Here we go folks, the first league game of the season almost upon us. We know all the team news, from the point of view of availability, at least but it will be interesting to see how Arsene sets out his team today. Will it be a standard 4-4-2 or something more flexible like RVP up front with Hleb or Rosicky floating behind. With Eduardo doubtful I’d be surprised to see him start and I can’t see Bendtner starting either so that’d seem to be best option at the moment. Perhaps we’ll play two up if Adebayor is fit.
Whatever formation we play we simply have to come out of the blocks this season and not find ourselves out of the title race as early as last time around. When we were 9 points behind United so early last time around it just made it impossible so three points today is an absolute must. The manager has set the expectation levels – he thinks we can win the league, therefore so should we. Even if we don’t think the way he does. Well, I don’t but it’s football. Stranger things have happened.
We should have more than enough for Fulham but opening days can be surprising and this won’t be a walk in the park by any means. What Sanchez’s teams lack in quality they really make up for with hard work so expect Fulham to be snapping into challenges from the start and trying to prevent us getting time on the ball.
Unfortunately I’m going to miss the game because of my own half-arsed football career but a positive thing is that in seasons when we’ve won the league (in recent years) I’ve always missed the first game for one reason or another. So it’s a good omen and I expect a good start to the season.
The Grimster has called Arsene’s workload since David Dein apparently quit (at least that’s the Guardian’s stance on it) ‘frightening’ and said that Dein is ‘irreplaceable’. Now, he obviously isn’t irreplaceable but if Arsene’s workload is frightening then he’s got nobody else to blame but himself. Dein was fired (that’s the real stance) in April and he has had since then to make an appointment – and let’s remember it’s Arsene who said he would take on that responsibility. Ken Friar, as we know, has been doing a lot of the negotiations and contract stuff but if there’s too much work the simple solution is to appoint somebody to do Dein’s work on a full time basis. And considering how quiet we’ve been in the transfer market this summer (from an incoming transfer point of view) then I can’t imagine how much extra Arsene has to be doing.
He has also indicated that his own future will be sorted out in the next “two or three” weeks and the expectation is that he will sign a new contract.
You might remember in the summer there was talk of Real Madrid and Cesc and it appeared that the player had spoken to the Spanish giants (giant cunts). Arsene Wenger is less than amused and in today’s News of the World he says:
I did not allow Fabregas to talk to anybody. He denies that he spoke to Real Madrid. So if you can get the statement that he’s done that and that Real Madrid, more than ever, has done that we will sue Real Madrid.
Excellent. I love lawsuits, so I do. There were real life actual quotes from Cesc about this alleged meeting but it’s surely not beyond the realms of possibility that the Spanish press made them up. I know it’s hard to get your head around but just try.
And that’s that. Time for some breakfast then I’m off but before I do – Come on you reeeeeeeeeeeeeds!
