All posts tagged goals

Review: Chelsea vs Barcelona (2nd Leg) – Stamford Bridge (UEFA Champions League) – 6th May 2009

After the boring first leg between Barcelona and Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League Semi-Final on 28th April 2009, a lot was expected in today’s game after Arsenal was knocked out from the Champions League Semi Final by Manchester United on 5th May 2009.

Chelsea was the boring team who kept piling up in their own half and Barcelona was the team who was going for it as expected. Chelsea did dominate the game because of home advantage on Barcelona, but on a typical defensive style of play. As possession is usually the key in such big games, and its all about taking opportunities.  Personally being an Arsenal fan I love Barcelona’s style of play and although they are strong in attack but in yesterday’s game it was all about physical and strong play from Chelsea that troubled Barcelona.

Iniesta - Image Courtesy TimesOnline

A lot of controversial fouls and cards in the match, but at the end of the day Barcelona pulled it off and is the team that will go to Rome to face Manchester United in the Final of the UEFA Champions League. By now I believe Chelsea shoud learn a lesson of going out there and playing open football rather than piling up in their own defense. They had to pay for the their style of play in the 1st leg when they thought that they would go to Nou Camp and it would be good enough for them to just play with one striker and pile up in defense to stop Barcelona take the home advantage. I am sorry to say this, but this strategy has hit them back in their own faces. It’s about time they should be fearless and play some football. And as a lot of Chelsea fans would be crying on the penalties that they didn’t get… well you get what you deserve because mostly Chelsea is the lucky team when other teams keep crying and the referees dont give fouls against Chelsea… you have to pay off somewhere don’t you? Its a fair world after all ;)

 

Three Cheers for Iniesta and Barcelona!! Atleast now I am excited to see some great football in the Final, because if Chelsea would have went in the Finals, the game would have been assumed to be boring already. Yes yes I know a lot of you would tell me that Arsenal lost 3-1 from Manchester United and Chelsea is still a better team.. but you know what? I am still proud to be a Gunner because we love to play open football and in both legs against Manchester United we never piled up in our own half and defended for 90 minutes, and I would still congratulate Manchester United for a great game.

 PS: By the way.. I am still wondering why did Chelsea had to play with 9 defenders and one striker? But way to go guys .. you really defended well!! Three Cheers for the Chelsea defense as well! But I guess Iniesta’s shot was too good that even 9 defenders couldn’t stop it? Train your defenders well for next year ;)

Reply to Protests Against ‘Letter to Mr. Wenger: Arsenal vs ManU (Champions League 1st Leg 29th April 09)’

I am writing this post as a reply to my previous post, that was an open letter to Arsene Wenger for the problems I have been observing in Arsenal’s side. This came out as a harsh outburst in the form of an email/letter directed to Arsenal’s top management and Arsene Wenger.

The intention of that email was not to insult Arsene or Arsenal in anyway possible. And although I do know that I did get a lot of harsh and constructive feedback on my email to Arsenal from a lot of Gunners out there, and a lot of people already do consider me a so-called ‘disgrace to the Arsenal community’ as a fan.

Arsene Wenger - Champions League

Arsene Wenger - Champions League

In reply to this, I would only like to say that I cannot just sit quiet and keep supporting the wrong moves of the team I love. I like to voice my concerns as a fan and I just couldn’t take it specially after losing the game against Chelsea at Wembley in the FA Cup Semi Final as a result of the few mistakes that were made. I want to be part of the club I support and I believe in critical analysis. Apart from this, I just want to say that at least I did an effort to reach out to Arsene and the Arsenal management one way or the other.

The main objective that I wanted to highlight was that, Champions League is something that Arsenal has never won. But approaching the semi-final in such a loose and a lazy manner was not what I was expecting as an Arsenal fan. I don’t care if we win or lose as far as we are giving a good fight back.

I know this team is very young and yet they are in such a top position. Arsene Wenger is one person who I truly adore and respect as a person and my mail in no manner intended to dis-respect him. I also agree to the fact that this team will develop into a great team, but only if they stay together. Because as soon as they develop in to good players, other teams are ready to pick them up for higher salaries. To all those people, who said that these players need time to develop and they will develop in to a great team together, I just want to leave a question before I sign-off today. Do you think a lot of great players will stick to Arsenal against great offers if we don’t win any silverware this season?

However, I have calmed down yet again and I hope we do a better job in the second leg against Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday, 5th May 2009.

I would like to heart fully thank the following sites:
1. Tribal Football for putting this letter up as one of the main feature on their website’s front page
2. Online Gooner for giving a link to my Open Letter to Arsene Wenger

Signing Off…

Sarosh Waiz

Letter to Mr. Wenger: Arsenal vs ManU (Champions League 1st Leg 29th April 09)

This a mail that I wrote to Arsenal. I am very hurt as a fan and I don’t know what else to say. I guess it contains all the frustrations that every Arsenal supporter is facing.

Dear Sir/Ma’am,

This mail is directed to Mr Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal top management. I want this to reach them, and also going to publish them on blogs and news websites to create a buzz so I know they read it one way or the other. This is not a matter of a simple Arsenal Fan writing a mail .. its about the whole Arsenal community which is dis-heartened and broken by all the broken promises by the club.

I didn’t know where to contact Arsenal Football Club and I really want this to go to Mr. Arsene Wenger. The AFC management should better know how all of us fans are supporting Arsenal taking fights from other bull shit supporters of Man U or Chelsea or any other club! We support Arsenal and fight for it to keep its prestige and the high profile image.. And what do we get? Such an insult and shame in front of our opponent supporters telling us on our faces that Arsenal is a shit club and they cant even score? And for some reason.. we cant even try and hold them for long … because we have been trophy-less since 4 seasons … and we don’t even seem hungry for that… not even our team and the players have that hungry attitude of going and getting the job done.. I’m sorry to say but majority of the players ..no matter whoever it is.. are just there for blabbering and not standing up to the expectations of the supporters and other stake holders.. They are taking hell lot of money to just bull shit on and off the field.. and they don’t even seem to GO FOR anything at all.. they just play for fun! And that too… fun of their own selves, passing the ball in a funky way and smiling that what a move they made… they should grow up and start scoring rather then only passing like babies…

We have never won champions league? And we are trophy-less since 4 seasons? Was this the so called “Animal” that the Arsenal players have turned into as referred to by Mr. Wenger?

For God’s sake these players get such high salaries and its their profession to play football.. but these guys cant even do a basic job done? All we wanted was a fight against Manchester United… are we looking forward to win the Champions League with these crappy players? Who don’t even seem to have the hunger to win something? And at the end of the season these idiots complain that we are trophy-less.. If they wont score .. are the fans and supporters going to score goals for them? They just want to make their individual names and get lost to big clubs like AC Milan and Barcelona … taking high salaries and warming their benches…

The following is a simple take-out and my analysis of today’s Champions League Semi Final 1st Leg with Manchester United:

- Arsenal cannot defend
- They don’t have players who are hungry to win.. they only play for the fun of their owns elves… and not the fans… they think that the fans can go to hell!!
- Arsenal never has the rock solid attitude of going out there and just bursting the opposite team apart
- The self belief is hardly their.. and even if they have self belief… they never have the ability of creating something because the ARSENAL Style of play is only successful if the players are good at improvisational passing ..because the old invincibles had the ability of creating funky new things on the field just by improvising and good understanding … these guys don’t have the ability to improvise.. they get the ball and they keep thinking what should they do next and they lose the opportunity
- They never shoot. because they take too much time to think whether to pass left, pass right or shoot.. this is not improvising… it should come as a flow.. and I am sorry to say these guys keep thinking and have lost everything!!!
- Even if they manage to create chances to score a goal, they start thinking .. “Okay we have done this amazingly… now how to further beautify it and score the goal… For God’s Sake just shoot the ball or pass it on the first instinct..
- Last but not the least, other teams play a fixed position game… the CAM would know where the winger would be and the winger would know where the right back or the striker or the CAM would be… they play a fixed position game … and they exactly know the plan and positions before hand that is why they even give passes without seeing and the player who has the responsibility of being in a certain position.. and he always has to be there to receive the ball and make the next planned move in terms of a corner or a shot… this is planned for teams like Chelsea, Man U or Liverpool .. where as Arsenal’s style of play is never planned and is 100% improvisation … but I am sorry, since this team doesn’t have any chemistry …and cannot improvise to create chances.. I would suggest Arsenal to play dirty and planned in order to be sure of at least what they are trying to do … Every Arsenal player stands clueless blaming each other .. we need to score even if we play dirty for now.. we need a trophy!!

I am extremely sorry, I am a die hard Arsenal supporter and its extremely depressing for me to take this… If we don’t win the second leg by hook or by crook … Arsenal Football Club, its long built image, its players and all its fan support will no longer be there …

This is a crises situation for Arsenal .. and if they don’t win the Champions League this Season … they are in the making of another Leeds United ..

A Tired & A Depressed Gunner…

SW