Roiling football blather
- Thread starter crackerjack
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baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
I think that only becomes clear once the draw for the QFs is made, which dictates a team's path to the final.
Not enjoying this general xenophobic outburst against Gattuso. Sure he technically shouldn't have done what he did, but Joe Jordan seemed like he was being a bit of a dick and deserved it.
Not enjoying this general xenophobic outburst against Gattuso. Sure he technically shouldn't have done what he did, but Joe Jordan seemed like he was being a bit of a dick and deserved it.
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crackerjack
Well-known member
quite a week in north london football
that was a brilliant, brilliant match. well done arsenal. they genuinely deserved the win - i thought they were by far the superior team in the second half. jack wilshere was the best player on the pitch i thought, he just seems to get better and better. he has that xavi-like awareness, composure and body shape so that whenever he receives the ball he always makes space for himself and makes it look easy. there's no other english player with that kind of ability. i really hope they can do the business in the second leg.
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
Would you really put money on Arsenal to do better than a 1-0 defeat int he Nou Camp though? It's certainly possible, given the quality of player they have, but too many of their players can go missing when the pressure is really on.
great, great game though - the best advertisement possible for football.
great, great game though - the best advertisement possible for football.
crackerjack
Well-known member
Piquet is definitely out. Dunno how Puyol is coming on, whether he'll be back in time, but I have the feeling it could be a high-scoring game and Barca will need to win by 2. Tempted to give last year's 4-2 near-miss bet a re-run...
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
I wasn't that impressed by Fabregas last night - is that fair (I only watched the second half properly, btw)? I really feel Wilshere is the one Barca shoudl be looking at.
he didn't have the best match, but of course he's still their captain and a magical player and they miss him when he's not in the team. he made that great sweeping pass to set nasri going in the move for that second goal. but yeah agreed, wilshere was the one that looked more like 'a barcelona player' last night.
crackerjack
Well-known member
Fab's pass for the second goal was almost worth MOTM on its own
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
probably didn't notice it was his pass, tbh. fair nuff.
agreed. dan jones in the evening standard hit an all-time low yesterday, which is pretty impressive given his track record. also, flamini's tackle - two footed yes, but nowhere near as bad as ppl are making out. must have been 20 worse in the prem this year at least.
IdleRich
IdleRich
That's exactly what I'd say - only saw the second half (Barca superior in the first I'm hearing?) but Arsenal were much better - when Barcelona had the ball they got bogged down in too many passes that didn't go anywhere whereas Arsenal passed just as well but more directly. That said they looked as though they were running out of steam a bit when Van Persie got what was basically a pretty soft goal. On that evidence Wilshere is absolute class.
bandshell
Grand High Witch
Barca were crap in the second half. Just looked like they couldn't be bothered. Excellent match though.
Barca pissed about too much in the second half. Constantly passing back and forth, never really attacking or attempting to break through the Arsenal back four. Very subdued.
Wilshere and Koscielny were far and away Arsenal's best players. Koscielny, in particular. Solid defending. So many good tackles from him.
I reckon Barca will win the second leg. I thought they'd win last night though. You never know.
Barca pissed about too much in the second half. Constantly passing back and forth, never really attacking or attempting to break through the Arsenal back four. Very subdued.
Wilshere and Koscielny were far and away Arsenal's best players. Koscielny, in particular. Solid defending. So many good tackles from him.
I reckon Barca will win the second leg. I thought they'd win last night though. You never know.
IdleRich
IdleRich
Yeah, that's what I thought. Just read this from the Spanish press which seems to miss the point that you're making:
But they weren't good passes - they got bogged down trying to pass through midfield and gave Arsenal a chance to get back in numbers. When Arsenal broke they were more direct but it was hardly long ball, it was long, accurate, quick passing and it was very hard to defend. Making more passes isn't an end in itself.
I noticed that a problem with Barca's pressing game is that if they do fail to win it and the ball gets passed through them then there is a danger of their being over-committed. Space where you might expect the midfield to be which can be attacked.
bandshell
Grand High Witch
Yeah. Passing means nothing if you can't do anything with it.
I admire how comfortable and relaxed they are though. Even in injury time, a goal down, they were coolly passing the ball around. Same with the Spanish national team. They never even clear it from their own box. Just pass it out.
Agree on the Arsenal point. Took them two or three passes to do what Barca were doing in 8+.
I love watching Barca though. Fantastic football. The November Clasico was incredible.
I admire how comfortable and relaxed they are though. Even in injury time, a goal down, they were coolly passing the ball around. Same with the Spanish national team. They never even clear it from their own box. Just pass it out.
Agree on the Arsenal point. Took them two or three passes to do what Barca were doing in 8+.
I love watching Barca though. Fantastic football. The November Clasico was incredible.
hucks
Your Message Here
Game of two halves, innit? Barca were really complacent after half time, but were far and away the better side before. They should have been 2-0 up, having a decent goal ruled out. Wilshere was very good, but only in the second half, and I dunno whether that's cos he improved or cos Barca got worse.
The game Barca play is really demanding physically - so much pressure on the opppostion high up the pitch. I wouldn't be surprised if they were tired second half.
The game Barca play is really demanding physically - so much pressure on the opppostion high up the pitch. I wouldn't be surprised if they were tired second half.
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
The hype around Wilshere just went ballistic today. Not a good portent for the future - why do the press always have to seize on ONE player as the future for the English national team? Few can tolerate such pressure for long.
Agreed on Koscielny - I thought he was brilliant, and if he keeps up that form, I'd say Arsenal have a shout at the league too.
Edit: Arsenal have a great shout of 10/12 points in the next 4 league fixtures, while United have both Chelsea and Liverpool away. I could see the lead being cut to 1 point or so by the end of March. The game on 30 April (Arsenal-United) could be a season decider.
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IdleRich
IdleRich
Yeah, who was the defender who dinked it over Eboue when they were under pressure - he almost came unstuck but he didn't so he looked cool. In fairness though neither side were whacking it out of defence, both were trying to build from the back until the very end when Arsenal defenders (understandably) did put their foot through it a couple of times.