GOALKEEP CALM AND CARRY ON

Each team that have won the Premier League have had a top notch keeper between the sticks; Lehmaan, Schmeicel, Flowers, Cech, Seaman, Barthez (more on him later). In domestic cup competitions the consensus is that you can scrape through with a bit of luck and a kind draw here and there, but the facts are that the FA cup winners over the last 20 years have all had good keepers.In the Champions league the general standard is higher overall and to actually reach the final you need a high level of consistency.

Arsenal's goalkeepers at the start of the 2010/2011 season do not fall into the category of quality keepers; that's as fact. A fact that we, as Arsenal supporters, have to face up to until January at a minimum. We start the season hampered by this fact and one can only wonder at what point, and with how many points conceded will the Manager act to rectify the situation. Let's look at the case of Fabien Barthez.

At the start of the 199/2000 season Manchester United started the campaign with these goalkeepers, Massimo Taibi, Raimond van der Gouw and Mark Bosnich, after a calamitous showing from Taibi, Ferguson acted swiftly and decisively by bringing in world Cup winner Fabien Barthez for £7.8 million. The team went on to win the League by 18 points.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMpjRfOmTjM

I know it's a bit boring and dispiriting to talk about our current goalkeeping situation and as such this will be my last missive on the subject. The point is that data, history and factual analysis all point to the problem. It has not been solved before the deadline and I can only hope that when the problem is eventually addressed and rectified that we haven't fallen so far behind that we need snookers. A ridiculous and preventable situation for our club to be in. I guess all we can do as supporters is Keep Calm and Carry on.

Comments

HATE

Then Now Earlier today Captain Kirk sent me the following video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG1f-v88-kU&sns=em To say it is both disturbing and upsetting is an understatement. We see the beautiful game as something of a mirror to society and try to look on the community of supporters as a positive force. A set of human beings with some values borne out of an understanding of what this great sport of ours can give us. However, it takes a certain amount of myopia from the Football Authorities to proclaim that all is well. The issues that were amplified over the weekend at Old Trafford cannot be trivialised when we see the full extent of hatred; in any form. The violence is shocking as we see people attacked on a basis that is a result of flawed thinking, and the powers that be proclaim all is well; all is not well. So when I look at those images, I have to ask myself this… http://youtu.be/6RVDQgVxprE

"IF WE BEHAVE LIKE THEM, THEN WHAT IS THE POINT IN WINNING? "- John Connor

"The future has not been written. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves. I wish I could believe that."-John Connor To overcome Skynet was not easy, it involved time, belief and an indomitable human spirit. To beat a machine equipped with superior weaponry and a ruthless access to resources to increase its arsenal took ingenuity and a "never say die" attitude. Abu Dhabi is the ground zero of Skynet and Manchester CXV are the Terminators. The thing about Skynet is that there are no qualms about what their aim is, there are no notions of fairness. "Listen, and understand! Manchester CX are out there! They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And they absolutely will not stop... ever, until someone stops them flagrantly breaking rules"-Kyle Reese In a landscape where one team dominates it is up to a resistance to topple them, this is made hard when using resources that were ga...

LEAGUE OF ORDINARY GENTLEMEN

Sunderland V Sp*rs ended goalless meaning that Sp*rs currently sit third. It was a game that had 0-0 written all over it after about 30 minutes. The baton now passes to us in today’s fixture against Man City. A win gives us a two point advantage and a draw puts us back in third. One side that we need to be mindful of in the shake up for 3 rd & 4 th is Newcastle who have hung on all season and present a threat to ECL qualification. What the SAFC v THFC game showed is the poverty of this current Premier League; it was awful. A cursory comparison between teams in the Premier era makes grim reading for the current state of the game. The Man Utd of 99 would definitely beat the current side, The Newcastle of Keegan, The Chelsea of Mourinho, the Villa of Atkinson, the Blackburn of Dalgleish, The Liverpool of Fowler, McManaman, Owen etc would batter the Liverpool of 2012. Certainly the Invincibles would put the current Arsenal team to the sword. Even teams like Midd...

ARSENALISM©

Search This Blog