Early Doors - Your morning briefing blog

Early Doors

Fabregas cannot save Arsenal

Tue Nov 25 08:54AM

In the current spirit of alarmism, Early Doors would like to state in big, bold writing that ARSENAL DO NOT NEED A NEW CAPTAIN, THEY NEED A NEW SQUAD.

Cesc Fabregas leads the side for the first time tonight after William Gallas's sacking at the weekend, but ED boldly predicts it won't make a blind bit of difference to the club's predicament.

Gallas received universal condemnation for airing his dirty laundry in public on Friday, as though his ill-judged quotes were more of a problem than the fact that Arsenal's dressing room is in a state of civil war.

It is more than a PR conundrum. If you have dirty laundry, it really doesn't matter where you air it. The point is - somebody has taken a dump on your freshly-ironed linen.

Robin van Persie did not learn in the papers that Gallas has issues with him - there is a chance he already knew about it.

Some experts trotted out the stock line: "This kind of thing happens at every club." No, it doesn't. Clearly not every player is best mates with every other, and tempers flare from time to time.

But that is a long way from the festering feuds and cliques that have led Arsenal to remove all sharp objects from the dressing room lest Gallas gets all Joey Barton on a cheeky upstart.

If Gallas tells the world he is fed up of taking the blame for his good-for-nothing colleagues that is just a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself.

Wenger's side used to be famed for its unity - in fact he used his team's togetherness to bait Fergie.

Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires and a pre-sulk Thierry Henry spent so much time lunching together in Hampstead brasseries that locals just assumed they were posh nannies.

If you have a solid core, the occasional 'difficult character' like Jens Lehmann or Van Persie cannot cause too much trouble.

But Arsenal have lost the experience and expertise of Vieira, Sol Campbell, Dennis Bergkamp and Gilberto, and replaced it with... well, nothing.

Gallas's unorthodox captaincy was not the problem. The fact that there were no better candidates in Wenger's squad was.

Manchester United pass the captain's armband around like a Frisbee. Gary Neville takes it on the rare occasions when he puts down his beard-trimmer and gets a run-out.

Otherwise Ryan Giggs takes over, with Rio Ferdinand stepping in when both elder statesmen are missing, which is often.

Does Ferdinand play any differently depending on whether he is captain or not? Of course he doesn't. He shouts, snarls and just occasionally organises the defence regardless of any adornment to his upper arm.

Whisper it, but United are proof that captaincy in football is not very important.

On one occasion last season Park Ji-Sung came off the bench to replace Giggs, who handed him the armband.

Ferdinand and Neville were off the pitch and the Korean looked around, desperately trying to remember who was next in the pecking order. Eventually, he shrugged and put the armband on himself, to cheers from the Old Trafford crowd. Nobody minded.

The point is, influential players are influential whether they are the captain or not. And Arsenal don't have any.

Fabregas is the best choice to take over from Gallas, as his playing skill demands respect. But it does not solve the underlying problem - namely, Arsenal have too many loose cannons and not enough leaders.

- - -     

Having last week exploded the myth that healthy eating helps you win football matches, Early Doors pays tribute to Newcastle's Charles N'Zogbia who, The Sun claims, refused to join his team-mates on a pre-match walk on Saturday because he couldn't be bothered to get out of bed.

N'Zogbia reportedly said he was too tired to go for a stroll around South-West London at 11am, although he later claimed he had a leg strain which miraculously subsided to the point where he was able to come off the bench for 14 minutes against Chelsea.

"Charles is a strange one. No-one could believe it when he said he was too tired," said a club insider.

Early Doors asks what is stranger - wanting a few minutes' extra shut-eye, or thinking that couple of laps around Richmond Deer Park will have any bearing on your team's performance?

Even after Saturday's goalless draw at Stamford Bridge, Joe Kinnear's men have picked up just one point out of 10 in the capital this season.

- - -

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Fergie has had few run-ins with chairmen of the board, but Frank Sinatra narrowly avoided a blast of the hairdryer treatment nearly 20 yeards ago: "You can't beat Sinatra. I was actually supposed to have dinner with him one night, but we lost to Charlton so I cancelled it and went home!" Early Doors wants to know: what was Frank Sinatra doing arranging to have dinner with Alex Ferguson in 1989?

QUOTE OF THE DAY 2: Blackburn's Martin Olsson reveals his calm and considered reaction to getting sent off against Tottenham: "I destroyed most things in the  changing room. I was kicking everything I could lay my eyes on - doors, bins, cardboard boxes. I don't know what was broken and what wasn't. My team-mates supported me. They said: 'You are only 20, take it easy, we have had experiences like that.' Paul Ince said it was better that I showed my feelings rather than not doing anything at all."

FOREIGN VIEW: More Rene Higuita, who is making a comeback for Colombian provincial side Pereira aged 42. The eccentric keeper's new side lost 3-0 at America thanks in part to a superb blunder.   In the last minute, Higuita rushed out of his penalty area towards the halfway line, tried to head the ball away, missed and allowed Paulo Cesar Arango to score into an empty net.

COMING UP: Full coverage of all tonight's Champions League action, including Arsenal v Dynamo Kiev and Villarreal v Man United. The whole farrago gets under way at 17:30 UK time with Zenit St Petersburg v Juventus.

  1. Good mornin, good mornin!
    We've danced the whole night through,
    good mornin, good mornin to you.

    Good mornin, good mornin!
    It's great to stay up late,
    good mornin, good mornin to you.

    mattymogoFrom mattymogo on Tue Nov 25 08:56AM

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  2. good morning y'all. pick decaf next time matty ;)

    moody_tariqFrom moody_tariq on Tue Nov 25 08:56AM

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  3. nothing like a good sing song to start the day

    mattymogoFrom mattymogo on Tue Nov 25 08:57AM

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  4. Morning all.

    Well today's ED should put JayJay in a good mood...NOT! lol

    mickr273From mickr273 on Tue Nov 25 09:03AM

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  5. btw, captaincy is a big issue. dont play it down because of the actions of man utd and gallas.
    first of all, gallas should not have gone public about his teammates. that being said, i fully support him in the sense that i do think they are arrogant and juvenile.

    regarding man utd and the captaincy, neville/giggs/ferdinand are cultured players who have been in the game since the days when madonna was actually hot.

    a team needs a leader on AND off the pitch, and thats why the manager must choose his captains wisely.

    moody_tariqFrom moody_tariq on Tue Nov 25 09:04AM

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  6. nooooooo

    tidus520520From tidus520520 on Tue Nov 25 09:09AM

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  7. i thought the same mick, jay is not goin to be a happy bunny

    and rightly so, just cus arsenal are having a slight dip of form does not mean they are sh1it and need a new squad. They will still be in the top 4 of the prem this year. And arsenal never seem to sign really expensive players (unlike the other 3).

    mattymogoFrom mattymogo on Tue Nov 25 09:12AM

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  8. I could be wrong, but is it even possible to pick up "just one point out of 10 in the capital"? Surely it's either 9 or 12? In fact, it can only be 9 (Chelsea, Fulham, West Ham).

    I could be wrong though. As a Barnet fan, it's widely known that I know not enough about football to support a decent side, so perhaps my understanding of the points system is a bit out of whack...

    barnetfandanFrom barnetfandan on Tue Nov 25 09:15AM

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  9. man utd is a bit different from other teams~~~ no matter who puts on the armband~ you still feels that he is delivering the moral boost to the team~ even if it was Park~ you can still feel the united spirit (in fact park fits very well with his never say die spirit)~ it seems most of its squad members has the capability and quality to be captain.

    vitorlamFrom vitorlam on Tue Nov 25 09:16AM

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  10. chelsea players has that too~

    vitorlamFrom vitorlam on Tue Nov 25 09:17AM

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  11. The Arse are grasping at straws. Fibreglass's best qualification for being captain, as mentioned, are his skills but he's not exactly in great form, is he? Can we really see him standing in between Bendtner (or whatever his name is) and Adebayor?

    theodorecastroFrom theodorecastro on Tue Nov 25 09:17AM

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  12. a team needs a leader on AND off the pitch, and thats why the manager must choose his captains wisely.

    well said. players like park and vds are captains of their countries, so leadership is important. and yeah, who is next in the pecking order anyway, scholes?

    ningkeeFrom ningkee on Tue Nov 25 09:17AM

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  13. barnet fan dan, do i detect a hint of sarcasm

    mattymogoFrom mattymogo on Tue Nov 25 09:17AM

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  14. Good point there matty. I think ED's attack on Arsenal is unjust. They will get going. Eventually lol

    mickr273From mickr273 on Tue Nov 25 09:17AM

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  15. Today's Early Doors has been far better than the previous ones.. though i got to say.. Captaincy is an important thing... yeah maybe Park ji Sung would have put the band for half a match.. make him captain for one full season and u would see what difference it would make... Seniority and Respect are very important to become a captain... two or three years down the line Fab would have been a good captain.. now i am not so sure.. i think it would really pressurize him...

    binop_bhanumanFrom binop_bhanuman on Tue Nov 25 09:18AM

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  16. but hopefully not hey mick ;)

    mattymogoFrom mattymogo on Tue Nov 25 09:18AM

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  17. Out of interest how can Newcastle have secured 1 point out of 10? 3 points for a win isn't it, 3 into 10 doesn't stack up. We haven't adopted those stupid points proposals Lawrie Sanchez was talking about last week have we?

    johnandalmazFrom johnandalmaz on Tue Nov 25 09:19AM

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  18. Early Doors you don't know anything about football
    Arsenal is a great tea,
    Arsene is a great manager
    Fabregas is one of the great midfielders of his generation
    :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
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    :-
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    :-)

    iam.jay8From iam.jay8 on Tue Nov 25 09:19AM

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  19. ninth or something

    manojthiyagarajanFrom manojthiyagarajan on Tue Nov 25 09:20AM

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  20. Arsenal great Tea = True

    Although I prefer Earl Grey :-)

    Morning fellow freaks

    fitbutfrustratedFrom fitbutfrustrated on Tue Nov 25 09:21AM

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  21. Arsenal small school boy team of would be Komedians :-)

    arttidescoFrom arttidesco on Tue Nov 25 09:22AM

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  22. morning dolls

    milesandy73From milesandy73 on Tue Nov 25 09:22AM

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  23. jay wenger is out of touch and confused.
    at this rate ll be a miracle if we finish top four

    milesandy73From milesandy73 on Tue Nov 25 09:24AM

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  24. arti u re a @#$%

    milesandy73From milesandy73 on Tue Nov 25 09:26AM

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  25. The reason it does not which sucky Mancy United player wears the Kapitains armband is cause the pished bloke on the bench with red nose and glasses thinks he is in charge even when he gets banned and sent to the terraces :-)

    arttidescoFrom arttidesco on Tue Nov 25 09:26AM

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  26. Without sounding mecenary I think Liverpool should start too stir and disrupt Arsenal further in the hope of prising VP away too Anfield where him and Torres would rule the world with Keane sat in behind. NO DOUBT!!!

    fitbutfrustratedFrom fitbutfrustrated on Tue Nov 25 09:26AM

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  27. Early Doors has a real downer on the Arsenal, it has to be said.

    hailofsplintersFrom hailofsplinters on Tue Nov 25 09:28AM

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  28. arsenal for the champ league

    milesandy73From milesandy73 on Tue Nov 25 09:30AM

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  29. Why not sandy they've got nothing else too play for a bit like my Team in last for years hahaha

    fitbutfrustratedFrom fitbutfrustrated on Tue Nov 25 09:33AM

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  30. i think early doors like to laugh at the teams that are struggling because they can't write to save their lives. Just a few weeks ago Tottenham was dominating the blog every day.

    Call yourselves journalists your really nothing but scab eaters!!!!

    Morning all, the big question today is....are thecunts who spolit friday and yesterday coming out to play??

    Arti - West Ham are stillshit and will be relegated!!!!

    iamevzFrom iamevz on Tue Nov 25 09:34AM

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