Arsenal 4-0 Everton, 3/5/1998
Most people remember.... "Tony Adams put through by Steve Bould would you BELIEVE it..... THAT sums it ALL up".
The tastiest ever cherry on the icing of a cake.
But the big turning point that season came about halfway through, and behind the scenes.
Arsenal had just been turned over by Roy Hodgson's Blackburn at Highbury, 3-1 after leading. After a promising start, the season looked in turmoil- defeats to Derby, Sheffield Wednesday and Liverpool having punctured early optimism. Tony Adams, much like the current captain, was dogged by injury. And just like now, an overexposed defence was struggling to keep a hold on opposition attacks.
The team held a meeting to air some views on the mini-crisis. It was agreed that the aging legs of Dixon, Bould, Keown, Adams and Winterburn needed more protection, and the pairing of Vieira and Petit were tasked with adapting their respective games to suit that. Ahead of them, Arsenal had raw pace in the shape of Overmars and Anelka, genius in the shape of Dennis Bergkamp, dynamism and graft in the shape of the fast-improving Ray Parlour. The 'kick up the arse' that the two Frenchmen received worked a treat, and by the time Arsenal suffered their next league defeat, they'd already been crowned Champions- Wenger the first continental coach to win the Premiership.
Adams had been sent to France to recuperate, and came back energised. He and his old cronies forged a newly formidable rearguard and a run of 1-0 wins, including a memorable one at Old Trafford, was the catalyst for the title victory.
This illustrates the fact that Wenger did not revolutionise Arsenal alone. He has always been a fairly autonomous figure at Arsenal- that's surely why he has stayed so long having received many tempting offers- but from 1997 until around 2004, there were plenty more very influential figures at the club who had been around longer than the manager had. You can ask the question, could Wenger have assembled a defence as good as the one he inherited, and the evidence we've seen since suggests that the answer is no. Of course, he deserves credit too for helping change the lifestyles of Adams and co. and adding longevity to their careers.
And, to be fair, when most of the old guard had stepped aside, he was able to piece together a new, almost equally formidable unit, comprising an ex-midfielder (Lauren), an ex-Spur (Campbell), an unheralded Ivorian, who'd also played midfield (Toure), and of course the young Ashley Cole. It seemed at that time that Wenger could put a decent defence together.
But Arsenal have never been as solid since. And crucially, there seems little chance of a clear-the-air meeting to match the one that turned the season in 97/98. The big characters just don't seem to be there anymore. There are no battle-hardened, decorated soldiers, only a bunch of fragile nearly men. Even Fabregas only has one fortuitous FA Cup medal to his name.
Surely Wenger's autocratic ways have become a problem. Nobody on the pitch has the experience or the influence to challenge him and it seems to be a similar story off the field. Interestingly, when Arsenal set a record for minutes without conceding in the Champions League of 05/06, Martin Keown was a temporary part of the coaching staff. This was a defence that had a right-footed midfielder, in Flamini, playing left-back, an excitable clown, in Eboue, opposite him, and Big Philly Senderos, who's been useless ever since, partnering Kolo Toure in the middle. Surely that goes to show that organisation is more than half the battle. As individuals, you'd take Sagna over Eboue, Vermaelen over Senderos, Clichy over Flamini (well, at left back anyway...), but the defence of four years ago was, as a unit, much better than the one we see today.
Wenger's disregard for defence means that someone else needs to help hold things together. There is now a culture at the club of half-assed, clownish defending and the concession of soft goals is as much a trademark of Arsene FC as the beautiful football that is sporadically on show. Arsenal need another link to the solidity of the past but Wenger's tunnel vision won't allow for any perceived challenge to his flawed idealism.
Showing posts with label Adams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adams. Show all posts
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
I'll Be The Asshole Saying "I Told You So"
Approaching my 100th post, and still saying the same things as the first one.
I know that this blog is almost always preaching negativity, but I think that a lot of this has proven to be justified negativity. Perhaps the more relevant issue is whether it is misdirected, because much of my ire has been aimed at the manager, who many still seem to see as an untouchable figure. To put him on such a lofty pedestal is foolish. George Graham had almost comparable success (albeit without the nice football) but Arsenal had descended into something of a shambles by the time he was sacked- less than a year after winning the European Cup Winners Cup. So surely it is time to question Wenger, as we look back on five years without a trophy. True, George Graham's Arsenal team were more erratic in the league, with mid-table finishes in 93 and the season in which he was sacked, 95, but back then, third or fourth did not mean Champions League football, and at least they were still winning silverware consistently.
With Wenger, things are admittedly a little more complex. He is the man who has revolutionised the club, on and off the pitch. We have a reputation, which I frankly now believe to be half bullshit, for playing nice football, and for being run the right way. Arsenal now exist as a different entity. Dennis Bergkamp was the starting point, but Arsene Wenger is clearly the most important figure in that. It is tempting to think that if Wenger went, a lot of the French players, Fabregas, and others would follow. For them, he is the club.
But let's rewind thirteen years or so. This club did NOT start with Arsene Wenger. It change into something more attractive for a lot of people, and became more successful, but a winning mentality was already there in the playing staff. While the manager is credited with prolonging the top-flight careers of Adams, Bould, Keown, Dixon and Winterburn, they provided him with the platform for success. Watching Arsenal today, does anyone believe that Arsene Wenger could ever have constructed himself a defence that good?
Some other things to consider. Arsenal reached their only ever European Cup final in 2006 mainly through defensive solidity. In every knockout round before the final, Arsenal failed to score in one leg- at home to Real Madrid, away to Juventus, and away to Villareal, where they barely threatened a shot. They got through because they conceded precisely zero goals in those ties. Martin Keown was at this time a member of the coaching staff. Apparently, Arsene the Autocrat bristles at suggestions that this was of some importance. Arsene the Autocrat this season often stated a Keeganesque belief that Arsenal could triumph through scoring more than the opposition. At the season's depressing end, he is blaming the defence for our lack of success, and absolving the likes of Denilson and Diaby, because they apparently made enough chances at the other end. Do they have no obligation to protect the defence? A defence that had Vermaelen and Gallas, two of our outstanding players?
Maybe he was always like this. Maybe it is the lack of experience on the pitch that is costing us. I used to think that argument too black-and-white but I'm coming around to it now. If not experience, professionalism. Petit and Vieira were professional enough, and good enough, to transform their games in order to better protect the defence in 97/98. Maybe it's telling that this was not Wenger's idea but the result of a team meeting in which senior players aired their views. Where before Wenger had Vieira as liuetenant, the old back four, Bergkamp, Parlour et al, what does he have now? You may say that Vieira grew up in that Arsenal team, but that's the whole point. He grew up beside Adams, Keown and the rest. Fabregas should still be growing up beside experience, instead, he's being asked to lead. Lead a team of (and forgive me) WANKERS. There, I said it. I have a genuine dislike for a lot of Arsenal's players today. They don't care what shirt they're wearing. That Wigan game was the last straw for me. It was unseemly. Abou Diaby should not be allowed play again. Fabianski should be put out of his misery, and Almunia likewise. Denilson needs a kick up the ass, and nobody's around to swing a leg.
I know that this blog is almost always preaching negativity, but I think that a lot of this has proven to be justified negativity. Perhaps the more relevant issue is whether it is misdirected, because much of my ire has been aimed at the manager, who many still seem to see as an untouchable figure. To put him on such a lofty pedestal is foolish. George Graham had almost comparable success (albeit without the nice football) but Arsenal had descended into something of a shambles by the time he was sacked- less than a year after winning the European Cup Winners Cup. So surely it is time to question Wenger, as we look back on five years without a trophy. True, George Graham's Arsenal team were more erratic in the league, with mid-table finishes in 93 and the season in which he was sacked, 95, but back then, third or fourth did not mean Champions League football, and at least they were still winning silverware consistently.
With Wenger, things are admittedly a little more complex. He is the man who has revolutionised the club, on and off the pitch. We have a reputation, which I frankly now believe to be half bullshit, for playing nice football, and for being run the right way. Arsenal now exist as a different entity. Dennis Bergkamp was the starting point, but Arsene Wenger is clearly the most important figure in that. It is tempting to think that if Wenger went, a lot of the French players, Fabregas, and others would follow. For them, he is the club.
But let's rewind thirteen years or so. This club did NOT start with Arsene Wenger. It change into something more attractive for a lot of people, and became more successful, but a winning mentality was already there in the playing staff. While the manager is credited with prolonging the top-flight careers of Adams, Bould, Keown, Dixon and Winterburn, they provided him with the platform for success. Watching Arsenal today, does anyone believe that Arsene Wenger could ever have constructed himself a defence that good?
Some other things to consider. Arsenal reached their only ever European Cup final in 2006 mainly through defensive solidity. In every knockout round before the final, Arsenal failed to score in one leg- at home to Real Madrid, away to Juventus, and away to Villareal, where they barely threatened a shot. They got through because they conceded precisely zero goals in those ties. Martin Keown was at this time a member of the coaching staff. Apparently, Arsene the Autocrat bristles at suggestions that this was of some importance. Arsene the Autocrat this season often stated a Keeganesque belief that Arsenal could triumph through scoring more than the opposition. At the season's depressing end, he is blaming the defence for our lack of success, and absolving the likes of Denilson and Diaby, because they apparently made enough chances at the other end. Do they have no obligation to protect the defence? A defence that had Vermaelen and Gallas, two of our outstanding players?
Maybe he was always like this. Maybe it is the lack of experience on the pitch that is costing us. I used to think that argument too black-and-white but I'm coming around to it now. If not experience, professionalism. Petit and Vieira were professional enough, and good enough, to transform their games in order to better protect the defence in 97/98. Maybe it's telling that this was not Wenger's idea but the result of a team meeting in which senior players aired their views. Where before Wenger had Vieira as liuetenant, the old back four, Bergkamp, Parlour et al, what does he have now? You may say that Vieira grew up in that Arsenal team, but that's the whole point. He grew up beside Adams, Keown and the rest. Fabregas should still be growing up beside experience, instead, he's being asked to lead. Lead a team of (and forgive me) WANKERS. There, I said it. I have a genuine dislike for a lot of Arsenal's players today. They don't care what shirt they're wearing. That Wigan game was the last straw for me. It was unseemly. Abou Diaby should not be allowed play again. Fabianski should be put out of his misery, and Almunia likewise. Denilson needs a kick up the ass, and nobody's around to swing a leg.
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