february 18th
08.59 – heh – it’s all kicking off in the Ferguson v Beckham incident. Fergie says he kicked a boot, and it was a ‘freak act of nature’, but this seems to be closer to the truth. This article in The Sun adds fuel to the fire. So does this one. And so does this one. And it gets worse for Fergie as he’s about to be done by cops for talking on his mobile phone while driving.
Anyway, a ‘freak act of nature’ is a Tornado in London, a blizzard in Kenya or a sunny day in Dublin. What happened in the United dressing room was a lout going that one step too far against a player who won’t put up with his crap. For years he’s ruled that dressing room by instilling fear into his players. Doesn’t look like it’s working anymore. Oh well….heh.
Arsenal take on Ajax tonight, and it’s the first time Dennis Bergkamp will have played a competitive game against his former club. He talks here about how the Champions League is the ultimate goal for him, and how Arsenal won’t have a better chance of winning it than they do this year. In terms of the squad, we’re at more or less full strength. Only Freddie Ljungberg and Super Oleg are absent. Gilberto is likely to go back into midfield alongside Patrick Vieira, and despite his fine peformance at the weekend, Edu will drop to the bench. I got an email during the week from an Ajax fan who wanted to do an exchange of links for the game. His all time idol is Dennis Bergkamp, so he’s a man of some taste. Anyway, check out Ajax Showtime. It’s all double Dutch to me though….
Chelsea in the cup then. Would it be cynical of me to suggest that the draw has been kind to the FA who would like very much to rekindle the magic of the cup by having a smaller team win it? The last small team to win the cup was Sp*rs in 1991. Since then it’s been either Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool or Chelsea (and one win from Everton who are a much bigger club than Sp*rs). Having the two favourites play each other in the 1/4 finals increases the chances of a win for Southampton, or Watford, or Fulham or tiny, tiny Leeds.
Arsene Wenger has already said he’ll ‘rest’ players like he did against Man Utd. Let’s just hope Claudio Ranieri can hold his temper if we win. Oh, and any chance Sky might get Tim Lovejoy to do the fanzone commentary again – you could always email them and ask.
