Arsenal finish on top in the Fair Play League as well. http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040522/1/3yx6.html Needless to say, I'm sure there are still some folks who will subscribe to the theory that Arsenal are an undisciplined (read: dirty) team. To them I say: "Kiss our (collective) Arse!!"
suprisingly enuff its those stupid mancs that say that! considering they got even thier manager sent off amongst all the bans that headed their way this season, makes ya larf at em dunnit
What a great moment for the club. Not only have we won the title without losing a game, but we have won it with style and class. Big up the Arsenal!!!!!!!!
Well put, Coach. I have heard so many Arsenal HATERS tell me that I support a dirty club..........BITE ME! So ends the lesson.
I think Arsne must have called the zen master Phil Jackson before the season to get some mental tricks to curb the "excitement" on the pitch. Good work Phil (and blow off, mancs!!!) gp
I always thought Arsenal had the talent to do this well, but this is the year the cohesiveness and discipline came through. Wenger had done a poor job of that before, and Arsenal's record, both in the league table as well as the fair play one, suffered as a result. This year you have managed to come together and focus on the field, which shows not only in trophy success but in lack of bookings. Past Arsenal teams might have let the frustration come through, costing them bookings as well as goals and ultimately points. This year's team stayed cool under pressure, and I think that's part of the reason you managed to perform so well. No worries, that's just another trophy we'll have to win back next season.
Simple. He's English, so he's automatically built up to be at least twice as good as he actually is (by the stupid English media, at least). For example, Henry Winter actually called Stephen Gerrard "the best young central midfielder in Europe" as recently as yesterday, so there's an idea of what you're dealing with.
you can see where winter was coming from though! i highly rate gerrard..... though he hasnt been proven in a big comp such as CL or international comp he is still the best midfielder in th EPL which is ranked as the hardest league in the world by many! he is englands best player by a goddamn country mile! who do u reckon is betta than gerrard then dwinkler?
Cheap, English, and proven to be able to succeed in England (we're still smarting from Veron and Forlan, you know). For now he's just cover, and its possible our coaches can turn him from a good striker into a great one. Personally, I attribute his low goal ratio to Viduka's ridiculous number of shots, but maybe that's just me.
vieira, pirlo, kaka, ronaldhino, zidane... top 10 in europe no question~ you can certainly throw gerrard's name in with those lads...
Actually, its probably due to playing a lot of midfield this year since Leeds has been, ah, well.........crap, and needed good players to play wherever they could.
Good question, mixmaster. I haven't followed too much soccer this year, so I'm in pretty murky territory, but let me try. First of all, if Winter had written that two months ago, he might have said "Frank Lampard," even though Frank is a little older. Frank's form was great at the time. Gerrard's form has been very good this season, but, then again, he was also amazing a few years ago in the demolition of Germany, before fading dramatically after that. So yes, his form is great now, but I think his consistency is suspect. Then, how do you define "young"? Gerrard turns 24 in 6 days - do my choices have to be younger than that? So with more questions than answers, I've got two answers for you: The short answer is obvious - Kaka. He's so much better and more influential than Gerrard that it's laughable that Winter wrote what he did. Wesley Sneijder's probably not there yet, but it won't be long. Pablo Aimar has a ton of promise. And, oh yeah, that Ronaldinho's pretty good, too. The second answer is longer, and that's that Henry Winter has no business comparing Gerrard to Europe's young central midfielders, because I highly doubt that Winter could name more than a handful of young European central midfielders. Whenever he writes "Europe" I mentally substitute the word "England." His stories make more sense that way. Look, it's a pretty big continent, a fact that seems to consistently bypass the soccer fans on the small island. A year ago no one - NO ONE - had heard of Gael Clichy. If you tell me you did, I'll call you a liar. Who knew (besides Arsene, who always knows) that this second-division player from a supposedly second-rate league would step into the shoes of England's starting left back without missing a beat? Who had heard of Vieira when we bought him? No one in England, that's for sure. And it was "Arsene Who?" when the great man was hired. Winter and his kind are fine when they're in their comfort zone, like bleating about how Arsenal's disciplinary problems will cost them the title, or when they attempt, apparently with a straight face, to compare this Arsenal team to the Preston team of 1776, or whenever it was they played. But when I want serious analysis, I'll start with Gabriele Marcotti and branch out from there.
What's Gerrard done this season then? Pirlo was an integral part of what many consider to be the best team in Europe. Not to mention winning the scudetto. I agree many people in this country overrate Gerrard, when i hear people say he's been or is the best midfielder in Europe i lose a day in my life. But i do think Dwink's underrates how good Gerrard is. He is a fantastic player and would make us the most feared team in Europe if we were to acquire him alongside Vieira or on the right of midfield.
He was Liverpools most influential player all season, almost single handedly getting them to the final CL qualification spot. And I can't believe you just asked me that question....have you been watching the Premiership this season? So, thats what you judge players on? What team they play for, and what they've won..?
So he led an underachiever bunch of wasters to the top of a mini-league of underachiever bunch of wasters? Big deal. I have watched the Prem and he has been excellent, i have also been watching Serie A all season & the Italian national team on many occassions & i can be confident in saying that apart from Gerrard's determination & tackling there is nothing he can do with a ball that Pirlo cannot match or better. Pirlo has better technique, is a better passer, has greater vision, has a more accurate shot & is far less wasteful in possession. He has an awesome freekick & is a clinical penalty taker. I personally think Gerrard's rampaging "one man army" nature is as destructive as it is a positive, he runs around the field picking up balls from every position, taking balls off teammates & trying to do everything. He can cause as many problems as he solves by doing that. ie, leaving glaring gaps in the midfield & therefore exposing the defence; undermining teammates confidence & overrating his own ability by believing he is Liverpool's only route to success. If he was intelligent he would realise that when he was off-form at stages earlier this season that continuing to play like a bull in a china-shop was actually harming the team he claims to love. But he never did, he carried until he hit form again and "seemingly" carried Liverpool to 4th place. He's a great player top 15 in the world but he has to learn what his limitations are and give other players scope to play themselves. And no i don't rate a player on solely who they play for and what they have won, but Pirlo made himself an essential member of a team which in effects relies on no-one player. Milan's squad depth is such that they can virtually replace any player in the team with little or no apparent drop in performance. If you remember correctly Shevchenko less so this year but last season spent alot of time on the bench as the manager rotated his strike-force. Rui Costa is a bench warmer, so was Rivaldo last season, as has been Tommasson & Inzaghi. His manager rates him as essential as he is rarely ever left out and he has backed that up in all the games i have seen Milan play. The fact that they have won one of the toughest leagues in the world with him being an indispensible figure in that team should surely count over and above Gerrard "carrying" Liverpool to 4th? which is the argument your using to back Gerrards claims.