Our last 10 games with the full team (not including Carling Cup) S29 Rosenborg (CL) led 1-0 -- drew 1-1 O2 Charlton won 4-0 O16 Aston Villa down 1-0 -- won 3-1 O20 Panathinaikos (CL) up 1-0 and 2-1 -- drew 2-2 O24 Manchester United lost 2-0 O30 Southampton up 1-0, down 2-1 -- drew 2-2 N2 Panathinaikos (CL) up 1-0 -- drew 1-1 N6 Crystal Palace up 1-0 -- drew 1-1 N13 Tottenham down 1-0, up 2-1, 3-1, 4-2 and 5-3 -- won 5-4 N20 West Bromwich Albion up 1-0 -- drew 1-1 So we led in nine of the 10 and ended up 3W, 6D, 1L OK, maybe I should just be happy that there's only one loss in there. Or that we came back against Villa, Southampton (thank you RvP) and Spurs. But it sure is getting disappointing seeing us get the lead time after time only to end up with the draw.
Agree completely. Last year I gave ManUre hell for what I called the relegation treble, when they lost or dropped points to all 3 relegated thems. We have given away six points in the table to West B, Crystal P, and Southhampton . . . that is terrible. We should be on top with room to give but we can't beat teams bound for the coca-cola league. frustrating
I think that this is the time for a dip in form. Assuming we can right the ship during the christmas period, it could be good to work out some of the kinks now, and finish the season on a tear that will take us to glory.
I think after last years run, we've fallen in love with the idea of simply not losing. The math is pretty simple, if your gonna draw with Southhampton, Palace, WBA, thats 3 points. The very same if we won just one and lost the other two. Chelsea are not gonna drop many points this year, i predict that the 2nd place finisher this year will have more points than any 2nd place team since the prem was formed.
would you prefer we trailed in 9 of 10 and then came back to draw its a bad patch which has been 1.5 years in the making wait for it to fly by
Which is what the teams behind in the standings always say. The problem, of course, is that you need enough wins in November to make the wins in March critical.
Exactly. I've heard the train of thought spoke for many years now, along with that other utter nonsense about away goals in Europe 'counting double'.
Yeah, if you have 2-3 wins (theoretically), winning in March really doesn't matter. Unless you're trying to get your fanbase back.
So I guess we can conclude from all of this thats it better to win than draw (or lose) your matches anytime of year.
I completely agree, billyho96. Great to see here. Try not to sue any of us...jk. Maybe this lull is a good thing (bite my tongue), but every season has these ups and downs. If this is as low as we get...draws. I can live with that. Chin up and all.
LOL Championships aren't won in December, but many have been lost in December. Arsenal are on their way to losing a championship. While there are only 3 points difference between this year and last year at this point, the draws are equally disturbing, for reasons that Arsenal fans seem to forget. Quick: what teams had Arsenal drawn against at this point last year? Last year's game against Pompey was not unlike this year's against the Saints, while the Charlton and Bolton matches of both years are also equivalent. The problem is that these draws led to more frustrating and worse draws in December (Fulham home, Leicester, Bolton and Everton away), and the most unimpressive of 1-0 wins (Blackburn Rovers home, Southampton away). This does not bode well. I think the 1-0 wins would be suitable--at least it would show that Arsenal can actually hold on to a 1-0 lead for a bleeding change--but the draws will be unacceptable, as I don't honestly think Arsenal are going on 1) a 9-game win streak or 2) a 25-game unbeaten run; and I certainly don't think Chelsea are going to drop games like Man U did last year against the bottom feeders. Last year Gooners everywhere were complaining that Arsenal simply don't go for the kill when facing bottom half of the table teams (unless one of them is Sp*rs). This year, no one's complaining about motivation, it's all about "run of form." How many excuses can be made? What's next? "It doesn't matter if we suck now, because we're going on a 19-game win streak to end the season?" Face it, when Arsenal are good, they're very very good, and when they're bad, any sane person would rather watch synchronized swimming. They haven't been good for awhile. Right now, they're bad, and I've played more games of Streets and Alleys solitaire on weekends than I have in a dozen years. On the other hand, at least it will be nice to see Chelsea win something after 50 years of aspiring mediocrity. It's always nice to see that a title can still be bought, after all. Otherwise I might lose my faith in modern pro sports.