The case for Aliadiere

It's been a dark, depressing period of time since the thrashing at the hands of Liverpool on Saturday. The Arsenal performances was simply horrendous. The only time that I can recall during Wenger's reign that they were as bad was when they were thrashed 6-1 by Man Utd in 00/01. At least we had Igors Stepanovs to blame that day; and we didn't have a team then that will supposedly dominate the future of football.

The very thought of Saturday sickens me, so I'm not going to dwell on it. If you're a sadist and want more analysis or dissection, click on any of the excellent Arsenal links on the side bar.

However, one thought did occur to me during the game that I would like to expand on - the dire performances of Baptista - or more specifically howthey have affected the performances of Aliadiere in recent times. (Aliadiere was injured for the game on Saturday.)

The high point of Baptista's season was his four goals in Anfield in the Carling cup - which seems like a lifetime ago. On that occasion, Aliadiere was the outstanding player in the match as he created 4 goals game and also scored himself.



On the occasions that they played together in the Premiership, they looked as if they had forgotten that the objective of football was to score goals. There's no doubting that Aliadiere looked nervous and lacking confidence. I feel that it doesn't help a player like that when he's playing alongside a guy who doesn't look like he has any first, second or third touch. (I think I may have stolen that description of Baptista from Arseblogger!) I also think that in Aliadiere's recent run in the team, the midfield have been awful - and have created very little opportunities for the striker.

Anyhow, to get to my point... many bloggers, including Arseblogger, think that Wenger should play a 4-5-1 against West Ham on Saturday. I disagree completely. Whilst taking the point that we are by no means guaranteed of 4th place, I think we should also be building for next season. 4-5-1 takes us backwards in the evolution of this team.

For me, it generally has to be 4-4-2 for Arsenal.
(unless we're playing Barcelona in the Nou Camp or something similar!)
I think Aliadiere - if fit- should start up front against West Ham. Before you all start chucking rotten tomatoes at me, let's look at the Frenchman's performances this season when he had more than 20 minutes and did not play as Julio 'The Beast' Baptista's partner up front.

October, West Brom v Arsenal 0-2, Carling Cup
Not the greatest of opposition.The Frenchman started and scored two goals as he played most of the game alongside Walcott.

November, Everton v Arsenal 0-1, Carling Cup
Aliadiere started alongside Adebayor in a roaming role. Here's how the Guardian described him:
Arsenal's oldest outfield starter here was the excellent Jérémie Aliadière, the 23-year-old a constant menace when charging from deep, with some of their slick interplay and passing taking the breath.

December, Arsenal v Portsmouth 2-2, Premiership
Not a great game for the Frenchman who started alongside RVP. Adebayor came on for him when we were 2-0 down and rescued the day.

December, Sheff Utd v Arsenal 0-1, Premiership
Another poor game for Aliadiere alongside RVP. Having said that, did anybody play well?

January, Arsenal v Spurs 3-1, Carling Cup
Aliadiere started alongside Adebayor for this one and had a stormer. He also scored the goal in extra-time that sealed the win for Arsenal.

February, Arsenal v Wigan 2-1, Premiership
Aliadiere came on with the Gunners trailing by a goal with 23 minutes to spare. Ok, Baptista was on the pitch; but so was Henry and Adebayor.Aliadiere played as winger when he came on. He was involved in the build-up to the equaliser. Overall, he was an important factor in the comeback with some good passes and dribbles against a tiring defence.

February, Bolton v Arsenal 1-3 FA Cup
Aliadiere came on for extra-time.Baptista was also on the pitch for this one but was partnered by Adebayor. Aliadiere, playing more as a winger, dribbled and carved out the opening for Ljungberg, who controlled before flashing a left-foot finish across Jaaskelainen to make it 2-1 Arsenal.

February, Arsenal v Blackburn 0-0 FA Cup
A rarity, in that Aliadiere started alongside Henry. Most of the team were a little bit flat on this occasion. Aliadiere deserved a penalty when Stephen Warnock brought him down but the ref played on.

M'lud, I think that I have shown you that when Aliadiere has played alongside Adebayor he's done well.
You may not agree with me on the Frenchman's qualities but I all I ask is that you think about his performances disconnected from Baptista's performances for Arsenal this season. He's not done too well with RVP either, but some say that even the great Henry struggles with RVP. I think Aliadiere deserves a chance alongside the man from Togo on Saturday. To play 4-5-1 against the likes of West Ham would be a step backwards for the team.

And remember... the slough of despondency is the birthplace of hope. Let us not forget that we won the double the season after the 6-1 mauling at Old Trafford.

See you all tomorrow.

A swift look...

It's back up to Anfield for the third time this season where Liverpool will be looking for revenge for the defeats in the Carling and FA Cups.

Adebayor returns for the Gunners after his four-match ban for his part in the Great Handbags Brawl of Cardiff.

Clichy and Eboue also return to the squad after injury. New additions to the injury list are Gilberto -with a dodgy hip- and Aliadiere - with a foot injury.

John Arne Riise is set to make his 200th league appearance for Liverpool just a day after he was bizarrely declared bankrupt!

Mr.Wenger will select a team from this League of Extraordinary Gentlemen:

Arsenal (from): Lehmann, Eboue, Gallas, Toure,
Clichy, Ljungberg, Fabregas, Rosicky, Baptista, Adebayor,
Almunia, Senderos, Hoyte, Diaby, Hleb, Denilson

I think the starting-eleven will look a little like this:

GK Lehmann
RB Hoyte
LB Clichy
CD Gallas
CD Toure
RM Ljungberg
LM Rosicky
CM Fabregas
CM Diaby
CF Baptista
CF Adebayor

Subs: Almunia; Eboue; Senderos; Denilson; Hleb.

Let's hope the strikers don't pick up any injuries or we might have to get on the phone to somebody like Les Ferdinand or Lee Chapman to plead with them to come out of retirement...

Or hang on.... what's Dennis up to these days???

P.S. Today is the sixth anniversary of the death of David 'Rocky' Rocastle. Head on over to Arseblog to watch a video of the great man in action.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Cows, Finance, Bullets, Fines; and Jermaine Pennant

Ok, a very swift one today as I have to travel to Ballyhaunis to buy a heifer at a mart... well no, not really... what I have to do is far less interesting.

Today, I shall be using the Lazy Blogger's best friend: Bullet Points!

• Arsenal were fined £100,000 for their part in the Great Handbags Brawl of Cardiff.

• Ex-Gunner Jermaine Pennant will be answering some questions on the Liverpool website. Let's hope he borrows Ashley Cole's car to make that appointment.

• Arseblogger has being doing some snooping on more Arsenal shares transactions.

And that's it really. I suppose you're dying to know where I'm really going. Well, I will be attending the Ireland v Slovakia match in Croke Park.

Yes... it is far less interesting than buying a heifer at some local mart...

Powered by ScribeFire.

Arsenal for sale?

Just a quick one today as I...eh... have to get a haircut!

The Arsenal for sale rumours rumble on, prompting the The Arsenal Supporters' Trust to make a rare public pronouncements that, while not against a buyout per se, they opposed a 'Malcolm Glazer-style' takeover of their team whose "principle objective is taking profits out of the club".

Whilst a few days ago I thought this was all paper talk, I was concerned to read that apparently, David Dein didn't know about Fiszman's sale of 1% of his shares until two days after the transaction. That 1% might sound small but the sale took Fiszman under the 25% threshold needed to maintain a veto on any changes to the club's statutes. I would have thought that Fiszman would have had the courtesy of informing Dein of such a move - unless he was up to something.

Meanwhile, Arseblogger has this to say:

"I’m told from two well placed sources that ITV have been in discussions with this group regarding the 9.9% of the club they own."

Several bloggers, such as Gunnerblog were calmed by this statement from Kroenke Sports Enterprise (KSE)- who were rumoured to be prospective buyers and already have a link up with Arsenal via their Colorado Rapids 'sawker' club:

"There is no interest from KSE in buying any shares of Arsenal or any Premier League club."

Unfortunately, it doesn't put my mind completely at ease:
A) They could be trying to cool the share price. They don't have to announce their intentions until they have purchased 30% and would want to calm the speculation which is causing the share price to rise: It's unlikely that they would make such a definite statement, however.

B) The statement was made by the KSE organisation ; not by any individual in the family or even any companies that KSE have an interest in. What's to stop them investing?

C) There's plenty of other prospective buyers out there.

What is it about Arsenal? Every summer, there's something that impedes our pre-season planning. Vieira's future; Anelka's future; Reyes' Future; Newsnight did their best to drag the club into controversy over Beveren (but failed). I have a feeling that the club's ownership is going to be the hindrence for next pre-season

Arsenal Ladies & Garforth Town
It's nice to see one Arsenal team doing well: the ladies team trashed their Leeds counterparts 8-1 to remain on top of the Women's Premier League.

Here's an interesting fact, trivia fans: The match was played at Garforth Town AFC, which is the last club the great Socrates played for. The club's owner, Simon Clifford, has a vision of getting Garforth Town into the top flight using modern training methods based on traditional Brazilian skills. You may remember that Clifford was Clive Woodward's assistant when the Rugby World Cup winning coach was the Director of Football at Southampton.

That's all for today. I'll be a much better blogger when I get my hair cut.

Adebayor axed by Togo; Fallout continues from Gallas comments

International football makes for a very poor Arsenal blog, but I'll give it a go.

The major news is that Adebayor has been axed from the Togo national squad along with two of his team mates following a row over bonus payments.

Adebayor revealed on Friday that Togolese internationals, who threatened to boycott last year's World Cup over a bonus row, are still waiting to receive their payments for reaching the finals in Germany.

"The bonus problem is still there. We were given promises but still nothing has been done," said Adebayor.

"We're still waiting to see the management and it's in their interest to meet with us as soon as possible.

"Whatever happens, we're not going to let this go. If they don't pay up, I don't know what will happen."

The players are still waiting to be paid roughly a third of the US$162,000 they were promised for reaching the World Cup finals.

I can only hope that Adebayor is taking this stance on behalf of lesser paid players in the Togo National squad. I may be old-fashioned but I always believe that pros, especially at the level of Adebayor, should not expect to be paid to play for their national team.

Obviously, you don't want the money lining the pockets of administrators but the profits from international football should go back into the national game or to a charitable cause. Perhaps the players could have a say in the matter.

But for players to be concerned about lining their already their already bulging pockets when representing their country leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I must reiterate that I don't know all the circumstances of this dispute; maybe these players were fighting on behalf of players with much lower earnings. Perhaps somebody could fill me in?

William Gallas
Gunnerblog and Arseblog have equally interesting but completely contrasting opinions on Willam Gallas' recent comments to the French Media. If he actually said what he is reported to have said, I'm with Arseblogger on this one. In previous blogs, I stated my concerns about how Gallas' dislike for playing in the left-back role may have effected Wenger's defensive selection for the Everton game.

Roy Keane's constant moaning about his fellow employees and employers -especially in the latter years of his career- caused a bad vibe at club and international level. I just don't think you should air those grievances in public.

We need experienced players in the camp, not moaners, so sort it out Billy!

Share Speculation Continues
And finally, the media are hopping on the bandwagon of the 'Arsenal for Sale' story. Expect this one to run for a few weeks.

Tune in tomorrow for a more inspired blog.

Reminiscent of a 1994 Graham team; Did Arsene forget about Theo's injury?; Don't blame Aliadiere

I'm really not in mood to write too much today. I'm still sickened by our dire performance yesterday. It was like a performance from a George Graham team in 1994.

Wenger said this of the performance : "We are jaded physically and, although we created plenty of opportunities, the final ball was not good enough. This month has been mentally very hard because we lost against Blackburn in the FA Cup in the last minute, we lost against Eindhoven in the Champions League in the last minute and we have lost here in the last minute."

Indeed, the final ball was horrendous. It also doesn't help when in reality your full backs are playing like extra centre-halfs, your wingers are playing as full-backs, and as a consequence your strikers are playing in midfield. In effect, your strikers are looking to play a ball to... well, nobody really!

The Irish Independent reports that Walcott is out for the season:"You can see that now. He was on for only 10 minutes and his shoulder popped out, you cannot play football like that."

Two things bother me about that report. Firstly, we all knew Theo's shoulder liked to pop out: So why is this news? Secondly: Why was he playing? Didn't Arsene know?

In yesterday's blog, I ranted about the defensive selection.

Goodplaya, on the other hand, gives an accurate assessment of the midfield and forward selection:

"Wenger’s front six at Goodison had three goals from 69 Premiership starts."

That would be a shocking statistic even for a team content with 17th place.

And before the rest of us hop on the already crowded 'Blame Aliadiere' bandwagon , we should perhaps reflect on Goodplaya's assessment of the much-maligned striker's performance.

Aliadiere: Missed one good chance, which contrary to what Andy Gray claimed, did appear to skip up. In a struggling side, Aliadiere has hardly set the world on fire when given his chance. But equally, his general play has not been so bad. 6

I normally dread an upcoming international-break as it usually interrupts the purr of a smoothly running Arsenal engine. On this occasion, I'm hoping Arsene remembers how to start the damn thing... or buys some petrol or something. Whatever it is mechanics do on those occasions

Ah, that's a bloody awful analogy. I'm off to Paris for a few days. See you all this weekend.

Wenger's dodgy defensive selection costs Arsenal at Goodison Park

As loath as I am to doing this, I feel as if I can do nothing but rant against Wenger's very odd team selection in the 1-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park today.

All of Arsenal's problems stemmed from the back-four that Arsene chose today. It's very hard to escape the fact that three of the four defenders were playing out of position. Hoyte, a right back, was playing at left back. Touré, a centre-half, was playing at right-back. Gilberto, a centre midfielder, was playing centre half.

I always think that you should keep the amount of players playing out of position down to the bare minimum to prevent confusion. I think Arsene decided against this today - and it showed.

Gallas is first and foremost a centre-half; but he is also a very competent left-back. Why not start the French man on the left and allow Hoyte to play at his natural right-back where he is far more comfortable? Touré would then be allowed play as a centre-half, where his performances are always of the highest standard.

By my reckoning that would be only one player out of position - Gilberto. Having said that, why couldn't Senderos start in centre half? Has he been dropped? Is he injured? I agree that he has put in some dodgy performances of late, but I'd rather see four players playing in their natural positions.

Gallas has made it clear that he prefers playing at centre-half; but he is a damn good left back. I can only hope that this stated preference did not affect Arsene's selection today.

The consequence of that defensive selection was that we were lacking any sort of attacking option from the full-backs. With Toure a natural centre half and Hoyte on the wrong side, it looked like we were playing with four central defenders.

I think that both our wingers ended up getting sucked back into more defensive positions. This meant that both Aliadiere and Baptista looked more like wingers/midfielders as they constantly dropped back to receive the ball. They were involved in the build up of every Arsenal attack. Ideally you would hope that your strikers are at the end of an attacking move.

Aliadiere really should have done better with a great chance in the second half; but he knocked it over the bar.

Arsene then made a crazy substitution by replacing Aliadiere with a winger whose shoulder, we were told days before, regularly pops out in training. Sure enough, moments later, Walcott was clutching his shoulder in agony.

My firm belief is that if you are chasing a victory, you leave as many strikers as possible on the pitch, Having said that, Aliadiere looked like he was playing as a midfielder due to defensive problems mentioned earlier. No doubt the French striker will take the blame for today's defeat.

Sorry Arsene, but for maybe the third time in ten years, I think you got it seriously wrong today. Having said that, I was too lazy to get out of bed to write a preview. So who am I to talk?