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.
56 Correct (althought they suck anyways
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From fitbutfrustrated on Tue Nov 25 10:08AMARSENAL WILL SURELY BOUNCE BACK BUT WILL STRUGGLE TO HOLD NO. 4 WITH THE LOOK OF THINGS, WHO KNOWS WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO THE CURRENT LEAGUE LEADERS ANYTIME FROM NOW MORESO THAT WE HAVE STARTED WITNESSING TERRIBLE DRAWN HOME GAMES. TOYIN, LIVERPOOL
From tonyadetoyi on Tue Nov 25 10:09AMThroughout this whole Arsenal debalce nodoby has mentioned the one main player they have missed and that is Hleb. Flamini was good and did a job but Hleb was awesome towards the end of last year. His position working selflessly for the two front men has never been filled since and therefore their usual leathal goal threat which pinned other teams back is simply not there so other teams then just pour forward without feeling that exposed against Against
Double post I don't care its the piece I've written in some time
From fitbutfrustrated on Tue Nov 25 10:10AMJonathan - I think footballs changed alot over the years, i think the best England captain that ive seen is David Beckham, his work ethic rubbed off on alot of the team. He was influential in the sense he didn't talk a great deal but he led from the front, and i think Gerrard's quite a similar captain. I think fabregas has been poor this season but this could give him a bit of a confidence booster and get him to the next level.
FBF - I rate Nasri more than Hleb, Nasri scores goals, hleb doesn't.
From jay8my on Tue Nov 25 10:11AMArsenal to turn Chelsea over you heart it here first !!!!
From fitbutfrustrated on Tue Nov 25 10:12AMLook at the successful teams of the past 20/30 years, (mostly the current top 4) and i bet that they won silverware when they had brill managers who had tough captain leaders who could lead by example. I think that Roy Keane has a problem that he DOESN'T have a tough leader to get stuck in to the opponents. Can you imagine Mr Bitfrustrated where Liverpool would be WITHOUT Steve Gerrard leading them?! QED!!!
From jonathangrosskopf on Tue Nov 25 10:12AMFitbutfrustrated: Actually i think we are missing Flamini more than Hleb. Hleb was great for us, his connecting the midfiled to the attack was immense, but I think Wenger was decent enough to let him go because 1) he was 28/29 might aswell get money for him while he is on the books because after 30 he wont get longer than a 1 year contract, and 2) because he didnt score. I would prefere to see my left and right midfileders cut in and shoot more often than hleb did. Flamini is a bigger loss because Denilson although he has a great pass on him is still very young and inexperienced and Flamini was a damn fine holding midfielder. backing up Fibreglass so he could get forward and support. Someone to support our defense is what we are really missing this season.
From tommihew on Tue Nov 25 10:12AMWell. Thats two escaped loonies on the go. How many more will pay a visit?
From mickr273 on Tue Nov 25 10:12AMNasri and Hleb two different players Jay and although Nasri can score goals I think Hleb was simply better at creating a more lethal team around his awareness is way better and launched attacks much quciker
From fitbutfrustrated on Tue Nov 25 10:13AMFBF i think Flamini is missed way more than Hleb. Hleb is the type of guy I'd want when we're 3-0 up. Flamini held the centre of midfield fairly well. Just look at the massive gaps in the centre of Arsenal's midfield this season.
From kgh_r on Tue Nov 25 10:14AMHi y'all,
im tired of all this talk about arsenal and fabregas being the new captain. i am a arsenal fan but i am just tired and upset of the way the team have been playing these days. every one is saying that giving the armband to fabregas will get the team on the right track and will start wining games. Dont you people see that there is one pleyer missing in the squad thats why arsenal are not winning these days???? have you even talked about Adebayor. Yes Adebayor. he is the only decent forward arsenal have got and when he is not there they stuggle to win or dont win at all. comon now strt talking about Adebayor please and one he is back arsenal will start to win some games i swear.From wilfried.mayala on Tue Nov 25 10:16AMCan no one else see the sarcasm in the first few lines?
And they are wrong about the Captain, can anyone remember just how badly Becks controlled that petulant child Rooney when he was England Captain? Maybe he would have stayed on the pitch longer and not strayed from position so often if he had Roy Keane chewing his ear.
From rag2706 on Tue Nov 25 10:18AMA million lights are dancing
And there you are
A shooting star
An everlasting world
And you're here with me
EternallyXanadu, Xanadu,
now we are here
In Xanadu
Xanadu, Xanadu,
now we are here
In Xanadu
From channel_island_wannabe on Tue Nov 25 10:19AMNo wonder Arsenal are going backwards Jay, they are palyng "pretty football" on muddy heavy pitches where you need someone in the midfield or defence to get stuck in. That's what other teams are doing to Arsenal. Oh for the fights between Arsenal and Mancheswter United at least those games meant something to them - they played with passion for there respective teams. Now Arsenal are sadly a shadow of themselves - shame! My nephew in the big smoke is a big Arsenal fan and i don't have the heart to intrude on his current misery.
From jonathangrosskopf on Tue Nov 25 10:20AMwilfried i've said for a while that adebayor is the only prolific goalscorer at arsenal. van persie is way too inconsistent and bendtner is totallyshit. eduardo's return might be a welcome surprise.
From kgh_r on Tue Nov 25 10:20AMgrosskopf, are you a man utd fan?
From kgh_r on Tue Nov 25 10:22AMAdebayour wierd lucky striker worth about 32p
From fitbutfrustrated on Tue Nov 25 10:28AMI HAVE NEVER HEARD AS MUCH @#$% IN MY LIFE ED, ARSENAL NEED THE LIKES OF VAN PERSIE IF THEIR GOING TO WIN ANYTHING, AS FOR A NEW SQUAD, TOTAL @#$% THEY CERTAINLY NEED A HOLDING MIDFIELDER AND A NEW CENTER HALF TO PLAY ALONGSIDE TOURE. GET RID OF GALLAS FULL STOP, IT WAS THE SAME WHEN HE WAS AT CHELSEA, EG THREATENING TO SCORE OG`s FOR @#$% SAKE. THE MAN IS A @#$% AND WENGER SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT,,THE FACT HE WAS FRENCH LET WENGER SEE HIM THROUGH ROSE TINTED GLASSES...
From dunzer5 on Tue Nov 25 10:28AMRose tinted glasses = True
VP to the mighty Pool and then you'd see a player for sure!
From fitbutfrustrated on Tue Nov 25 10:30AMkgh-r: my late dad was a City fan in the 40's 50's and i sort of became a Manchester Utd fan circa 1958 as a result of the Munich Air Disaster. I appreciate ALL teams that play attacking footbal e.g. the Spurs team of the early 60's but Matt Busby made Charlton, Law and Best icons of football at its pinacle. Even though the Liverpoll teams of the 70's and 80's won more things the emotional pull of Munich 1958 and the win at Wembly in 1968 was all what dreams are made of. Nowadays football is big business but i am still a romantic for a bygonme age.
From jonathangrosskopf on Tue Nov 25 10:31AMThanks kgh_r, I dont even know why Bendtner is in the first team anyway. the young Vela is way better than him and he is ready to play in the first team. Arsene Wenger better sort this team out and fast if they want to finish 4th this season. its justa shame for us fans coz we know that Arsenal should not be where they are at the moment. We need a good DMF and maybe one other CB. then give the captain arm band to TOURE. Yes TOURE. He has been there for a long time and the players will listen to him more than they will listen to Fabregas.
From wilfried.mayala on Tue Nov 25 10:32AMJonathan - yeah the pitches are abit heavier in the winter but the pitches are not that bad. We managed to beat wigan wiv our youth team on fairly heavy pitch so i dont quite agree wiv that point.
From jay8my on Tue Nov 25 10:32AM32p Jay do you hear me?
From fitbutfrustrated on Tue Nov 25 10:35AM32 flippin pence hahahahahahahahaha
From fitbutfrustrated on Tue Nov 25 10:35AMAdebayor is great but then again, last seasn he was brilliant, the season before he was rubbish, this season he's been rubbish too. He has the goal scorer in him but in terms of inconsistency it seems he is inconsistent over seasons rather than games. I think he is a must for us but i also think he's lazy. Last season was great so i can sit back on my laurels and goals will come this season...type thing. Da Silva is needed. VP is great but just gets injured too much or banned. Bendtner we all know he hasnt stepped up to the trust Wenger has placed on him.
From tommihew on Tue Nov 25 10:36AMitbutfrustrated are you for real? there is no luck in football. he is the only angry forward at arsenal
From wilfried.mayala on Tue Nov 25 10:36AMWhen opposition teams see Tevez, Ronaldo, Rooney, Scholes, Berbatov, Nani etc standing next to them in the tunnel they prob think 'ok well we've lost this game' but if you see Van Persie, Adebayor, Fabregas, Nasri, Denilson, Song etc it does not quite have the same effect. The Arsenal team is full of good players but no superstars. You need inspired performances from individual players who step up on occasions when the rest of the team is playing poorly. Arsenal play well together and badly together and thats why they may not win anything. -Arsenal Forever regardless.
From elberethgilthonial on Tue Nov 25 10:37AMWhat does 20p 10p and 2p make thats right a wierd lucky striker!
From fitbutfrustrated on Tue Nov 25 10:37AMWilfred your right anger and ruthlessness doth make a good striker
From fitbutfrustrated on Tue Nov 25 10:38AMjonathangrosskopf i too support attacking football and thats why i'd never get too critical with arsenal or wenger. i didn't like the 1-0 arsenal under graham. i didn't like the 1-0 chelsea in mourinho's 2nd season and i don't particularly like Rafa's negative approach either.
From kgh_r on Tue Nov 25 10:40AM
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