Arsene Wenger will reign very soon

In our last look at the English Premier League, we looked at the blind faith of the Manchester United fans that they are already champions. Three matches on, they amassed 9 out of 9 points, scoring 10 goals in the process. Maybe they have a case.

Chelsea fans, like those elsewhere in AC Milan, F.C Porto and Real Madrid, know when it is time to celebrate when Jose Mourinho is in the house. So the Red Devils can really be forgiven to celebrate this early.

My take is this; All the teams and coaches always revered and feared a JM coached. They feel intimated and inferior. The Man U performance thus far makes all their opponents afraid, and very afraid. This makes United's job half complete.

There is a Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rushford factor. Martial is an evergreen thread and De Gea is solid. If one tries to look at the possible loopholes in that team, it may take you a season to find one. Team spirit and teamwork are matched by a complete and satisfying work ethic from everyone. I feel Ibrahimovic will come in to give more stability to the coach's attacking options.

We predicted a good performance from Arsenal and then a revolt from the Gunners fans. However, we did not anticipate these events to be so close to each other and to come so soon. Arsene Wenger did not convince many in that English Premier League season opener against Leicester City. 

The match was easy on the eye by devoid of tactical maturity and class. We were skeptical in joining the celebration party after that match. The latest demolition job by Liverpool proved us right in saying that Arsenal has very good players but the worst ever team in the league.

The players' body language was the easiest book to read. Wenger can not do anything positive to that team at all. High profile players like Mezuit Ozil looked mentally broken. The rest were extremely fragile. Alexis Sanchez, who wanted out did not look the part. Actually, Arsenal should have let him go.

No one can question Arsene's football brain and his stubbornness, but we still believe in miracles and that the man still has a little pride, no matter how small. If we are right, the man will resign next week. And in that case, a strong coach with a high reputation will come and transform dressing room mentality and attitude and maximise that team's potential.

Let assume we are wrong and the Frenchman stays on, what then can save the Gunners? Simple. Sell the entire squad and get young, cheap, naive and easy to manipulate professional who can 'yes Sir' Wenger. Otherwise, Arsenal will be in the relegation battle for the majority of the season.

This story has a flip side. A disappointing Liverpool pulled out a shocker in walloping a hapless Arsenal and suddenly, Jurgen Klopp seems to be the man. Our prediction was that the Reds are a spent force who did not need Coutinho now. 

With Barcelona throwing cash like confetti at Liverpool, the Merseyside giants should gladly cash in and bank the money. There is not much need to get into the market for them now. Their followers think there is a need for a centre back and central anchoring midfielder. We have not analysised or seem possible candidates for that matter, so it is a question of the German's taste and so far, we are failing to enter his taste buds.

May we temporarily apologise our questioning of the longevity of his gengen pressing in this season. There is a temptation to say Arsenal were naive in any case, but giving credit where it is due, many duels were won in high pressing areas leading to the goals. 

If we take a microscopic look, we would say it is early days. The good thing is that the Sedio Mane instincts look intact as this moment and all hope that his injuries will be minimum. Daniel Sturridge needs to be mentioned as he did what he usually does when he comes in from the bench. And again, he needs a much more injury free season than anyone in the world's five top leagues.

As one of the greatest symphasisers of Tottenham Hotspur, there was not a single attempt to give an excuse for the use of Wembley Stadium. Maybe we should have. White Hart Lane always presented a thread even before the match started. At the current rate, as opposed to the intimidation of the current Manchester United bullishness, Spurs are vulnerable to every Jack and Jill. All teams feel they have a chance against them at Wembley. 

Mauricio Poccetthino's boys will be feeling tired soon if the results do not come early enough. We mentioned one serious factor for them on day one. As long as Harry Kane is not finding the net, his frustration will work against the team and his confidence. Delle Ali also needs to have his game a notch up when Kane is firing blanks.

There is no doubt that in Moussa Dembele and Victor Wanyama, they have one of the strongest central midfielders in the world today, but without the crazy scampering on the wings of Danny Rose and Kyle Walker, the load will remain against them after the completion of each swing attack.

Let us see what Manchester City brought to the table so far. I see a better team than last season, but definitely, nothing to make us think they are better than Chelsea and United. Even with their target, Alexis Sanchez, it would be hard to see how the set-up could influence the title in their favour. 

Rumour has it that they intended offloading Jesus Navas and a few other players to the Gunners for the South American. Theoretically, the possible combination with Sergio Aguero should be hair-raising but Pep Guardiola can mess up a good stew and turn it into biter medicine at the click of a finger. City is a team that has already hit the ceiling. They may reinvent themselves and get rejuvenated but there is not much excitement in that squad.

Finally, as Chelsea strolled through the park, they picked up easy points. Could it be that all teams will jst bend over for a spanking? Maybe there is so much respect for Antonio Conte, but that easy win versus Everton worked for and against them. The good thing was that they picked up points without hitting top gear, basically on a rest day.

The negative aspect of that situation is a loss of top match fitness. Managing that situation going forward will be critical as to how long The Blues catch up the rest of the league in match fitness. At the beginning of the season, one prefers being stretched to the limit and prevail, and that momentum carries you in buoyant and quiet times in the season. 

We are tempted to make more predictions based on tactical analysis of what transpired so far. Indicators prove that our first article on the matter was over 80 % correct up to Match 3. The league may still welcome few great names of the game from other major leagues, and that may change a lot, but frankly, we see no major changes.

Paul Pogba, Marcus Rushford, Martial, Mane, Cesc Fabregas, Ali, Kane, Aguero will determine the destination of the league. 

At the bottom, new boys will kiss the league goodbye.

The best football Manager in the world

A few decades ago, Nottingham Forest F.C. in the English Football League, then known as the Super League, yo-yo-ed between the top tier football and the First Division under Brian Clough. We all admired the art of his pottery skills to destroy a club and make it again. The same still happens in South Africa with Jomo Sono's Jomo Cosmos F.C. The motivation of both was different.

When one has top notch players, a massive budget top state of the art facilities at their disposal, the task of winning the championship or trophies is so much easier. There cannot be a better scenario to achieve much.

However, with below average players and a 'get by' budget, it is the ultimate task to save a team from relegation. Starting with low wages and stinking attitude of these players, man-management skills get challenged to the maximum and asking for a performance is like squeezing water from a stone.

 Most celebrated managers, Zinedine Zidane, Luiz Enrique, Pep Guardiola, Arsene Wenger, Antonio Conte, Carlo Ancelotti, just to name a few, have more than they need at their disposal and (will) hop from one bed of roses to the next. Then, at the other end of the line, there is that endless list of managers scrounging for finances and results, yet they are not recognised.

The 'top managers' success are seasonal, depending on who got the best players and who got a better wage bill for their top earners. With this in mind, there has been a list of perennial saviors in the English Premier League, among them, Tony Pulis and Harry Redknapp, but the ultimate and supreme manager of all time, is Sam Allardyce.

The Big Sam has done everything from pulling a team from the Championship to saving teams from sinking. 

Is there any manager elsewhere with a better record.

UEFA Champions League draw twinned the football styles

What if I put it to you, that Arsenal's Arsene Wenger will not resign any time soon unless he wins the FA Cup. Can we accept it as a fact that if, and only if that happens, he will resign immediately as he will not entertain an embarrassing exit from the club that he took to dizzy heights and was credited with revolutionising the English game after his arrival in London almost two decades ago. Her Majesty, the Queen of England has done enough to hold her horses in knighting a man who once deserved the accolade, but has been questioned by many after his extended success-drought spell. Statistically, Wenger's numbers surpass those of Sir Alex Ferguson, but SAF won what mattered the most in over 30 matches.

This is just to warm our appetite for the Gunners' lucky break if reaching yet another FA Cup final, a fluke if you ask me. Let us stop analysing the UEFA Champions League. First and foremost, Manchester United's elimination ends their season early. The Red Devils had just hit a purple patch in all competitions but that loss kills any fight in them. There is no incentive to go on as they will officially miss Europe's top competition, the biggest club competition in the world for the first time in decades. Anyway, that is an Old Trafford problem.

It is common knowledge that Barcelona hordes the ball, but of late, the wheels are coming off their wagon. They are third in the league after their elimination from the Champions League by Athletico Madrid. I wish to combine Athletico's win with the victory Chelsea enjoyed. This is due to the interesting fact of their similar styles. They rely on a grafting work ethic that proves toil never fails. More so, whenever possible their go direct and quickly. This has been the rise of German teams. Theirs can not be deemed route one football, but they duel and combat at every situation and grind the results. There is little nice about their display but then, if it pays, why not.

Many have taken Jose Mourinho's cry that he has no strikers. That is very untrue as he has, but his plans exclude them. In Samuel Eto'o, Demba Ba and Fernando Torres, he has men who come on the field and perform their duties and leave, mercenary style. They are at his disposal and they never fail, but The Special One does not want things that way. The indulgence of having the versatile Hazard and Oscar and the hard work of Willian makes Jose think that he can play and win matches with the three. The rest of his line-up become accessories to complement the trio. The interesting thing about him is that he is never afraid to cut and chop at anytime and for whatever reason. He may decide to stick with his plans no matter how fruitless. He has guts to stop a working scenario and try something new. Like him or not, he does not care about criticism. He is a risk taker, and usually a good one.

The Barcelona football has always delivered a cut high in terms of class. Somehow, when I told you that Barca are finished, I got ridicule. Their fall did not start yesterday. Their football is getting more square and sterile. They used to have penetrative pace longitudinally at their peak, but they are getting flatter and flatter. Their most influential players in Xavi and Iniesta have more passes to the side and back than forward. They now play the football that Arsenal played when the Gunners thought they played lie Barcelona. Despite the cutting edge of Messi and Neymar, the offensive dimension is stunted by the extra passes and more importantly, lack of space for the two to use. Both players thrive on running towards defenders with the ball at high pace. They dribble and leave defenders for dead like tornadoes. One can argue the quality of the coach. That type of football needs excessive concentration. That is why Bayern Munich can pull it off for now, because they are German.

For Munich, it is obvious that their players enjoy a small variation to what they did before Pep Guardiola arrived. He introduced a little more patience with the ball, but they were always a team that kept the ball well and took shots a pass or two earlier with each attack. This tactics works well if the attacking confidence is high and gets complimented by the calm finishing. As soon as goals dry, as in the Barca case, this can be fatal. The Spanish giants now need serious attention, an overhaul. Their attack is getting blunt, frustrated and unproductive.

In my assessment of Athletico and Chelsea, I mentioned some directness of their football. Real Madrid are extremely direct but their game is complimented by pace. As soon as Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale get on their bikes, no scooter can catch them. Their downfall is their careless defending. The chief culprit is Ramos. Pepe complements his antics well too. With a little cool heads at the back, they would play a sustainable type of game with ease. Real Madrid depend on sound absorbance of pressure and as their opponents push forward, they leave reasonable space between their last defenders and the goalkeeper. It is that space that the scampering Bale and Ronaldo will attack with the ball to great effect. This becomes the exact difference between Real and Barca. Real attacks the space by utilising it with excellent running with the ball technique while Barca. depend on running at the defenders with the ball in tight spaces.

The Bayern Munich way would be classified as the Barca way with a tint of the Madrid football. Given that the Germans were drawn against Real Madrid, it makes it an interesting pairing that will give the Spanish some advantage somehow. With Bayern though, their attack is not as narrow as that of Barcelona. Ribery and Robben stretch the game wide and they come at high pace, Ribery going wide and sometimes to the by-line for the cross while the Dutchman will drift in from the right, drop a shoulder and curl the ball around the goalkeeper inside the far post. Still, they take an extra pass before an attempt at goal. There is likely to be more aggressive attack with entertaining outcome here that in the other semi-final where grit will outwit grit.

The best part of the draw is that we will be exposed to extreme types of football in the final. That is the solid game of either Chelsea or Athletico and the direct and clinical Real or Bayern approach. Either style has its own pros and cons but the interesting thing will be how useful the coaches use the tools at their disposal.

Super Chelsea beat Man City clean and square

The ‘undefeatable’ Manchester City were defeated by a classical Jose Mourinho master act as Chelsea made sure that the most prolific team in the league and making history and breaking record after record failed to score at home for the first time since 2010. For many it was a surprise result, myself included, but what stands out for me was how it was done. A perfect execution
I never gave Chelsea a slight chance of victory and I never entertained a thought of City failing to score. This is despite the anticipated tactics that were thought to be Mourinho’s ace up the sleeve – ultra-defensive behaviour, parking the bus until the cows came home, and that is exactly what The Special One did not do.
It came to what I always used in lower division football, which I thought was inappropriate at the time and worse still in top-flight football of the 21^st century, basically a 1-6-4 formation. You can configure the 6 and the 4 as you like but the result of that distribution of players on the pitch was that the Blues were far offensive enough and very compact defensively.
One can dwell on the stats about the broken 11-match winning streak in the league for City as well as eight in a row at home. That is something else. The world witnessed Mourinho at his best. Chelsea played against one of the world’s in-form teams of all time in the whole world, a team embarrassed with an array of talent, and he tore them to shreds. So effective was the attack that the bar saved City not once, not twice but thrice. We are not mentioning comic misses and Joe Hart saves.
Now that the Citizens lost, there may be sympathisers who could be justified to mourn about the absence of Fernandinho, Nasri and Aguero. City skinned so many teams with or without many players before. Chelsea were well prepared to beat City with all their stars in place and they executed their plan to the letter. For their record, Chelsea had kept four clean sheets in a row away from home in the Premier League so far and adding City to that list has many implications.
Many teams realise City are beatable as Arsene Wenger said before the match. This ups the stakes for smaller teams in the remaining City fixtures. City players will be questioning their invincibility, although they will tell you it is a blow they will take in their chin and push forward. That could be true and you can only feel for their next opponents.
For Chelsea, the direct benefit was matching the points tally to their rivals and raising the confidence that they can go all the way. This Chelsea cannot crush and finish small teams. The number one person in Wenger’s books today is Mourinho. More than Chelsea, Arsenal were a tertiary beneficiary of that victory. Many managers will tell you that they worry about their fixtures but one cannot say with a straight face that the Chelsea win did not open the race wide.
The victory is a game-changing ideal that keeps Chelsea and Arsenal hopes alive and the ultimate City celebrations really took a bad knock that will be sore and take time to heal. Anyone who is not Chelsea will find it hard to deal with a wounded City. Forget about the many mistakes done by Manuel Pelligrini. They will be back.

Manchester City vs Chelsea; the 2013/14 Premiership Moment of Truth

Manchester City’s clash with Chelsea is surely to be the moment of truth of the 2013/14 English Premier League. I write as a layfan. Like Arsene Wenger said, the league is decided in May and not in February and football is played by humans and not machines. He alludes to the human errors and emotions involved and the fragility of the match outcomes as a result.

That is exactly what I should be telling you, if I am not fanatical. The thing is that, the more things change, the more they remain the same. The winner of the clash of these two rich giants will determine the title champion. Wenger says that because Arsenal are on top and wish for a draw or City loss. His predictions are for the City victory and for the same reason I say Chelsea and Arsenal have no chance against the Citizens.

As much as the Gunners are at the summit, their hanging there by the thread is there for both Chelsea and City to feel. Nobody expected them to enter the transfer market this January, neither do you expect them at any time. They however dealt a cautious but misplaced transaction of a player who cannot be used right away. He joins Ramsey and Jack Wilshire on the sidelines before he trains. It was a genuine mistake that he got injured somewhere in between and that is exactly my point. You can never bank on Arsenal at any time for anything.

The obvious fire-power of City is seen by many as one that tilts the balance in their favour. It is rather the lack of touch, style and presence of the Blues that steals it for me. There is not much character in that team, no threat to talk about, when you consider big occasion. Do not get me wrong. Edin Hazard, Oscar, Ramirez, and Eto’o are great players. The issue with me is that they never turn up all at once. City on the other side, are always there week in and week out.

Chelsea will have to dig deep to stop the marauding City attack. They will have to dig deeper to cross the centre line. To score will always be asking too much. This is not something you can worry about when City play teams below them in matches of less interest. This is because Chelsea cannot afford to lose ground on their rivals. They will not be willing to be the ones dishing out points. It is based on that understanding that good teams beat fellow contenders.

It is just a few minutes before kick-off and soon we will find how true the Chelsea challenge is.

Arsenal are a good limping horse.

Fa Cup fever is down after the weekend fest. Arsenal’ Arsene Wenger is a true realist. Do not confuse that with his known modesty. Despite the Gunners’ greatest start in the league for ages, he never openly said they have the league championship in the bag and this is because he does not think so, as much as you should not

This is why. Despite the arrival of Lukas Podolski, Santi Karzola and Mesuit Ozil – some real serious talent, at the Emirates, Arsenal have remained just an ordinary Gunners’ side which plays the way they think is Barcelona football. The thing is, they huff and puff to grind results, as any other team aspiring to be crowned. They have not blown any mind by the way they play or score.  

What has been a difference or a revelation, to the surprise of all and sundry, has been the early tearing form of one Aaron Ramsy, to many for many years, an outcast that Wenger dangerously trusted. Ramsy has been injured for a while and the momentum of his performances carried Arsenal thus now. The ascendance of Ramsy rubbed off to the Englishman in Theo Walcott in both form and now unfortunately, injury.

Their recovery will be vital to how Arsenal finish in the Barclays Premier League. How much more they will be grinding off points before the duo comes back remains to be seen but putting your money on Arsenal as champions is betting on, literally, a limping horse.

AVB - Chelsea money talks

Chelsea Football Club, unlike any other in the English Premier League, are not an investment. They are a savings entity. Let me gist you about the difference. In life terms, investing basically means growing money. The nature of the vehicles involved, this growth can tilt either side of zero. The pure intention is profit.

By contrast, saving means the keeping of what is there for a long time, possibly life. While growth is not a primary concern, loss of the capital is criminal. With Chelsea, Roman Abrahimovic should be understood as a man who had money he could have hidden under his pillow for the next 60 or so years. Instead of the pillow, he bought Chelsea as the mechanism of keeping the cash.

Over the years, that vehicle seemed sensible and safe, such that he continued pouring in any extra coins he could pick up in the street. If they laid eggs, those would be a welcome bonus. The club represented his personal wealth and retirement for him and family. As with a pillow, there would be morning he thought a coin fell from underneath his head, and he would make it his business, not his maid, to sweep the floor.

To draw a sharp contrast, Arsenal have been a true investment. Menial amounts of paper money were thrown into the system and they would mate and bear children overnight. As long as the fertility was in that direction, peaceful nights passed by, the slot machine ringing, such that the directors can hardly hear the fans crying for honours or trophies. There is absolutely no need to change any winning formular, hence, Arsene Wenger will be the equilibrium constant of the equation.

Having drawn the line and cleared the air over the extremes, let us look at the history of Chelsea under the Russian billionaire. Abrahimovic has always spent on players' purchases and wages without a wink. The Blues coaches' salaries have always been cool. The vision of the returns on the savings account would tickle even a small baby, but without peeping on the Chelsea owner's savings passbook or audit reports of the club, thinking he ever made bucks from football would be a long short.

Winning the English championship back to back under Jose Mourinho and the FA Cup as well as the UEFA Champion's League among others served only to stroke his personal ego. I would not bet on that having made him a better man even among his peers. It could have attracted useful change to reward his players more and even cushion the savings, probably by just replacing the pillowcase.

The current problems, as preceded by similar ones, befell Andre Villas-Boas when this pillowcase was dirty and could not be replaced. Depleting the savings to cushion the saving is like selling your only pillow to buy a pillowcase. Even the thought of that potential would draw the ire of a mentally disturbed man.

The issue of pride and status would have mattered at the Stanford Bridge, but to maintain a healthy wage bill, Chelsea needed to be going as further ahead of the pack, any pack, all packs, as possible. This attracted TV and fans. The commercial aspects made sure the huge wages budget does not haemorrhage the piggy bank.

AVB was assigned to guard the situation. Many think the man was able. Few understand how this was going to be impossible. At Manchester United and Arsenal, Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson  have been in the business for a long time. The economic waters favoured them in trying times of high and low tides. Their roots became deep in a way that made the institutions almost their personal properties.

The wage bills and recruitment of personnel in tightly under their control, exactly the opposite at Chelsea and for the reasons already given. The two veterans have a say on the wage bill. They choose their pick and call their tune. They pay the piper and face the music.

Chelsea bosses receive players whom they may not use. The material being availed to them comes at a price. With that tag, the feeling of invincible superiority. The well paid-gladiators, in due time, will know they make more money than the boss. The financial advantage over the manager addictively rubs off everyone and all control is lost.

Rivals like Man U and Arsenal will never have the players earning above the managers, unless other arrangements outside the club structures are made. This genuine concern shifts from the playing field. Everyone starts looking over their shoulder. Instead of the players knowing and adhering to the manager's strategy and not questioning his abilities and credentials, the attention is elsewhere.

Playing on your mind now might be how investments are of less interest than savings, or, why the clubs are not sacking coaches left right and centre. The gamblers lose all and still hope they will win it back tomorrow. They throw all the coins into the slot machine. They win some and lose some. It is a common principle.

Time to build success and stabilise the situation is limited. The constraints of trying to cement one's philosophy and implant discipline are not helped by lack of interest of the owner in club politics. This is not helped by the fact that when Abrahimovic goes to bed, he lifts the pillow and sees the state of his savings. There is no only who could perhaps survive the double-edged sword at the Bridge.

The Special One stubbornly built a side of mature warriors ready for battle. The same battle weary war horses have been recycles beyond repair. In trying to mould a new breed around the likes of Daniel Sturridge, things were bound to be worse as those benched due to the presence of youngsters threatened the up and coming boys. 

It will take a character of Jose Mourinho to build another team that excludes Frank Lampard, John Terry, Didier Drogba, Petr Czech, Flaurent Mouluda and other veterans. That clean sweep has to happens lightning fast and by the one who does not need to create a football profile. They should be able to tell Abrohimovic his story right in their face. 

If anyone thinks Mourinho is the man, they are deluded. It will not be surprising to see the two-man hug, but that will be the beginning of the end of Mourinho. Chelsea need to build from bottom up, with new faces, from manager to players

How sorry Arsenal have lost the plot.

As one of the world’s best football managers and analysts, Mr Wenger totally ignores one of the fundamentals of the game. Like it or not, Arsenal’s last real match was sometime when their team sheet had the name EMMANUEL ADEBAYUOR on it. Not that he was playing anything to talk about. I am trying to draw a timeline.

I will spare you the long story of ‘Boys to Men’ approach that we have been waiting for since his kidsnet looked like the iPad 2 of football at the time. After the expiry of their ‘sell-by date’, due to high levels of expectation, someone thought they saw the Gunners play like Barcelona and told these aged kids. Usually, I get a lot of love from Emirates residents on the blog but somehow, they must have missed one of my post.

Trusting they will read this one, Barcelona do not just play everything forward just like that. They penetrate by opening crevices with side way passes that are a problem to deal with tactically. Arsenal have turned themselves into ‘route 2 football’. You will remember Wimbledon F.C being the masters of ‘route 1’. The newer generation must imagine Stoke City at their worst to get an idea.

Leaving the Barca-Gunner comparison, here is why cabinets at the Emirates will be trophyless for a lengthy while. Their last drawn home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers typifies their game since the last day they played football years ago and I stopped supporting them after a two season grace period.

Arsenal emanate from too much greed. The world’s expectation of their talent coming of age was summed up by Wenger when he said they want it too much. They are just too hungry. I am surprised he saw this today.

Just like Sir Alex Ferguson who have spent a good chunk in the century as an employee of Manchester United, Jomo Sono of South African side Jomo Cosmos, share the same lengthy service but for a different reason. He is the owner of his club and SAF just an employee.  Given this contrast, it extends to the general fortunes of the two sides.

Arsene Wenger has the privilege of comparing well with both in that he has a credible decade and a half at the Emirates, a close second by any measure to the Manchester United manager and he proudly shares the fortunes of the club with that of Cosmos.

(To keep those who are unaware of South African diski, footy if you are from another planet, Jomo Cosmos is owned by Jomo Sono and have been relegated and promoted from the local league a record times and they have never changed the coach).

Direct to the scrotum, Arsenal spend 90 minutes of the match attacking, attacking and attacking. A lot of teams die to have the capacity and the luxury of that offensive movement. Why this is futile is this. Football fluency is based on a forward force called the momentum of attack. The Gunners present themselves with this opportunity only twice in a match; at the beginning of each half.

Simply put, they push their opponents against the wall and get stuck there, toiling all day huffing and puffing for nothing. To have a baby, you must remove the barriers and all contraception, and this is what Arsenal are not doing.

In the forward movement of the team, the momentum gets lost, just like a very good back swing with a hammer and a strike on the head of the nail. Prudent game plans call for the restarting of the formula as it were, drawing the opposition out of the comfort zone of good defending areas. They way Tottenham Hotspur plays now, they may not need a second swing of the hammer to crack the nut. Arsenal does, but all they do is swing once and push the hammer with their might. It is the way the two teams play, and Spurs being the best team by far in the Barclays Premier League.

This poor approach by Arsenal has too fatal effects. It drains the team’s mentality to methodically formulate and orchestrate penetrative and productive probes. The match is seen as entertaining with a lot of, but sterile, possession. There is no room left on the pitch for Theo Walcott to utilise. There is panic as the central midfielders and defenders push ahead leaving yawning gaps behind.

The second ill of the unfortunate pattern of play is that it horns the defending skills of the opposing team. It becomes like a practise session and the defenders and goalkeeper get better with every futile attempt. Arsenal becomes the best team to play against and getting a point becomes a bonus to an otherwise great outing by defenders.

Of late, you will agree with me that the Gunners have been far more direct in their attempt to break down opposition. This is a vital sign of impatience and lack of leadership on the pitch. Robin van Pierse is a very good man and player, but being a striker and the teams expectation being that high, the energy to organise the team gets swallowed by the duties of scoring, hence he is more scoring than pushing his team-mates’ performance.

Take solace, this phenomenon is normal where a coach stays too long with the same crop of players without much productivity. The solution has always been to change the coach or the whole team. Wenger is like Jomo at Arsenal and selling many players like Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy has not changed much fortune, but I actually think it is not necessary as Wenger can turn that around. For now, they will fight it out for fourth spot against Chelsea and Liverpool and watching a few Spurs matches won’t hurt. 

As football coach, champion your cause

How many times have we seen coaches shouting instructions to players, and the players respond by giving a thumbs up? Many. Ask the player after the match about what the coach was saying. They will tell you they heard nothing. If you listen to player interviews where they are asked about what the coach said at half-time, they all say the same thing. "The coach said 'go out there and enjoy yourselves' and so we did''. Those are parting word after a long lecture.

There are so many men and women aspiring to coach football teams one day and my advise is, believe not only in your dreams to be coaches but in other people's dreams to be led by yourselves. That is far from enough. Success only comes to people who have the assurance that they will be great coaches, that they can deliver.

Why does one desire to be a coach? Hopefully, it is not to be like Gavin Hunt, Keutsepilemang Ndebele or Joseph Mourinho. Having a yardstick is encouraged, but then, be your own man. Do whatever you can to curve out your football. Be the architect of your own designer football.

The desire to be a football coach becomes futile if one looks at the money and the fame that goes with it. Stress is part and parcel of the package and you cannot escape it. In doing football at a high technical level, forget EVERYTHING you have ever heard from football commentators, analysts and reporters because, entertaining as they are, they are not knowledgeable at all. Their analysis is good to the ear and for arguments, but it is fatally dangerous for your consumption as a professional.

That goes to all media people as well, like myself. They are great people and do a good job in providing information, because, normally they get access into where no Jack and Jill can. Sometimes they get access to information you need as a coach and it will be worthwhile to get them closer so you can have visuals or audio to do your job.

You must become a coach to portray a pattern of the game that is only in your head alone. Stop dreaming and fooling yourself trying to think what Sir Alex Ferguson says to his team. It is never about what anyone says. Words are the most irrelevant and behaving like a traffic cop on the touch-line making a nuisance of yourself is meant for circus. It is what one does at training that gets translated on match day on the pitch.

I say this because many people expect a coach to tell his players to do this and that, play here or there and so forth. That is the best way to express your ignorance about the game. Players are not to be told anything, they are to be coached football at the training ground. As a coach, teach them football during the week and wait for them to show the world what you taught them from training on the match day.

However, somehow the most marketable coaches are those speaking the language of the layman. They are in good books with the media and the administrators. They operate and the same level with them -  birds of a feather. That is why national teams fail. The board members interview national coaches and when the coach talks the football language, the interviewers laugh when he leaves the room, and then go on t give the job to the one who makes them nod heads in approval. We all know where that leaves the national teams.

Become that kind of coach and get good jobs with good salaries and produce nothing. You tend to have a lot of sweet football words without depth. This type of coaching also translate to a lot of talk during team talks and half time. There is too much emotion and shouting and the chairmen and owners who gate crush the dressing room enjoy the scenario because he believes you are really 'telling them'. That is a lot of dust.

This boils down to a mentality or a philosophy. You want to achieve a certain football result that only you can produce and in your own way. It becomes necessary for the club culture to share components with what you can, and want to achieve. In this regards, keep good friends around including journalists and administrators so they can source you tools you need.

The concepts and their applications as you want them must be researched, planned for by you and practised over and over until well understood. Repetition is key to any training. However, national team coaching becomes more interesting and less laborious as more tactical work is done.

Understand football rules and their limitations so you can utilise and sometimes exploit them and then work out what you want attack or defence to mean to you. Learn to define what you call success. As said before, if certain people around you start to shout your praises, watch out and do not be carried away and begin to lose focus.

Having a football strategy that you exhibit to the world successfully week in and week out makes you a good coach. It makes you feel good and very selfish football-wise, which is good. It is for this reason that qualified people step on each other's toes if placed under the same roof. Most stay together to keep their jobs because they have families to feed.

As a potential coach yourself, know what you want and map a way to achieve it. Go out and study trends and developments. Sit down and draw up practical plans and get the players you need. Gather data, pictures, videos, talk to those who know, ask questions, invite experienced mentors to your teams and to watch your sessions and matches.

Consultation does not mean copying and pasting other people's ideas. The point is to polish your own. It means you want to see how your football can be similar or different, better. It is about trying new things and maybe remodelling the status quo. You need useful information that may make your football more relevant or useless. It helps keep your game at your finger-tips and strive to be better than yourself.

You will remember that when I formed KFA, most of the best players were registered with other teams and the particular group I eventually worked with were said to be rebels and thugs. Using reverse psychology, this is the tool I used to make KFA fearsome. It was my straight talk with the players, because I told them in their faces that I heard they were criminals and unruly.

While they were concerned to start with, I told them that is exactly why they will not be beaten in football. The thuggery energy was suddenly converted to a spirited weapon that detonated at each kick-off. We went on a rampage and thrilling fans and referees in 2nd Division. We refused a few penalties offered for free and quite a lot of favours. Actually, the only two losses from our 40 games came when entertained referees tried to help us.

Have a very strong belief in your own football. Read the game well, see the wrongs in general terms, and see the good. Give solutions to the problems your players have. Sometimes it can be done on the spot, but usually, major tactical problems are to be noted and trained upon during the week.

This actually makes your starting point. That you must have players play football and give them solutions to the problems they face. You can not start giving the solutions to the problems they do not have, and may never have.

I have seen revered coaches who find teams playing football and then they try to give half-time pep talk. You can only give advise and corrections to students you have taught. Otherwise, just let them play and enjoy. The essence of coaching gets drowned in the emotions and theories sometimes. Under all circumstances, know the parameters under which you are operating and adjust accordingly.

As a coach, you must always remember that, you do not play Arsene Wenger or Jose Mourinho's football. You play your very own football. Players and clubs play your own football. Get the data and statistics you need, sit and plan. Go to the field and follow your plan to the letter. Do not create or accept short cuts. Make very simple and practical exercises in areas that resemble the game situation. It is either you will go along the trends or against the grain.

Be involved and be part of the players and make fun. Let the whole thing be enjoyable. Come match day, all you did during the week becomes your team talk. That goes for half-time pep-talk in the dressing room. You do not go in there and shout out things that players are not aware of. Calm down, and then go over the game plan, what is going right and what is going wrong. In either case, you state why you are right and why things are going wrong. You will need statistics to prove your points. Ask questions from players about where they are finding difficulty and how they think they can solve the problems. All within the scope of your work with them.

In my case, I become calmest when I am losing and the situation is bad, but somehow players will tell that the boss is mad. They will try to make things happen for you. It becomes a very hard noisy push when the win is big (2-0 and up) and could have been bigger. You must be tactful to know your players. Some people you do not take it lightly the use of a loud voice or public address while others will only hear and act if facing open ridicule.

Either way, they are playing your football.  While fans may be clapping and cheering for you and your team, and commentators are revving and screaming your praises, remember someone may be sitting somewhere in a corner laughing at how much of a moron and a clown you are. It is unfortunate they never really get time to sit down and ask you what exactly you were trying to do.

In most cases, 5 to 10 minutes will sell out your tactics and depending, one coach may be changing their tactics to counter yours, or turning the screw to stamp their authority. Depending on your ability and strength of mind, you may be one coach or the other.

This is what makes the coach special

The El Classico has come and gone with Barca putting Madrid to the sword by a 2-0 scoreline in the UEFA 1st Leg Quarter-final, with the final version to close the chapter on the corner. More on that with the EXTRA TIME with Vususmuzi Mourinho Ndlovu tomorrow. As for now, I have been keeping an Eagle’s eye and keeping my mouth shut about how bad Manchester United and how good Arsenal are. I have been tempted to say how average Chelsea and Spurs have become. All I manage to say was that the bottom of the English Premiership is now of more interest than the top.

There has not been lack of questions about the 2nd place and the final top 4. After their home 2-2 draw, Harry Redknapp showed how much of a top-notch coach he is. This is one man who does not put any pressure on the players. He puts things into perspective and realistically push players to give their best. This is his reaction in a post match interview.

“It’s going to be difficult but it’s still all to play for. I find it hard that now everyone expects us to be in the Champions League. Tottenham had never been in it before until this season and suddenly it is like ‘we have to be in the Champions League’. Manchester City have gone out and spent God knows what to get above us. Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea are there every year, Liverpool will be there next year. It’s difficult to get fourth. It has been a great season but it’s not over yet.”

 The issue of managers took a centre stage for a moment when people started thinking Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are both heading for the Premier League. Sir Alex Ferguson once hinted opting out of Old Trafford years back but stayed put. He has not given a hint of leaving and already it’s like Jose will replace him tomorrow. Redknapp and Guardiola have been linked with Chelsea but then it is reported Chelsea have met Andre Villas-Boas’s agent in an attempt to lure the 33-year-old Porto manager to West London in the summer.

The void Mourinho leaves at Madrid is said to be an Arsene Wenger’s space. If Guardiola goes to Chelsea, who takes over at Barcelona? Who will replace Wenger should he go to Madrid and will Redknapp take the England job after Fabio Capello leaves, and who will be in charge at White Hart Lane?

(Originally from http://www.tsendex.wordpress.com/)

Coming of age for Real

Real Madrid beat dreaded Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey to record the Super Cup for the first time since 1993. It took a 108th Cristiano Ronaldo header to give Jose Mourinho the first trophy as Madrid coach. With 3rd and 4th El Classicos coming in the two legged UEFA Champions League semi-final, this is the biggest psychological advantage Real could have ever needed.

The English Premiership appears to have been decided as predicted in these shores a few hours earlier. Arsenal needed to win all their remaining matches, and against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, they had a 2 goal cushion they threw away. That is not championship material. Potential champions take matters into their own hands and deal decisively in totallity in a ruthless manner with opponents.

What is only left is a fight for 2nd place with Chelsea. It is a contest with less pressure and matching inconsistancy.They may even find better sparing partners in Spurs and Manchester City for 3rd if they are consistantly inconsistant. Chelsea beat Birmingham City 3-1 to move to 2nd spot and feel more like true contenders now as they did at the beginning. They say, it is not how one starts but how they finish.

Arsene Wenger is experienced and witty enough to know that to say the same things over and over to the same players will not motivate the players any further. It will not be surprising to see key figures leaving the Emirates and a lot more experienced youngsters coming in. It is not hard to see that Wenger can win everything with anyone elsewhere. The same young team he has now can beat any team any day. The pairing, for psychological reasons will not work.

The coach-player relationship is tired and redundant and surely, change is coming to the Emirates.

Leave Jose alone

Jose Mourinho is one of the greatest coaches of the game. I rate him the best. He has said he respects Spurs and their ability since they beat Inter and AC Milan. Any team with that pedigree, can beat anyone on their day.

The Special One is never one to mince his words or beat by the bush. He has always expressed his love for English football. When he mentioned again this week, the world is abuzz as if the man is leaving Real Madrid tomorrow.

Leave Jose alone. He has a contract to fulfil and a mission to accomplish. He is a man who will not walk away from a chaleenge. Chances are, good money, as it can do to any man, will. The only monied team with a budget muscle are Manchester City.

Mourinho has once said, for the respect of Sir Alex Ferguson, he will not go to City. Arsene Wenger is not retiring soon either. Carlo Ancellotti's job is as secure as Marmur Gaddaffi's future, but there is nothing special to get fron Stanford Bridge for Jose, but again, Roman Abrahamovic can buy anything he wants.

There are all combinations and possibilities of the destination of the best tactician of all time, but it will not be soon. 

The rot of the Beautiful Game, courtesy of UEFA

Barcelona beat Arsenal because they were a better team. The referee messed up not only his job, but the livelihood of several grown-up men with families and a couple of teenagers. It may have been a genuine mistake, but how many times does football survive fatalities like this?

A couple of finals ago, UEFA showed how rotten they were in preferring Barcelona to Chelsea for revenue purposes. Didier Drogba was eventually fined and suspended for politely putting his humble opinion across.

In the transfer window, you remember how Howard Webb was not ‘available for sale by Manchester United’. A few people have cried foul on how lenient United are treated by the FA.

The rot is not only manufactured in the FA and UEFA offices as many can testify. England has been diplomatic in trying to explain how they lost the bid to Russia to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Questions are still being sought about the strength of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup bid. Some think that the winning bids guaranteed the President a life-time of fortune.

FIFA courts controversy with chilling accuracy. Their top officials were ready to sell their votes for hosting the World Cups like dried fruit in an African market. At the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup, the ‘no-goal’ by Frank Lampard was the climax of their blunders. The Cameroon 2-1 defeat to England in Italia ’90 was one pure conspiracy. There are many.

They are not alone. CAF own other football associations which are football dinosaurs. They do not to pull off any antics anymore to qualify them for African Nations Cup or the World Cups. It will not be surprising if qualifier matches are cancelled altogether. The only reason they are actually still being played is that they provide further level playing ground for looting funds. Syndicates have to make money.   

The CAF Presidency is a full-time career and there is no successor born yet. Zimbabwe was supposed to host the 1998 AFCON Cup. It was whiskered off to the north. Only South Africa hosted the Cup until the 2010 Edition in 2010. It will be a long time before the region sees another. The North and West has hosted and won everything besides South Africa who hosted and won the 1990 version. African Player of the Year awards are the domain of French speaking nationals.

Where is the beautiful game of football going? A gentleman like Arsene Wenger will not let his honest opinion to protect his character. Jose Mourinho has been labeled ‘loud mouthed’. These guys will find it hard to be honoured for the way they revolutionised the game. One day, they will tell all.

Coming to Arsenal, they dig their own grave anyways. It is not once or twice, but almost always that when they matters in their own hands, they give away the initiative. That is the mentality of boys. The Gunners cannot be old boys anymore. If they cannot be men enough, Wenger should wield the axe and chances are that the boys may mature ‘footballically’ if the manager himself is axed.

These players and Wenger have been involved in a perennial and sterile relationship for a long time to necessitate external fertilisation or surgery. If you read me correctly, that change must happen whether the Gunners bag both the league title and the FA Cup or are empty handed at the end of this season. It may a revolution his troops are fighting but without hearing any gunshots, how are we to know?

The most fireable managers of the Premiership

The 2010/2011 season transfer window has spectacularly changed the landscape of the Barclays Premier League managers’ job security, even if only just. As we have seen with the movements of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll to Liverpool and Fernando Torres, the focus at the bottom side of the table will lose some shine.

Arsene Wenger remains the manager number one to lose his job under the circumstances. Arsenal will need to win the FA Cup to drop him from the number one spot. This is basically because of his tired young side that desperately needs to win something. Until then, unless some senseless chairmen exhibit their rabies infected decision, Wenger heads the list. Frankly, at this point, Arsenal are not championship material, and you cannot put your money on them winning the champions league, but if they win either, Arsene will drop way below even Sir Alex Ferguson.

Chelsea's Italian Carlo Ancellotti is a close second. The reigning champions brought in Fernando Torres for a good sum. He gets paid well too. Ancellotti leans on the argument that Torres’s arrival came a little too late. It depends on how much money left does Roman Abrahimovic to buy that story. Otherwise, Chelsea will have to retain their title and/or win the champions league. They have the pedigree to achieve either or both feats, albeit with some difficulty.

Italians are usually a closely knit society and Roberto Mancini is just as close to Ancellotti in this index. For now, he will be buying time based on their current position and the fact that they did not enter the market to increase their firepower. His employers however, already have a huge wage bill and their big investment in the names they brought to Eastlands should be bearing fruit by now. They are within touching distance of the championship but Mancini needs both luck and the championship to keep his job. It will boil to the volatility of the character of his employers to remain there until May 2011.

Next in this list is Liverpool legend, Kenny Daglish. The new Liverpool manager wisely made sound business deals that will make both fans and employers happy. They offloaded under-performing Torres for red-hot Suarez and Carroll. The two have not much time to settle and need to hit the ground running. That is a possibility and I believe they will. However, should fortunes not turn and luck abandons them, any slide down the ladder will render Daglish unemployed by the end of the season. One would expect The Reds to be close to their best with the new-look side.

Following that trend, Harry Redknapp has an excuse to his employers. They failed to secure all three of his targets. Tottenham Hotspur had Diego Forlan in their shopping basket. They signed Bongani Khumalo and Steve Pienaar when I think they should have gotten very solid central defenders. Khumalo will need to get experience to secure a position in the team. William Gallas is dependable but his pace is coming to question now and then. Redknapp is the hottest manager in the league and he is making history at White Hart Lane. People and his employers love him. It remains to be seen how the team will tackle the champions' league safari. After such a long break, the team may implode and glide down. Their experience players are old war horses you cannot put your money on. The rest are either novices or injury prone. His job, until he decides he wants to be English coach, is the second most secure in the league.

There is little doubt of the intentions of Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson is the most experience and astute manager in the league. He once threatened to quit, citing lack of challenge, wanting to rest and all. That is all forgotten and United are on their way to winning the umpteenth championship and the champions league. SAF will remain the top manager no matter the form of The Red Devils. His team is not playing anyway near their best and yet they are where they want. On his side, there are no likely candidates to replace him if he left. For that and more, he has the most secure job in football management, today and probably the rest of his career.

The rest of the managers, for different reasons, fall somewhere in between. Some have the problems of their undoing while others are in low budget teams. Usually, either way, it does not matter. Those in the precarious relegation zone are likely to keep their jobs until they have sunk the teams to the reef. They usually bounce back with promoted teams to sink them again.

Manchester United beats Arsenal 1-0 to go top

Manchester United came into the Barclays Premier League home encounter against leaders, Arsenal, with a sole mandate to outnumber them, basically by inviting the full participation of goalkeeper van der Sar. Naturally, the Gunners front runners lost a lot of energy chasing loose ball and ran out of steam when they had solid and sound decisions in passing the final ball.

United midfield bullied the disjointed Arsenal link, winning all second balls and forcing the blunt preparation zone work of the visitors to constantly retreat. It developed to be a one way traffic as Arsene Wenger failed to have any answers to Sir Alex Ferguson's not so clever tactics. Sir Alex ensured all attacks bypassed the zone that is operated by Alex Song, eliminating him off the equation, and drawing Samir Nasri off offensive areas to the centre line.

The long ball always caught the Gunners defence wrong footed, with crosses from both wings troubling the young and inexperienced goalkeeper. Worse still, the lad had a lot of nerve-wrecking moments with numerous back-passes to deal with far too early and very often. Generally, Arsenal played not to lose and that was exactly what they were inviting.

The tirade of United attacks found Nani probing the right channel and delivering a deflected cross that almost shaved Ji Sung Park's forehead skin off before hitting the inside second post and nesting in the net for an opening goal. Arsenal failed to having any telling passes in the final third of the field. They could not get their rhythm at all and surely were outplayed.

Andrei Arshavin and Tomas Rosiscky were quite prominent in the opening stages, eventually running out of steam with time, as Michael Carrick, Rafael, Nani and Park dominated the midfield with amazing ease. As expected, Chamakh suffered a great deal of 'ball malnutrition' until after half time.

The second half saw the Gunners up the stakes early on, increasing their ball possession statistics and creating more obvious chances, but not troubling van der Sar. Arsenal were lucky not to sink further after Rooney fed Anderson who fluffed the golden chance against the run of play in the 54th minute. The match began opening up and Chamakh nearly got an equaliser a minute later, only for Fletcher to clear the ball for a corner. United started to depend on counter attacks as Arsenal pinned them in their own half.

Fabregas and Robin van Persie came in for Rosiscky and Jack Wilshire and almost changed the Gunners' fortunes. Clichy conceded an unfortunate penalty that Rooney ballooned over the bar. Theo Walcott had to replace Arshavin with 12 minutes of play remaining while Ryan Giggs came in for Anderson in the 84th minute. Rooney nearly made up for the missed penalty but found the keeper alert, but it really didn't matter.

Are Manchester United back to winning ways for good, or it was a fluke?

Arsene Wenger On Frimpong For England. Genuine?

(Frimpong in action for England Under-16's against Germany in 2008)

Theo Walcott once seemed a solution to the English national team's woes, and rightly so. The Arsenal speedy winger was taken to Germany by Goran Sven Erickson in 2006 at the recommendation of coach Arsene Wenger. Theo came back to the Premiership to blow hot and cold. As a Gunner then myself, I saw him as one for the future. Objectively, he was blowing more cold than hot.

Fabio Capello rightly left Theo Walcott, with all my blessings, to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. To be fair, Theo was beset by injuries that killed his rhythm and feel for the game. With all the dust settled, it comes as no surprise why Capello surprised every one but me, by leaving him out. Unless he matures later, he will be a player that never reached his potential.  

As for Wenger, I am his biggest fan. He seems bent on making his single most grievious mistake of keeping Cesc Fabregas at the Emirates against the player's will. Knowing Cesc, he won't tell Wenger to his face that he is done at Arsenal. Wenger expects him to say it. It is unlike the Frenchman to deal this way with his own.

At this moment, you think of Emmanuel Adebayour. He may have been criticised the way he went to Manchester City. If this was what would have followed, all must forgive him for that crazy celebration. I think Arsenal must consider Fabregas' feeling and let him fulfil his desires. If it is a mistake on his part, let him be the one to make it, not Wenger or Arsenal.

My point was Frimpong. Arsene Wenger is so pleased with this 18 year boy after a Man-of-the Match performance against Celtics of Scotland, when the Gunners won the Emirates Cup. Wenger, as the man I know, urged England to swoop on him as a matter of urgency. His point? Frimpong was born in Accra, Ghana and came to England as an 8-year-old lad.

Frimpong has so far played for England Under-16 and 18 age groups. Ghana may be giving him a senior cap soon. That will make him illegible to play for England. His desire is to play for the Black Stars. Frankly, it's two birds with one stone. In this way, Wenger has a less 'foreigner quota' to worry about. The new laws that stipulate that teams must have at least so many home grown players is a big issue for teams like Arsenal who lots of French and African players.

While his suggestion helps England, I think he has his manpower list to worry about, not a genuine English romance. What do you think?

Arsene Wenger On Frimpong For England. Genuine?

(Frimpong in action for England Under-16's against Germany in 2008)

Theo Walcott once seemed a solution to the English national team's woes, and rightly so. The Arsenal speedy winger was taken to Germany by Goran Sven Erickson in 2006 at the recommendation of coach Arsene Wenger. Theo came back to the Premiership to blow hot and cold. As a Gunner then myself, I saw him as one for the future. Objectively, he was blowing more cold than hot.

Fabio Capello rightly left Theo Walcott, with all my blessings, to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. To be fair, Theo was beset by injuries that killed his rhythm and feel for the game. With all the dust settled, it comes as no surprise why Capello surprised every one but me, by leaving him out. Unless he matures later, he will be a player that never reached his potential.  

As for Wenger, I am his biggest fan. He seems bent on making his single most grievious mistake of keeping Cesc Fabregas at the Emirates against the player's will. Knowing Cesc, he won't tell Wenger to his face that he is done at Arsenal. Wenger expects him to say it. It is unlike the Frenchman to deal this way with his own.

At this moment, you think of Emmanuel Adebayour. He may have been criticised the way he went to Manchester City. If this was what would have followed, all must forgive him for that crazy celebration. I think Arsenal must consider Fabregas' feeling and let him fulfil his desires. If it is a mistake on his part, let him be the one to make it, not Wenger or Arsenal.

My point was Frimpong. Arsene Wenger is so pleased with this 18 year boy after a Man-of-the Match performance against Celtics of Scotland, when the Gunners won the Emirates Cup. Wenger, as the man I know, urged England to swoop on him as a matter of urgency. His point? Frimpong was born in Accra, Ghana and came to England as an 8-year-old lad.

Frimpong has so far played for England Under-16 and 18 age groups. Ghana may be giving him a senior cap soon. That will make him illegible to play for England. His desire is to play for the Black Stars. Frankly, it's two birds with one stone. In this way, Wenger has a less 'foreigner quota' to worry about. The new laws that stipulate that teams must have at least so many home grown players is a big issue for teams like Arsenal who lots of French and African players.

While his suggestion helps England, I think he has his manpower list to worry about, not a genuine English romance. What do you think?

Arsene Wenger On Frimpong For England. Genuine?

(Frimpong in action for England Under-16's against Germany in 2008)

Theo Walcott once seemed a solution to the English national team's woes, and rightly so. The Arsenal speedy winger was taken to Germany by Goran Sven Erickson in 2006 at the recommendation of coach Arsene Wenger. Theo came back to the Premiership to blow hot and cold. As a Gunner then myself, I saw him as one for the future. Objectively, he was blowing more cold than hot.

Fabio Capello rightly left Theo Walcott, with all my blessings, to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. To be fair, Theo was beset by injuries that killed his rhythm and feel for the game. With all the dust settled, it comes as no surprise why Capello surprised every one but me, by leaving him out. Unless he matures later, he will be a player that never reached his potential.  

As for Wenger, I am his biggest fan. He seems bent on making his single most grievious mistake of keeping Cesc Fabregas at the Emirates against the player's will. Knowing Cesc, he won't tell Wenger to his face that he is done at Arsenal. Wenger expects him to say it. It is unlike the Frenchman to deal this way with his own.

At this moment, you think of Emmanuel Adebayour. He may have been criticised the way he went to Manchester City. If this was what would have followed, all must forgive him for that crazy celebration. I think Arsenal must consider Fabregas' feeling and let him fulfil his desires. If it is a mistake on his part, let him be the one to make it, not Wenger or Arsenal.

My point was Frimpong. Arsene Wenger is so pleased with this 18 year boy after a Man-of-the Match performance against Celtics of Scotland, when the Gunners won the Emirates Cup. Wenger, as the man I know, urged England to swoop on him as a matter of urgency. His point? Frimpong was born in Accra, Ghana and came to England as an 8-year-old lad.

Frimpong has so far played for England Under-16 and 18 age groups. Ghana may be giving him a senior cap soon. That will make him illegible to play for England. His desire is to play for the Black Stars. Frankly, it's two birds with one stone. In this way, Wenger has a less 'foreigner quota' to worry about. The new laws that stipulate that teams must have at least so many home grown players is a big issue for teams like Arsenal who lots of French and African players.

While his suggestion helps England, I think he has his manpower list to worry about, not a genuine English romance. What do you think?

Someone Please Tell Me where is the Wenger I know.

(Pic by Yahoo Sports)

Want the truth, facts and logic? In football you can depend on Arsene Wenger of course and Harry Redknapp. It is a huge coincidence I just love both these men.

Harry does not mind spending on good players but Wenger is a little stingy. Harry will tell you, go to hang, so will Wenger, but this time Wenger is saying it to the wrong guy: Barcelona.

Arsenal needs to grow with the times. They have groomed the best for Europe and continue to do so. The success of Arsenal will by no means be dependant on Cesc Fabregas, not this season. He is one of the best in the business and his influence is immense. Stalling his move to his dream team by Wenger is but a counter-attack to his own personal believes.

Arsenal nurtured and parted ways amicably and honourably with Thierry Henry, the same way Fabregas deserves. Their biggest undoing was letting Emmanuel Adebayor and Kalo Toure to Manchester City last season. That turned what was Arsenal's maturity date upside down.

It will be seen how a man with a heart in the Nou Camp plays football at the Emirates. Wenger still believes in walking in water, unfortunately.

Someone Please Tell Me where is the Wenger I know.

(Pic by Yahoo Sports)

Want the truth, facts and logic? In football you can depend on Arsene Wenger of course and Harry Redknapp. It is a huge coincidence I just love both these men.

Harry does not mind spending on good players but Wenger is a little stingy. Harry will tell you, go to hang, so will Wenger, but this time Wenger is saying it to the wrong guy: Barcelona.

Arsenal needs to grow with the times. They have groomed the best for Europe and continue to do so. The success of Arsenal will by no means be dependant on Cesc Fabregas, not this season. He is one of the best in the business and his influence is immense. Stalling his move to his dream team by Wenger is but a counter-attack to his own personal believes.

Arsenal nurtured and parted ways amicably and honourably with Thierry Henry, the same way Fabregas deserves. Their biggest undoing was letting Emmanuel Adebayor and Kalo Toure to Manchester City last season. That turned what was Arsenal's maturity date upside down.

It will be seen how a man with a heart in the Nou Camp plays football at the Emirates. Wenger still believes in walking in water, unfortunately.