Wenger – Page 4 – BRITISH SOCCER {DIVA}

Arsenal sign someone…

thomas_vermaelen_3 Arsenal have splashed the cash people! Thomas Vermaelen has signed for the Gunners in a deal worth 10 million pounds. The 23 year old ex-Ajax defender is the first big signing of the season and hopefully not the last for Arsenal fans. Wenger was monitoring the Belgian international closely and he finally sealed the deal knowing the board want some quality defenders ready to go when the season starts in August.

Vermaelen comes to Arsenal with Champions League experience and will definitely add some toughness to the weak defense that cost them so many games last season. He’s still only 23, so it seems like a good investment for the North London club.

Have you seen Vermaelen play? Do you think he’s a good signing for Arsenal? Could he end up being a Vidic type signing for the Gunners? It’s about time they spent some money and it seems they may have found a gem…

Inhale…exhale…Chelsea have a new coach…

FBL-ENG-ITA-PR-CHELSEA-ACMILAN-ANCELOTTI Not that I want this to become a Chelsea blog…but news is news people! Carlo Ancelotti was today named as the successor to Guus Hiddink. Do you think Chelsea hired Ancelotti because he looks a little like Guus? Check out the picture of Guus with the F.A. Cup below and judge for yourselves. Perhaps the owner and executive team hired the Italian master so the players can feel “comfortable” with a familiar face in the dressing room!

Chelsea have hired someone with real pedigree in Carlo Ancelotti. He has been hugely successful in his career as a player and a coach. Ancelotti arrives at Stamford Bridge following a mediocre season at AC Milan, but don’t be fooled…this man has won it all! The Italian Cup, the Super Cup, the World Club Championship, the UEFA Cup and Serie A. He is also part of an elite footballing group being one of only 6 players who have won the Champions League as a player and a coach. The most recent coach to do that was Pep Guardiola this year with Barcelona.

Ancelotti is an interesting character too. I think he’ll live upto that character a lot more than Phil Scolari did. Some people say he’s as fascinating as Jose Mourinho. In order to manage a club like Chelsea or the “big four” in general, you have to have that something special. Hiddink had it, plus he also started to help erase the memory of Mourinho during his time with the Blues. If you look at Ancelotti’s successes as a player and coach, it appears he might be able to erase the memory of Mourinho completely in his first season. Unless he smokes during training of course and gives his players unnecessary respiratory problems to the point where they are unable to compete and have to forfeit their season.

Do you think Chelsea have made the right choice? Can you see them winning the title with Ancelotti next season? Do you think the Italian master will bring any of his ex-players with him from AC Milan? And will he be able to square-up to Rafa Benitez, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger?

Red card…

baldrefwithredcard1 A red card must go to the entire Arsenal team. Why? Dumped out of the Champions League by Manchester United. Humiliated by Chelsea at home in the Premier League on Saturday. Gutless. Spineless. Spiritless. What’s to like about this Arsenal team? Who are they? What do they stand for? They have no identify. No leadership. Where are the men? Houston…we have a major @#$%^&* problem.

Get your cash ready this summer Mr.Wenger. Don’t be shy to spend it. You can’t let another transfer market slip you by. Otherwise the gap between you Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool will grow as wide as the Grand Canyon. You need word class talent. You need game-changers. You need men. Get rid of Adebayor, your defense and your goalkeepers. Have a chat with Van Persie to make sure he really wants to be there. And make Arshavin your captain. Doesn’t seem Fabregas is quite upto the task. Oh and buy some British players will you. We find that really helps on a soggy Saturday afternoon in Hull, Stoke or Wigan.

Fancy football is not paying the bills for Arsenal fans. You’ve got one more season and then they’ll really start turning. Sorry fellas…it’s got to be red…

How many fingers am I holding up…?

picimg_premier_league_arshavin_11c2 What a night at Anfield! Liverpool 4 – 4 Arsenal. It was breathtaking to watch. We saw beautiful football and ugly mistakes too. The star of the show was undoubtedly Andrei Arshavin. The wee Russian is going to be a superstar at Arsenal. If all goes well for him at the club, he could become a legend.

Scoring 4 goals against Liverpool is ridiculous. And they weren’t just average goals. Shifting left, moving right, Arshavin was like a Ninja as he darted through the Liverpool midfield and defense all night long. He had them all quaking in their personally designed football boots!

If you are an opponent, you need antibiotics to help you get over the sick talent he displays over 90 minutes. He leaves competitors with aches and pains as he runs them ragged during a game. They sweat and call for their mummy’s when they are in pain late at night. Arsene Wenger on the other hand can sleep like an angel knowing he spent well in the January transfer window. If only you had played him in the F.A. Cup Semi-Final against Chelski…

Red card…

baldrefwithredcard Arsene Wenger gets a red card for not playing Nasri and Arshavin in the F.A. Cup Semi-Final against Chelsea. Even though the Gunners started the first 20 minutes well, the manager’s team selection caught up with him eventually.

There was no creativity. There was no danger. There was no width. There was no Arsenal. Fabregas went missing and Walcott just couldn’t make things happen for the team. Diaby and Song are not the answer in midfield. Arshavin and Nasri could have dictated that game given the chance but Wenger chose to be negative when he loves playing positive football. Instead it was Chelsea playing the delicious football.

Arshavin would have relished the stage of Wembley. He has been a sensation since arriving at Arsenal. He has truly lived up to the value of his transfer. If only he could play in the Champions League…Nasri has started to show his ability in midfield and he’s grown in confidence over the last few months. They are both such talents with the ability to change the game and Mr.Wenger had them sitting on the bench.

It’s a straight red I’m afraid sir…

Chelsea sack Scolari…

dunn_516x596_22280a-750654 Chelsea have sacked Phil Scolari as their manager. After only seven months in the job, the big Brazlian is out and I for one am not surprised. This time, Roman Abramovich has got it right. Managing in the Premier League is very different to being an international manager. The job comes with such intense pressure and the daily grind is tough, tough, tough, even for a coach from Brazil. I laughed when Scolari said in a press conference, “you think this is pressure. No this is not pressure. This is such a small country, there is no pressure. Brazil is pressure.” Really Phil?

I was never enthused when Chelsea announced him as their new manager. They were much better off keeping Avram Grant who was at least building on what Jose Mourinho had done. But the owner chose to go with a big name and supposedly big personality. It failed miserably and towards the end, Scolari lost the owner, the fans and even the dressing room. When players start to complain about training methods and a lack of intensity, you know everything is about to implode. Scolari deserved the sack.

The first signs of trouble were when Liverpool ended their ridiculous run of games unbeaten at Stamford Bridge. Under Mourinho and even Avram Grant, you always had a feeling Chelsea could win a game even if they were a goal down. But that fire and drive was gone. The bravado was no more. He also lost at home to an under-achieving Arsenal team. And to be frank, Manchester United humiliated Chelsea at Old Trafford. He was unable to inspire his team to beat any of the elite four in the Premier League.

How much of Chelsea’s problems this season are related to Steve Clarke going to West Ham? He was a huge influence in the dressing room and on the training pitch. The players trusted him. You can never under estimate the value of an assistant coach built like Clarke. Wouldn’t it be interesting if Chelsea tried to prize Clarke and Zola from West Ham? Anything is possible in today’s game. Zola is unproven as a manager, but he is a Chelsea legend and together with Clarke, they could be the magic ingredient that leads the Blues back to their confident, arrogant ways.

For now, this might be a good thing for Chelsea. Anyone coming in as manager can only have a positive effect. Who’d have thought the morale would be so low under Scolar? The so-called “Mr.Motivator” didn’t turn out to be the Messiah they had all hoped for. And he never looked the part of being Chelsea manager did he? Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez always wear a suit when their team is playing. There is the odd occasion you’ll find them in a tracksuit, but that is rare. Jose Mourinho always looked the part as well. I was always taught that if you have been given the responsibility in an important role in your career, you should always look the part. And for a team that can boast to be located in one of London’s poshest areas, their manager didn’t present himself that way. He didn’t seem dressed for success from the beginning, and just like his tactics, Scolari always looked a mess. Down the King’s Road, that’s enough to give anyone the boot…

Another own goal from Gallas…

william_gallas_280x_441703a-718945 William Gallas delivered a dagger through the hearts of Arsenal fans this week with his announcement of infighting on the field and in the dressing room. Some would say his actions show he cares and that he’s passionate and at least illustrates a desire to succeed and win. However, most would say he’s behaved liked a petulant child as opposed to a leader of men. The problem is, Gallas didn’t have the men to lead in the first place, he had boys. We all know the major issue at Arsenal is leadership. So if we know it, why can’t Arsene Wenger see it?

The man has been a legend at Arsenal over the last 10 years. He got everyone to buy into his philosophy of football and the team reaped the rewards with much success. The reason for that success though was the ability to blend English players with foreign players. Adams, Bould, Bergkamp, Keown, Viera and many other quality guys came together and achieved. When he introduced youth to his team, the veterans were able to steer and guide them in the right direction. The problem however was the English and veteran players had gone and they were never replaced.

In the 90’s Sir Alex Ferguson introduced a young group of Manchester United players to the Premier League and everyone questioned if they could challenge for the title. The media were all over it. But we all know what happened next don’t we? That same team dominated English football for years. They succeeded with a blend of experience, youth, English players and foreign players too. Beckham, Neville, Scholes and Giggs and the support of Keane, Schmeichel, Bruce and Cantona. The balance of the team was perfect and Arsenal can certainly learn from what Sir Alex Ferguson did.

This is a very young Arsenal team and Gallas has been burning on their lack of maturity for a while now. These thoughts and opinions he’s expressed didn’t come out of nowhere. Much of what he’s said this week is probably true. But there are fights at every club. Nobody is perfect and to announce family secrets to the world’s media was probably the worse thing he could have done. He makes some worrying claims for the fans. What do we make of this player Gallas claims nobody likes? Who is the player throwing insults at his own team during the game? And why would Gallas go public now?

Quite simply, he wants a transfer to another team in January. You don’t cause all this drama without having an ulterior motive. Whether he’s right or wrong, what he did was totally inappropriate for a professional sportsman, especially as captain of one of the world’s biggest and best football teams. Arsenal fans say au revoir Gallas. Get lost to you and your own goals and don’t let the door hit you on the way out…