Man United vs West Ham already postponed, and the long wait to see Groenen play again continues. I wonder how many cases/close contacts West Ham have. Postponing 4/5 days ahead of the match seems pretty unusual to me.
reminder of the Matchday 10 games postponed: Arsenal v Brighton Chelsea v West Ham Man City v Reading Matchday 11 Man United v West Ham Chelsea v Tottenham
The new Covid variant is highly transmissible but notably mild, so we should soon get past this seemingly endless annoyance. It may be after everybody gets Covid, whether vaxed or not, but at some point this madness has to end.
Until the next variant comes along, maybe. Anyone not getting vaccinated should be banned from all team sports and from any interaction with any group unless they have a medically sound reason to not get vaccinated. The various crackpot theories running around the web or the unwarranted religious objections or even "freedom" concerns should not trump the realities of science. If someone does not want to be vaccinated that is their choice but there are consequences for acting on stupidity, as the winners of the Darwin Awards can attest. Q: Do you know the last words of the redneck? A: "Hey guys, watch this!"
The French autorities have been really good on that point. No passe sanitaire = not allowed to play official games at any level. Amateur included. Disciplinary measure are strong. Suspension point deduction. Basically no football if you are not vaccinated or you need an antigen test every time you play an official game at 25 Euros a pop. Here in England... Nothing.
Postponed games Matchday 10 games Arsenal v Brighton Chelsea v West Ham Man City v Reading Matchday 11 Man United v West Ham Chelsea v Tottenham Aston Villa v Everton
Interesting news coming out of Northern Ireland. They are starting a 7 months training camp for 22 players who are amateurs. Their professional players in England and Scotland stay with their clubs, but all the other players are turning pro.
You can see it happening around the world, countries are losing their patience with anti-vaxxers due to the cost and risk represented. The imposition of restriction of access to services and travel is a pretty common sight.
Wow 7 months!? Never expected that. Wonder if 7 months can help the amateur players play like pros in those months?
It will mainly help them build their fitness level which is the biggest problem for amateur/semi-professional team. And also help working on the technical side of their game.
Miedema looks like a completely different player right now to the one who tormented Brazil and the USWNT at the Olympics. She hasn't looked remotely elite since her performance vs Man United.
Arsenal have been borderline bad for several weeks. Their biggest problems have been in the back--lousy centerback play--and midfield as not been right either. I'll have to check out Miedema in this game--haven't seen it yet--but everything is off with the team.
I've watched the first half of today's game and didn't detect anything in particular wrong with Miedema. Birmingham City sat back and packed in its defense--and Arsenal could not find any room and had trouble creating chances--bit of an age-old problem for teams facing an opponent that is mostly hunkered down. Miedema came out quite a bit--as she did under Montemurro--to try and open up the BC defense, but the home side was organized and made it difficult for Arsenal. I think Miedema had Arsenal's only SOG in the first half--a somewhat speculative left-footed shot from distance that she didn't hit all that well. Aside from that, Arsenal had 2 corners and that was about it. I, for one, think Arsenal are too possession oriented and really need to be more direct in transition. They tried a few times, but without success. It never helps when you give up a goal 3 minutes into the match. Miedema, in traffic, lost the ball and BC sent a ball past centerback Boye--playing her first match in about 2 months---to a breaking forward and BC found themselves with a quick 1-0 lead. Arsenal had no Catley or Foord--both in Australia for Asia qualifying tournament or something, and Walti was out as well. If I were Eidevall, I would have started Wubben-Moye at centerback as Beattie and Boye are both aging and Wubben-Moye is quite dangerous with her head on corners. I believe he brought her on in the 2nd half, to no avail.
"Miedema, in traffic, lost the ball and BC sent a ball past centerback Boye--playing her first match in about 2 months---to a breaking forward and BC found themselves with a quick 1-0 lead." My comment was with regards to Miedema's play since the United match (her finishing vs Hoffenheim was particularly off), but I thought this sequence was poor from her. The reason she was in traffic was because of how heavy her first touch was, and even then, she arguably shouldn't have allowed herself to be dispossessed there.
Should have passed it to Kim Little who was just in front of her. Miedema saw the defender coming towards her yet she kept the ball thinking she can take her on one vs one.