I expect them to play with their best possible team.
"Of course you can never predict it but usually the cup games [between these sides ] are very good and both teams go for it.
"Both teams will do that because we don’t want a replay and Manchester United don’t want a replay as well that is why it should be an exciting game."
And a pivotal one too.

 

[headwan]

FGL im hoping Arsenal to win so they got a morale boost on the upcoming against Milan. Though AC Milan is one my fav club too, but i voting for the Gunners to win coz
Once a Gooner Always A Gooner

 

[fgl]

Im quite concerned due to the many iinjuries we have - still we hope for the best but expect the worst ...

 

[fuzztremecho]

i hope football wins at the end
immaterial which club the spoils of today's epic goes to

i can't wait...Dime has got a projector screen at home to watch this
bros, where are you guys watching this?

me-ah pek kopitiam downstair

 

[Plastic]

i hope football wins at the end

Hope so too, exciting game ftw.
Watching at home, as usual.

 

[KissMyAxe]

Empat - Telur . Hehehe

What telah happened?

 

[fuzztremecho]

bro fgl

you got bet or not?
correct lah bro you predicted...macam ke....ng aja.

the real arsenal forgot to turn up and Pakcik Lehman playing..

 

[fgl]

Nio I didnt bet...

I knew it was gonna be that waY COZ wENGER HAS priorities..EPL then CL ...with AC on Wed ngt and down to the bare bones - he has made the best choice to go with these two cups.

Abang Lehmann- cannot make it - as usual - chicken feet lucky goals which other keeper would have saved easily.

J Hoyte & Armand Traore - sttill too new for the 1st team. Betner talks too much and cant make his words.

REST ASSURED WHEN AFC RETURNS TO OT FOR THE EPL MATCH WHERE POINTS ARE CNCERNED- IT WILL BE AN ENTIRELY DIFFIRENT MINDSET AND END RESULT!

 

[fgl]

Match Report

FA Cup Round 5
Old Trafford

Saturday, February 16, 2008, 5.15pm




Manchester United

4

Rooney 16, Fletcher 20, 74, Nani 38




Arsenal

0





By Richard Clarke
The success of Arsenal's season will now depend on their Premier League and Champions League progress after they were unceremoniously knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Before this Fifth Round tie, Arsène Wenger had suggested his side were "down to the bare bones". And they were certainly dead and buried within 20 minutes this afternoon after Wayne Rooney and Darren Fletcher scored with headers.
Nani added another seven minutes before the break and, after Emmanuel Eboue had been dismissed, Fletcher netted once more 16 minutes from time.
It was an abject performance from Arsenal, who were caught by Manchester United's early onslaught and never really escaped.
But, like their 5-1 Carling Cup exit at the hands of Tottenham, the travelling supporters can take comfort in the fact that their side's priorities lie elsewhere.
Towards the end of the game, those fans, who were perhaps Arsenal's best performer on the day, sang "we'll be back to win the League".
Time will tell about that.
Before then, on Wednesday, Arsenal entertain Milan in the Champions League Knockout Round first leg.
Despite all their injuries, Wenger would surely welcome a little bout of amnesia before then.
Because this game is best forgotten.

Arsenal had travelled to Manchester on Friday without nine players but, more tellingly, with a further three carrying injuries.
In the end the entire trio - Philippe Senderos (knee), Gael Clichy (hamstring) and Emmanuel Adebayor (hamstring) - started on the bench.
The full injured list was as follows as: Johan Djourou (groin), Robin van Persie (thigh), Abou Diaby (calf), Manuel Almunia (sick), Denilson (hamstring), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Theo Walcott (thigh), Alex Song (muscular) and Bacary Sagna (personal reasons).
It meant the side that Wenger named was pretty much his full compliment of fit players.
Justin Hoyte and Armand Traore were the full backs while Kolo Toure and Eboue were playing their first games for Arsenal since the 2-0 win at Burnley in the Third Round.
William Gallas and Cesc Fabregas started despite suggestions they may be rested ahead of the Milan game. Manchester United's only concession to their tie at Lyon was the omission of Cristiano Ronaldo. However Rooney was back after missing the defeat to Manchester City through suspension.
It had been a clear bright day in Manchester. But by 5.15pm, it had gotten cold. However the bristling atmosphere was something to behold.
This was not only Arsenal v Manchester United but it was far and away the tie of the Fifth Round. Not even Liverpool's surprise exit to Barnsley could detract from that.
However Manchester United began the afternoon like they were in the mood to make some headlines - and they barely relented all game.
As early as the eighth minute, Anderson saw a left-footed drive saved at the near post by Jens Lehmann.
Soon after, Nani swung over a corner to the edge of the six-yard box and Gallas sliced the ball behind. The Frenchman erred again a couple of minutes later and Lehmann raced to the edge of his area to boot the ball clear as Rooney raced through.

At this stage it was all Manchester United so it was no surprise to see them take the lead on the quarter-hour. Bendtner half-cleared Nani's corner and Anderson nodded it back goalwards for Rooney to divert a header past Lehmann from close range.
Almost immediately it was 2-0. Nani twisted and turned past Hoyte on the byline and clipped a ball to the near post for Darren Fletcher to power home a header from point-blank range. Though Gallas may have got the final touch.
Only 20 minutes had gone and the visitors had barely settled. And they were now facing perhaps the most difficult task in British football over the last 15 years - clawing back a sizeable lead at Old Trafford.
Arsenal responded in some way when Bendtner touched the ball to Gallas on the left and his cross picked out Hleb on the edge of the area. The Belarus midfielder hit it first time but Patrice Evra blocked.
The ball flew up the other end and, once again, Lehmann had to race out to boot away the danger as Rooney went clear.
The England striker was having a superb game. However just past the half-hour he might have done better when, with only Gallas to beat, he trickled a shot well wide.
A couple of minutes later Rooney expertly chested down Fletcher's cross but his drive was disappointing. Still, the former Everton striker was causing untold trouble in the Arsenal backline.
However the third goal had nothing to Rooney. In the 38th minute Michael Carrick clipped a simple ball forward over Gallas' head and Nani steered in a left-foot shot.
Again it had been a straightforward move. Arsenal just had not defended it well enough.
At the break, the chat amongst the creditable number of travelling fans must have been dominated by thoughts of damage limitation rather than a Sixth Round tie in a couple of weeks time.
Just to hammer home the point, within two minutes of the restart, Lehmann had saved twice from Rooney - once from a snap-shot and once from a free-kick.
However almost immediately a sizeable problem became a mountain when Eboue received a straight red card for a high tackle on Nani.
The decision ended any hope of an Arsenal comeback. The contest was over.
Just past the hour, Rooney steered a shot wide and drew a fine save from Lehmann. Despite his excellent game, the Manchester United man should have converted more of the glorious positions he had got himself into.
In the 63rd minute Arsenal created perhaps only their second legitimate chance of the game when Eduardo guided a header over the bar from a floated ball into the area by Fabregas.
Anderson, another eye-catching performance this afternoon, had another couple of chances to extend Manchester United's lead. Then Nani curled an effort wide.
Just after that Wenger made a triple substitution - Senderos, Adebayor and Mathieu Flamini for Eduardo, Hleb and Fabregas. It seemed to be a move made with Milan in mind.
Quite ironically, just as Arsenal had strengthened, Manchester United got their fourth when Nani crossed and Fletcher rose highest at the far post to head home.
There were only two real chances for a fifth. Both fell to substitute Louis Saha, prodded meekly at the legs of Lehmann and then blazed wide.
Thankfully the whistle blew a couple of minutes later.

 

[fgl]

wenger's view

Arsene Wenger


'We need to recover quickly before Milan on Wednesday''





Manchester United 4-0 Arsenal

FA Cup Round 5

Old Trafford

Sat, Feb 16, 2008, 5.15pm





on a very bad day...
"Positive points are difficult to find because overall we were not up to the level of the game. We know that and the players know that aswell. It is difficult to find positives in our game. The only one I can see is that we do not have anymore injuries than we had at the start of the game."
on the rest of the season...
"The targets that are in front of us are very clear. They are the Premier League and the Champions League. We are not in a position where we have to make a choice. We just have balanced fixtures now. We need to pick ourselves up quickly because we have a massive game on Wednesday night."
on ever having serious thoughts of a treble...
"Not really but you try and make a choice as late as you can. It is a difficult to swallow for the players today because it looked like we did not have the physical resources to come back into the game. We need to recover quickly because we need to be at our best to beat Milan."
on concern over Nani's juggling...
"And rightly so. Nani had a very good game today but it was not needed. It is a little bit [disrespectful]. But it can happen to a young player. I hope he learns from that and does not do it again.."

Thats the reason whyy people hate M U & their fans - they are just so plain disrectfull.

on the red card...
"It looked harsh from outside. The game was over after the sending off and maybe even before because we never looked like we could come back today."
on heavy defeats in the Cups...
"At the moment it is unbelievable. When we lose in the cup we get a hiding. We don't concede in the League but when we do concede we do it well!"
on injury problems...
"Nobody was fit on the bench and all of them were recommended as risky. The most dangerous player was Clichy who I did not touch at all. The others had hamstring problems."
on the League fixture in April...
"You will see us in a different shape when we come back and I hope the pitch will be in different shape aswell."

 

[KissMyAxe]

Hahaha you're still on the Arsenal ,Man U FA Cup game. It just shows how this game had affected you. Relax brader...

 

[Dime]

just face the fact la.man utd 4-0 arsenal.wenger can bullcrap all he wants to.nobody gives a damn.

 

[fgl]

we will meet on lot again at OT and dance the victory jig on the pitch come april ....hahah wait and see...

 

[fgl]

Arsène Wenger

Arsenal Mobile Wallpapers

Download images to your mobile

By Richard Clarke


Arsène Wenger will only retire when he loses the "physical desire to win".

This week the Arsenal manager reportedly suggested he could go on for another 20 years. However, at Friday's press conference, the 58-year-old was not prepared to put a time-frame on it. In reality, Wenger said, his body would tell him when it was time to go.

“I was asked when I want to retire and I said ‘I don’t know’," he commented. "It could be tomorrow, it could be 10 years.

"I must say I don’t think like that, I think about the next game and say 'let’s do it'.
"It’s a balance between internal desire, the instinctive animal desire to fight and win plus being wise enough to make the right decisions.

"Also you must give yourself a good distance from the pressure. I cannot imagine being sat on the bench at 92 saying ‘come on my friend let’s do it’.

"Anyway," he joked. "Giovanni Trappatoni has just signed for Ireland at 69 and you want me out at 58!"

The Frenchman took charge of his first club, AS Nancy, in 1984. That was a full decade after his opponent on Saturday, Sir Alex Ferguson, did likewise at East Stirlingshire. At 66, the Scot is eight years older than Wenger but his inner desire has barely diminished. It is something both men have in common.

“Of course," replied the Arsenal boss when the point was put to him. "As long as winning means something to you, you go for it because you sacrifice nearly everything for the next game and you live the life of a professional football player.

"That means if it’s not so important any more you are not ready to sacrifice, to not go out and prepare like a player.

"You only do that because it has massive meaning for you to win.”

 

[fgl]

[FONT=Courier, Helvetica, Verdana]Anti - Manchester United[/FONT]

[FONT=Courier, helvetica, verdana]
Two boys are playing football on a park in London. Suddenly a dog appears and sinks its teeth into the younger boy's chest. The elder picks up stick and drives it through the dog's heart, killing it.
A reporter observes all of this and asks the boy if he can write a story on it. He takes out a notebook and puts down the title
"ARSENAL FAN SAVES FRIEND'S LIFE"
The boy says "I don't support Arsenal". so the reporter puts down
"CHELSEA FAN SAVES FRIEND'S LIFE"
The boy says "I don't support Chelsea",so the reporter asks "Who do you support?", and the boy replies "Man U". So, the reporter writes down
"GLORY HUNTING IDIOT KILLS FAMILY PET"

Beckham, Keane and Ferguson are all trapped on the roof of a burning building.
The Fire Brigade duly arrive and hold out the big blanket for the guys to jump onto. They are understandably all a bit nervous but, being a brave lad and the club captain, Keane goes first. At the last second, the firemen whip the blanket away and Keane splats on the pavement, dead.
Still giggling, the firemen shout to Ferguson to go next. He jumps, they move the blanket, he makes a pancake on the pavemant, high fives all around from the firemen.
Last to go is Beckham. But he's not having any of it....
"You'll move the blanket" he shouts.
"No we won't" they reply.
"It's no good, I don't trust you. You'll move the blanket again" shouts Becks.
"Come on, jump you fool" they shout.
"Well, alright" he replies.
"But I'm not jumping until you put the blanket down and move at least ten yards away from it..."


David Beckham walk's into a fish and chip shop and orders a large chips and a fish. The lady at the counter say's it won't be long, So David say's it better be fat then

Q. How many Man. United fans does it take to pave a driveway?
A. Depends how thin you slice them!
Q. What's red and white and funny?
A. A bus load of Man. United fans going over a cliff!
Q. Did you hear about the Man. United fan who studied 2 weeks for his urine test?
Q. What do you call a Man. United fan with half a brain?
A. Gifted.
Q. What do you call 100 Man. United fans at the bottom of a cliff?
A. A good start! Q. What's the difference between a Pyromaniac and MUFC?
A. A Pyromaniac wouldn't throw away all his matches! Q. What do you call a pregnant Man. United fan?
A. A dope carrier!

Manchester United wer playing St. Mary's School For The Infirmed, a charity match played in London last week.
United played an in a unusually rough manner, considering the infirmed side fielded two defenders in wheelchairs, a striker that used a guide dog and the goalie using a zimmer frame.
Finally, the St. Mary's manager, with great anger and frustration, pulled his team off the pitch with thirty minutes left in the half.
It then took Manchester United twenty minutes to score a disputed goal and win the match 1 - 0.




[/FONT]

 

[tim098]

i just realised, being an arsenal fan must seem pretty meaningless sometimes, since more than half the time, the fans seem to want to insult and put manu down. Smells of jealousy..
HEHE please do not flame me i come in peace. In all honesty if long long time ago when i was a small kid if i didnt start supporting manu, i would be supporting arsenal now cuz they play good football.

 

[fgl]

If U are reffering to me.... well I Think pool supporters hate them just as much BUT I feel that there are too many factions going for Man U for 1 reason or the other:

1. So called "fans" who associate themselves with the club just coz they are popular and sucessful. Add "peer pressure" and a desire to belong and the average "fan" succumbs to joining the band wagon.

2. Because of this so called popularity - The press is always carrying on about Man U - how great they are in this and that ...etc.... their greatest rivals will receive negative or biased reports in the press, no thanks to pro Man u writers of which i shall not name.

3. Man U's blatant attitude. For quite a while now, they KNOW VERY WELL that AFC is the ONLY TEAM in the epl that can beat them and on a consistant basis...As such man u has to literally raise their game to superhuman efforts and/or resort to all manners of mind games, physical intimidation on the pitch, conning of refferees etc whenever they face Arsenal. Man U, their fans, their media writers etc all know that the most consistant team to match them for the last 10-15 years has been AFC and this clearly shows in their "attention" always shown to AFC.

4. Any manager who hair dryersor kicks boots at his players' faces - should be working for a concentration camp and not a football team. Managers need to coach, nurture and develop players and not by intimidation of their rice bowls.

5. The culture and nature of the club and it's history which is why in 1978 - even when they were a mid table team in the league, I fell in love and choose to support Arsenal Football Club.

 

[tim098]

no lah i was just kiddingly messing with u arsenal fans in e previous post. Arsenal is a respectable team indeed. But! although i agree that many manu fans just join for the glory, i have to say that not all are. I just chose to support manu last time cuz i loved the name scholes! so his team became my favourite. lol. Glory came only like after when i realised how good manu are

 

[fgl]

power to u tim098 - I respect true blue supporters of all teams

 

[fgl]

Arsenal v AC Milan

Champions League Round 2 Leg 1

Arsenal Stadium

Wed, Feb 20, 2008, 7.45pm






By Richard Clarke

Arsène Wenger is not going to allow Saturday's drubbing at Manchester United to drive him "crazy".
The Arsenal manager was at a loss to explain his team's performance in the FA Cup Fifth Round tie. All he could do was admit the Old Trafford side's clear superiority and head home in preparation for the Champions League Knockout Round first leg against Milan on Wednesday - a game that was already being billed as a season-shaper.
"What can I do?" said Wenger afterwards. "I never felt we were really in the game and afterwards that can make you crazy.
"But I have difficulty being crazy today because I am more worried about the consequences it could have on the team.
"The targets are so big for us that you don’t feel sorry for yourself. We have a massive game in front of us on Wednesday night and I feel the immensity of the game makes you forget your disappointment.
"What we have learnt today is that this sort of performance will not be good enough against Milan."
Saturday's game was a total turnaround from last weekend when Manchester United's defeat allowed Arsenal to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
"From one week to the next things can change," agreed Wenger. "Man United did not look at their best last Sunday and we gave a lot on Monday night.
"However today we looked mentally lethargic. When you play so many games it can sometimes happen.
"There was a study in a French newspaper saying we are the team who has played the most games in Europe. We have played 42 till now and no one has played as many as us.
"Sometimes that can catch up with you but three days later you can be sharp again."
Wenger needs to pull off that very trick before Wednesday.