PL: Middlesbrough vs Arsenal | 10/09/05

[AFCG7]

Good.
Many people on here had a go at me for criticising Wenger on the midfield / Cb situation. We are now seeing the initial stages of what was ridiculously wrong with Wenger's thinking especially regarding CM.

Gilberto Fabregas Flamini Song.

This is bordering on idiotic. UNless SOng becomes some superhuman monster miracle man. I dont think so. We are going to suffer this season.
Henry as usual will disappear when things get tough.. there is no one to drive the team.... i'm not saying we shouldnt have sold Vieira... no problem there ..but how do you not sign a replacement. Boateng and Parlour?? What the hell is that??
We should be pissing all over Boro's midfield.

 

[goooner]

This is so ****ed up when transfer window was open AW talked that he doesn't want to buy any midfielders couse Flamini and Cesc coud play becouse they are talented, ok let say we want to create something but why the **** that old Bergkamp still plays, remember match against Everton and Blackburn when Reyes and RVP were playing up front, what a game that was, and Quincy he doesn't have a chance my point is that AW puts players couse he made a good conection with them my best regards to Bergkamp but it's time to sit on the bench. We shouldn't make such a big noise about a one defeat, yes we are used to se Arsenal winning all the time and i belive that they will continue, and Sp**s are not better than Arsenal yes there are changes to be made but if we as Arsenal fans now start to critisise then it will really be ****ed up and we can say goodbye to this season.

 

[sabret00the]

Song is a ball winner, he can and will do the job, he just needs a chance to do so.

 

[AFCG7]

Song.. if we ever see him in the team you mean.
I wonder how a 17 year old Song will cope against the likes of Bolton Blackburn Everton and other teams with hatchet men.
I reckon he would get slaughtered.
I bet Flamini inspires real fear and respect in the midfield minds of the other Premiership teams.
Oh wait a minute.. he doesnt!

 

[invisibleman18]

we all knew it was going to be hard, but i dont think we really expected to be 9 points behind within the first month of the season.
is it just me, or is this constant threading the ball through the eye of a needle and getting to the edge of the penalty area before it all breaks down without a shot, getting really frustrating?
ageree with AFCG7
we are now experiencing the effects of not strengthening the CM and CB positions. it really was no suprise that it was cygan who was at fault leading up to the 2nd goal.
this is not a criticism on flamini from this particular game, but i just cannot understand why so many people on here **** over him. call me blind if you must but i still cant see what he has actually done to suggest he should be anywhere near this team.

still plenty of time to turn it around, and get up amongst the top few. its gonna be a long hard season, probably a lot different to what we have been experiencing in recent times.

 

[sabret00the]

Song.. if we ever see him in the team you mean.
I wonder how a 17 year old Song will cope against the likes of Bolton Blackburn Everton and other teams with hatchet men.
I reckon he would get slaughtered.
I bet Flamini inspires real fear and respect in the midfield minds of the other Premiership teams.
Oh wait a minute.. he doesnt!

i think he'll grow into the role and coming off the bench to be a ball winner would suit him, he was best in the pre-season matches and i think it's because he does well infront of wenger, the crowds and the first team, i think he'll be a better option coming off the bench especially as opposed to flamini.

 

[nidza7]

I`m so pissed off rite now,this will be season to forget IMO.Hope I`m wrong.****

 

[AFCG7]

THe real sad thing is.. this is our last season at HIghbury.. i am hoping it does not become a season to forget.

 

[Canuck]

Very dissapointing performance today. Funny thing is we actually saw a couple shots from distance in the first 10' but once we were a goal down, suddenly it was all short passes trying to break through the red wall, while Boro had a pretty solid defence that didn't look like making many mistakes.

I never realized how fast Hleb was, he has wheels on him.
Now I've said many times that Flamini can do the business for us, but I'm quite unhappy to admit that today he was the dull side of mediocre. His first start of the season and he didn't do much to inspire confidence. Also picked up that stupid yellow.

While I adamantly believe there is life after Vieira, it was quite noticable today that we lack that presence in MF to steady the ship and urge the team on.
Tough breaks today, should have been 1 up inside the first 10' and the entire team had a lapse in concentration when the penalty wasn't given to Hleb leaving Cygan to do his thing. Which is too bad since I thought he had a respectable first half. Managed to get his shiny skull onto a couple of corners to keep us safe. Thought Jens and Hleb were probably the best on the day with Reyes trying hard and looking dangerous but fizzling out as the match went on.

Room for improvement. (I know, it's an understatement)
Will be nice to have Sol and Freddie back soon.

 

[AFCG7]

Well.... if you play sexy football all the time..you're bound to get screwed.

 

[MikeBart19]

Well.... if you play sexy football all the time..you're bound to get screwed.

As for Canucks comment on Reyes fizzling out as the match progressed. I agree, although I felt sorry for him because he ran so much at defenders but got very little support. Bergkamp can play the pass but he can't follow it up anymore. That's why we need Van Persie more now. And on the bright side..what a lovely touch that was to set up Reyes for our goal. Good finish by Reyes too. Thought he might put it wide for a moment when he put it on his right foot, well done to him for that finish though.

 

[thegame24]

this will be like that season when we got suker or 2001 cant remember.

We hardly won ****ing any games away from home and were piss poor.

At highbury though we were unbeaten i think.

Im sure we can come back next season, but we are screwed for now, wenger has really pissed me off with ignorance to the blatent problems in our play.

WE should just **** it and go for cl.

 

[kel varnsen]

Sigun, you're right, there was no leader. But worse than that, there's no player in the middle of the park who we can pass the ball to any more. Neither Gilberto nor Flamini can hold onto the ball, pass, shoot, or do very much at all offensively. That's not just today, either. It's games like today where we miss Vieira - when things are going wrong, having someone to steady the ship, hold the ball up, draw challenges, and provide a little strength, we need someone commanding in the middle. I still don't see what Flamini brings to the team, and I'm trying to like him, I really am...

Sticking with an inneffectual Bergkamp was another massive cockup - we've got one of the most exciting strikers in the world in RvP - why the hell are we persisting with this guy who is so far over the hill it hurts?

oh f*ck vieira. he was useless the past 18 months here, he wouldn't have made any difference today. face it, there is no way we can compete with chelsea this season. wenger f*cked up. it is as simple as that. either he has decided to fight for 2nd place or he has lost it. there is no other explanation...

 

[OneProudGooner]

I've always had that feeling that Gilberto and Flamini would never be able to work and so it stands though can Song be any better? He's still way too young and inexperienced IMO. Heck even Jenas would of been a welcome addition for me..

 

[kel varnsen]

f*ck the board and f*ck wenger. as much as i love wenger and thinks he is the right manager, there is no doubt he has f*cked up this summer. there is no way we can compete with chelsea and we have so many problems it is acutally quite funny. the last finacial report made me laugh; £60 mill in the bank, but no reinforcements. great job...

 

[Mr. Hotshot]

Wenger, had the chance to sign someone in the summer but no........ the kids are good enough to cover the midfield. I can't believe we lost to Boro, urgh I mean hello that was Boro

And that loss to Boro should partially be blamed on Cygan and Toure. The first goal was Toure's fault because he was under pressure and lost the ball under his legs, while Cygan was in the middle of nowhere and standing like a clown when he shoul have guarded Maccarone

AW has to change plans if not it is going to be a tough season to go through

mod edit: was the profanity really necessary? I understand we're all upset but...

 

[Anonymous]

Stop blaming Cygan, he's an easy target because he's bald but its everybodys responsibility for this catastrophe.

 

[kel varnsen]

AW has to change plans if not it is going to be a tough season to go through

change plans??? the transfer window is closed and we're in dire need of at least a couple of new players. i have absolutely no clue as to what the board and wenger was thinking this summer. our central midfield is a joke. it is borderline pathetic and if wenger can't see that, he is incompetent....

 

[Canuck]

Boro actually are a team on the up. I thought that Rochemback and Pogatetz looked like good signings for them.


On another note. Abel Xavier is still realtively useless.

Of course this does still not justify our teams performance today.

 

[OneProudGooner]

Stop blaming Cygan, he's an easy target because he's bald but its everybodys responsibility for this catastrophe.

Yea don't blame him for letting Maccarone score against us..