EPL CRYSTAL BALL
Arsene Wenger’s relationship with Arsenal fans reached an all-time low against United on Sunday. When 60,000 fans boo one of your decisions, it’s a calamitous moment of truth for any manager; however, when the manager under the spotlight is an acclaimed all-time great and the architect of the very dynasty that those fans take pride in, the aforementioned calamity takes a whole new significance. On paper taking off an 18-year old youngster old starting his first EPL game and bringing on the captain of Russia to replace him is a judicious substitution; however, considering the fact that the former was easily the best player on the pitch for Wenger’s side and had set up the equaliser a few moments earlier, and the latter gives the impression that he’d rather be any other place but the Emirates Stadium, the skeptics do have a point. All the same, blaming the defeat on that particular substitution would be extremely unreasonable; for, there were scores of other deficiencies that rallied together to undo Arsenal. A clumsy excuse for a defence, for example, and a complete lack of mental fortitude; plus there is that dim-witted 100 meter sprinter on the right flank who couldn’t cross a ball even if his life depended on it. What the rise of Oxlade-Chamberlain has also done has that it has further elucidated Theo Walcott’s shortcomings and the fact that the former was taken off while the latter was still on the pitch exhibiting his nuggets of profligacy is another reason why the Arsenal fans in the stands pointed their fingers at Wenger and shouted, “You don’t know what you’re doing!”
Apart from the Arsenal fans turning their back on Wenger, there were two other verdicts on the substitution that are undoubtedly more damning than the chants in the stands. First of all there was Van Persie’s reaction – which he has been endeavouring to downplay ever since – when he saw the fourth official raising the board with the squad numbers of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Arshavin. The fans can be classified as fickle and impulsive but when the club captain doesn’t trust his manager’s decision in such an unambiguous manner then the gaffer clearly doesn’t have the backing of the dressing room. Also, Sir Alex taking off Rafael soon after Oxlade-Chamberlain went off and bringing on Paul Scholes, and moving Valencia to the right fullback position showcased the Scott’s wariness with regards to the English prodigy and the lack of it for the Russian. While, one bad decision doesn’t make a bad manager, the fact that Wenger’s poor decision making was met with overt scorn, is the corollary of years of underachievement and monotonous capitulation. Wenger is running out of time in his quest of winning over the dressing room and the fans again, as the sword of divorce hangs over Emirates Stadium.
WHY ALWAYS BALOTELLI?
The English F.A demonstrated another example of blatant bias and absurdity in the last few days. Mario Balotelli’s stamp on Scott Parker was deemed deliberate – and rightly so – hence, the Italian has been given a four-match ban. However, F.A’s inconsistency comes into play via conveniently overlooking Lescott’s elbow in Kaboul’s face in the same match against Spurs. F.A’s double standards have penetrated beyond the realm of nonsensicality. An English International gets away with an offense that was clearly worse than that of the Italian, while the latter, possibly the easiest target of any array of bans that a sporting body can sermon, gets a four match sentence – if this doesn’t border on discriminating bigotry then what does? Staying on the same front, has there ever been a bigger oddball within the EPL ranks than Mario Balotelli? You just can’t keep him out of the headlines – for the right, wrong, eccentric, ludicrous; any kind of reasons. While he shouldn’t have been on the pitch at the time when he won the spot kick and then nonchalantly converted it; there he was making the biggest difference on the game. He is undoubtedly a manager’s nightmare, and the gaffer would rather prefer that the Italian purges out his nut-headedness – or hot-headedness if you will – and focuses on his footballing brilliance. Nevertheless, one feels that if Balotelli were to curb his eccentricity, he’d not be the same player that he is.
CUP GLORY IN LIVERPOOL’S SIGHT
Liverpool edged out Manchester City in the Carling Cup semifinal to qualify for the final where they’d be facing Cardiff City as the first silverware of the year would be up for grabs. The 1-0 win in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium laid the foundation for Liverpool’s qualification, knowing that all they needed was a draw at Anfield to qualify – and that is exactly what they conjured up. The 2-2 draw on Wednesday was a closely fought affair, and the foundation of Liverpool getting the desired result was laid courtesy a robust show in the middle of the park. Steven Gerrard and Charlie Adam ensured that the likes of Nasri, Silva and Johnson weren’t given enough room to maneuver and watching the Liverpool skipper so deep is intriguing to say the least – is this the position that Kenny has earmarked for Gerrard or is he merely covering up the massive gap that Lucas’ injury enforced absence has left? Either way he is doing a formidable job. Craig Bellamy was huge in his return to the central striker’s position and after the match Kenny took a little jibe at City by saying, “If Man City have anyone else that they don’t want to keep…”Now with the Carling Cup well within their sight, Liverpool need to ensure that they bag their first piece of silverware for five years, and that would lay the foundation for bigger and better things in the near future on superior fronts.
FA CUP PREVIEW: L’POOL V MAN U
Whenever Liverpool and United go head to head it’s a special occasion with so much historical animosity encompassing the game. However, even if we refuse to travel down the lane to times gone by, today’s fixture provides a pivotal moment in the current season for both teams who have underachieved at a varying scale throughout the season. Liverpool could make up for their league disappointments by decent cup showings, and while they are on the brink of Carling Cup glory, an F.A Cup triumph would be more meaningful and would instigate more buoyancy with regards to the future. And toppling United en route to glory in the fourth round would be the icing on this cake of buoyancy. United, on the other hand, are traversing a tricky run of fixtures and with the primary goal – after the Champions League exit – of retaining their league title, still well within their sights, they should not overlook the fact that winning the F.A Cup for the first time since 2004 would be a noteworthy return from a mediocre season, should they fail in their main goal. Nonetheless it’s difficult to see United doing one over Liverpool at Anfield, and a replay just might be their best bet; however, it was difficult to see Sir Alex’s side outdo City at the Etihad as well.
