Match report – video –
Good morning to you and welcome to 2012. Let me first throw out a business idea for someone. ‘Dial-a-breakfast’. Right now I would pay cold, hard cash to someone who would deliver a fried breakfast to my house. Eggs, bacon, sausage, pudding (black and white) as a base with various assortments of other stuff as optional extras. In these difficult, recessionary times it’s all there for someone to sort it out. As it stands I think a breakfast roll from Matt the Rashers will have to suffice. Yes, that’s a real place.
Anyway, I hope 2012 is treating you well so far. It’s almost as if the final part of 2011 wanted to give us a nice send-off. Chelsea lost, Man United lost, Sp*rs drew and we won. Which isn’t bad at all. And when our neighbours down the road find themselves managersless while Harry does hard time I suspect they’ll drop out of sight altogether.
I vocalised this opinion last night and Mrs Blogs said, “Yeah, I know he’s a Twitchy old bastard but there are lots of people worse than him who should go to prison”.
“Mrs Blogs,” I said, “you have a kindly heart and I see exactly where you are coming from. We live in a country where corruption is rife and bankers, politicians and the rest have gotten away with the financial violation of us all, without so much as a slap on the wrist, but you’re forgetting one thing”.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“He is manager of Sp*rs”.
“A fair point, well made”, she said. “HANG HIM!”
She might not have said that but in my rum fuzz I choose to remember that’s how it happened. And let’s be fair, that’d be too quick and clean. I suggest a few days of torture, like making him listen to Mick Hucknell talk about how holding back the years actually caused him to go mental due to the fact people thought he was a woolly headed hobo who needed 24-7 care in a shelter of some kind.
However, the overall point is being lost here. In that yesterday was a marvellous day for us. We won, lots of other cunts didn’t. And when it boils right down to it that’s the main thing (apart from my lack of breakfast). For a time it looked as if it were going to be one of those days. Robin van Persie missed a great chance in the first half, lashing one over with his right foot, while Theo Walcott’s miss in the second half ought to go down in history as one of the worst pieces of football ever.
I know, I am prone to exaggeration at times, but I watched it on Match of the Day last night and there’s one angle (behind the goal) which shows Theo steaming towards the QPR area and not once does he look up to see where the goal is. Which would explain why he put it so wide. And what’s unusual is that you’d generally bank on him to score in those situations, clean through on goal, he doesn’t have to think, just finish.
In the end it was a beautiful pass from Arshavin that made the goal. In general he flumped around the pitch like a guy who has barely played for months (funny that) and his first touch was, being kind to him, utterly rubbish, but he his pass was weighted to perfection. Van Persie didn’t have to break his stride before he finished for his 35th goal of the 2011. He didn’t get any more to beat elbowy Geordie bloke’s record but Robin has the upper hand simply because he’s not elbowy Geordie bloke. Remember Kolo Toure got a 3 match ban for clobbering him off the ball once? I think it should be mandatory. Not the ban, the clobbering.
Afterwards, Arsene said:
I give credit to the players because we have been 17th or 18th in the League and we focused and improved as a team, with a formidable spirit in the side. That got us where we are today. We still have room for improvement, but there a good basis there because the attitude and spirit are really great.
And look, finishing 2011 in fourth after the start to the season we had deserves huge credit. Like you I could talk all day about why our start to the season was so bad but what’s the point at this stage? Let’s focus on what we have done well and our league position shows that despite everything we’re still a team to contend with. I’m making no excuses for the failures, simply enjoying the fact we’ve displayed a lot of Arsenal to get where we are. And you should too.
Beyond that the boss says he’s gonna have to look at left back options (please not Wayne Bridge) after Vermaelen’s calf strain ruled him out for a few games but with the trip to Fulham coming up we’ve got to make sure we start 2012 the way we finished 2011.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to de-rumify myself. Happy new year everyone, I hope 2012 brings you everything you wish for.
Till tomorrow.
