Come on now, that's quite a serious reach don't you think? You required Man Utd to pick up a maximum of just 1 point from West Ham (Old Trafford) & Wigan (the JJB), as well as Chelsea to only pick a max of 2 points from Newcastle (St James Park) & Bolton (Stamford Bridge). If Man United had just got 2 points from those games you would have then needed to make up something like a +15 goal difference. Not mathematically impossible, but at that point of the season, and with the propensity of Man United & Chelsea to win when it matters, it may as well have been. That is not at all what I would think of as 'right in the thick of things'.
Geez can't you just accept that the Arsenal title challenge ran out of steam at the end of the season when it really mattered? You may have ended up only 4 points behind but when you were in pole position and the business end of the season was reached, Arsenal fell away. No shame in that becasue the team had probably exceeded most people's expectations. There's no need to get all defensive about it. At least you were in the title race at some point!!
Bentley and Barry are overrated. And Spurs might still lose Berbatov and Keane, which are their two best goal threats. If Adebayor leaves us then we can always sign another top striker in Europe because we can offer Champions League football and a Premier League challenge. Can Spurs? UEFA Cup football wouldn't attract players of the highest quality. ANyhow we should have won the league last season and were five points clear at one stage. We just lost the bottle in the end, so all we need is more mental strength.
Flamini was only ever a squad player and never set the world alight. Hleb scored too few goals for an attacking midfielder. Besides, shouldn't United worry that Ronaldo might still leave? He was by far their main goal source last season, and Rooney has never been that prolific in his career.
As you broke it down yourself, they could still win the title at that point. Surely you've seen stranger things happened in a soccer championship, right? I was just making the point to the other poster who wrote the games they were winning in the last stretch of the season didn't matter. That's all. Jeez can't you understand that I was just making a point to the poster about his "meaningless games" comment.
Not many. I would be interested to know what odds the bookies were giving on Arsenal to win the league at that point. I would wager it was over 200/1, at the least. In other words, it's kind of like that part in Dumb & Dumber where Lloyd asks the woman he has been chasing what the odds are that he can get with her and gets told "about one-in-a-million", then replies "so you're telling me there's a chance!". In other words, a statistical possibility is a lot different from a realistic possibility, and with the gulf in class at the top of the Premiership these day vs. mid/lower table, and what was at stake... that simply was not happening.
Its pretty clear who the best team in the Premiership was last year before injuries took them down. (one or two similar injuries to ManU and they don't win the title either) That team has been improved in my opinion with the departure of Hleb and addition of Nasri. Flamini and Gilberto's leaving is also a bit of a reprieve for an overcrowded midfield that now has room for the younger players to reach their full potential. It is sad to see Gilberto go because he is class all the way, and I will miss watching him play, but I think it was necessary. The only thing Arsenal has to be worried about is the same as every other club, can we keep our players healthy, can we avoid playing to our opponents instead of our potential, and can we gets results away from home.
Like, say, arguably our best/most important player in Paul Scholes being out for 4 months? Our captain and starting RB for over a decade in Gary Neville missing the entire season? Our only out-and-out (admittedly, stupidly injury prone) striker in Saha playing so little time it barely mattered? Our newly-purchased ballwinner/engine room in Hargreaves missing a lot of time, as well? You said one or two - there's four. By the time mid-May came around only one team was on top of the table, and they weren't from London. Hleb for Nasri is something we will see next season. I agree about Gilberto going, he didn't fit the team anymore. Flamini? You are so delusional on that one mate, that it is comical. He was probably your most consistent performer last season. ...and if injuries happen? You are going to need more depth on the wings. You are going to need more depth at CB. You are going to need more depth at the fullback spots. Most importantly however, you are going to need to get a starting GK and CM. Wenger has a knack for pulling players out of nowhere - and he may well do again - but you are running a big, big risk if you don't make some sort of purchase in at least one of those spots before September. If you do indeed take that big, big risk and it doesn't work out then please do us all a favour and don't winge about being 'unlucky' - it will be of your own making. Many people were saying you needed another winger and at least one FB and backup CB at this time last year... that's a fact.
I think you're being a touch naive in how bad one or two injuries couleffect your season this year. The likes of Villa, Portsmouth and Blackburn aren't scared of playing any of the top 4 any more. If we take Arsenal starting XI it really isn't that strong. Almunia - by far the worst keeper in the top 4,m maybe top 6 or 7. Even Pompey and Villa have better keepers than Almunia. Sagna - Gievn, he's class, but who backs him up? Gallas - classy player but terrible captain and prone to lose the plot. Toure - given, he's a class defender. Clichey - great young player, but again, whoi backs him up? Nasri - cannot comment, He looks ok but it took Pires 6 months to settle. Fabregas - given, class player. Walcott - hit'n'miss young player with a long way to go. You cannot rely on him. Adebayor - class player, if he stays around. Robin van Persie - injury prone but classy player. Who is going to play centre mid with Faregas this year? Song? I don't think so. Eduardo is out until the new year I'd say at he very least. The centre of midfield is filled with uyoung players and no back up. The defence has some decent players but again back up players like Song and Senderos are hardly proven internationals are they? Arsenal squad is paperthin. Full of great players, but outside of the startuing XI, it looks flimsy.............
To hear you talk Arsenal only has 11 players to field come this season. Diaby, Eboué, Traoré, Hoyte, Denílson Here's a list of reserves, all ready and capable to play... to add to the ones you think cannot play because they have proven nothing internationally. I guess because they're young and haven't had a so-called "international career", Wenger might as well not play them right?
Agreed that the depth is an issue....hence why I said "we need to avoid injuries". I think Abou Diaby or Denilson will probably join Fabregas in CM, and while unproven they have as much if not more potential than Flamini. Who if you remember was also unproven before last season. Now potential doesn't count for shite so we will see how it goes. I never said losing Flamini wasn't a bad thing, just that it did free up room for others to develop. Flamini was a great performer for us last year and his leaving feels like a defection, but that is how sport goes and I hope he is happy with his new squad. Central defense is a concern as it was last year, I think Senderos will perform better this year, but you can never have enough quality central defenders. All I'm saying is that I think this team is not getting enough credit and I expect them to challenge for the title again. But they are young and young teams have a tendency to play to their opponents, which can't happen if we are to be successful.
Again my comment has nothing to do with odds or "expert analysis". I was simply saying that the games matter until you're out of it, not until media or odds makers say you cannot win the title. If the games down the stretch don't matter, Wenger might as well have rested his starters and play the reserves squad. Or ManU might just have played their reserves and watch both Chelsea and Arsenal rush past them in the standings. As far as Scholes being the best player on the 07/08 squad, you gotta be kidding me. The guy was a great player and still play a role in United's squad (for someone his age) but to call him the best/most important player of the team, you really have to be blinded by his past accomplishments.
The odds makers make those odds for a reason - to make money. Money to a bookmaker is what crack is to an addict, and these guys know how to make it. Whatever you want to say about pundits and that - agreed - overrated and quite largely clueless bunch, you simply cannot say it about bookmakers because - and here is the truth of the matter - they always come out on top at the end of the day. They do pick a certain competitor to be a favourite for a reason after all. Now that is not to say that the favourite always wins by any means... but for somebody to be at 100+/1, they are there for a reason. That reason? It would take a miracle for them to wind up winning. A miracle is defined as "an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause." An example of a miracle would be expecting Man United in a stupidly tight finish to a title race (with Chelsea) to - for absolutely no logical reason whatsoever - field a reserve team for the final two matches, and also fail to get even two points from those games, while Chelsea (a team of experienced, clutch players... save for John Terry ) would then go on to fail to win either of their final two games. Remembering of course that the teams they would be playing were West Ham (H) and Wigan (A) for Man United, as well as Newcastle (A) and Bolton (H) for Chelsea. That, coupled with two Arsenal wins in the meantime, would indeed be a miracle. You mate, by the way, need to do yourself a favour and examine Scholes as a player more closely. You would be well advised to start at the Barcelona games from last season, then work yourself into more league matches from there. He was not our most importantp layer last year - he was injured for 4 months of the season, after all. that is a split between Ferdinand and Ronaldo.
Before going to the last 2 games Odds on Arsenal were 119-1. After Man U game they were 50-1. Actually after Arsenal's loss at OT, with Man U and Chelsea's schedule and our easy schedule, odd makers were not counting us out. It was only after when Chelsea won at Everton when our odds dropped to 100-1. 50-1 is more than statistical possibility. It was a probability, though not likely, but no bookie would risk the house.
You're arguing over nothing. The point is that the title was not decided until the final day of the season. Therefore, unlike in previous years, we cannot say that Man U slackened off at the end and could have gotten more points. The four point gap is a valid measure of the difference between Man U and Arsenal last season. If your argument is that Arsenal slackened the pace at the end, then it only makes it more impressive that they still managed to stay within that margin of Man U.
I hate the Arse, but I would very much doubt they finish lower than 4th unless Aston Villa or us (Spurs) overachieve mightily.