asajoseph
Established Member
These threads are becoming a bit of a tradition for me, so I thought another one might be appropriate this evening.
Before the game this evening, I was a little nervous. I knew that a team like Newcastle would be difficult. Despite their error-prone central defenders, and below average defence, their midfield's exactly the kind we always struggle against - combative and committed. Up front too, I was a little nervous that the physical presence of Shearer might cause us problems. But when the team was announce, I perked up a bit - for the first time in absolutely ages, I agreed 100% with Wenger's team selection. He put out, possibly for the first time this year, the exact XI players that I'd have had on the pitch if selection were up to me. I still knew it would be a tough match, but at least we had the players out there to win. And the first 45 minutes did nothing to dampen my mood. Perhaps up front we didn't have the finishing touch, but we looked dangerous in midfield, and actually able to use the ball properly in the middle of the park, something we've struggled with over the last couple of weeks. And then, in the second half, it all went wrong. Newcastle stepped up a gear, and we didn't. We weren't dreadful, and we absorbed most of their pressure, and even when Gilberto got sent off it looked like we wanted to win the game, not just play for a draw. That I can admire, although it's a philosophy that cost us today.
Anyway, enough of my rambling, on with the ratings.
Lehmann - 8 - Had no chance with the goal, and dealt pretty well with Newcastle's long and high balls. Would have got a '7', but for the fantastic challenge on Scott Parker which earned him a bonus point.. Again, he looked like our player with the most fight in his belly, and I really admire him for that. Yes, I guess you could call it a moment of madness, but hey, at least he's willing to stick it to a physical opposition, even if he's playing in goal.
Toure - 8 - Some rampaging runs up the right, and some very strong tackles in defence. Definitely did not look as out of place as a RB as Cygan does as a LB. Strong, and solid.
Senderos - 7 - Didn't really put a foot wrong today, although wasn't called upon as much as against Ajax. Some good headers, and some good pace showed today.
Sol - 8 - Commanding for the majority of the game, and strong against Shearer, who was playing the bully today. Needed to be big to stand up to him
Lauren - 6 - The goal came from the left hand side, as per usual in recent weeks, and Lauren was partly to blame. Other than that, he was quite subdued in an attacking role, although took some advanced positions reasonably well
Lungberg - 6 - Part of some excellent attacking moves, but didn't show a lot of individual spark. Set up Henry well for one chance he should really have buried (even if he was offside).
Gilberto - 6 - Actually played quite well in the first half I thought, putting in a lot of effort, slightly better passing than usual and sweeping up well in front of the back four. Was the Gilberto we've missed over the last few weeks, until he stupidly got himself sent off (which was deserved), and ultimately probably cost us the game.
Cesc - 8.5 - An extremely accomplished performance from the young spaniard, putting some superb passes in, showing strength beyond his years on the ball and a little bit of skill on the ball too. Still needs to learn when to shoot, but on the whole a very accomplished performance MOTM
Hleb - 7.5 - Made some absolutely superb passes, especially towards the end of the first half, and I still think his style is better suited to playing on the wing for us, at least for now. Faded a little before he was substituted, but beginning to look like his pre-injury self again. When he's had more time to settle in the league, and finds his dribbling rhythm, he'll be devestating.
RVP - 6 - Much, much quieter from the reigning Barclay Premiership player of the month. Wasn't really able to get into the game at all, and was a little surprised to see Hleb brought off ahead of him, although I guess RVP still has his moments of magic. Still played some good passes, but not at his lethal best at all. Slightly embarrassing air shot, when we needed a goal most.
Henry - 6 - Drew an outstanding save from the ever impressive Given (well, against us anyway), but really shouuld have done better with the chances given to him, especially by Lungberg and Cesc. Did not harry the suspect Newcastle defence as we'd have liked.
Substitutes
Pires - 6 - Didn't make much of an impact when he came on, and hasn't got enough to change a game any more, or even pose any significant threat on his own.
Quincy - 6 - Like Pires, didn't really have enough time, and was more or less anonymous for most of his time on the field. That said, he instigated one excellent attack, but otherwise was quiet.
Flamini - 5 - Well, I guess you know what's coming, so I'll keep it short. Once again though, I was underwhelmed by the young frenchman, whose first contribution was to give the ball away in an extremely dangerous area and allow Newcastle to build a very good attack. He did the same thing again about 3 minutes later.
Wenger - 7 - He started the game well by chosing what I believe to be our best XI at the moment, for which he deserves credit. He also still played to win once Gilberto had been sent off, and didn't immediately switch to 4-4-1. It backfired, but we needed 3 points, so it was probably the right thing to do. Indeed, but for the red-card, we'd probably have won. Perhaps he's to blame for the fact that our squad's thinner than Donald Trump's combover, and the closest thing we had to an impact player on the bench was Quincy, but that's another story. He did the right things on the night, and for that he deserves credit. But for putting the squad in the position it's in, he does have questions to answer, and claiming that we're better than we've ever been is growing into a bigger bald-faced lie than Bill Clinton could ever dream up.
And there you have it. After reading that, you probably have the same questions I do - how on earth could I give the squad such high ratings, after yet another defeat to a team we in all fairness should be beating. And I really don't know. Individually, we weren't that bad. We played some great football in the second half, but weren't sharp enough. And we, in all fairness, weren't good enough yet again. Wenger really does need a long hard look in the mirror right now, because his squad, his team, his players, just are not good enough. And if he doesn't recognise that, then something is seriously wrong.
Before the game this evening, I was a little nervous. I knew that a team like Newcastle would be difficult. Despite their error-prone central defenders, and below average defence, their midfield's exactly the kind we always struggle against - combative and committed. Up front too, I was a little nervous that the physical presence of Shearer might cause us problems. But when the team was announce, I perked up a bit - for the first time in absolutely ages, I agreed 100% with Wenger's team selection. He put out, possibly for the first time this year, the exact XI players that I'd have had on the pitch if selection were up to me. I still knew it would be a tough match, but at least we had the players out there to win. And the first 45 minutes did nothing to dampen my mood. Perhaps up front we didn't have the finishing touch, but we looked dangerous in midfield, and actually able to use the ball properly in the middle of the park, something we've struggled with over the last couple of weeks. And then, in the second half, it all went wrong. Newcastle stepped up a gear, and we didn't. We weren't dreadful, and we absorbed most of their pressure, and even when Gilberto got sent off it looked like we wanted to win the game, not just play for a draw. That I can admire, although it's a philosophy that cost us today.
Anyway, enough of my rambling, on with the ratings.
Lehmann - 8 - Had no chance with the goal, and dealt pretty well with Newcastle's long and high balls. Would have got a '7', but for the fantastic challenge on Scott Parker which earned him a bonus point.. Again, he looked like our player with the most fight in his belly, and I really admire him for that. Yes, I guess you could call it a moment of madness, but hey, at least he's willing to stick it to a physical opposition, even if he's playing in goal.
Toure - 8 - Some rampaging runs up the right, and some very strong tackles in defence. Definitely did not look as out of place as a RB as Cygan does as a LB. Strong, and solid.
Senderos - 7 - Didn't really put a foot wrong today, although wasn't called upon as much as against Ajax. Some good headers, and some good pace showed today.
Sol - 8 - Commanding for the majority of the game, and strong against Shearer, who was playing the bully today. Needed to be big to stand up to him
Lauren - 6 - The goal came from the left hand side, as per usual in recent weeks, and Lauren was partly to blame. Other than that, he was quite subdued in an attacking role, although took some advanced positions reasonably well
Lungberg - 6 - Part of some excellent attacking moves, but didn't show a lot of individual spark. Set up Henry well for one chance he should really have buried (even if he was offside).
Gilberto - 6 - Actually played quite well in the first half I thought, putting in a lot of effort, slightly better passing than usual and sweeping up well in front of the back four. Was the Gilberto we've missed over the last few weeks, until he stupidly got himself sent off (which was deserved), and ultimately probably cost us the game.
Cesc - 8.5 - An extremely accomplished performance from the young spaniard, putting some superb passes in, showing strength beyond his years on the ball and a little bit of skill on the ball too. Still needs to learn when to shoot, but on the whole a very accomplished performance MOTM
Hleb - 7.5 - Made some absolutely superb passes, especially towards the end of the first half, and I still think his style is better suited to playing on the wing for us, at least for now. Faded a little before he was substituted, but beginning to look like his pre-injury self again. When he's had more time to settle in the league, and finds his dribbling rhythm, he'll be devestating.
RVP - 6 - Much, much quieter from the reigning Barclay Premiership player of the month. Wasn't really able to get into the game at all, and was a little surprised to see Hleb brought off ahead of him, although I guess RVP still has his moments of magic. Still played some good passes, but not at his lethal best at all. Slightly embarrassing air shot, when we needed a goal most.
Henry - 6 - Drew an outstanding save from the ever impressive Given (well, against us anyway), but really shouuld have done better with the chances given to him, especially by Lungberg and Cesc. Did not harry the suspect Newcastle defence as we'd have liked.
Substitutes
Pires - 6 - Didn't make much of an impact when he came on, and hasn't got enough to change a game any more, or even pose any significant threat on his own.
Quincy - 6 - Like Pires, didn't really have enough time, and was more or less anonymous for most of his time on the field. That said, he instigated one excellent attack, but otherwise was quiet.
Flamini - 5 - Well, I guess you know what's coming, so I'll keep it short. Once again though, I was underwhelmed by the young frenchman, whose first contribution was to give the ball away in an extremely dangerous area and allow Newcastle to build a very good attack. He did the same thing again about 3 minutes later.
Wenger - 7 - He started the game well by chosing what I believe to be our best XI at the moment, for which he deserves credit. He also still played to win once Gilberto had been sent off, and didn't immediately switch to 4-4-1. It backfired, but we needed 3 points, so it was probably the right thing to do. Indeed, but for the red-card, we'd probably have won. Perhaps he's to blame for the fact that our squad's thinner than Donald Trump's combover, and the closest thing we had to an impact player on the bench was Quincy, but that's another story. He did the right things on the night, and for that he deserves credit. But for putting the squad in the position it's in, he does have questions to answer, and claiming that we're better than we've ever been is growing into a bigger bald-faced lie than Bill Clinton could ever dream up.
And there you have it. After reading that, you probably have the same questions I do - how on earth could I give the squad such high ratings, after yet another defeat to a team we in all fairness should be beating. And I really don't know. Individually, we weren't that bad. We played some great football in the second half, but weren't sharp enough. And we, in all fairness, weren't good enough yet again. Wenger really does need a long hard look in the mirror right now, because his squad, his team, his players, just are not good enough. And if he doesn't recognise that, then something is seriously wrong.
