It is not easy being a white, British male in 21st century Britain. I cannot, for example, shout at the Asian guy who pushes in front of me in the queue for fear of being branded a racist. I cannot knock on my West Indian neighbour’s door at 2 o’clock in the morning to tell him to turn down his reggae music for fear of being branded a racist. I cannot gesture at the Muslim woman who pulls out in front of me at a junction for fear of being branded a racist. Yet all of these people can shout at me without fear of reprisal. This, my friends, is equality in 21st century Britain.
I was branded a racist this week. And my crime? Having the cheek to say I do not think Muslim Extremists should be allowed to preach their hatred in this country. No, they are not racist for preaching that hatred; I am racist for daring to say it is wrong, even though Islam is a religion and not a race. The upshot of all this? Well, an organisation I have done voluntary work for over the last couple of years received a complaint, and they immediately said they did not want me to represent them anymore. They did not ask for my version of events, or even tell me what I had done wrong. They just said they no longer wanted me to do any more work for them. They heard the word racism and panicked. Would they have reacted like this had I been a black British male saying the same thing? I think we all know the answer to that.
The government want racial interaction and for everyone to get along. Great, that is how it should be. But have a look around you. Who is doing all the interacting? Who is having to adapt? Yes, you’ve guessed it, the white, indigenous population. And we have happily done so. Yet tell a Muslim woman to remove her Hijab and she will refuse. Where is the interaction there?
I am all for equality, but what does that actually mean? My understanding is that everybody of any race or creed should be treated equally. The same rules should apply for everyone and colour should not come into it. So if a black guy is not considered racist for saying he supports the fight against Muslim Extremists then neither should I. But we are not all treated equally and my colour has clouded people's opinions. So, perhaps the real victim of racism here is me?
But why should I have to constantly live in fear of being branded a racist anyway just because I am white? Why should I have to watch every single thing I say just in case someone, somewhere reads more into it than they should?
Don’t get me wrong, racism is a very real problem. It is all around us and we need to fight against it. But let’s keep it in perspective. 99% of people in this country are not racist. We have made giant strides over the last 40 years, so let’s not waste all that good work by looking to find racism where it does not exist. All that does is create further problems. Tackle real racism, yes, but let the rest of us get on with our lives.
So, if you push in front of me I will shout at you, whatever your colour. If your music is keeping me awake at night I will tell you to turn it down, whatever your colour. If you pull out in front of me at a junction I will gesture at you, whatever your colour. It doesn’t make me a racist, it just makes me a grumpy old man.
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Monday, 20 February 2012
A cold day in Northern England part 2
After the pitiful performance in Milan on Wednesday night, Emerson and I were both hoping for better as we made our second trip to Sunderland on consecutive Saturday’s.
The team was announced and we were both happy to hear RvP and Gervinho were playing, but Emerson was a little disappointed Theo was only on the bench.
As he saw the team warming up, and the subs having a kick about away from the starting XI, Emerson thought Theo looked sad.
I really thought we would come out with all guns blazing; a-la Villa in the last round, but it seemed we just had nothing left in the tank.
Having been critical of Sunderland’s style of play last week I feel it is only fair to give them praise this time.
After what I just witnessed, the last thing I wanted to think about was doing it all over again. Perhaps a win over Spurs on Sunday will renew my enthusiasm. Perhaps.
But of course it is hard to stay sad too long when I have Emerson with me, and by the time we reached McDonalds he had managed to cheer up.
''It's okay dad, we might win the cup next season,'' he said as we at down to eat our not-so-happy meal.
''Yes, Emerson, perhaps we might.''
With my foot now better, and after the fun and games of the train last week, I decided to drive this time. Having played football near the Stadium of Light several times over the last few years, I knew a short cut and a good place to park (Southwick if you’re interested, ten minutes walk from the ground).
After the freezing temperatures of last week we both hoped it would be slightly milder this time, especially as all the snow and ice had long gone. Plus it was sunny when we left Darlington so Emerson decided to wear his new red jacket while I made the mistake of wearing one less jumper. In short, it was colder. Much, much colder. The wind was freezing and while it had said 5 degrees in the car, it felt more like minus 5 on the walk alongside the River Wear to the ground.
We were slightly closer to the front this time, and more to the left of the goal, but that was not that the only change. Luckily we were not in the Scottish section and the atmosphere around us was pretty good, at least before the game started anyway. |
| View from our seats. |
The team was announced and we were both happy to hear RvP and Gervinho were playing, but Emerson was a little disappointed Theo was only on the bench.
As he saw the team warming up, and the subs having a kick about away from the starting XI, Emerson thought Theo looked sad.
‘’Still, it’s his own fault,’’ he said, rather unsympathetically. ‘’After the last two games I think he probably deserves to be on the bench today.’’
Our usual prediction game was hard this time. I feared the worst but wanted to be positive so I went for a 3-2 win. With Fabianski in goal and Djourou at the back I felt sure we would concede, but I hoped RvP would do the business at the other end.Emerson was less optimistic.
‘’1-1 or 2-2,’’ he said, but he did not sound convinced and I think he really meant 2-1 to Sunderland, although like me did want to admit to it.After a bright start our injury problems returned as we lost a defender for the third match in row – Coquelin hobbling off with a hamstring injury inside 7 minutes.
That saw Squillaci come on to partner Djourou in the centre of defence so I knew there would be no clean sheet for us now. These two clowns have got to be among the worse centre backs we have ever had, and quite how we have got to the point where these are the best we can get goes some way to explaining our current problems.Yes, we perhaps could have had a penalty when RvP went down under a challenge from O’Shea – Emerson, at least, was convinced it was a pen – and Gervinho was denied by Mignolet, but there was no getting away from the fact that we deserved to be behind at the break.
The half time trip to the toilet was less stressful than last week, although the atmosphere in the concourse was not great. Plenty of unhappy Gooners. Emerson just wanted to go back up to his seat, but it was much warmer in the concourse so I made sure we dragged it out until the teams had returned for the second half. |
| Emerson trying to look as though he's not cold. |
I really thought we would come out with all guns blazing; a-la Villa in the last round, but it seemed we just had nothing left in the tank.
Having been critical of Sunderland’s style of play last week I feel it is only fair to give them praise this time.
They actually reminded me a little of Forest from the late 70’s/early 80’s. The two centre backs are not the greatest footballers but are very strong and well organised, they have two good, fast wingers, Lee Cattermole is in the Kenny Burns destroyer role, and they play on the counter-attack.
I guess that should not be a total surprise as O’Neill played under Clough in the glory days, and if I were a Sunderland fan I would very excited about the future. Unlike us then...Despite being well below par, again, I kept thinking we would somehow snatch an equaliser. Wenger brought on Walcott and Rosicky for the injured Ramsey and Squillaci, moving Song back into defence. Why he didn’t just do that in the first place I don’t know.
We switched to a 4-4-2, with Theo playing up front alongside RvP, the very position I have been saying he should be playing all along.Emerson, of course, was happy to see his hero, unlike everyone around us who started to show their disapproval almost immediately. Some were shouting at him almost as soon as he came onto the pitch. Yeah, nothing like giving the lad a chance eh?
The second goal, ten minutes from time, was again a disaster. I felt sorry for the Ox, who bust a gut to get back after losing the ball (you watching Arshavin?) and was unlucky to deflect it into his own net after it come back off the post.That was enough for many fans, who started to walk out. I must admit I was tempted to do the same, mainly because it was so cold, and I wanted Sunderland to grab a third just to bring an end to the suffering. At 2-0 you know, deep down, you still have a chance, even though the reality in front of you suggests differently. But 3-0 would end all hope and you can breathe a huge sigh of relief it is all over.
Some guy behind us started shouting 'Spend some f**king money,' although quiet how we are supposed to do that now the transfer window is shut I am not sure. Maybe he just wanted his mate to buy him a pint and a burger.
As Wenger prowled along the touchline, the Sunderland fans started singing ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ and there were nothing much we could say in response. Of course he won’t be sacked but maybe it is time for him to do the honourable thing. I mean it is clearly not working anymore.The last ten minutes were among the worst I have ever witnessed. At least at Man. United in August we had our excuses and the fans stuck with us. This was just a feeling of utter despair. And it was cold, so very cold.
Emerson always likes to guess the amount of stoppage time at the end of the game so I went for 3 minutes, but Emerson just said, ‘’I hope there is none at all so we can just go home.’’ Yeah, that sounds good.As it turned out there was 3 and I was convinced we would score right at the end when it was too late to make any difference. But of course we didn’t. We could have played until next week and still not scored.
Coming out the ground we had to walk through all the happy Sunderland fans singing about going to Wembley. Emerson was a little upset and started undoing his jacket to show everyone his Arsenal shirt underneath.‘’We are still better than you,’’ he said, although no one was listening to him.
We finally got back to the car and I turned the heating up to maximum as we tried to thaw out. It soon became clear I was far more depressed about the day’s events than Emerson, who now was looking forward to his McDonalds and thinking about the next match we could go to.‘’Can we go to the Milan game?’’ he asked.
‘’No Emerson, it’s a school night.’’‘’What about Liverpool away?’’
‘’Maybe, we’ll see.’’After what I just witnessed, the last thing I wanted to think about was doing it all over again. Perhaps a win over Spurs on Sunday will renew my enthusiasm. Perhaps.
But of course it is hard to stay sad too long when I have Emerson with me, and by the time we reached McDonalds he had managed to cheer up.
''It's okay dad, we might win the cup next season,'' he said as we at down to eat our not-so-happy meal.
''Yes, Emerson, perhaps we might.''
Sunday, 12 February 2012
A cold day in Northern England.
Sunderland 1 Arsenal 2
Since Thierry Henry returned to Arsenal in January, Emerson has nagged and nagged me to take him to a match so he could see him play live for the first time. Unfortunately it had coincided with my foot being in plaster so getting to a game was not easy, but when I heard this trip to Sunderland would probably be his last in England, I knew we had to be there.
With driving out the question, we had no choice other than to take the train. So we arrived at Darlington station at 13.00 for the short trip to Newcastle, before catching the Metro to St. Peters. Despite living in these parts for over 10 years I had never been on the Newcastle Metro before and Emerson was particularly excited.
''Will it be like the London Underground?'' he asked.
''Yeah probably,'' I replied, although we hoped the trains would be rather less rattley!
The first leg of our journey was livened up by the presence of a hen party heading to the Toon. Emerson did not know what to make of it all, but I found it hilarious. For some reason we found ourselves caught up in the middle of it all, and one woman - a Man. United fan - told Emerson Sunderland would win 2-1. Yes, she had been drinking...
As it turned out the Metro was not rattley at all, although it seemed to take forever to reach Sunderland. We played our usual prediction game to pass the time and Emerson went for a 3-2 win, although the only thing he really wanted was to see Henry score. I, rather optimistically, went for 4-1.
''Dad, are you serious?'' asked a shocked Emerson.
''Yeah, why not?'' I replied.
After a quick stop for chips, we got in the ground half an hour before kick off to see the atmosphere building up nicely. The last few minutes of the Manchester United v Liverpool match was on the TV in the concourse and I was shocked to hear the Arsenal fans singing 'Evra you're a c**t' when he appeared on screen. Yes, he is a loathsome individual, but come on, he was the victim in that little story.
Once in our seats I soon remembered what I hate about games in the North-East. The away end is full of northern Gooners who rarely go to games in any other part of the country, so you have to suffer their moronic comments for 90 minutes. As luck would have it Emerson and I were in the 'Scottish' section. The last thing you need on a freezing cold Saturday in February is to be stuck with a load of pissed up Jocks. They really were the most miserable bunch you could ever wish to meet. One in particular, sitting just behind Emerson (wearing a kilt in -4 degrees, genius), kept shouting 'for f**k sake Arsenal, come on!' every time Sunderland got the ball.
Meanwhile, next to us were the Theo Walcott appreciation society. I am getting sick of tired of hearing so-called Arsenal fans constantly getting on Theo's back. Several times he was given a dreadful pass, usually by Song or Rosicky, and he tried his best to control it or keep it in play, but everyone immediately jumped on his back when he failed to do so. Shameful. Okay he didn't have his greatest game here but while he is on the pitch we should support him. Plus he has had a good season overall. Not that these clowns would know as they have probably only seen about 2-3 games. Anyway I digress.
The first thing that became clear was the state of the pitch. Yes, the weather has been bad but this was just a disgrace. There are park pitches in better condition. What is the groundsman doing? My initial thought was that they had made it that bad on purpose, to hinder our passing game, but I was later informed it was just as bad for their last home against long-ball merchants Norwich.
Unsurprisingly the first half was a low-key affair. We dominated possession but found Sunderland happy to sit back and try to catch us on the break. They had one or two half chances, while the nearest we came was a shot from Theo that flew across the face of the goal. I really wished it had gone in just to see the morons around me having to cheer something he had done. Hypocrites to a man.
Half time led to a mission to get to the toilet. The concourse area is far too narrow for the number of fans inside, leading a dangerous bottle-neck as people queue for refreshments while others try to squeeze past. Just getting to the toilet and back with Emerson took up the whole 20 minute half-time break, so how anyone can manage to get food as well is beyond me. Oh yes, you leave your seat with 10 minutes still to play...
We showed a bit more urgency at the start of the second half, but all Emerson wanted to know was when Henry was coming on. I have been lucky enough to see the great man play many times, and score many, many goals, but Emerson's first match was not until 2008, the year after he left. Of course I have told him all about Henry and he has seen the DVD's, but now he just wanted to see him play in the flesh. He did not have to wait long.
The 'fans' around us were disappointed it was the Ox who went off and not their favourite Walcott, even though the teenager had contributed even less, but we didn't mind one bit. Just to see the great man in the team again was a magical moment, and it would much better later on.
But first things looked to be going wrong when Sunderland went ahead twenty minutes from time. Mertesaker, who had been having a decent game, went down when chasing the ball, twisting his ankle on the awful playing surface, leaving McClean with a clean run on goal.
After our recent poor run we simply had to get something from the match and Ramsey, who had just come on for the unfortunate German, equalised within five minutes with a shot that went in off both posts. Emerson was unsure who had scored until it came up on the scoreboard opposite us.
''Aaron Ramsey??'' he said. ''Isn't he usually rubbish?''
For an 8 year old he certainly knows his stuff.
''Yes, Emerson, he usually is, but not today.''
I felt sure we would win now as Sunderland looked to be feeling the effects of extra time in midweek, and Wenger made his third inspired substitution, finally taking off Theo (to massive cheers around us) and bringing Arshavin on.
It almost paid off immediately when the little Russian sent in a superb left-wing cross, but RvP could only head straight at the keeper. That appeared to be our last chance but, just as the fourth official had put up the board saying 4 minutes of stoppage time would be played, came the moment we had been praying for.
Again Arshavin whipped in a great cross from the left and Henry arrived to flick it home from 2 yards. Yes, Henry had scored. To say the away end went mental was an understatement. Emerson was jumping around like mad and we both ended up buried beneath a bunch of happy Jocks. It's not often you can say that...
It was only then I realised Emerson hadn't actually seen who had scored. He had only seen the cross from Arshavin and then everyone going mental. As he looked up at the scoreboard he could not believe what he saw.
''He has scored, dad, he has scored...'' he kept saying and almost had tears in his eyes.
It was simply the best moment I had ever experienced in over 30 years watching football and I found myself welling up too.
''Yes, Emerson, he certainly has...''
As the results came through on the scoreboard we were given more good news, as after Liverpool's earlier defeat, Chelsea had also been beaten at Everton. Therefore Henry's goal had not only won us the match but had moved us back into the top 4. Not bad considering the problems we have had this season.
Our next mission was to get back to Newcastle on the Metro. For some reason they decided to shut the northbound platform so everyone was told to go south to Sunderland, cross over, and get the train back. Therefore the northbound platform was over-crowded, the train, when it arrived, was over-crowed, while the southbound platform was completely empty. Madness.
The problem was repeated at Sunderland station, and by the time we got back to the Stadium of Light station, two stops back up from Sunderland, the train was so full no one else could get on. I'm not sure who organises all this but apparently it is the same after every match. Why not just open both platforms and ease all the congestion? Shame, as the whole train experience had been rather pleasant until then.
Once on the train we discovered that Spurs were 4-0 up in twenty minutes against Newcastle. Sound familiar?? Of course they ended up winning 5-0, which wasn't a bad result for us as it meant the Geordies stayed below us, although most Gooners seemed a little upset. Come on guys, we are not going to catch Spurs anyway and finishing in the top 4 is all that matters. Let them have their moment, finishing above us for the first time in about 17 years means nothing really as long as we are also in the Champions League next season.
But nothing could wipe the smile off Emerson's face. He spent the entire journey home talking excitedly about Thierry Henry and asking why he cannot stay a little longer.
''His club need him,'' I said.
''But we need him too,'' replied Emerson.
We most certainly do, and hopefully he will return again one day. But in the meantime we have to prepare for a crucial Champions League tie in Milan on Wednesday before making the return trip to Sunderland in the FA Cup next weekend. With my pot due to removed this week I think I will drive to that one...
Since Thierry Henry returned to Arsenal in January, Emerson has nagged and nagged me to take him to a match so he could see him play live for the first time. Unfortunately it had coincided with my foot being in plaster so getting to a game was not easy, but when I heard this trip to Sunderland would probably be his last in England, I knew we had to be there.
With driving out the question, we had no choice other than to take the train. So we arrived at Darlington station at 13.00 for the short trip to Newcastle, before catching the Metro to St. Peters. Despite living in these parts for over 10 years I had never been on the Newcastle Metro before and Emerson was particularly excited.
''Will it be like the London Underground?'' he asked.
''Yeah probably,'' I replied, although we hoped the trains would be rather less rattley!
The first leg of our journey was livened up by the presence of a hen party heading to the Toon. Emerson did not know what to make of it all, but I found it hilarious. For some reason we found ourselves caught up in the middle of it all, and one woman - a Man. United fan - told Emerson Sunderland would win 2-1. Yes, she had been drinking...
As it turned out the Metro was not rattley at all, although it seemed to take forever to reach Sunderland. We played our usual prediction game to pass the time and Emerson went for a 3-2 win, although the only thing he really wanted was to see Henry score. I, rather optimistically, went for 4-1.
''Dad, are you serious?'' asked a shocked Emerson.
''Yeah, why not?'' I replied.
After a quick stop for chips, we got in the ground half an hour before kick off to see the atmosphere building up nicely. The last few minutes of the Manchester United v Liverpool match was on the TV in the concourse and I was shocked to hear the Arsenal fans singing 'Evra you're a c**t' when he appeared on screen. Yes, he is a loathsome individual, but come on, he was the victim in that little story.
 |
| View from our seats. |
Once in our seats I soon remembered what I hate about games in the North-East. The away end is full of northern Gooners who rarely go to games in any other part of the country, so you have to suffer their moronic comments for 90 minutes. As luck would have it Emerson and I were in the 'Scottish' section. The last thing you need on a freezing cold Saturday in February is to be stuck with a load of pissed up Jocks. They really were the most miserable bunch you could ever wish to meet. One in particular, sitting just behind Emerson (wearing a kilt in -4 degrees, genius), kept shouting 'for f**k sake Arsenal, come on!' every time Sunderland got the ball.
Meanwhile, next to us were the Theo Walcott appreciation society. I am getting sick of tired of hearing so-called Arsenal fans constantly getting on Theo's back. Several times he was given a dreadful pass, usually by Song or Rosicky, and he tried his best to control it or keep it in play, but everyone immediately jumped on his back when he failed to do so. Shameful. Okay he didn't have his greatest game here but while he is on the pitch we should support him. Plus he has had a good season overall. Not that these clowns would know as they have probably only seen about 2-3 games. Anyway I digress.
The first thing that became clear was the state of the pitch. Yes, the weather has been bad but this was just a disgrace. There are park pitches in better condition. What is the groundsman doing? My initial thought was that they had made it that bad on purpose, to hinder our passing game, but I was later informed it was just as bad for their last home against long-ball merchants Norwich.
Unsurprisingly the first half was a low-key affair. We dominated possession but found Sunderland happy to sit back and try to catch us on the break. They had one or two half chances, while the nearest we came was a shot from Theo that flew across the face of the goal. I really wished it had gone in just to see the morons around me having to cheer something he had done. Hypocrites to a man.
 |
| Emerson braving the cold weather. |
Half time led to a mission to get to the toilet. The concourse area is far too narrow for the number of fans inside, leading a dangerous bottle-neck as people queue for refreshments while others try to squeeze past. Just getting to the toilet and back with Emerson took up the whole 20 minute half-time break, so how anyone can manage to get food as well is beyond me. Oh yes, you leave your seat with 10 minutes still to play...
We showed a bit more urgency at the start of the second half, but all Emerson wanted to know was when Henry was coming on. I have been lucky enough to see the great man play many times, and score many, many goals, but Emerson's first match was not until 2008, the year after he left. Of course I have told him all about Henry and he has seen the DVD's, but now he just wanted to see him play in the flesh. He did not have to wait long.
The 'fans' around us were disappointed it was the Ox who went off and not their favourite Walcott, even though the teenager had contributed even less, but we didn't mind one bit. Just to see the great man in the team again was a magical moment, and it would much better later on.
But first things looked to be going wrong when Sunderland went ahead twenty minutes from time. Mertesaker, who had been having a decent game, went down when chasing the ball, twisting his ankle on the awful playing surface, leaving McClean with a clean run on goal.
After our recent poor run we simply had to get something from the match and Ramsey, who had just come on for the unfortunate German, equalised within five minutes with a shot that went in off both posts. Emerson was unsure who had scored until it came up on the scoreboard opposite us.
''Aaron Ramsey??'' he said. ''Isn't he usually rubbish?''
For an 8 year old he certainly knows his stuff.
''Yes, Emerson, he usually is, but not today.''
I felt sure we would win now as Sunderland looked to be feeling the effects of extra time in midweek, and Wenger made his third inspired substitution, finally taking off Theo (to massive cheers around us) and bringing Arshavin on.
It almost paid off immediately when the little Russian sent in a superb left-wing cross, but RvP could only head straight at the keeper. That appeared to be our last chance but, just as the fourth official had put up the board saying 4 minutes of stoppage time would be played, came the moment we had been praying for.
Again Arshavin whipped in a great cross from the left and Henry arrived to flick it home from 2 yards. Yes, Henry had scored. To say the away end went mental was an understatement. Emerson was jumping around like mad and we both ended up buried beneath a bunch of happy Jocks. It's not often you can say that...
It was only then I realised Emerson hadn't actually seen who had scored. He had only seen the cross from Arshavin and then everyone going mental. As he looked up at the scoreboard he could not believe what he saw.
''He has scored, dad, he has scored...'' he kept saying and almost had tears in his eyes.
It was simply the best moment I had ever experienced in over 30 years watching football and I found myself welling up too.
''Yes, Emerson, he certainly has...''
 |
| The players celebrate after a very important three points. |
The final whistle brought joy and relief, while Henry came over to say his last farewell to the travelling fans. Emerson wanted to run down the front to get closer, but it was far too congested so he decided to stand on his seat instead, manically waving in the direction of his hero.
As the results came through on the scoreboard we were given more good news, as after Liverpool's earlier defeat, Chelsea had also been beaten at Everton. Therefore Henry's goal had not only won us the match but had moved us back into the top 4. Not bad considering the problems we have had this season.
Our next mission was to get back to Newcastle on the Metro. For some reason they decided to shut the northbound platform so everyone was told to go south to Sunderland, cross over, and get the train back. Therefore the northbound platform was over-crowded, the train, when it arrived, was over-crowed, while the southbound platform was completely empty. Madness.
The problem was repeated at Sunderland station, and by the time we got back to the Stadium of Light station, two stops back up from Sunderland, the train was so full no one else could get on. I'm not sure who organises all this but apparently it is the same after every match. Why not just open both platforms and ease all the congestion? Shame, as the whole train experience had been rather pleasant until then.
Once on the train we discovered that Spurs were 4-0 up in twenty minutes against Newcastle. Sound familiar?? Of course they ended up winning 5-0, which wasn't a bad result for us as it meant the Geordies stayed below us, although most Gooners seemed a little upset. Come on guys, we are not going to catch Spurs anyway and finishing in the top 4 is all that matters. Let them have their moment, finishing above us for the first time in about 17 years means nothing really as long as we are also in the Champions League next season.
But nothing could wipe the smile off Emerson's face. He spent the entire journey home talking excitedly about Thierry Henry and asking why he cannot stay a little longer.
''His club need him,'' I said.
''But we need him too,'' replied Emerson.
We most certainly do, and hopefully he will return again one day. But in the meantime we have to prepare for a crucial Champions League tie in Milan on Wednesday before making the return trip to Sunderland in the FA Cup next weekend. With my pot due to removed this week I think I will drive to that one...
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Harry Redknapp, England's saviour?
So, Harry Redknapp was cleared of all charges relating to cheating the public revenue, but do no think for one minute he is innocent. The jury may have been fooled by Redknapp's tale of being an illiterate technophobe, but the facts speak for themselves.
Why would he pay the Portsmouth transfer 'commision' into an offshore account named after his pet dog? Why not just pay it into a normal account, pay the tax and be done with it? As he said, he had paid enough tax over the years anyway.
He claimed his accountant dealt with that side of things, but ultimately that makes no difference. The fact is the money was paid into an offshore account, and the only possible reason for that was to avoid the tax.
Of course all this is largely irrelevant now. He has been cleared by a jury and is free to get on with his life. However, the whole case leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Redknapp claimed he was lying to the News Of The World journalist in an interview on the matter, so how can we now trust anything he says to the media again? This becomes an even bigger issue with the current England manager situation.
If Redknapp is given the job it will involve talking to the media on matters relating to the national team, but can we trust him to be honest with us? There will always be a feeling of distrust.
From a purely football point of view, Harry is without doubt the best candidate to lead the country into the European Championships and beyond, but is he actually the right man for the job?
Redknapp's own public admission that he took what can only be described as a 'bung', should rule him out straight away. It was, of course, the very thing that lead to George Graham getting a two year ban by the FA.
After the scandals of Eriksson, the disaster of McClaren and the circus that was Capello, it is vital the FA make the right appointment now. The game has been gripped by one crisis after another this season and the FA cannot afford to get this wrong.
The problem is the public, and the media, are crying out for an English manager this time, and Redknapp is the popular choice. Yeah, because all the previous Englishmen did such a great job didn't they??
But would he take it anyway? As things stand Harry can hold his head up. He was cleared of all the charges against him, he is doing a great job at Tottenham and has the whole country saying he should be the next England manager.
If he does take it on, the likelihood is he will hated by everyone within two years when it all goes wrong, as it inevitably will. Would the cheeky-chappy want that? I doubt it.
So where does that leave us? Personally I don't think it really matters who the next England manager is. The problems in our game are far deeper than that. The players are not good enough to win a tournament whoever is in charge anyway.
The only thing I would say is I hope it is an Englishman, someone with a passion for the country and the Three Lions. Other than that it doesn't matter. We will still be in the same position in 4 years time regardless. But the FA do not need another scandal, and Redknapp is a scandal waiting to happen.
The next few weeks could be very interesting indeed.
Why would he pay the Portsmouth transfer 'commision' into an offshore account named after his pet dog? Why not just pay it into a normal account, pay the tax and be done with it? As he said, he had paid enough tax over the years anyway.
He claimed his accountant dealt with that side of things, but ultimately that makes no difference. The fact is the money was paid into an offshore account, and the only possible reason for that was to avoid the tax.
Of course all this is largely irrelevant now. He has been cleared by a jury and is free to get on with his life. However, the whole case leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Redknapp claimed he was lying to the News Of The World journalist in an interview on the matter, so how can we now trust anything he says to the media again? This becomes an even bigger issue with the current England manager situation.
If Redknapp is given the job it will involve talking to the media on matters relating to the national team, but can we trust him to be honest with us? There will always be a feeling of distrust.
From a purely football point of view, Harry is without doubt the best candidate to lead the country into the European Championships and beyond, but is he actually the right man for the job?
Redknapp's own public admission that he took what can only be described as a 'bung', should rule him out straight away. It was, of course, the very thing that lead to George Graham getting a two year ban by the FA.
After the scandals of Eriksson, the disaster of McClaren and the circus that was Capello, it is vital the FA make the right appointment now. The game has been gripped by one crisis after another this season and the FA cannot afford to get this wrong.
The problem is the public, and the media, are crying out for an English manager this time, and Redknapp is the popular choice. Yeah, because all the previous Englishmen did such a great job didn't they??
But would he take it anyway? As things stand Harry can hold his head up. He was cleared of all the charges against him, he is doing a great job at Tottenham and has the whole country saying he should be the next England manager.
If he does take it on, the likelihood is he will hated by everyone within two years when it all goes wrong, as it inevitably will. Would the cheeky-chappy want that? I doubt it.
So where does that leave us? Personally I don't think it really matters who the next England manager is. The problems in our game are far deeper than that. The players are not good enough to win a tournament whoever is in charge anyway.
The only thing I would say is I hope it is an Englishman, someone with a passion for the country and the Three Lions. Other than that it doesn't matter. We will still be in the same position in 4 years time regardless. But the FA do not need another scandal, and Redknapp is a scandal waiting to happen.
The next few weeks could be very interesting indeed.
Sunday, 22 January 2012
A day at Darlo...
A couple of unusual events led me to being at Darlington on Saturday afternoon, instead of watching the Daggers from the press box at Crewe, as had been the original plan.
Firstly, I unfortunately broke my foot playing football this week. So, with a pot on, I was unable to drive to Cheshire, and as I was unwilling to pay the £98 return train fare, I found myself at a loose end.
A Saturday afternoon without football is not a prospect that fills me with joy, but luckily my 8 year old son Emerson came to the rescue.
‘Why don’t we go to the Darlington match instead?’ he asked on Thursday.
He had been hearing about their plight on the news all week and did not want to see his local club go under.
'If we go it will help save them,’ he said ‘And I can put all my Christmas money into the pot.’
How could I not respond to such a heart-felt plea?
The town had been full of news of the club all week. After almost going out of business on Tuesday, they were saved by the late intervention of a fans consortium, and there was a buzz around the place for the weekend visit of Conference leaders Fleetwood.
Despite being me hobbling about on my crutches, we made our way to the stadium to find a most unusual scene – a long queue for tickets.
With the scheduled kick off time of 3pm fast approaching we were informed it had been put back fifteen minutes to allow everyone to get in. Surely this was a first for Darlo, as the stadium holds 25,000, even if it is restricted to around 10,000 for safety reasons.
Amongst the fans in the queue were inevitably some from local sides Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle, but there were also some from further afield, such as Arsenal, Liverpool and of course Emerson and me representing Dagenham.
Once in the ground I was amazed at the atmosphere. Having been there several times over the last 10 years, there has never been much of a crowd and it always felt rather flat, but this actually felt like a proper football match.
I began to feel a little sorry for Fleetwood. They were second in the league and going for promotion but had arrived to all the drama surrounding Darlo. The local and national media were out in full force and it felt like the game was far more important than just a run-of-the-mill fifth tier league encounter. For Darlo, of course, it was.
Despite selling many of their best players, Darlington actually played really well. Yes, they lacked quality, particularly up front, but no one could question their commitment to the cause. They worked extremely hard for 90 minutes and manager, Craig Liddell, must have been very proud of each and every one of them. The fact that they announced Liddell and the whole Darlington team as man of the match at the end was the perfect tribute.
But just before the break Fleetwood broke out to take the lead. A mistake from Darlo centre back Graeme Lee enabled Andy Mangan to run clear, and after his effort hit the post, Danny Rose followed up to smash the ball home.
Fleetwood did seem a little overawed by the occasion and rarely showed the form that had taken them into the top two, but their extra bit of quality had proved decisive when it really mattered.
Darlo’s best chance of the entire match arrived straight from the restart following the goal, but Fleetwood keeper Scott Davies produced a fine save to deny Ryan Bowman.
The fans singing ‘Darlo will never die’ obviously sang it with feeling, but if they had all bothered to come a little earlier maybe things would not have got to this point in the first place?
I actually felt a little guilty that I had not done more myself. Having moved to the area 10 years ago this was only the 8th time I had been to a game here, and three of those were to watch the Daggers. Yes, my allegiances lie elsewhere, but Darlo are my local team now and I should have come here more often. The £30 Emerson and me put in the pot today will help, but it was far too little too late.
‘Can we come to more Darlo home games when we aren’t going to Arsenal or Dagenham?’ asked Emerson on the way home. While most of his school friends are only interested in Manchester United and the Premier League, he is more worried about the plight of his local club. A lesson for all of us there.
‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘Of course we can.’
The passion of the fans in the stands and the players on the pitch made us both realise just how important this club is. I just hope there will be many more games for us to go to in the future.
Firstly, I unfortunately broke my foot playing football this week. So, with a pot on, I was unable to drive to Cheshire, and as I was unwilling to pay the £98 return train fare, I found myself at a loose end.
A Saturday afternoon without football is not a prospect that fills me with joy, but luckily my 8 year old son Emerson came to the rescue.
‘Why don’t we go to the Darlington match instead?’ he asked on Thursday.
He had been hearing about their plight on the news all week and did not want to see his local club go under.
'If we go it will help save them,’ he said ‘And I can put all my Christmas money into the pot.’
How could I not respond to such a heart-felt plea?
The town had been full of news of the club all week. After almost going out of business on Tuesday, they were saved by the late intervention of a fans consortium, and there was a buzz around the place for the weekend visit of Conference leaders Fleetwood.
 |
| The Northern Echo Arena |
I had heard that fans from all over the country were planning on making the trip to help save the club, so Emerson asked if he could wear his Daggers top to the game. Under normal circumstances I would not encourage him to wear a shirt of a team he is not watching, but I made an exception on this occasion.
Despite being me hobbling about on my crutches, we made our way to the stadium to find a most unusual scene – a long queue for tickets.
With the scheduled kick off time of 3pm fast approaching we were informed it had been put back fifteen minutes to allow everyone to get in. Surely this was a first for Darlo, as the stadium holds 25,000, even if it is restricted to around 10,000 for safety reasons.
Amongst the fans in the queue were inevitably some from local sides Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle, but there were also some from further afield, such as Arsenal, Liverpool and of course Emerson and me representing Dagenham.
Once in the ground I was amazed at the atmosphere. Having been there several times over the last 10 years, there has never been much of a crowd and it always felt rather flat, but this actually felt like a proper football match.
I began to feel a little sorry for Fleetwood. They were second in the league and going for promotion but had arrived to all the drama surrounding Darlo. The local and national media were out in full force and it felt like the game was far more important than just a run-of-the-mill fifth tier league encounter. For Darlo, of course, it was.
Despite selling many of their best players, Darlington actually played really well. Yes, they lacked quality, particularly up front, but no one could question their commitment to the cause. They worked extremely hard for 90 minutes and manager, Craig Liddell, must have been very proud of each and every one of them. The fact that they announced Liddell and the whole Darlington team as man of the match at the end was the perfect tribute.
 |
| Darlo's Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (left), battles for possession with Fleetwood's Richard Brodie |
A couple of early half-chances for Darlo brought the crowd to their feet, although I was unable to stand due to the pain in my foot, and had they scored at this point the place would have erupted.
But just before the break Fleetwood broke out to take the lead. A mistake from Darlo centre back Graeme Lee enabled Andy Mangan to run clear, and after his effort hit the post, Danny Rose followed up to smash the ball home.
Fleetwood did seem a little overawed by the occasion and rarely showed the form that had taken them into the top two, but their extra bit of quality had proved decisive when it really mattered.
Darlo’s best chance of the entire match arrived straight from the restart following the goal, but Fleetwood keeper Scott Davies produced a fine save to deny Ryan Bowman.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with Darlo huffing and puffing but rarely looking like finding an equaliser. They had their moments though, mainly from the odd goalmouth scramble in the closing stages, but it finished 1-0, although the day was not really about the result.
A crowd of nearly 6,000 should give the club the much needed funds to allow them to continue for a few more weeks at least, but I could not help but wonder why it had taken things to get this bad for the locals to finally show how much they care about their club? |
| Darlo fans show the passion they have for their club. |
The fans singing ‘Darlo will never die’ obviously sang it with feeling, but if they had all bothered to come a little earlier maybe things would not have got to this point in the first place?
I actually felt a little guilty that I had not done more myself. Having moved to the area 10 years ago this was only the 8th time I had been to a game here, and three of those were to watch the Daggers. Yes, my allegiances lie elsewhere, but Darlo are my local team now and I should have come here more often. The £30 Emerson and me put in the pot today will help, but it was far too little too late.
‘Can we come to more Darlo home games when we aren’t going to Arsenal or Dagenham?’ asked Emerson on the way home. While most of his school friends are only interested in Manchester United and the Premier League, he is more worried about the plight of his local club. A lesson for all of us there.
‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘Of course we can.’
The passion of the fans in the stands and the players on the pitch made us both realise just how important this club is. I just hope there will be many more games for us to go to in the future.
Sunday, 1 January 2012
My top 10 footballing moments of 2011
This time last year I wrote a top '10 Football Moments of the Year' and the hardest part was restricting it to just 10. It had been a great footballing year and I had to leave out many great memories. But this year the opposite is true. Just finding 10 moments has been a struggle, but I will try.
1. Peterborough 5 Daggers 0 - May
It may not seem like such a great memory on paper, but it was a great day to be a Dagger. To see over 1,000 fans make the trip for a match in which we needed a point to stay up was amazing, and the team did not let us down. Yes, we got hammered in the end by a team that were promoted to The Championship, but the lads were magnificent in the first half, and the emotional scenes at the end will live with me forever. To hear the passion from both John Still and Mark Arber at the end brought home just how much the club means to them.
2. Thornley Celtic 4 Darlington RA 2 - February
A little self-indulgence if I may. Having left the RA the previous September, after a new manager arrived and brought in his own players, me and a few of the lads joined struggling Thornley so were looking forward to this match. Darlington were in the top 4 and we were bottom, but with four ex-RA players in our team we tore them apart. I had the best game of my life, scoring 1, creating 2 others and getting man of the match, as we got our own little piece of revenge. It didn't help in the over-all scheme of things, as we were relegated in the end anyway, but for 90 minutes we played like Champions.
3. Manchester United 8 Arsenal 2 - August
Again not an obvious highlight, but the atmosphere in the second half made up for what was happening on the pitch. Singing 'We love you Arsenal, we do' for virtually the entire second period, even as United kept on scoring, was superb and were rewarded with a ticket refund from the club and some new signings a week later. Even now Emerson still talks about that match and, despite the result, he says it is his favourite ever away game.
4. Arsenal 2 Sunderland 1 - October
My 30th Anniversary match and a magical free kick from Robin van Persie made it day to remember. He also scored the fastest ever Emirates goal, after just 28 seconds, which meant we had witnessed a little piece of history as well. Many things had changed since my first match in 1981, not least the price of tickets, but one thing that hadn't was the feeling you get from seeing your team win. Now that is timeless.
5. Hartlepool 0 Daggers 1 - January
Almost the perfect away performance, especially for me with my North-East base. We soaked up the early pressure and then broke out to win it in the last few minutes. It was the start of a good run that almost kept us in League One, but was memorable for me due to an encounter with ex-Premier League referee Jeff Winter. He was broadcasting in the press box and mentioned Emerson and me in his post-match blog, after we apparently 'barged' past him. Of course he forgot to mention the fact that he had caused Emerson to spill a hot cup of tea but, having seen his refereeing performances down the years, I guess eyesight was never his strong point.
6. Leeds 1 Arsenal 3 - January
I was lucky enough to be in the front row for this televised FA Cup replay and was spotted by the TV cameras after each of our goals. To make the night even better I managed to catch Szczesny's gloves at the end of the match, when he threw them into the crowd - a lovely memento for Emerson, who was not allowed to go as it was a school night.
7. Rolls Royce 1 Richmond Town Vets 2 - August
Another piece of self-indulgence. The first match of the season for the newly-formed Richmond Town Vets and I scored both goals, including a last minute winner, as we got off to the perfect start. In fact it has been Richmond Town that has given me most to enjoy this footballing year, as we go into 2012 five points clear at the top of the league.
8. Daggers 2 Gillingham 1- December
After a difficult year, the Daggers at least ended it in style with this great win over the high-flying Gills. Despite going a goal down early on we fought back with two great goals from Billy Bingham and Brian Woodall to move up to the dizzy heights of 20th place. Having beaten Barnet on Boxing Day as well it means we can now look forward to the New Year with renewed hope of avoiding a second consecutive relegation.
9. Wigan 0 Arsenal 4 - December
In a year of so few highs, a 4-0 away win just has to be included. It was actually a very good game and showed the new-found confidence in the team. The fact that Chelsea and Liverpool only managed to draw here in the following couple of weeks made this result all the more impressive, and it did lift us briefly into the top 4.
10. Daggers 3 Carlisle 0 - April
It was a toss-up between this and the home win over Charlton in March, but this just made the cut for the importance of the match. It was our last home game of the season and we had to win to keep our survival hopes alive. As it turned out we played superbly throughout and the game included the last ever goal for the club by Danny Green, which made Emerson's day. However he later received a red card and that proved crucial in the end as he was suspended for the last match at Peterborough, a sad way to end his two years with us.
So there you have it. Not a vintage year by any means. The Daggers not only got relegated back to League Two but have spent a vast majority of this season in the bottom two, while Arsenal went from title contenders in January to a laughing stock by August. Thankfully things have ended on a high, with two great wins for the Daggers and a series of good performances from Arsenal that has seen them back challenging for a place in the top 4. Meanwhile, of course, my Richmond Town Vets team have gone from strength to strength as we challenge for the title going into the New Year.
Here's hoping for a better 2012...
1. Peterborough 5 Daggers 0 - May
It may not seem like such a great memory on paper, but it was a great day to be a Dagger. To see over 1,000 fans make the trip for a match in which we needed a point to stay up was amazing, and the team did not let us down. Yes, we got hammered in the end by a team that were promoted to The Championship, but the lads were magnificent in the first half, and the emotional scenes at the end will live with me forever. To hear the passion from both John Still and Mark Arber at the end brought home just how much the club means to them.
2. Thornley Celtic 4 Darlington RA 2 - February
A little self-indulgence if I may. Having left the RA the previous September, after a new manager arrived and brought in his own players, me and a few of the lads joined struggling Thornley so were looking forward to this match. Darlington were in the top 4 and we were bottom, but with four ex-RA players in our team we tore them apart. I had the best game of my life, scoring 1, creating 2 others and getting man of the match, as we got our own little piece of revenge. It didn't help in the over-all scheme of things, as we were relegated in the end anyway, but for 90 minutes we played like Champions.
3. Manchester United 8 Arsenal 2 - August
Again not an obvious highlight, but the atmosphere in the second half made up for what was happening on the pitch. Singing 'We love you Arsenal, we do' for virtually the entire second period, even as United kept on scoring, was superb and were rewarded with a ticket refund from the club and some new signings a week later. Even now Emerson still talks about that match and, despite the result, he says it is his favourite ever away game.
4. Arsenal 2 Sunderland 1 - October
My 30th Anniversary match and a magical free kick from Robin van Persie made it day to remember. He also scored the fastest ever Emirates goal, after just 28 seconds, which meant we had witnessed a little piece of history as well. Many things had changed since my first match in 1981, not least the price of tickets, but one thing that hadn't was the feeling you get from seeing your team win. Now that is timeless.
5. Hartlepool 0 Daggers 1 - January
Almost the perfect away performance, especially for me with my North-East base. We soaked up the early pressure and then broke out to win it in the last few minutes. It was the start of a good run that almost kept us in League One, but was memorable for me due to an encounter with ex-Premier League referee Jeff Winter. He was broadcasting in the press box and mentioned Emerson and me in his post-match blog, after we apparently 'barged' past him. Of course he forgot to mention the fact that he had caused Emerson to spill a hot cup of tea but, having seen his refereeing performances down the years, I guess eyesight was never his strong point.
6. Leeds 1 Arsenal 3 - January
I was lucky enough to be in the front row for this televised FA Cup replay and was spotted by the TV cameras after each of our goals. To make the night even better I managed to catch Szczesny's gloves at the end of the match, when he threw them into the crowd - a lovely memento for Emerson, who was not allowed to go as it was a school night.
7. Rolls Royce 1 Richmond Town Vets 2 - August
Another piece of self-indulgence. The first match of the season for the newly-formed Richmond Town Vets and I scored both goals, including a last minute winner, as we got off to the perfect start. In fact it has been Richmond Town that has given me most to enjoy this footballing year, as we go into 2012 five points clear at the top of the league.
8. Daggers 2 Gillingham 1- December
After a difficult year, the Daggers at least ended it in style with this great win over the high-flying Gills. Despite going a goal down early on we fought back with two great goals from Billy Bingham and Brian Woodall to move up to the dizzy heights of 20th place. Having beaten Barnet on Boxing Day as well it means we can now look forward to the New Year with renewed hope of avoiding a second consecutive relegation.
9. Wigan 0 Arsenal 4 - December
In a year of so few highs, a 4-0 away win just has to be included. It was actually a very good game and showed the new-found confidence in the team. The fact that Chelsea and Liverpool only managed to draw here in the following couple of weeks made this result all the more impressive, and it did lift us briefly into the top 4.
10. Daggers 3 Carlisle 0 - April
It was a toss-up between this and the home win over Charlton in March, but this just made the cut for the importance of the match. It was our last home game of the season and we had to win to keep our survival hopes alive. As it turned out we played superbly throughout and the game included the last ever goal for the club by Danny Green, which made Emerson's day. However he later received a red card and that proved crucial in the end as he was suspended for the last match at Peterborough, a sad way to end his two years with us.
So there you have it. Not a vintage year by any means. The Daggers not only got relegated back to League Two but have spent a vast majority of this season in the bottom two, while Arsenal went from title contenders in January to a laughing stock by August. Thankfully things have ended on a high, with two great wins for the Daggers and a series of good performances from Arsenal that has seen them back challenging for a place in the top 4. Meanwhile, of course, my Richmond Town Vets team have gone from strength to strength as we challenge for the title going into the New Year.
Here's hoping for a better 2012...
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Hennessey Gold
ARSENAL 1 WOLVES 1
by Ricky Butler at The Emirates
Arsenal did not enjoy any Festive cheer as they failed to break down the stubborn resistance of Mick McCarthy's strugglers at The Emirates yesterday.
Despite the luxury of an early goal - a cool finish from Gervinho inside eight minutes - Arsene Wenger's side missed the opportunity to jump above Chelsea into the top four, as they ran into a goalkeeper on the very top of his game.
Wayne Hennessey was the only thing that stood between Arsenal and a comfortable victory as he made a series of outstanding saves, even after his team had been reduced to ten men following the controversial dismissal of Nenad Milijas fifteen minutes from time.
''Yes it is frustrating,'' said Wenger. ''But I am more frustrated with the result and not the performance. You cannot fault our attitude, commitment or desire to win the game.''
His side were given the perfect start. A Wolves attack broke down in the 7th minute and the ball fell to the recalled Tomas Rosicky down the right, who fed Yossi Benayoun. The Chelsea loanee, making his first Premier League start for the club in place of Theo Walcott, threaded a lovely ball through to Gervinho, and the Ivorian coolly rounded Hennessey before slotting into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
It looked like being a case of how many Arsenal would get after that as Wolves struggled to get out of their own half. Robin van Persie, just two short of Alan Shearer's record of 36 Premier League goals in a calendar year, was denied by Hennessey, while Mikel Arteta saw an effort blocked by Christophe Berra.
But McCarthy's men shocked the Emirates with an equaliser seven minutes before the break. A corner from the left by Milijas was cleared only as far as Stephen Hunt, who's deflected effort fell kindly for Steven Fletcher to nod beyond the stranded Wojciech Szczesny from eight yards.
The second half became attack against defence as Wenger's team threw everything forward in search of the win they so desperately needed. On another day they may have scored four or five, but with Hennessey in this sort of form they ended up with only frustration.
His best save was from a Per Mertesaker header midway through the second period - following a superb left wing cross from Rosicky with the outside of his right foot - while he performed further heroics to deny van Persie, twice, and Gervinho.
The hosts claimed they should have had a penalty when a cross from Laurent Koscienly clearly struck Roger Johnson's arm, but referee Stuart Atwell waved away their appeals and booked Thomas Vermaelen for his protests instead.
Whether that was on his mind when Milijas dived in on Arteta soon after is unclear, but despite the challenge being neither two-footed or malicious, Atwell produced a red card and the game now appeared to be Arsenal's for the taking. However, despite a flurry of late chances, they could find no way past Hennessey, who denied Vermaelen with another outstanding save at the death.
''We could play that game 20 times and we would win 19,'' said Wenger. ''The keeper had the game of his life. Yes, we have missed an opportunity, but we need to keep going and take the positives from the performance,'' he added.
With London derbies to come against QPR and Fulham over the next six days, things are not about to get any easier for them either.
ARSENAL - Szczesny 6, Djourou 6 (Chamakh 82), Mertesaker 7, Koscielny 7, Vermaelen 7, Song 6 (Ramsey 72, 6), Atreta 7, Rosicky 7, Gervinho 7, Benayoun 7 (Arshavin 64, 6), van Persie 7.
WOLVES - Hennessey 9, Zubar 7 (Stearman 51, 6), Johnson 7, Berra 7, Ward 7, Forde 6 (Guediorra 72, 6), Henry 6, Milijas 6, Jarvis 7, Hunt 6 (Doyle 86), Fletcher 7
REFEREE; S. Atwell 5 - Got the big calls wrong and seemed to lose control.
ATTENDANCE; 59, 686
by Ricky Butler at The Emirates
Arsenal did not enjoy any Festive cheer as they failed to break down the stubborn resistance of Mick McCarthy's strugglers at The Emirates yesterday.
Despite the luxury of an early goal - a cool finish from Gervinho inside eight minutes - Arsene Wenger's side missed the opportunity to jump above Chelsea into the top four, as they ran into a goalkeeper on the very top of his game.
Wayne Hennessey was the only thing that stood between Arsenal and a comfortable victory as he made a series of outstanding saves, even after his team had been reduced to ten men following the controversial dismissal of Nenad Milijas fifteen minutes from time.
''Yes it is frustrating,'' said Wenger. ''But I am more frustrated with the result and not the performance. You cannot fault our attitude, commitment or desire to win the game.''
His side were given the perfect start. A Wolves attack broke down in the 7th minute and the ball fell to the recalled Tomas Rosicky down the right, who fed Yossi Benayoun. The Chelsea loanee, making his first Premier League start for the club in place of Theo Walcott, threaded a lovely ball through to Gervinho, and the Ivorian coolly rounded Hennessey before slotting into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
It looked like being a case of how many Arsenal would get after that as Wolves struggled to get out of their own half. Robin van Persie, just two short of Alan Shearer's record of 36 Premier League goals in a calendar year, was denied by Hennessey, while Mikel Arteta saw an effort blocked by Christophe Berra.
But McCarthy's men shocked the Emirates with an equaliser seven minutes before the break. A corner from the left by Milijas was cleared only as far as Stephen Hunt, who's deflected effort fell kindly for Steven Fletcher to nod beyond the stranded Wojciech Szczesny from eight yards.
The second half became attack against defence as Wenger's team threw everything forward in search of the win they so desperately needed. On another day they may have scored four or five, but with Hennessey in this sort of form they ended up with only frustration.
His best save was from a Per Mertesaker header midway through the second period - following a superb left wing cross from Rosicky with the outside of his right foot - while he performed further heroics to deny van Persie, twice, and Gervinho.
The hosts claimed they should have had a penalty when a cross from Laurent Koscienly clearly struck Roger Johnson's arm, but referee Stuart Atwell waved away their appeals and booked Thomas Vermaelen for his protests instead.
Whether that was on his mind when Milijas dived in on Arteta soon after is unclear, but despite the challenge being neither two-footed or malicious, Atwell produced a red card and the game now appeared to be Arsenal's for the taking. However, despite a flurry of late chances, they could find no way past Hennessey, who denied Vermaelen with another outstanding save at the death.
''We could play that game 20 times and we would win 19,'' said Wenger. ''The keeper had the game of his life. Yes, we have missed an opportunity, but we need to keep going and take the positives from the performance,'' he added.
With London derbies to come against QPR and Fulham over the next six days, things are not about to get any easier for them either.
ARSENAL - Szczesny 6, Djourou 6 (Chamakh 82), Mertesaker 7, Koscielny 7, Vermaelen 7, Song 6 (Ramsey 72, 6), Atreta 7, Rosicky 7, Gervinho 7, Benayoun 7 (Arshavin 64, 6), van Persie 7.
WOLVES - Hennessey 9, Zubar 7 (Stearman 51, 6), Johnson 7, Berra 7, Ward 7, Forde 6 (Guediorra 72, 6), Henry 6, Milijas 6, Jarvis 7, Hunt 6 (Doyle 86), Fletcher 7
REFEREE; S. Atwell 5 - Got the big calls wrong and seemed to lose control.
ATTENDANCE; 59, 686
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Racism in football, an alternative view
So, the racism in football row will not go away. Luis Suarez received an eight match ban and a £40,000 fine after being found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra, while John Terry is due to face criminal charges for his own alleged racist offence against Anton Ferdinand.
Despite the best efforts of campaigns like 'Kick It Out' and 'Show Racism The Red Card' it appears racism is still alive and well in our sport, and indeed our society. In fact I would go as far as to say it has never really gone away. The fact that fans no longer throw bananas and direct monkey chants at black players, in this country at least, does not mean the problem has disappeared, and it would naive to think it has.
I would go as far as to say that racism is actually a more serious issue now than it was in the 1980's. Our country has become much more multi-cultural and this has led to more racial tension in society. I also believe the 'Kick It Out' campaign has in fact made things worse. How? By constantly throwing out the same names with the same cliches whenever racism is mentioned. You know the ones, Viv Anderson, John Barnes, Ian Wright, Stan Collymore etc. all saying how progress has been made but there is still more work to do. Indeed. But what do they all have in common?? Yes, they are all black. The message, therefore, is that victims of racism are only black. The irony, of course, is that in itself is racist.
I have witnessed many incidents of white players receiving racist insults from black and Asian players in local grass roots football. But what generally happens is that it is laughed off, even by the officials. Yet as soon as a white player says anything remotely racist to a black or Asian player they face a lifetime ban. It is incidents like this that simply breed more racism.
Now I am all for equality, but things are not equal. Yes, I understand that black players had a difficult time in the dark days (excuse the pun) of the 1970's and 80's, but we do not need to over-compensate for that now. We need to treat all cases of prejudice equally, be they against blacks, whites, women or men. But that does not seem to be happening.
Of course the current high-profile cases have been offences committed by white players against black players, which again proves the point. I look forward to seeing the reaction to the first major racism case against a black player. I wonder what the 'Kick It Out' mob will make of that? I wonder who they will interview??
Racism is a two-way street and effects everyone, whatever your colour or creed, and we must never forget that. So, while Suarez and Terry are rightly being brought to task, many other incidents continue to go unpunished. While this continues to happen we will never see an end to a problem that has existed long before football. And that is a real shame.
Despite the best efforts of campaigns like 'Kick It Out' and 'Show Racism The Red Card' it appears racism is still alive and well in our sport, and indeed our society. In fact I would go as far as to say it has never really gone away. The fact that fans no longer throw bananas and direct monkey chants at black players, in this country at least, does not mean the problem has disappeared, and it would naive to think it has.
I would go as far as to say that racism is actually a more serious issue now than it was in the 1980's. Our country has become much more multi-cultural and this has led to more racial tension in society. I also believe the 'Kick It Out' campaign has in fact made things worse. How? By constantly throwing out the same names with the same cliches whenever racism is mentioned. You know the ones, Viv Anderson, John Barnes, Ian Wright, Stan Collymore etc. all saying how progress has been made but there is still more work to do. Indeed. But what do they all have in common?? Yes, they are all black. The message, therefore, is that victims of racism are only black. The irony, of course, is that in itself is racist.
I have witnessed many incidents of white players receiving racist insults from black and Asian players in local grass roots football. But what generally happens is that it is laughed off, even by the officials. Yet as soon as a white player says anything remotely racist to a black or Asian player they face a lifetime ban. It is incidents like this that simply breed more racism.
Now I am all for equality, but things are not equal. Yes, I understand that black players had a difficult time in the dark days (excuse the pun) of the 1970's and 80's, but we do not need to over-compensate for that now. We need to treat all cases of prejudice equally, be they against blacks, whites, women or men. But that does not seem to be happening.
Of course the current high-profile cases have been offences committed by white players against black players, which again proves the point. I look forward to seeing the reaction to the first major racism case against a black player. I wonder what the 'Kick It Out' mob will make of that? I wonder who they will interview??
Racism is a two-way street and effects everyone, whatever your colour or creed, and we must never forget that. So, while Suarez and Terry are rightly being brought to task, many other incidents continue to go unpunished. While this continues to happen we will never see an end to a problem that has existed long before football. And that is a real shame.
Monday, 19 December 2011
Manchester City away...
Two or three months ago I was dreading this fixture. City were beating everyone out of sight while we were losing 8-2 at Old Trafford and getting beaten by Blackburn.
But recent events meant my 8 year-old son Emerson and I travelled to Manchester in good spirits. City had just seen their unbeaten league record brought to an end at Chelsea, while we were on a eight match unbeaten run that had seen us close in on the top four. In fact victory here would put us just six points behind City with more than half the season still to play.
Despite the cold weather, and road works on every stretch of the M62, we arrived in Manchester 90 minutes before kick off. The first problem was finding somewhere to park. We had been warned about residence only parking on match days, but we found a little estate about two miles from the ground that seemed safe. There were no signs up and there were no yellow lines on the road.
We decided it would be okay and walked across the road to a little shop to ask directions to the ground. On the way we passed a secure car park where men in yellow jackets were charging £5 for the privilege of parking on a piece of land they did not even own. As a guy came out of the car park I asked him if it was safe to park on the estate opposite. He said he was not sure and asked if my car was worth a fiver.
''It's safe in here, and you get away quickly at the end,'' he said, pointing to the secure car park.
After a little discussion, Emerson and I decided it would be better if we moved the car, so I paid the fiver, a small price to pay for piece of mind.
The next problem was making it to the ground without slipping over on the icy paths. An old fella in front of us went down and took two or three others with him, but Emerson did not seem to mind and spent the 10 minute walk pretending to be an ice-skater.
As we approached the stadium we passed a guy selling City scarves and badges.
''How much are your Champions League scarves?'' I asked.
I don't think he saw the funny side...
Etihad Stadium
We walked across the sky blue bridge (Joe Mercer Way) and were greeted by the teams being announced on the big screens outside the Sky Blue Cafe. I was surprised to see Samir Nasri named in the starting XI for City, but Emerson was excited.
''I will be able to boo him now,'' he said.
On entering the ground we had to show our tickets not once but twice, and were then thoroughly searched. I even had to take off my woolly hat.
''You won't find anything in there,'' I said as the security fella looked at my bald, and now freezing cold, head.
Once inside the atmosphere was building up nicely. Emerson always likes to play a score prediction game and he was feeling confident.
''2-1 to us,'' he said.
I had to admit I was not that sure so I went for a safer 1-1.
Our seats were in the upper tier and the view was superb. The teams came out to a rendition of Blue Moon and, after the pleasantries were out the way, it was on with the action.
View from our seats.
We spent the first ten minutes either booing Nasri or singing 'Thursday nights, Channel 5' to the City fans on our right, but City started well and could have been two up before we had really got going. Aguero fired over from 8 yards, before Szczesny made great saves to deny Balotelli and the 'S**t Carlos Tevez!'.
But slowly we began to settle. Gervinho tested Hart in the City goal and, from the resulting corner, Ramsey brought another fine save from England's number one.
By now I had got bored of booing every touch from Nasri, although Emerson hadn't. Rather thoughtfully our former player had decided to wear bright yellow and orange boots to make him stand out, which made it easier for Emerson to spot him. It was only a little later that he realised several other City players had the same boots on...
Half time was goalless but we were reasonably satisfied. We had played well and I was sure that once Robin and Theo got going in the second half we would win. However, I was a little annoyed by some of the mindless abuse being aimed at Walcott but our so-called fans. During the first half it seemed everything was his fault.
''Move your ass Walcott,'' was the general theme, and Emerson, in particular, was very upset.
''Why are they picking on Theo?'' he asked. ''He is one of our best players.''
Now he may only be eight, but Emerson knows his stuff.
''He always sets up Robin for the goals, so we need him.''
I asked one of the idiots abusing him what he thought he was doing, and his reply was pretty much as I expected.
''He is f**king useless.''
Really??
In fairness he had not had the best first half but, as Emerson rightly pointed out, he had not received the ball so it was hard for him to impress.
As the teams came out for the second half Kolo Toure, who was playing well at the back for City, came over to the travelling Arsenal fans to applaud us, and he got a great reception back. You see Mr. Nasri, if you respect our club we will respect you.
The second half got off to the worst possible start when City scored within eight minutes. Djourou, who is someone that is nowhere near good enough, limped off with an injury meaning young Miguel was brought on at left back, with Koscienly moving to the right and Thomas Vermaelen the centre. The re-shuffle at the back seemed to cause the problems as Balotelli cut in from the left before firing in a shot that Szczesny could only push away. Aguero should have scored but the ball fell to Silva who couldn't miss from two yards.
Whenever Arsenal go behind, Emerson always grabs my hand. I'm not sure if he wants reassurance or if he is giving some to me, but this time it didn't last long as he caught sight of the City fans doing the 'Poznan' to our right. It was a great sight and was almost worth them scoring to witness it. Almost. But Emerson loved it.
Emerson enjoying himself in the ground.
''When we score, can we do that?'' he asked.
He almost did not have to wait long to find out. Theo was only denied by Hart (that would have shut the doubters up) before Robin chipped the ball home only for the linesman's flag to cut short our celebrations.
The City fans started up their own 'Poznan' again to mock our aborted celebrations, which I am sure I would have found funny had the decision not been so tight. In fact TV replays on MOTD 2 that night suggested he was level and we had in fact been robbed. Oh well...
The game really opened up after that and there could have been more goals at either end. We were fortunate not to concede again when Aguero fired just wide, while Zabaleta hit the post after Koscienly, who had been magnificent until then, gave the ball away.
We should have had a penalty when Richards clearly handled a cross from Koscielny right in front of the useless, fat referee Phil Dowd (he has never liked us) before Walcott was taken off. It was no real surprise as he had not really got into the match, but it was Arshavin who replaced him and suddenly we really had someone on the pitch who was not worthy of the shirt. I'm not really sure what has gone wrong with the little Russian, but he a shadow of the player we bought nearly three years ago and he clearly does not want to play for us anymore. He gave the ball away with his first two touches and then shot tamely into the side netting from a good position soon after. I turned to the guy who had earlier been abusing Walcott.
''Theo is a million times the player he (Arshavin) is.''
But I don't think he agreed.
''They are both f**king useless,'' was his well thought out response.
With time running out we really went for it as Chamakh replaced Mertesaker, but it was Vermaelen who came closest to rescuing us the point we deserved. Hart did well to tip over his stinging drive four minutes from time, before he then curled a great effort just wide in injury time. Yes, we need a new striker in January but in the mean time we could do worse than playing TV5 up there. Well at least we could if had any other fit defenders...
Amazingly the PA announced the man of the match was Nasri, no doubt just to rub our noses in it as he had been almost as anonymous as Walcott. The two best players on the pitch had been the goalkeepers, and the fact that Hart had been the busier of the two suggested we had been unlucky to lose.
Emerson certainly thought so as he spent the entire walk back to the car saying how well he thought we had played. He could not understand the abuse Theo had been given, but he said it was okay as he was still his second favourite player (after Robin of course).
We decided to go to McDonalds to let the traffic die down, and while we were in the queue a few young lads in City shirts came in and were talking about being top of the league. Emerson turned to them, slowly unzipped his coat and proudly showed them his Arsenal shirt. The boy is a legend.
But recent events meant my 8 year-old son Emerson and I travelled to Manchester in good spirits. City had just seen their unbeaten league record brought to an end at Chelsea, while we were on a eight match unbeaten run that had seen us close in on the top four. In fact victory here would put us just six points behind City with more than half the season still to play.
Despite the cold weather, and road works on every stretch of the M62, we arrived in Manchester 90 minutes before kick off. The first problem was finding somewhere to park. We had been warned about residence only parking on match days, but we found a little estate about two miles from the ground that seemed safe. There were no signs up and there were no yellow lines on the road.
We decided it would be okay and walked across the road to a little shop to ask directions to the ground. On the way we passed a secure car park where men in yellow jackets were charging £5 for the privilege of parking on a piece of land they did not even own. As a guy came out of the car park I asked him if it was safe to park on the estate opposite. He said he was not sure and asked if my car was worth a fiver.
''It's safe in here, and you get away quickly at the end,'' he said, pointing to the secure car park.
After a little discussion, Emerson and I decided it would be better if we moved the car, so I paid the fiver, a small price to pay for piece of mind.
The next problem was making it to the ground without slipping over on the icy paths. An old fella in front of us went down and took two or three others with him, but Emerson did not seem to mind and spent the 10 minute walk pretending to be an ice-skater.
As we approached the stadium we passed a guy selling City scarves and badges.
''How much are your Champions League scarves?'' I asked.
I don't think he saw the funny side...
Etihad Stadium
We walked across the sky blue bridge (Joe Mercer Way) and were greeted by the teams being announced on the big screens outside the Sky Blue Cafe. I was surprised to see Samir Nasri named in the starting XI for City, but Emerson was excited.
''I will be able to boo him now,'' he said.
On entering the ground we had to show our tickets not once but twice, and were then thoroughly searched. I even had to take off my woolly hat.
''You won't find anything in there,'' I said as the security fella looked at my bald, and now freezing cold, head.
Once inside the atmosphere was building up nicely. Emerson always likes to play a score prediction game and he was feeling confident.
''2-1 to us,'' he said.
I had to admit I was not that sure so I went for a safer 1-1.
Our seats were in the upper tier and the view was superb. The teams came out to a rendition of Blue Moon and, after the pleasantries were out the way, it was on with the action.
View from our seats.
We spent the first ten minutes either booing Nasri or singing 'Thursday nights, Channel 5' to the City fans on our right, but City started well and could have been two up before we had really got going. Aguero fired over from 8 yards, before Szczesny made great saves to deny Balotelli and the 'S**t Carlos Tevez!'.
But slowly we began to settle. Gervinho tested Hart in the City goal and, from the resulting corner, Ramsey brought another fine save from England's number one.
By now I had got bored of booing every touch from Nasri, although Emerson hadn't. Rather thoughtfully our former player had decided to wear bright yellow and orange boots to make him stand out, which made it easier for Emerson to spot him. It was only a little later that he realised several other City players had the same boots on...
Half time was goalless but we were reasonably satisfied. We had played well and I was sure that once Robin and Theo got going in the second half we would win. However, I was a little annoyed by some of the mindless abuse being aimed at Walcott but our so-called fans. During the first half it seemed everything was his fault.
''Move your ass Walcott,'' was the general theme, and Emerson, in particular, was very upset.
''Why are they picking on Theo?'' he asked. ''He is one of our best players.''
Now he may only be eight, but Emerson knows his stuff.
''He always sets up Robin for the goals, so we need him.''
I asked one of the idiots abusing him what he thought he was doing, and his reply was pretty much as I expected.
''He is f**king useless.''
Really??
In fairness he had not had the best first half but, as Emerson rightly pointed out, he had not received the ball so it was hard for him to impress.
As the teams came out for the second half Kolo Toure, who was playing well at the back for City, came over to the travelling Arsenal fans to applaud us, and he got a great reception back. You see Mr. Nasri, if you respect our club we will respect you.
The second half got off to the worst possible start when City scored within eight minutes. Djourou, who is someone that is nowhere near good enough, limped off with an injury meaning young Miguel was brought on at left back, with Koscienly moving to the right and Thomas Vermaelen the centre. The re-shuffle at the back seemed to cause the problems as Balotelli cut in from the left before firing in a shot that Szczesny could only push away. Aguero should have scored but the ball fell to Silva who couldn't miss from two yards.
Whenever Arsenal go behind, Emerson always grabs my hand. I'm not sure if he wants reassurance or if he is giving some to me, but this time it didn't last long as he caught sight of the City fans doing the 'Poznan' to our right. It was a great sight and was almost worth them scoring to witness it. Almost. But Emerson loved it.
Emerson enjoying himself in the ground.
''When we score, can we do that?'' he asked.
He almost did not have to wait long to find out. Theo was only denied by Hart (that would have shut the doubters up) before Robin chipped the ball home only for the linesman's flag to cut short our celebrations.
The City fans started up their own 'Poznan' again to mock our aborted celebrations, which I am sure I would have found funny had the decision not been so tight. In fact TV replays on MOTD 2 that night suggested he was level and we had in fact been robbed. Oh well...
The game really opened up after that and there could have been more goals at either end. We were fortunate not to concede again when Aguero fired just wide, while Zabaleta hit the post after Koscienly, who had been magnificent until then, gave the ball away.
We should have had a penalty when Richards clearly handled a cross from Koscielny right in front of the useless, fat referee Phil Dowd (he has never liked us) before Walcott was taken off. It was no real surprise as he had not really got into the match, but it was Arshavin who replaced him and suddenly we really had someone on the pitch who was not worthy of the shirt. I'm not really sure what has gone wrong with the little Russian, but he a shadow of the player we bought nearly three years ago and he clearly does not want to play for us anymore. He gave the ball away with his first two touches and then shot tamely into the side netting from a good position soon after. I turned to the guy who had earlier been abusing Walcott.
''Theo is a million times the player he (Arshavin) is.''
But I don't think he agreed.
''They are both f**king useless,'' was his well thought out response.
With time running out we really went for it as Chamakh replaced Mertesaker, but it was Vermaelen who came closest to rescuing us the point we deserved. Hart did well to tip over his stinging drive four minutes from time, before he then curled a great effort just wide in injury time. Yes, we need a new striker in January but in the mean time we could do worse than playing TV5 up there. Well at least we could if had any other fit defenders...
Amazingly the PA announced the man of the match was Nasri, no doubt just to rub our noses in it as he had been almost as anonymous as Walcott. The two best players on the pitch had been the goalkeepers, and the fact that Hart had been the busier of the two suggested we had been unlucky to lose.
Emerson certainly thought so as he spent the entire walk back to the car saying how well he thought we had played. He could not understand the abuse Theo had been given, but he said it was okay as he was still his second favourite player (after Robin of course).
We decided to go to McDonalds to let the traffic die down, and while we were in the queue a few young lads in City shirts came in and were talking about being top of the league. Emerson turned to them, slowly unzipped his coat and proudly showed them his Arsenal shirt. The boy is a legend.
Monday, 5 December 2011
Arsenal left backs - A potted history.
Arsenal have a history of great left backs, going back to the days of Eddie Hapgood in the 1930's, but such has been the consistency of the players in that position the club has only had 6 regular left backs over the last 45 years.
Bob McNab was signed by manager Bertie Mee from Huddersfield Town in 1966 and went on to make 365 appearances over the next nine years, scoring 6 goals. He helped the club win the European Fairs Cup in 1970 and the League and FA Cup double the following year. He also played in the 1972 FA Cup final defeat to Leeds United and the League Cup final defeats in 1968 and 1969, to Leeds and Swindon Town respectively. McNab left for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 1975, before ending his playing career in the United States, where he still lives.
Sammy Nelson, a Northern Ireland international who came through the ranks at Arsenal, was understudy to McNab for several years before finally holding down a regular spot after his departure in 1975. He played a total of 338 times for the club, scoring 12 goals, and won an FA Cup winners medal in 1979 with victory over Manchester United. He also played in the losing finals of 1978 and 1980, against Ipswich Town and West Ham United respectively, as well as the final of the European Cup Winners Cup, also in 1980 - a penalty shoot-out defeat to Valencia. He joined Brighton and Hove Albion in 1981 and played in their FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United two years later, before retiring. He now works in the insurance industry.
Manager Terry Neill paid over £1million for Crystal Palace left back Kenny Sansom in the summer of 1980, in a swap deal for Clive Allen, and he quickly became Nelson's successor. Sansom was a regular in the England side during his 8 years at Highbury and held the record for most capped player at the club until Patrick Vieira surpassed it 20 years later. In total Sansom played 394 times for Arsenal, scoring 6 goals, and won a League Cup winners medal in 1987, captaining the side in the 2-1 victory over Liverpool. He also played in the final the following year, a 3-2 defeat to Luton Town. Sansom moved to Newcastle United in the summer of 1988, but he never recaptured his best form in the North-East and returned to London to play for Queens Park Rangers a year later. He later played for Coventry City, Everton, Brentford and Watford and now works in the Arsenal media department.
Nigel Winterburn had been signed by George Graham in 1987 and initially played at right back until Sansom's departure. His first full season in the side saw Arsenal win their first League title in 18 years, and Winterburn played in every match. He went on to become one of the most successful players in the clubs history, winning further League titles in 1991 and 1998 and the FA Cup in 1993 and 1998. He also played in the European Cup Winners Cup final success over Parma in 1994, and the final defeat to Real Zaragoza the following year. In total Winterburn played 579 times for the club, putting him fourth in the all-time list behind David O'Leary, Tony Adams and Lee Dixon, and he scored 12 goals in his 13 year career at Highbury. The only real surprise was that he did not play more for England, the consistency of Stuart Pearce restricting him to just 2 caps. He left in the summer of 2000 to finish his career at West Ham United.
Brazilian Silvinho briefly replaced Winterburn in 2000 but manager Arsene Wenger was unable to hold back the progress of Ashley Cole, and he became a regular in 2001. Often described as the best left back of his generation, Cole became a regular in the England side and made 224 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 9 times, in his six years in the first team. He won league title medals in 2002 and 2004, as part of the Invincibles side, and lifted the FA Cup in 2002, 2003 and 2005. He also played in the side that lost to Liverpool in the 2001 FA Cup final, and to Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League final. He left for Chelsea in acrimonious circumstances in August 2006, where he has since added to his honours.
Frenchman Gael Clichy had been understudy to Cole since 2003 but made the left back position his own after the laters departure in 2006. He qualified for a Premier League title medal in 2004 and was in the squad for the FA Cup final success against Manchester United a year later, while he played in the League Cup final defeats to Chelsea in 2007 and Birmingham in 2011. In the end he actually made more appearances for the club than his more famous predecessor, 256 in total, scoring just twice. Clichy left in the summer of 2011 to join Manchester City.
So who will be next in line? This season has seen Kieran Gibbs and new signing Andre Santos fight over the left back slot. Gibbs came through the ranks at the club and has played over 50 times since making his breakthrough in 2008, while Brazilian Santos joined from Fenebache on transfer deadline day in August and has scored twice for the club already. Of course they both have a long way to go until they can join the illustrious list mentioned above, but it does appear as though the club has once again found the players to continue this great tradition.
Bob McNab was signed by manager Bertie Mee from Huddersfield Town in 1966 and went on to make 365 appearances over the next nine years, scoring 6 goals. He helped the club win the European Fairs Cup in 1970 and the League and FA Cup double the following year. He also played in the 1972 FA Cup final defeat to Leeds United and the League Cup final defeats in 1968 and 1969, to Leeds and Swindon Town respectively. McNab left for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 1975, before ending his playing career in the United States, where he still lives.
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| Bob McNab - won the double. |
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| Sammy Nelson - an FA Cup winner |
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| Kenny Sansom with the League Cup in 1987, his only success at Arsenal. |
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| Nigel Winterburn - won 3 titles, 2 FA Cups and a ECWC |
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| Ashley Cole - part of the Invincibles team. |
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| Gael Clichy - the last link to the Invincibles left this summer. |
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