You know, apart from Arseblog there is absolutely no reason for me to be up this early. I hope you all appreciate the sacrifice I’m making for you and that my head and brain is filled with the pain and the *boilk* and all that kind of stuff. Sweet Jesus there’s a lot of pain though. Honestly.
Ahead of tomorrow’s game Nicklas Bendtner says it doesn’t matter how we score, once we score. There’s been some criticism about the lack of goals from open play but the Danish striker who nobody ever wants to celebrate with says:
You have to try and be a threat in every aspect of the game. It does not matter how they go in so long as you score. We all know we have to score at Anfield.
Quite right, Sir. And while some people might suggest we don’t score enough the fact we’ve got 100 goals in all competitions this seasons suggests otherwise. Suggests it right in the fucking face, in fact. Where the problem lies is that we can’t fucking keep them out. Clean sheets are as rare as they are in Johnny Shitealot’s house after he’s been out for 15 pints of Guinness, a dodgy curry and a bag of satsumas.
Arsene Wenger thinks we’re going to win though. He says:
It is still too early to make any conclusions about our season but I know we can qualify on Tuesday because we have the quality to do it.
Going on to say:
We have made progress compared to last season because we have been challenging for the title right from the start and we are in the last eight in the Champions League. The young players have done remarkably well and carried the team. Now we need to prepare physically and mentally for Tuesday.
And I do think, in the cold, painful, hungover light of day that we shouldn’t lose sight of that fact. We really have made progress and been better this season than last. Of course we’re all looking at it from a slightly different perspective, one where we’ve let slip a good lead in the title race but we do have to step back and see the bigger picture. Not that it makes it any easier, we still need to augment this squad next season. What’s funny is where Arsene says he couldn’t have envisaged the fact that Rosicky, van Persie and Eduardo would all be out at the same time. Of course nobody could have foreseen the horrendous injury to Eduardo but I’d imagine if you went into Paddy Power and asked for odds on van Persie and Rosicky being injured they’d be very short indeed.
Cesc talks about playing at Anfield, saying:
Even the smallest cup game has the greatest atmosphere there, it is as if they play with 12 men. The good thing about playing away is that we don’t have the pressure from our own fans.
And that’s an interesting point. Imagine that the lads are feeling the pressure from our own fans. I know we’re all disappointed with how things have gone lately but at the end of the day we’re supporters. If the team feels better about playing away from home then there’s something a bit wrong. The Grove should be our fortress, not somewhere that our own players are stressed about.
After what happened yesterday the slim chance we have of the league is still there. I fully expected United to beat Boro, as it was they were lucky to get away with a draw. Boro played some good stuff and should probably have won the game. It means that next Sunday’s game at Old Trafford could still see us get back into the title race and with Vidic and possibly Ferdinand injured it might just be a good time to go there – although it’s still going to be hugely difficult.
If you’re looking for somewhere to watch the game on Tuesday try here.
Could we linking up with Ajax, Dutchland’s cleaningest football team? Perhaps, according to this article, and the similarities between the clubs’ philosophies are apparent now. Breed your own youngsters and set them free and stuff.
Right, that’s really all I can manage for the moment. My head and brain and torso and limbs and organs and extremeties and corpse are all feeling mucho sore and I need to go back to bed and lie down for a bit. A fuller preview of the Liverpool game tomorrow.
Until then…
