Sam Allardyce is out as England manager after only 67 days. The Daily Telepgraph’s undercover expose and 10-month investigation finds English football embroiled in one of the biggest scandals in years. The big question now turns to who will replace Big Sam? In England, the polls and voting has already started and the man being mentioned once again as a potential successor is Jurgen Klinsmann! Is he the right man for the job? Would England really hire a German coach? Would the USMNT fight to keep him should there be interest? Join the conversation. Get stuck in.
Category: Red Card
Red Card…Arsene Wenger
In this week’s verbal memo to fellow football fans we talk Arsene Wenger and we’re handing out a red card.
The Arsenal empire is crumbling before our very eyes. Gone are the victorious days and glorious moments of lifting trophies. The winning culture at the Gunners has long past and the once dominant and beautiful north London team continue to spiral out of football form.
Arsenal and Wenger have been extremely stubborn with their transfer policy. The ramifications of this philosophy is now evident on the pitch. Something has to change. The red card and criticism is deserved.
Oldham Athletic is our team of the week. We give them lots of football cuddles and love for bringing the F.A. Cup to life this season. Oldham have provided typical F.A. Cup drama and good old fashioned football. And they are doing it against Premier League teams. We tip our hats to you.
Player of the week goes to Barcelona babe Lionel Messi. He can’t stop scoring. He breaks records every weekend! If you haven’t heard about his latest achievement, have a listen and see what the wee magic man has done now.
If you adore what you hear or if you find it completely annoying, have your voice heard and lob us a tweet @soccerdiva. Football, soccer, call it what you want. It’s just like being down the pub with your mates! Get the drinks in.
Red Card…
This could be the second red card I’ve given to Mr.Wenger in the space of a couple of seasons and I feel it is absolutely deserved. Unless he does something major in this summer’s transfer window, he’ll be getting a lot more than a red card from the Gooner nation. You have been warned Arsene.
It’s an absolute certainty Arsenal will lose Cesc Fabregas this summer. And there are now rumblings his fellow midfield maestro Samir Nasri could be out of the door too. To be without Fabregas is a tough pill to swallow. But to lose Nasri as well might be one pill too many to take.
What could the roll on effect be at the Emirates if these two players were to go? Would Robin Van Persie stay? Could they still attract respectable names to the club despite losing a name like Fabregas or will Arsenal just continue to lose quality players about to hit their prime?
Arsene Wenger is under the most intense pressure since taking the reigns at Arsenal. His philosophy has always been fit to please Gooner fans. However, since the end of last season, he has come under tremendous fire for not being able to adapt outside of his beliefs. Why is he being so stubborn? Why can’t he see what everyone else sees? Arsenal need a goalkeeper, a center back, a left back and a striker. And who will replace Fabregas and Nasri if they both go? Does he have that much faith in Ramsey and Wilshere?
Sir Alex Ferguson always gets so much credit for believing in “his kids.” Wenger gets ripped for having the same beliefs. The problem however Mr.Wenger is that Sir Alex actually wins trophies with his kids. You don’t. You can’t and you never will unless you add a little adult into the mix. The kids need a bit of hand holding at Arsenal. These kids have no leadership skills and yet they also have no leader to follow. Fabregas was a laughable captain. He didn’t lead by example. He just wanted to be led out the front door straight to the Camp Nou. Can we blame Wenger for this?
Actually I think we can. It’s a bit like the LeBron James story in Cleveland. Sure the owner of the Cavs tried to build several teams around LeBron but he did a lousy job and bought the wrong players in over and over again. Eventually LeBron got tired of being in a losing team and having to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. Wenger didn’t necessarily buy terrible players, but he didn’t give Fabregas some guts and leaders to help him carry the burden. He kept handing him more kids to babysit. After a while, losing gets old and winning becomes a distant dream.
This could be a painful summer for Arsenal fans. Let’s hope we have to retract this red card for Mr.Wenger and he makes us eat our words…
Red card…
Dear Arsenal Board,
We hope you are having a sizzling summer season so far. Manchester City and Real Madrid sure are! They’ve both created some gigantic waves across the whole of Europe this summer and boy are they having a blast! Even Manchester United have had a little dive in the deep end of the transfer pool. Chelsea and Liverpool haven’t been splashing around as much because they don’t need to get that wet. And you Arsenal…well once again you insist on plodding around in the baby transfer pool while every other major European team continues to swim in the big pool with the big boys. Why?
The Gooner nation is curious…
1. When you are going to buy another player so Thomas Vermaelen doesn’t feel like the only new boy in the changing room come the new season?
2. Are you going to buy that battling midfielder you so desperately need?
3. Do you plan to hijack John Terry’s move to Manchester City?!!! (LOL)
4. Do you have any plans to challenge for trophies next season?
5. Will it be another year of promises and let downs?
For now, the Arsenal Board receives a Red Card to match those red faces that are frying instead of tanning on a beach somewhere around the world. Get your fingers out and your cheque books ready money men because let me tell you…this will be the last season of patience for Arsenal fans. If you didn’t get a copy of the memo, they are over you! They want to win and they want to win now. Don’t let them down or you could find yourselves with red faces again come the end of next season…
Red card…
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…
Red card…
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…