Matt Dickinson compares the Capello’s manner to that of Sir Alf Ramsey.
A piece on Anguilla’s World Cup second leg qualifying match against El Salvador.
Stephen Brunt writing a couple of days before Toronto FC opened the season with a loss to the Columbus Crew.
John Cushley who spent much of his Celtic career as a back up to Billy McNeill has died from Motor Neurone Disease, the same illness that took Jimmy Johnstone. Cushley spent sometime with West Ham in the late 60s.
Regarding Diaby's red card. As has been pointed out there has been a stunning silence on the blog from those ready to have Martin Taylor hung, drawn and quartered a few weeks ago. Even though Arsene Wenger seems to be able to differentiate between the two incidents the only difference I can see is that Eduardo was unfortunate that his foot was planted while Steinsson was on the move and got lucky.
If everything goes well I should be making a midweek appearance on Wednesday's Fox Soccer Report - Champions League edition.
No. Bobby, the difference between Taylor's challenge and Diaby's, is the fact that one broke someone's leg and it was pre-meditated from the coaching staff's instructions. the other one was just clumsy and he got exact punishment for it.
No injury occured, no futher discussions.
Last edited by Thierry_Henry on March 30th at 9:41 PM.
#### on, Bobby, about Diaby. And who teaches these tender, young things to play like this? Who's made filthy play a central component to his team's play throughout his career?
Arsene 'The Animal' Wenger.
And when his players aren't hacking down or spiking opponents into submission, he's out there giving dog's abuse to his fellow managers.
A wonder he's got a proper set of choppers to smile with.
A wonder the Hound of the Baskervilles isn't the team mascot.
A wonder he hasn't been given a proper, lengthy suspension, given the serial fouling his teams have committed.
Flash, I sometimes think you have a peverted secret admiration for the ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB. you seem to know too much about it!
You seem to have way too much interest in it. On a day your Tottenham was feed another 4 goals by the struggling Newcastle... I would be worried about RAMOS than WENGER!
And Carsley went over the ball on Torres in much similar horrible fashion wheres mention of that or the fact he only got a yellow? if he injured Torres everyone would be up in arms but he didn't so theres no mention especially since Pool went on to win.
TH I don't even read what flash says anymore concerning Arsenal unless I'm looking for comedy. Chest thumping to pump up and to stroke his own ego. You can even see it in the style of writing. Very close to one of his dear journalistic heroes. Lots of long winded words that lack substance or facts.
Also I didn't see any Arsenal posters defending Diaby. It was a horrible lazy tackle by a player having a sub par lazy game. I rate his technical skill but his football intelligence is lacking. I've always found when hes on the field his work rate is pedestrian and his team play doesn't fit the Arsenal mold as he over dribbles on a team that likes to one touch pass and keep the tempo going.
The fact that Diaby will get more press then that Bolton who are in a relegation battle gave up a 2 goal lead to a 10 man team and will now need to rally to avoid the drop is the kind of backwardness that exists in the media concerning Arsenal. A team that has been representing the league in Europe and has featured exciting players like Okocha might very well be going down after they sold their best player in Anelka and people are more interested in taking stabs at Arsenal and Wenger. Derby is not a lose to the league but Bolton will be in my opinion.
1) (verb): the act, in football, of diving in anticipation of an opponent's challenge, in hopes of drawing a penalty.
2) (noun): an example of such an act.
Syn.: "Ronaldo" (q.v.)- but see "Usage notes" below for differing uses in context.
Usage notes:
a) A "Yak" is differentiated from a "Ronaldo"-style dive by its timing: whereas the "Ronaldo" is done at the first touch from an opponent's challenge and is used to exaggerate its effect, a "Yak" is used before any challenge has actually taken place, in anticipation of it coming.
Thus the "Yak" is characterized by a player theatrically flopping as if shot while the nearest opponent body part is still at least two feet away. Typically, upon the referee's refusal to award a penalty, the "Yak" is followed by a shrug (of relief at not being carded for sheer inanity), whereas the "Ronaldo" is followed by a round of primping, preening, and posing for the camera;
b) A"Yak" is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "Gerrard" (q.v.), although correct usage of the two terms is quite different: a "Gerrard" occurs when a player leading his team's attack is hacked down in full flight by a desperate defender; while a "Yak" is an attempt by an underachieving player at gaining undeserved glory by drawing a penalty even before any defender has come close.
TH:
Your comments regarding “Flashman”: I must agree completely. It has taken a while but I have lost patience.
In the years I have been reading this blog I have never seen so much time and misplaced energy wasted on slagging the opposition.
Is it envy, ego or desire to make trouble? Take your pick. It is all becoming far too predictable and far too frequent.
Flash why don’t you just give it all a rest? I suggest you take your disgust of all things remotely concerned with Arsenal and you and our ever changing henry14 lock yourselves in a room and flog each other to bits.
Wouldn’t it not be more appropriate to take apart your mighty Spurs than a squad that is obviously far superior to anything at WhiteFartLane?
Who would have thought Keegan’s rag tag lot would hammer your outfit today?
Spurs came up way short.
And, no I’m not an Arsenal supporter but your never ending rants could drive me in that direction.
Last edited by The_Perfect_Pint on March 31st at 3:49 AM.
diaby made a bad tackle that is unacceptable.l think arsenal have a better team than liverpool who rely on two players and arsenal have better players.l think arsenal will win 4 nil first leg
Much has been made of the Diaby and Eduardo tackles and I have to voice my agreement that the two are indistinguishable except that Eduardo was unlucky to have had his foot planted.
The FA and FIFA have cracked down on such hard challenges, ordering referees to show the red card in such situations, but in reality what else can be done to prevent such challenges?
Also, any rumors or word on what the FA and the Referees Association is going to do about the disrespect being shown to referees of late?
Bobby and anyone else that would like to comment...
I didn't watch the Gunners game. Can you please tell us what you (if you watched the game) thought of RVP's performance in the game. Does he look like he could carry the team to a strong finish? If he doesn't, has anyone else in the team recently stepped up their performance?
David James' article on penalties is interesting to know what keepers are thinking. When I play, I ussually step up to take them for my team. I ussually decide where I will kick the ball as I place the ball on the spot. For good measure I also like to just stand there for a bit watching the keeper try to play mind games with me. So I too partake and look at each side of the goal and then the keeper with an inquisative look. If I recall correctly, so far only once has a shot of mine been stopped. It's a fun little part of the game for me. I love the dead ball opportunities.
I was shocked that Carsley wasn't shown red, but again you have to look at the referee in question. Is it too much to ask that the referees actually are more synchronized in how they handle situations? If Webb were in charge of the Man U./Liv match, would Mascherano have been sent off? Would he have allowed Man U to play the "hack Torres" defense? It's prepostorous that a competition that glorifies itself as the "best league in the world" could have such large discrepancies between their officials.
Bobby,
Related to the sports science piece, how are training sessions organized at the professional clubs of, e.g., the premier league? I read that Juande Ramos brought in 2-session a day scheme to the Spurs. I thought they'd be relatively tired if other teams merely hold a 2-3 hr session each day. However, their performances showed the opposite effect. Could it be that his methods are more advanced than other managers? How different can their approaches be? What do the managers have their players do after the training? Thanks!
Just read James' article on penalties. I said this when the subject was mentioned a couple weeks ago, but my method for taking them is plant like I'm shooting to my left and push it to the right corner. More often than not, the keeper guess the wrong way and it's an easy goal for me.
Now taking orders on the Roboferee 5000: the first fully automated football official. Using his network of 10,000 cameras situated strategically around the pitch the Roboferee will get every call correct or your money back.
Missed calls and bad calls are just part of the game for better or worse. Until the human component of officiating is removed from the game that is always the way it will be.
I think the next time I see the name Eduardo I'm just going to stop reading and gouge my eyes out with a spork.
I for one will condemn Diaby's tackle. It was not as bad a taylor's though in that Taylor threw his weight into the lunge like he was a karate champ. Diaby's tackle was terrible in that he seemed to search for the players ankle even after he moved away.
Flash aint so bad anymore. He used to be mean as rattlesnake, now he is more like a fierce lap dog.
I once was told that for every week that a player does not play it takes 2 weeks to regain full fitness. What do you think about this theory? I suppose it is different in every case (i.e. are they playing for AC Milan vs Inter or is the player able to lightly train or has to sit around).
Arsenal will reap what Whenger sows. If he would stick to coaching good football and stand against bad tackles he would win more friends, but he has always worn rose tinted glasses. Diaby's was a choice with eyes wide open, where as Taylor's was accidental with his eyes elsewhere. Punishment the same. Comments and Gossip unbalanced b/c Diaby missed breaking a leg. Everyone raved about Kuyt's lunge in the first Derby game, but Carsley was far luckier yesterday. No doubt Webb would have been a far better choice for the Utd Clash last week.
On a lighter note I was browsing the BBC football page today and there is an amusing interview with Tommy Smith on how to deal with Ronaldo amongst other tid bits of history. His note to Jimmy Greaves in the tunnel is very funny in my humble opinion.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foo tball/7315069.stm
If you need cheering up take 5 miutes to go have a read.
Bobby: Do you still see a twist coming in the long saga of this year's Premiership or do you now think that the pattern for the season is set, concerning top and bottom?
Last edited by redfan4ever on March 31st at 9:33 AM.
After the Man Utd/Liverpool game last week, some guy wrote a comment on the BBC website.
He said that Brown and Ronaldo were going to sing a duet together, "Reyna's drops keep falling on my head".
Last edited by bairnsfan on March 31st at 11:03 AM.
An evil doppelgänger taking his place, obviously ...
But remember, I did use the words "leading his team's attack" and "desperate defender" -- how he leads it, and why the defender is desperate, are an entirely separate matter!!!
"It's prepostorous that a competition that glorifies itself as the "best league in the world" could have such large discrepancies between their officials."
There have been a number of statistically-based studies on bias amongst PL referees. Several recent examples:
These studies have found statistically significant bias amongst PL officials as a group in favour of home teams. They also show a great deal of discrepancy between individual referees-- in other words, some show comparatively little bias (Webb is one) while others, naturally, greatly exceed the group average (such as ... surprise ... Bennett).
How best to manage this is another question entirely.
Last edited by Ursusarctos on March 31st at 11:10 AM.
managing this is the real issue. But it has to be done. As a player it has to be ridiculously frustrating to have to play to a different set of rules depending on the referee. The referee should be there to be enforcing the laws of the game based on standard guidelines.
Bobby: What are your views on Blatter and Platini.. I think they need to retire from their posts every month one of them comes up with some dumb idea to ruin why football is so entertaining, e.g nobody wants to see teams full of english players kicking the ball up front all the time, its all about diversity in the modern game.
Second: Your views on Christian Ronaldo..do you believe he can sustain his form for seasons to come, I rather your opinion on the matter than all all those you know what riders such as Webster and those fools on Super Sunday. Another thing do you think that young frnech Midfielder Nasri would be a good signing for my gunners..I think we should go after him and Yobo.
Wenger is no less noble or more one-eyed than most of his peers. Fergie, Rafa, Grant, Moyes, Mourinho -- all managers wear those tinted glasses, whether it is Mourinho defending Essien's challenge on Hamann or Rafa turns a blind eye to Kuyt's karate kick or Carragher's rugby tackle of Joleon Lescott. Fergie's list is so extensive as to be encyclopedic so I won't even bother listing the purpled-faced hypocrite's rather substantial myopia in this area. He is, though, much more entertaining than Wenger's montone "I did not see the incident."
Diaby's tackle was terrible, which deserved a sending off. My point is he'll be treated a good deal less gentle than "Tiny" Taylor by the media and supporters, whose double standard is fun to mock. I see you've managed to absolve Tiny of any malice, too, possible based on having a special abilty to divine was going through each of their heads at the time they made their decisions. Or maybe your television gets better reception than mine. At any rate, Wenger had better defend Diaby because I don't see a lot of Steve Bruces willing to stick up for a tinted foreigner, either in the media or in the terraces. Unlike poor old Tiny, who went from perp to victim in about three days. Not quite water to wine stuff, but still pretty impressive nonetheless.
ursusarctos,
Just having a little fun about Gerrard. Yakubu's dive was pretty comical.
So i was thinking and kinda curious on other peoples opinions. Alot of articles that we read about Liverpool seem to point out thier over reliance on Gerrard and Torres, and this got me thinking about the other top 4 clubs, and do they overly rely on one player, and I would have to say yes. No doubt Man United would miss Ronaldo if he were to get injured or suspended for some period time. I also recollect that they had a dismal record when Rooney was not in the line-up. I also think if Vidic were to be abset for an extended period of time you would notice that as well.
With Arsenal if Cesc was to be gone for any period of time I think it would hurt badly, as well as Adabayor.
Chelsea to be seems to be the only that you can pin point one player and the team would be see a drop off in performance. Prior to the african cup of nations you could have argued that losing Terry, or Cech, or Drogba would kill Chelsea. But as Chelsea showed they continued to win without Drogba, and also did well without Terry. Last year you could say Chelsea lost the league because Cech was out, but I don't think you could say that this year, as he has not been nearly has good as years past.
In regards to Diaby's tackle I agree with Wenger it was a protective tackle gone wrong, Diaby lost the ball lounged for it and there is no way a player can pull back from that action.. as a Gunner fan.. did Diaby deserve the red card? quite rightfully so..Taylor saw a player coming and went for the player..did he intentionally mean to break Eduardo's foot? I dont think so but his intention was to stop the player and he deserved his red card.
Bobby and everyone,
Are there any statistics available to measure how lucky a team is? such as the times woodwork hit against, sitters missed against, etc. Had this question watching chelsea-boro game.
Sorry to see Franchise MK win the Associate Members Cup ,and they'll probably win promotion to the third division also.
Great job by the Guvnor ,but I hope he'll move on in the summer and they'll come straight back down.
I look forward to the day AFC Wimbledon make it to the league ,hopefully at FMK's expense.
One lot of Geordies almost made it to Wembley.
Whitley Bay ,down 4-0 from the first leg in their FA Vase semi-final ,won 3-0 and just missed out.
Croydon FC made it thirteen in a row ,defeats that is.
And Berwick Rangers ,the English team that plays in Scotland ,did a Derby ,or a Gretna.
Its often said that Rafa Benitez and other managers approach a eurpoean game differently than a prem game. If possible could u explain what it is they do differently wether it be the mental approach that is different or is it formation etc.
Also do u think he will take a european or domestic approach to the arsenal tie?
It's funny how we are ahead of liverpool in the league by a few points, we've beaten liverpool a number of times in the last few months, but everyone is saying...
Its very wierd that english players like rooney and gerrard had such a bad game in france and then go to their clubs for their very next game and perform superbly. I guess english players just arent capable of playing together.
Liverpool totally smothered Arteta, which just goes to show how dangerous they believe he is. I wish we could some how lure him to the red half of merseyside, furthermore capello needs to convince him to play for england he would be an excellent replacement for beckham, Bentley is not the answer in my lowly opinion
Well Bobby there's no "stunning silence" on Diaby's tackle on the Arsenal blogs over the weekend today, where the consensus is that it was a stupid, reckless tackle and deserving of a red card:
http://arseblog.com/WP/index.php: "Abou Diaby was rightly sent off for a terrible challenge... I don’t know who [the player] was but the tackle was over the top, badly timed and given how we’ve complained about how Eduardo was taken out there can’t be an Arsenal fan in the world who didn’t wince at Diaby’s challenge"
"The turning point in the match was Diaby’s dismissal. In the minutes leading up to it, the tackles had become sterner and not just from Bolton, Arsenal refusing to shirk under the usual physical intimidation in the fixture. However, that cannot be any defence for the Frenchman. He missed the ball and caught Steinsson on his trailing ankle. The Icelandic international is fortunate not to have received as serious an injury as Eduardo. People may argue that conditions play a part in these things. Perhaps they do but whatever the case may be, Diaby showed poor judgement and technique; that is unarguable. He will get a deserved three game ban for his dismissal, perhaps increased by one more, as he appeared not to leave the pitch immediately. Arsene defended him immediately after the game calling the tackle, ‘protective’, dismissing comparisons to Taylor’s last month. The Birmingham defender was higher and the outcome more serious but Diaby’s technique was just as poor."
"...The Birmingham defender was higher and the outcome more serious but Diaby’s technique was just as poor."
All the Arsenal blogs make similar comments. No gooner defends Diaby the way Birmingham fans and the British media defended Taylor: THAT'S where the true hypocrisy comes from.
The comments section all over the arsenal blogs hurl insults at Diaby for his stupid, reckless tackle. Those gooners who've never liked the player call for selling him off. The POINT about Taylor's tackle is that it was RECKLESS, intent was irrelevant.
There is one hilarious satirical entry over on the VitalArsenal page:
http://www.arsenal.vitalfootball.co .uk/article.asp?a=505310 entitled "Diaby Is Victim In Red Card Tackle":
"I'm sure the footballing world will unite and comfort Arsenal's Abou Diaby after he was sent from the field today for a bone-crunching tackle.
The Frenchman was dismissed after half an hour for a wreckless tackle on Bolton's Gretar Steinsson.
However we can assure every football fan in England that Abou Diaby does not have a bad bone in his body, he would never do such a thing on purpose and he is traumatised by the whole event.
So please leave your messages of comfort for Diaby below and we'll send them on the distraught player as soon as possible."
There follows gooners repeating this fake sympathy for the Diaby-as-victim story as an analogy for the contemptible way the British media was so quick to make Martin Taylor into a victim. So if there's been a "stunning silence" it's been the way the pundits and rival fans IMMEDIATELY decide OF CO
So if there's been a "stunning silence" it's been the way the pundits and rival fans IMMEDIATELY decide OF COURSE Diaby's tackle was "intentional" whereas OF COURSE Taylor's wasn't. The only difference being that Diaby is a foreigner and Taylor a decent Englishman. The line about Taylor was that "he's just not that type of player," "he has no history of violence"
WELL NEITHER DOES DIABY. But of course if you're an Arsenal player and a foreigner...well....they all eat babies and are naturally malignant creatures...
by the way does anybody know what the record is for a player scoring in consecutive games. I am sure ronaldo has to have broken or at least equalled that by now. all credit to him
What hurts more is that he scored against my team as well, after I slammed him for not scoring against big teams. I am still waiting till the end of the season and euros to see if he is really the best in the world
yeah, I'm sure it hurts, aldoray, I wanted you guys to do well in that game. I've never thought there is such a thing as "the best player in the world" I don't care how good he is or how much I may love the player in question (like zidane). So I don't care how good Ronaldo is or becomes (scary to think he'll get even better), I'd never give him that label, I don't care about the awards.
Certainly he's ONE of the very best players in the world, you couldn't exclude him on any such list right now. Whether or not he does it in the "big games" is debatable, he's too young to decide that right now. Certainly he was the best player on the pitch in the wc semifinal v. France, even tho he didn't score. But he's got plenty of time to show what he can do.
The ultimate test is of course something like what zidane did in the 2002 CL final. Real Madrid were not playing very well, Bayer L. were definitely the better team on the day. The score was tied 1-all. But all of a sudden, out of the blue, zizou created that incredible volley (taking advantage of a superb pass from Roberto Carlos) and slammed the ball into the net. Almost singlehandedly, he changed that game and won the trophy for his team. THAT'S what I call a big game player.
But there are lots of brilliant world class players who never have such a moment, that doesn't mean they're not big game players.
danielcraigg, don't forget Zizou's two corner kick goals against Brazil. Doesn't get much bigger than a World Cup Final. I can't remember that game other than those goals, and Ronaldo bowling over Barthez, but two goals counts for something.
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