A rod for the back of the Arsenal assistant manager was created by the Gunners’ fine start to the season. After no goals conceded in their first three Premier League games, the former defender was heralded as the foundation on which a long delayed title tilt would be built.
They’re now level on points, with just one game in hand, on a Liverpool side in their third decade of a transitional phase.
At various times in their Arsenal careers, Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker have each looked like some of the league’s better defenders. The problem seems to be that only one seems to function at a time, with Vermaelen and Koscielny caught bang in the middle of their worst form at the Emirates.
Bacary Sagna stopped even phoning it in at the start of the season, he was truly awful against Chelsea, and it must seem like a century ago that Bould formed part of THAT defence. Chelsea were regularly allowed time and space on the flanks in the first half and could have been much further ahead than 2-0 at the break.
Arsenal’s greater discipline in the second half was led by the unlikely Theo Walcott, who was far better than even his single goal would suggest. With Cazorla enjoying a nice mid-season break and Jack Wilshere harried into submission by Ramires, Walcott played talisman and was left to rue the poor finishing skills of partner Olivier Giroud.
The second half was far more like it and you’re rarely left with the impression that Arsenal won’t score. The problem is that ‘not conceding’ seems even more unlikely.
=
They haven’t played this weekend so far, but a word on Southampton.
Advertisement
One of the scribes on Sunday Supplement said he had never seen a more bizarre managerial sacking in the Premier League, given the strides made by Nigel Adkins in recent months.
True.
Never let it be said that we’d take the side of Paul Merson, but it was hard not to nod along when he said he hoped Southampton would be playing Championship football next season.
When a manager who has presided over just two defeats in 12 games, using a squad that contains Maya Yoshida and Kelvin Davis, gets the sack, all hope for sanity is lost.
That all being said, what’s done is done. Hopefully Mauricio Pocchetino won’t be greeted by boos when the Saints take on Everton. Hardly his fault the club is run by lunatics. Everyone deserves a chance.
=
Manchester City clearly don’t need Mario Balotelli, and should get rid of the Italian as soon as possible.
It’s not that their performance against Fulham was anything other than decent, it’s just that the Italian is absolutely never missed by his club side when absent.
A player who is only ever noted for the things he doesn’t do on the pitch, and nonsense off it, is surely an irrelevance when even Sergio Aguero can’t get a game.
=
The last time Liverpool put five goals past Norwich City, they followed it up with a defeat to Udinese in the Europa League and a scoreless home draw against Stoke City.
Next up for Brendan Rodgers’ side is the gimme against Oldham in the FA Cup, before trips to Arsenal and Manchester City in the league.
Win either of those matches and tentative talk about the Champions League can resume, but the fact remains that the Reds have risen to 7th through flat track bullying, and have not beaten a side above them in the table this season.
If that all sounds a little negative after the club’s best performance of the season, it’s offset by the fact that Liverpool have played all but the last three games without Daniel Sturridge.
They appear to have struck gold with the Bolton version of the striker, and will there have been any more pleasing goal to Liverpool fans than the 23-year-old’s glorious dummy for Luis Suarez’ strike on Saturday? Hardly.
Not to be premature, but early indications are of a ‘Keane-Berbatov’-style understanding between the pair, and if another player or two can be added by Rodgers, genuine optimism will (again) envelop Anfield.
=
All credit to Andre Villas-Boas after Tottenham followed up September’s 3-2 win at Old Trafford with a well-deserved draw against the league leaders today. An 18th Premier League goal of the season for Robin van Persie had put the visitors ahead in a game which had looked in doubt due to the heavy snowfall at White Hart Lane. Spurs rallied and created numerous chances to restore parity in the second half but were kept at bay by some excellent saves by David De Gea.
It was the Spaniard’s weak punch in injury time, however, which allowed Aaron Lennon, who was a thorn in Patrice Evra’s side on the day, to tee-up Clint Dempsey for a routine finish.
The equaliser was the kind of goal which United have become famous for scoring, not conceding, and represents real progress for a Spurs team who sit in fourth and are now unbeaten in the league since going down 5-2 to North London rivals Arsenal back in November.
Nice snide comment about liverpool there.
Just to remind you in the last 2 decades liverpool have won a champions league, been to the final of another, won a uefa cup, three fa cups and four league cups.
Not many will beat that!
John – ur right that Liverpool have won more trophies in the last 20 years than anyone with the exception of 3 clubs whose names we all know. One slight correction – they have won 2 FA Cups in the last 2 decades.
If Sturridge continues in this form than €12M has to be regarded as an out and out bargain mind you Andy Carroll is worth three times that and Torres is worth €50M makes you wonder. As a Liverpool fan my my my Van Persie is tasty.
Is this the same Sturridge that was hated by the fans of the many clubs he’s been to in his short career, who doesn’t know how to pass and has a worse attitude than Joey Barton, enjoy the honeymoon, it won’t last long.
Personally, my jury is out on sturridge yet, I just don’t think he is top class but if he and Suarez can gel, they could be devastating. I think Liverpool fans can have some optimism but arsenal fans must be depressed looking at them. United will win the league with a mediocre side with a world class striker, (and i don’t mean Rooney )it says more about the standard of premiership than anything else
Flat track bullying? Ridiculous comment to make. What are Liverpool supposed to do roll over for the likes of Reading in the hope of taking points off teams above them? You conveniently forget a draw against City that should have been a win, a home loss to United that should have been a draw and a number of other credible performances against teams higher in the table.
I’d argue that ‘shoulds’ don’t mean a thing where the table’s concerned, but flat track bullying actually marks a progression for Liverpool. They’re winning games against lower placed teams that they would have drawn in previous seasons.
If the should have they would have. If you can’t get the results you should have, then you didn’t deserve to. “Should have” is the mentality of a looser.
The question remains about Sturridge- in a tight game of few chances, if one chance falls to him will he take it? Or does he need two or three chances per game. The fourth Champions League place is really interesting.
Did I really read that you think Mertersaker has at some stage been one of the best defenders in the league? Really? He has a bigger turning circle that a 747 and less pace than a slug!
Even still Tony I’d far from agree, I’d go as far as saying he’s one of the worst in the league, so susceptible to anyone with even the slightest amount of pace.
“Liverpool side in their third decade of a transitional phase.”
There was no transition when Houllier and Benitez were winning trophies I assume journos just write stuff like this to wind up Liverpool supporters or they’re just idiots.
If you’re happy with Liverpool’s trophy haul over the past 20 years then you’re not old enough to remember Liverpool when they were the best club on the planet.
Just accept that Liverpool are a mid table side at best, and will never again be the club they were. You’re not even the biggest club in Liverpool any more, and the fans realise this, they will be become content battling the likes of WBA, West Ham, etc, for position
I’d argue that “should”s suggest that Liverpool are a lot closer to where they want to be than your critique would have people believe. And your description of “flat track bullying” sounds more like Stoke than Liverpool if you’re honest.
Motivator, innovator, leader: What made Mick O’Dwyer great?
1 hr ago
2
Ban
Nankivell set to miss Munster's visit to La Rochelle as appeal denied
Updated
8 hrs ago
45
Sign in or create a free account
To continue reading create a free account
Or sign into an existing account
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 161 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.Privacy Policy
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 110 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 143 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 113 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 39 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 35 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 134 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 61 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 74 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 46 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 92 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 99 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 72 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 53 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 88 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 69 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
Nice snide comment about liverpool there.
Just to remind you in the last 2 decades liverpool have won a champions league, been to the final of another, won a uefa cup, three fa cups and four league cups.
Not many will beat that!
Ya here here! Typical of this crap site
John – ur right that Liverpool have won more trophies in the last 20 years than anyone with the exception of 3 clubs whose names we all know. One slight correction – they have won 2 FA Cups in the last 2 decades.
92, 01, 06. That’s three in the last 20! ;)
Eh John – ’92 was more than 20 yrs ago !!!
Same old scousers, always whinging
Pathetic, now counting League Cups, maybe you want to add Charity Shield and European Super Cup, ha ha, lol
John, what year is this?
Robin Van Persie may be top scorer but Michu is bargain of the season
It will be a close one between RVP and Michu for player of the season at this stage.
If Sturridge continues in this form than €12M has to be regarded as an out and out bargain mind you Andy Carroll is worth three times that and Torres is worth €50M makes you wonder. As a Liverpool fan my my my Van Persie is tasty.
Is this the same Sturridge that was hated by the fans of the many clubs he’s been to in his short career, who doesn’t know how to pass and has a worse attitude than Joey Barton, enjoy the honeymoon, it won’t last long.
Personally, my jury is out on sturridge yet, I just don’t think he is top class but if he and Suarez can gel, they could be devastating. I think Liverpool fans can have some optimism but arsenal fans must be depressed looking at them. United will win the league with a mediocre side with a world class striker, (and i don’t mean Rooney )it says more about the standard of premiership than anything else
Agree!!
Flat track bullying? Ridiculous comment to make. What are Liverpool supposed to do roll over for the likes of Reading in the hope of taking points off teams above them? You conveniently forget a draw against City that should have been a win, a home loss to United that should have been a draw and a number of other credible performances against teams higher in the table.
I’d argue that ‘shoulds’ don’t mean a thing where the table’s concerned, but flat track bullying actually marks a progression for Liverpool. They’re winning games against lower placed teams that they would have drawn in previous seasons.
I should have won the lottery yesterday
If the should have they would have. If you can’t get the results you should have, then you didn’t deserve to. “Should have” is the mentality of a looser.
Should have, could have, lol, the League table tells the story, you’re mid table at best.
The question remains about Sturridge- in a tight game of few chances, if one chance falls to him will he take it? Or does he need two or three chances per game. The fourth Champions League place is really interesting.
Did I really read that you think Mertersaker has at some stage been one of the best defenders in the league? Really? He has a bigger turning circle that a 747 and less pace than a slug!
I wrote ‘better,’ not ‘best.’
Even still Tony I’d far from agree, I’d go as far as saying he’s one of the worst in the league, so susceptible to anyone with even the slightest amount of pace.
“Liverpool side in their third decade of a transitional phase.”
There was no transition when Houllier and Benitez were winning trophies I assume journos just write stuff like this to wind up Liverpool supporters or they’re just idiots.
It was clearly a joke. I thought it was quite funny.
Gavin of course they were in transition.
If you’re happy with Liverpool’s trophy haul over the past 20 years then you’re not old enough to remember Liverpool when they were the best club on the planet.
And I’m not even a Liverpool fan.
Just accept that Liverpool are a mid table side at best, and will never again be the club they were. You’re not even the biggest club in Liverpool any more, and the fans realise this, they will be become content battling the likes of WBA, West Ham, etc, for position
Won what, crumbs!
I’d argue that “should”s suggest that Liverpool are a lot closer to where they want to be than your critique would have people believe. And your description of “flat track bullying” sounds more like Stoke than Liverpool if you’re honest.
Wenger’s reluctance to spend shown up once again against an average Chelsea side.
His time is up and the We trust in Arsene brigade need to accept this
Super Avb is tipping along nicely, as a delighted spurs fan i jus want to say I’m jus disappointed we didn’t get all 3 points against a 1 man team.
Ah Tony wrote the article…. Never mind
What did tony say? How come that comment is gone?