The Opposition's verdict: A Londoners' season

Nani Nana · 5th November 2009, 08:09

Why will Arsenal win the title this season ?

by Peterstorey

Fundamentally it's about 433. Two years ago Arsenal made a strong challenge for the league to be ultimately undone by lack of squad depth. In particular Fabregas and Flamini, who played centrally in a 4231, ran out of gas in the last few months of the season. Instead of the squad being strengthened to address these weaknesses, Flamini departed along with Hleb (Diarra was also allowed to go in midseason and Gilberto followed him).

These changes weakened the team both in terms of not having a replacement for Flamini (Denilson was still too green and in any event probably lacks the speed and aggression for a 4231 defensive midfield position) and also in not having a foil for Fabregas in terms of ball retention and passing higher up the field.

Wenger has given up the search for the mythical successor to Patrick Vieira (Essien is to my mind the only candidate but strangely Chelsea, the only team equipped to play 442, choose not to do so and use him in a limited role). What he has done is reshape the side to play three in centre midfield with Song as the central pivot, flanked by Fabregas and (ultimately) Rosicky or Nasri. Song began to play well in the defensive role in midfield last year but has really blossomed in a 433 since his speed and mobility are not put under such pressure. Equally Fabregas is relieved of some of his defensive duties and can play higher up the field, and Nasri and Rosicky are more comfortable operating more centrally. Arsenal have frequently to be found attacking with five players this season, hence the number of goals scored.

Up front, Adebayor was sold on the basis that he was no longer the right centre forward for the new formation (apart from being a negative influence in the dressing room) and surprisingly van Persie was the replacement no.9, whereas I had thought Eduardo or Bendtner might play there with him playing off the right as he does for Holland. It took him about five games to get the hang of it but his performances of late have been outstanding both in terms of goalscoring and providing a focus for the attack.

The nominal wingers are now Arshavin and probably Walcott when he gets fit. Arshavin gives us that bit of sizzle that we've been missing since Henry departed. It's a great source of comfort to a team to have a player who can win games or pull them out of the fire from nothing (cf Ronaldo). Walcott's pace has made the team look better balanced when he's played, opening up space for the other forwards and providing a more direct attacking threat.

At the back Vermaelen has come in and struck up a great partnership with Gallas. Fingers were pointed at his relative lack of size (he's about 6ft) but the important thing is that he attacks the ball and is complementary to Gallas, who likes to sit off and mop up. Gallas since losing the captaincy has played his best football for us regaining the form that made him as good as any centre back in the league at Chelsea.

So we've now made good the losses of Hleb and Flamini, plus added a match winner in Arshavin and an aggressive defender in Vermalen. Plus young players around the squad have matured and the team spirit with the departure of Adebayor seems much more together.

Financially we're out of the woods so I'd expect to see more player purchases in the window. We also have an easy run-in with most of our difficult matches in the first six months of the season and the last 13 eminently winnable. If we're there or thereabouts at the end of February we ought to win it.

Why will Chelsea win the title this season ?

by sals, The Shed End (unofficial Chelsea forum)

Why is this season any different for a Chelsea fan ? Why is this the year that we are going to loosen United's hold on the domestic league? As far as our squad goes it is virtually the same as last year (bar one 18m pound unused Russian) so that shouldn't be the difference. We have the same lack of stability at the top with our fifth manager in 2 seasons and we have the same problem of lack of youth. However there are key differences between our attempts of the last 3 seasons to the one that is currently unfolding.

Where else to begin with this than Carlo Ancelotti. A man who has won it all as both a player and manager. At the start of the season there was a lot of talk, especially in the media comparing Carlo to Scolari and predicting a similar outcome as last year. Yes they are both foreigners, they both came with very impressive CVs and they both got off to flyers at the start of the season. However as far as I am concerned the similarities stop there. Scolari had an impeccable record in club football over in South America as well as being able to boast a world cup to his name, but he had been out of club football for a very long time when he took over at the Bridge as well as never having managed a club in Europe.

Carlo on the other hand has managed one of Europe's most prestigious clubs to great success. He is a very good man manager and tactically this year he has been almost spot on. A very good example of this was our match against Sunderland where we went into the half 1-0 down. At half-time he changed things around and we came out and beat them 3-1 in one of the best halves of football I have seen Chelsea play.

Carlo's use of the diamond formation is something that has very rarely been seen on English soil. Carlo had been studying Chelsea?s matches from January and knew full well what he was going to do with the squad once he took over. We have a lot of strength through our middle and he has been using that to full effect. It means that we take complete control of the game through the middle of the park and we can dominate. Not only this but it also allows us to have two strikers and Drogba and Anelka have turned into a very impressive and deadly duo. Whilst it is a narrow formation we still manage to get width primarily through the use of our fullbacks and our strikers. One of Drogba or Anelka will constantly move out to the wing to get the ball whilst the other one keeps in the box and as a result they have got a lot of assists for each other.

My second point is our squad, it is no secret that it is ageing and that in a season or two we could be in some serious problems. To highlight this look at what in my opinion is our current strongest starting 11:

----------------Cech(27)
Bosingwa(27)---JT(28)---Alex(27)---Cole(28)
Essien(26) ------Ballack(33)---Lamps(31)-----J.Cole(27)
------------Anelka(30)---Drogba(31)

Essien at 26 is our youngest player in that and we have four players over the age of 30. However as much of a problem as that may be for the future right now it is one of the strongest lineups in Europe. Not only that but we have the squad depth to back it up, an alternative eleven that I can put forward is:

---------------Hilario
Ferreira---Carvalho---Ivanovic---Zhirkov
Bellitti -----Mikel-----Malouda ------Deco
-------------Kalou---Sturridge

Liverpool's current lack of form, that I know we have all taken much delight in watching is a very good example of how important squad depth is. Their strongest starting 11 when all fit is very impressive and can match it with anybody but their backup players such as Voronin and Kyriagios just can not cut it.

My third point is the African Cup of nations, many people are expecting this to be the point in the season in which we fall off the pace. We are going to be without Drogba, Essien, Mikel and Kalou not to mention the fact that we currently have a transfer ban. Those players are a huge loss for any team in the world, not just taking away the likes of Drogba and Essien but then also taking away their replacements. The positive for this period though is our schedule, we literally could not have picked it better ourselves. We have Hull and Burnley away and Sunderland and Birmingham at home, I fully expect us to pick up at least ten points out of those matches which will not be of detriment to us at all.

My fourth point is none other than Didier Drogba himself. The big man from the Ivory Coast has been in sensational form for us this season. His statistics are really quite incredible. He has played 13 games, scored 12 goals, gotten 7 assists and on top of that won 3 penalties. He is currently either scoring a goal or contributing to one once every 49 minutes of play. I know he is not very popular outside of Chelsea or the Ivory Coast but no one can deny his class on the field. Carlo seems to have harnessed his ability like no one bar Jose Mourinho was able to and it is devastating to watch. We managed to cope without him for our opening three Champions League matches but his performance against Atletico Madrid shows how important he is to our team.

Lastly our team just really seems to have a belief about them when they are playing at the moment, We look like we are on a mission, we have had unfortunate slip ups against Villa and Wigan but we have bounced back in emphatic fashion. Interestingly enough both of those defeats were the only two league matches that Ballack has not featured, he has turned into an integral part of the team this season. Our home record has been superb. Not only 100% in all comps but we have also not conceded a goal at Fortress Stamford in 13 hours of play. I?m praying that this record can be improved when you fine gentleman make your way down to London this weekend.

To conclude I'm not going to beat around the bush here if we are not top of the table Manchester United will be and if you are not top of the table then we will be. I have a lot of respect for this Arsenal side but I do not think they are currently capable of winning the title. As for Liverpool I am pretty sure they have already started repeating the age old words of ?Next year will be our season? and Manchester City, who have not won a game since September, have a couple hundred mil to spend yet before they get their hands on the trophy. There is a long way to go yet but I have great belief in this team, in the players and in the manager and I am confident that that come end of the season JT will be able to lift the trophy.

Plan M · 5th November 2009, 08:15

Interesting read that, cheers.

Interval Level · 5th November 2009, 08:18

Reckon Chelsea will win this time unless they screw up Scholari style. Arsenal meanwhile, though a very good side, will fight for the 2nd place with us.

On a purely footballing basis, this Arsenal side is as good as any in the PL. But they will be really undone once important players lose steam(again!)
They seem to have alot of options now, especially in attack. But if you notice the role played by Fabregas, Van Persie and Vermalen, I can't think of another player in that squad who can replace them once they either get injured or experience a dip. Rest all the positions are adequately covered in terms of depth and skill.

Pogue Mahone · 5th November 2009, 08:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Interval Level

Reckon Chelsea will win this time unless they screw up Scholari style. Arsenal meanwhile, though a very good side, will fight for the 2nd place with us.

On a purely footballing basis, this Arsenal side is as good as any in the PL. But they will be really undone once important players lose steam(again!)
They seem to have alot of options now, especially in attack. But if you notice the role played by Fabregas, Van Persie and Vermalen, I can't think of another player in that squad who can replace them once they either get injured or experience a dip. Rest all the positions are adequately covered in terms of depth and skill.

Agreed. Arsenal's season hinges on the fitness of the three players you mention. If they stay fit all season they'll be right up there. If not, I expect them to be the same flaky also-tans of the last few seasons.

Doogie · 5th November 2009, 08:47

Is that Vermaelen-Gallas partnership really all that? They have conceded 4 in 4 games in what should've been the easiest group in the CL by a country mile. 13 goals conceded in the league isn't terrible but we've conceded 11, played 1 more game and still we haven't looked anywhere near our best at the back.

GloryHunter07 · 5th November 2009, 08:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nani Nana

Up front, Adebayor was sold on the basis that he was no longer the right centre forward for the new formation (apart from being a negative influence in the dressing room) and surprisingly van Persie was the replacement no.9, whereas I had thought Eduardo or Bendtner might play there with him playing off the right as he does for Holland. It took him about five games to get the hang of it but his performances of late have been outstanding both in terms of goalscoring and providing a focus for the attack.

He would have been perfect for the new formation, he was sold because they were offered the right money.

Pogue Mahone · 5th November 2009, 09:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doogie

Is that Vermaelen-Gallas partnership really all that? They have conceded 4 in 4 games in what should've been the easiest group in the CL by a country mile. 13 goals conceded in the league isn't terrible but we've conceded 11, played 1 more game and still we haven't looked anywhere near our best at the back.

It's not amazing but it's better than what they had last season and Vermaelen's having a major inflluence at the other end too. I think he was their top-scorer at one point.

It looks like peterstorey is keen to draw all sorts of far-reaching conclusions about their current form with talk of formations, improved team spirit and players growing into their roles. IMO if Wenger had signed Vermaelen a year ago and Fabregas/Van Persie had avoided injury as succesfuly as they've done so far in 09/10, then Arsenal would have performed just as well last season as they have so far this time round.

If/when Fabregas, Van Persie or Vermaelen get injured for a few weeks I'm sure we'll see all the old frailties come back.

Doogie · 5th November 2009, 09:24

Team .... 08/09 vs. 09/10
Everton .... 1-1 vs. 6-1
Pompey .... 1-0 vs. 4-1
Man.Utd .... 0-0 vs. 1-2
man.city .... 0-3 vs. 2-4
Wigan ....... 1-0 vs. 4-0
Fulham ...... 0-1 vs. 1-0
Blackb ....... 4-0 vs. 6-2
Birmingham - wasn't in the league last year
West H. ..... 4-0 vs. 2-2
Tottenh ...... 4-4 vs. 3-0

So in total 9 games
Last year they conceided 9 goals, this year 12
Last year 5 clean sheets, this year 3 times.

I'm not at all convinced about that partnership, but granted Vermaelen looks good at the other end. Of course there can be other factors such as the form of the fullbacks, that they do attack with 5 persons now and not 4 like peterstorey implies.

CnutOfAllCnuts · 5th November 2009, 09:26

That can't be PeterStorey's work.

There is not one referrence to United in it!

Scholesgoals · 5th November 2009, 10:00

I think you can say that the Arsenal formation, while very attacking, can cause them trouble at the back, Vermaelen and Gallas do like to get forward. United would probably concede as many if we played with the same freedom as arsenal.

Kraftwerker · 5th November 2009, 10:58

Arsenal's away form will be what decides if they're contenders or also-rans.

Once they're out of their Emirates/London comfort zone they don't look half the side IMO.

Chelsea will be there or thereabouts as usual, but beyond this season, things will look grim for them unless Roman starts writing big cheques again (if he's even allowed to).

Christofaux · 5th November 2009, 11:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kraftwerker

Arsenal's away form will be what decides if they're contenders or also-rans.

Once they're out of their Emirates/London comfort zone they don't look half the side IMO.

Chelsea will be there or thereabouts as usual, but beyond this season, things will look grim for them unless Roman starts writing big cheques again (if he's even allowed to).

Having fabregas in manchester red would of helped.

Kraftwerker · 5th November 2009, 11:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christofaux

Having fabregas in manchester red would of helped.

I'd love to see Fabregas in Manchester red.

Alek M · 5th November 2009, 17:58

I think Arsenal have a good chance this year.

Namliam · 5th November 2009, 20:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doogie

Team .... 08/09 vs. 09/10
Everton .... 1-1 vs. 6-1
Pompey .... 1-0 vs. 4-1
Man.Utd .... 0-0 vs. 1-2
man.city .... 0-3 vs. 2-4
Wigan ....... 1-0 vs. 4-0
Fulham ...... 0-1 vs. 1-0
Blackb ....... 4-0 vs. 6-2
Birmingham - wasn't in the league last year
West H. ..... 4-0 vs. 2-2
Tottenh ...... 4-4 vs. 3-0

So in total 9 games
Last year they conceided 9 goals, this year 12
Last year 5 clean sheets, this year 3 times.

I'm not at all convinced about that partnership, but granted Vermaelen looks good at the other end. Of course there can be other factors such as the form of the fullbacks, that they do attack with 5 persons now and not 4 like peterstorey implies.

Merely comparing goals conceded across seasons doesn't really give you a proper indication of the strength of a particular defensive partnership.

As a team collectively, we've not been particularly good defensively thusfar, but for the most part both Gallas and Vermaelen have played well, and rarely have I thought that they were directly at fault for a goal conceded.

Frankly, most of the goals we have conceded this season have been a result of shoddy goalkeeping - that's the one area where we're significantly weaker than the other top sides.

p_ps_sock · 5th November 2009, 20:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Namliam

Merely comparing goals conceded across seasons doesn't really give you a proper indication of the strength of a particular defensive partnership.

As a team collectively, we've not been particularly good defensively thusfar, but for the most part both Gallas and Vermaelen have played well, and rarely have I thought that they were directly at fault for a goal conceded.

Frankly, most of the goals we have conceded this season have been a result of shoddy goalkeeping - that's the one area where we're significantly weaker than the other top sides.

are you joking? VDS is a top drawer keeper, it was foster making the mistakes.

Denis' cuff · 5th November 2009, 21:37

A Londoner's season consists of runners-up and semi-finalists.

Oh, and Sir Les Ferdinand or Ginola as FotY.

Crustanoid · 5th November 2009, 21:38

I enjoyed reading this. I'm honestly worried about Chelsea and also believe the Arse are dveloping into a force again. These two both edge us for form in the season so far

Fergies Formula · 5th November 2009, 21:38

I would love it if we attacked teams like arsenal do, really would, thats something we have lacked for a long time. We need a creative midfielder. Arsenal have about 7.

Ceks · 5th November 2009, 22:55

Indeed we do.

Doogie · 5th November 2009, 22:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Namliam

Merely comparing goals conceded across seasons doesn't really give you a proper indication of the strength of a particular defensive partnership.

As a team collectively, we've not been particularly good defensively thusfar, but for the most part both Gallas and Vermaelen have played well, and rarely have I thought that they were directly at fault for a goal conceded.

Frankly, most of the goals we have conceded this season have been a result of shoddy goalkeeping - that's the one area where we're significantly weaker than the other top sides.

It's true that there is no absolute truth in compering results from one season to another and make a statement. I was merely assuming this because you have received quite many goals this time around. But fair enough. I haven't watch your side enough to be sure of this and therefor I kind of just threw it out there to see if I could get any reaction.

If it's your goalkeeper that is the problem, then it will surely affect your defense and therefor it might not be fair to judge it...yet.

5th November 2009, 08:09	#1 (permalink)
Nani Nana Reserve Team Player Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2,575	The Opposition's verdict: A Londoners' season <a href="http://d.mediadakine.com/ck.php?n=ad232b97&cb=15945" target="_blank"><img src="http://d.mediadakine.com/avw.php?zoneid=81&cb=15945&n=ad232b97" border="0" alt="" /></a> Why will Arsenal win the title this season ? by Peterstorey Fundamentally it's about 433. Two years ago Arsenal made a strong challenge for the league to be ultimately undone by lack of squad depth. In particular Fabregas and Flamini, who played centrally in a 4231, ran out of gas in the last few months of the season. Instead of the squad being strengthened to address these weaknesses, Flamini departed along with Hleb (Diarra was also allowed to go in midseason and Gilberto followed him). These changes weakened the team both in terms of not having a replacement for Flamini (Denilson was still too green and in any event probably lacks the speed and aggression for a 4231 defensive midfield position) and also in not having a foil for Fabregas in terms of ball retention and passing higher up the field. Wenger has given up the search for the mythical successor to Patrick Vieira (Essien is to my mind the only candidate but strangely Chelsea, the only team equipped to play 442, choose not to do so and use him in a limited role). What he has done is reshape the side to play three in centre midfield with Song as the central pivot, flanked by Fabregas and (ultimately) Rosicky or Nasri. Song began to play well in the defensive role in midfield last year but has really blossomed in a 433 since his speed and mobility are not put under such pressure. Equally Fabregas is relieved of some of his defensive duties and can play higher up the field, and Nasri and Rosicky are more comfortable operating more centrally. Arsenal have frequently to be found attacking with five players this season, hence the number of goals scored. Up front, Adebayor was sold on the basis that he was no longer the right centre forward for the new formation (apart from being a negative influence in the dressing room) and surprisingly van Persie was the replacement no.9, whereas I had thought Eduardo or Bendtner might play there with him playing off the right as he does for Holland. It took him about five games to get the hang of it but his performances of late have been outstanding both in terms of goalscoring and providing a focus for the attack. The nominal wingers are now Arshavin and probably Walcott when he gets fit. Arshavin gives us that bit of sizzle that we've been missing since Henry departed. It's a great source of comfort to a team to have a player who can win games or pull them out of the fire from nothing (cf Ronaldo). Walcott's pace has made the team look better balanced when he's played, opening up space for the other forwards and providing a more direct attacking threat. At the back Vermaelen has come in and struck up a great partnership with Gallas. Fingers were pointed at his relative lack of size (he's about 6ft) but the important thing is that he attacks the ball and is complementary to Gallas, who likes to sit off and mop up. Gallas since losing the captaincy has played his best football for us regaining the form that made him as good as any centre back in the league at Chelsea. So we've now made good the losses of Hleb and Flamini, plus added a match winner in Arshavin and an aggressive defender in Vermalen. Plus young players around the squad have matured and the team spirit with the departure of Adebayor seems much more together. Financially we're out of the woods so I'd expect to see more player purchases in the window. We also have an easy run-in with most of our difficult matches in the first six months of the season and the last 13 eminently winnable. If we're there or thereabouts at the end of February we ought to win it. Why will Chelsea win the title this season ? by sals, The Shed End (unofficial Chelsea forum) Why is this season any different for a Chelsea fan ? Why is this the year that we are going to loosen United's hold on the domestic league? As far as our squad goes it is virtually the same as last year (bar one 18m pound unused Russian) so that shouldn't be the difference. We have the same lack of stability at the top with our fifth manager in 2 seasons and we have the same problem of lack of youth. However there are key differences between our attempts of the last 3 seasons to the one that is currently unfolding. Where else to begin with this than Carlo Ancelotti. A man who has won it all as both a player and manager. At the start of the season there was a lot of talk, especially in the media comparing Carlo to Scolari and predicting a similar outcome as last year. Yes they are both foreigners, they both came with very impressive CVs and they both got off to flyers at the start of the season. However as far as I am concerned the similarities stop there. Scolari had an impeccable record in club football over in South America as well as being able to boast a world cup to his name, but he had been out of club football for a very long time when he took over at the Bridge as well as never having managed a club in Europe. Carlo on the other hand has managed one of Europe's most prestigious clubs to great success. He is a very good man manager and tactically this year he has been almost spot on. A very good example of this was our match against Sunderland where we went into the half 1-0 down. At half-time he changed things around and we came out and beat them 3-1 in one of the best halves of football I have seen Chelsea play. Carlo's use of the diamond formation is something that has very rarely been seen on English soil. Carlo had been studying Chelsea?s matches from January and knew full well what he was going to do with the squad once he took over. We have a lot of strength through our middle and he has been using that to full effect. It means that we take complete control of the game through the middle of the park and we can dominate. Not only this but it also allows us to have two strikers and Drogba and Anelka have turned into a very impressive and deadly duo. Whilst it is a narrow formation we still manage to get width primarily through the use of our fullbacks and our strikers. One of Drogba or Anelka will constantly move out to the wing to get the ball whilst the other one keeps in the box and as a result they have got a lot of assists for each other. My second point is our squad, it is no secret that it is ageing and that in a season or two we could be in some serious problems. To highlight this look at what in my opinion is our current strongest starting 11: ----------------Cech(27) Bosingwa(27)---JT(28)---Alex(27)---Cole(28) Essien(26) ------Ballack(33)---Lamps(31)-----J.Cole(27) ------------Anelka(30)---Drogba(31) Essien at 26 is our youngest player in that and we have four players over the age of 30. However as much of a problem as that may be for the future right now it is one of the strongest lineups in Europe. Not only that but we have the squad depth to back it up, an alternative eleven that I can put forward is: ---------------Hilario Ferreira---Carvalho---Ivanovic---Zhirkov Bellitti -----Mikel-----Malouda ------Deco -------------Kalou---Sturridge Liverpool's current lack of form, that I know we have all taken much delight in watching is a very good example of how important squad depth is. Their strongest starting 11 when all fit is very impressive and can match it with anybody but their backup players such as Voronin and Kyriagios just can not cut it. My third point is the African Cup of nations, many people are expecting this to be the point in the season in which we fall off the pace. We are going to be without Drogba, Essien, Mikel and Kalou not to mention the fact that we currently have a transfer ban. Those players are a huge loss for any team in the world, not just taking away the likes of Drogba and Essien but then also taking away their replacements. The positive for this period though is our schedule, we literally could not have picked it better ourselves. We have Hull and Burnley away and Sunderland and Birmingham at home, I fully expect us to pick up at least ten points out of those matches which will not be of detriment to us at all. My fourth point is none other than Didier Drogba himself. The big man from the Ivory Coast has been in sensational form for us this season. His statistics are really quite incredible. He has played 13 games, scored 12 goals, gotten 7 assists and on top of that won 3 penalties. He is currently either scoring a goal or contributing to one once every 49 minutes of play. I know he is not very popular outside of Chelsea or the Ivory Coast but no one can deny his class on the field. Carlo seems to have harnessed his ability like no one bar Jose Mourinho was able to and it is devastating to watch. We managed to cope without him for our opening three Champions League matches but his performance against Atletico Madrid shows how important he is to our team. Lastly our team just really seems to have a belief about them when they are playing at the moment, We look like we are on a mission, we have had unfortunate slip ups against Villa and Wigan but we have bounced back in emphatic fashion. Interestingly enough both of those defeats were the only two league matches that Ballack has not featured, he has turned into an integral part of the team this season. Our home record has been superb. Not only 100% in all comps but we have also not conceded a goal at Fortress Stamford in 13 hours of play. I?m praying that this record can be improved when you fine gentleman make your way down to London this weekend. To conclude I'm not going to beat around the bush here if we are not top of the table Manchester United will be and if you are not top of the table then we will be. I have a lot of respect for this Arsenal side but I do not think they are currently capable of winning the title. As for Liverpool I am pretty sure they have already started repeating the age old words of ?Next year will be our season? and Manchester City, who have not won a game since September, have a couple hundred mil to spend yet before they get their hands on the trophy. There is a long way to go yet but I have great belief in this team, in the players and in the manager and I am confident that that come end of the season JT will be able to lift the trophy.

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5th November 2009, 08:15	#2 (permalink)
Plan M On Trial Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: There are better things in life than alcohol, but alcohol makes up for not having them. Posts: 5,291	Interesting read that, cheers.

5th November 2009, 08:18	#3 (permalink)
Interval Level Reserve Team Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Oh Teddy Teddy Posts: 2,590	Reckon Chelsea will win this time unless they screw up Scholari style. Arsenal meanwhile, though a very good side, will fight for the 2nd place with us. On a purely footballing basis, this Arsenal side is as good as any in the PL. But they will be really undone once important players lose steam(again!) They seem to have alot of options now, especially in attack. But if you notice the role played by Fabregas, Van Persie and Vermalen, I can't think of another player in that squad who can replace them once they either get injured or experience a dip. Rest all the positions are adequately covered in terms of depth and skill.

5th November 2009, 08:47	#5 (permalink)
Doogie Reserve Team Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: none Posts: 2,732	Is that Vermaelen-Gallas partnership really all that? They have conceded 4 in 4 games in what should've been the easiest group in the CL by a country mile. 13 goals conceded in the league isn't terrible but we've conceded 11, played 1 more game and still we haven't looked anywhere near our best at the back.

5th November 2009, 09:24	#8 (permalink)
Doogie Reserve Team Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: none Posts: 2,732	Team .... 08/09 vs. 09/10 Everton .... 1-1 vs. 6-1 Pompey .... 1-0 vs. 4-1 Man.Utd .... 0-0 vs. 1-2 man.city .... 0-3 vs. 2-4 Wigan ....... 1-0 vs. 4-0 Fulham ...... 0-1 vs. 1-0 Blackb ....... 4-0 vs. 6-2 Birmingham - wasn't in the league last year West H. ..... 4-0 vs. 2-2 Tottenh ...... 4-4 vs. 3-0 So in total 9 games Last year they conceided 9 goals, this year 12 Last year 5 clean sheets, this year 3 times. I'm not at all convinced about that partnership, but granted Vermaelen looks good at the other end. Of course there can be other factors such as the form of the fullbacks, that they do attack with 5 persons now and not 4 like peterstorey implies.

5th November 2009, 09:26	#9 (permalink)
CnutOfAllCnuts Bald Boring Cnut Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 26,819	That can't be PeterStorey's work. There is not one referrence to United in it!

5th November 2009, 10:00	#10 (permalink)
Scholesgoals First Team Sub Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Ogmalocopia Posts: 6,345	I think you can say that the Arsenal formation, while very attacking, can cause them trouble at the back, Vermaelen and Gallas do like to get forward. United would probably concede as many if we played with the same freedom as arsenal.

5th November 2009, 10:58	#11 (permalink)
Kraftwerker Formerly RedAddict Join Date: May 2008 Location: We can't stop here, this is bat country Posts: 4,946	Arsenal's away form will be what decides if they're contenders or also-rans. Once they're out of their Emirates/London comfort zone they don't look half the side IMO. Chelsea will be there or thereabouts as usual, but beyond this season, things will look grim for them unless Roman starts writing big cheques again (if he's even allowed to).

5th November 2009, 17:58	#14 (permalink)
Alek M Da manic one Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: New England via ___ M A C E D O N I A Posts: 5,723	I think Arsenal have a good chance this year.

5th November 2009, 21:37	#17 (permalink)
Denis' cuff Reserve Team Player Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 3,659	A Londoner's season consists of runners-up and semi-finalists. Oh, and Sir Les Ferdinand or Ginola as FotY.

5th November 2009, 21:38	#18 (permalink)
Crustanoid First Team Sub Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: In the dark, where all the fevers grow. Under the water, where the shark bubbles blow Posts: 8,158	I enjoyed reading this. I'm honestly worried about Chelsea and also believe the Arse are dveloping into a force again. These two both edge us for form in the season so far

5th November 2009, 21:38	#19 (permalink)
Fergies Formula Reserve Team Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Brighton/ London Posts: 2,957	I would love it if we attacked teams like arsenal do, really would, thats something we have lacked for a long time. We need a creative midfielder. Arsenal have about 7.

5th November 2009, 22:55	#20 (permalink)
Ceks Prefers em hot, and spicy Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: “We must respect the other fellow’s religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart” - H.L. Mencken 'Everyone thinks they have the prettiest wife at home' - Arsene Wenger Posts: 6,162	Indeed we do.