september 22nd
07.34 – So Man Utd 0-0 Arsenal. The scoreline doesn’t even come close to telling the story though.
Arsenal started with Parlour and Bergkamp replacing Wiltord and Pires, and in footballing terms were very disciplined for most of the game. Tactically Arsenal came not to lose, which is unusual for us as we usually try to win every game, but it worked. Martin Keown returned at the back in place of Sol, and K-Lo kept his place and was absolutely fantastic again. This boy has such a big heart and appetite for the game. It’s a pleasure watching him, seeing him berate himself when he doesn’t do something as well as he thinks he should. Just brilliant.
Anyway, the game all kicked off late in the second half. Vieira was cautioned for a foul on Quinton Fortune. Moments later there was a high ball, Ruud van Nistelrooy jumped in the air, kicked Vieira in the chest, landed on Paddy’s back and when he landed the Arsenal captain made a half-kicking motion towards the Dutchman who jumped backwards as if there were rabid dogs trying to bite his bollocks off. Watching on Sky they showed how the referee would have seen it, and from there it looked worse than it was. Vieira never made contact with Ruud, but I presume he got his 2nd yellow for intent. After the game Arsene Wenger was interviewed about van Nistelrooy and basically called him a diver and a cheat. Which is what any non-United fan would tell you and it’s about time somebody said it. Wenger said “I think van Nistelrooy does not help himself frankly. He is a great player but his attitude…he is always looking to dive.”
He is a brilliant player, no question, a first class goalscorer, but a showman of the worst kind. Obviously Demento didn’t agree and said “I can defend Ruud. I heard Arsene’s comment about Ruud after the foul on Patrick. Vieira has reacted badly. Ruud has not dived. The referee had no option, no alternative. “
No, he didn’t dive, but he managed to exaggerate no contact whatsoever. Patrick Vieira said “The ref got it wrong because of the reaction of Van Nistelrooy. If the referee had sent me off for kicking him I could accept that. I hope the referee will watch the incident and change his mind.” Still, you don’t need to make contact to get booked, or sent off. I remember Keane being sent off for throwing a punch at Shearer, and whatever the provocation, Paddy shouldn’t have reacted. Ruud got what he wanted, a red card for the Arsenal man. And seeing as how the Vieira reaction was shown over and over and over again, AW’s words are spot on “Patrick should not have reacted but you punish more the consequence than the source of the problem.”
So with 10 man Arsenal hanging on gamely for a point, and tensions already boiling, referee Steve Bennet gave United a nothing penalty in injury time. Forlan tumbled beside Keown, Fortune – already on a yellow card – bodychecked Jens Lehmann to get the ball (haven’t heard much about that since) and it was Ruud v Jens from 12 yards.
Gene Wilder did his usual trick of dancing along the goal line, Ruud sent him the wrong way with the spot kick but the ball cannoned back off the bar and the full time whistle went a couple of moments later. Justice well and truly served if you ask me. It was never a penalty in the first place, and if that cunt had scored in the last minute it would have been just too much.
At the final whistle then it all kicked off a bit. Keown went jumping around like a madman, screaming and yelling in Ruud’s face. Not particularly clever behaviour, probably the sort of thing we’d be best off not getting involved in, but I suppose when you’ve got the kind of history van Nistelrooy and Keown have, there’s bound to be sparks. Lauren then pushed van Nistelrooy in the back, Parlour called him a ‘fucking cunt’ and there was a bit of handbags at the end. Nothing too serious though. No doubt there’ll be some kind of FA investigation. Sir Alex said there would be so we can rest assured he’ll be doing all he can, but it was just the kind of end to a game you’d expect between these two sides given the last 15 minutes. When a ref gives a controversial penalty after what the Arsenal players would consider a harsh sending off, it’s no wonder tempers were a little flared.
Anyway, it was all really nothing. It was broken up quite quickly, no punches were thrown and compared to the 90/91 brawl this was just playschool stuff. However, I expect we’ll be hearing about this all week long. The evil Arsenal empire against the whiter than white United who have never been in trouble for anything. The tabloids will have a field day with our 913th red card, James Lawton has already contributed his usual fair and balanced piece, but you know what? Fuck them. The Gunners showed the passion and spirit that was missing against Inter Milan, maybe it went a bit too far, but nobody was hurt and it is a man’s game after all. We also saw the first signs that Jens Lehmann might be a bit of a character. Oh, and we’re top of the league. Oh, and I just have to mention Kolo again. He’s brill. Thumbs down to Alan Smith on Sky though, sell out.
Keown/Van Nistelrooy wallpaper.
Aren’t those United fans a class act with their ‘Sit down you paedophile’ song?
Some bad news,Glenn Hoddle has been sacked by Spurs. As he was doing an absolutely shite job there, it’s quite possible that somebody else will come in and do better. Oh well, it’s still funny as Spurs fans were hailing him as the messiah for so long.
Ok, let the backlash begin….
