Morning all, as you might expect, being in the depths of the Interlull, things are a bit quiet.
The club has officially responded to Eduardo’s two match ban, saying:
We strongly believe that the decision taken is deeply flawed and not based on any forensic review of the video evidence available.
There are obvious errors and inconsistencies in Uefa’s judgment and we intend to appeal.
And reading around it seems the club’s desire to defend its player will be even stronger as some reports suggest that UEFA have no intention of applying to same standards to all matches as they did to Eduardo. If that is the case then they are absolutely right to mount the most vigorous defence possible. If only Eduardo is going to be treated like this then it simply shows that UEFA will pander to media coverage of incidents or pressure from factions within.
Either way it’s a sad indictment of what is already a deeply flawed organisation. Footbal365 reported yesterday that UEFA sent Arsenal two faxes in relation to the Eduardo case. One of which we never received, the other arrived at the offices of the Arsenal Ladies. And that about sums up their efficiency and professionalism.
If they applied the same rules to every match people might think UEFA were actually interested in cutting things like diving out of the game. If the reports are to be believed then they have no interest in doing that and Eduardo is being used to advance the political careers of certain officials with one stupid curly French twat right at the heart of it. Unfortunately you just get the feeling that the opportunism will far outweigh any appeal we might have, any evidence, any proof, rules or regulations, but we’ll see what happens.
Eduardo is, according to one of his international teammates, ‘deeply upset‘ at the ban, although I’d say it’s the fact his reputation has taken a battering in the last 10 days that bothers him most.
Manchester United have released a statement about the chanting directed at Arsene Wenger, saying:
We have gone on the record about this disgusting chant. We don’t condone it and have appealed to fans several times – through supporters’ groups, the programme and MUTV, but to no avail. There are many chants that fans find objectionable, and this is one to which all decent fans should object
Apparently the issue will be raised by their Chief Exec at a fan’s forum next month and hopefully we’ll have heard the last of it.
Meanwhile, back to matters more footbally, and Nicklas Bendtner says he’d prefer to be playing as a striker, which I think we all know. The big Dane said:
It is important for me to play and when Arsene tells me to play a position I’ll do that. Last season I played a lot from the left side and this season it’s been on the right side but, like I said, I prefer to play up front. I am an attacker, not a winger.
To me he’s the most obvious candidate for the central role in the front three but at the moment the manager wants Robin van Persie to fill that particular position. I wonder will he change his mind after seeing Bendtner put in a fantastic cross from the right hand side against United which was just too high for Eduardo but which would have been perfect for someone tall and good in the air, like, I dunno … Bendtner?
Not much else happening. That whole Chelsea thing is quite funny, isn’t it? Arsenal fans are acutely aware of their tapping-up skills and won’t have a great deal of sympathy for them, especially as they appear to have ignored repeated warnings on the subject believing their money could buy their way out of any situation. Ooops.
Right then, time for the Arsecast. There’s no guest this week, only me waffling, however Den Nielsen makes an appearance, we’ve got some vintage news, scientific analysis of UEFA, a song from The Man in the Bar, the winners of the Nike training top competition and more.
You can subscribe to the Arsecast on iTunes by clicking here. Or if you want to subscribe directly to the feed URL you can do so too. To download this week’s arsecast directly – click here (20mb MP3) or you can listen directly below without leaving this very page.
Right then, have yourselves a good old Friday. More Interlully goodness tomorrow.
