It’s at 5.30 on Sky on Saturday.
Stoke v Arsenal : British physicality against continental finesse.
And Stoke are flying right now.
Manager Tony Pulis is old school, so he won’t be telling his team : You’re tired but Arsenal didn’t play in midweek, so they’re fresher than you.
After beating Manchester City 3-1 in extra time in Wednesday’s FA Cup replay, Stoke now have another home game against an Arsenal side without Gallas, Arshavin and Diaby. The crowd will be up for it. They loved beating the rich boys from Eastlands.
Old school thinking is : When you’re winning , you don’t feel tired. And Stoke are unbeaten in 2010.
Liverpool were old school and could play 60 games with 16 players. They rarely had 11 players who were 100% fit but their shape was more important than their fitness. It was all about attitude, teamwork, good habits, understanding, pattern of play.
The legendary Anfield boot room was an old school university where wisdom was passed on from generation to generation. Shankly, Paisley and Fagan won everything, even though Manchester United were much bigger and richer.
When Liverpool played Juventus in the European Cup Final I had to preview the game for Radio Times, then the biggest-selling magazine in UK. It was a cover story and I talked to Phil Neal, their captain. I can’t remember much of what he said because the Heysel tragedy made it a non-match, which Juve won 1-0.
But Phil did say one thing that stuck in my mind : “We always tell the young players : you’re not tired. You only think you’re tired.”
Stoke are not tired today.
Arsenal know that Rory Delap will throw the ball into the box and they know exactly what Ryan Shawcross and Ricardo Fuller will do.
It’s not a cruise missile, it’s only a throw-in. If they can’t stop a throw-in, they should donate their wages to charity.
Man City had Adebayor sent off in 82 when the score was 1-1 and when it went into extra time Shawcross scored from a Delap throw and Tuncay made it 3-1 with a nice bit of skill, having come on as a sub for Diao in 54. Tuncay the Turk is a sparky, under-rated player. Diao sits in front of the back four and nicks the ball off people and plays it simply.
This is a massive game for Arsenal because if they win at Stoke they could conceivably win the league. If they lose, no chance. There are only 10 more games after this.
As we all know, Stoke work hard and defend well. They’re not scared of Arsenal and don’t believe that Fabregas can beat them on his own.
If Arsenal lose, I hope Wenger doesn’t scream at the ref or fourth official again. If they lose, it’s always somebody else’s fault. He does that almost every game these days and he’s embarrassing the club. As his treasured Youth Project totters on a knife-edge, and a shabby EPL season staggers to a close, Wenger has been showing the pressure.
But there is still a lot to play for, especially if Chelsea don’t beat Man City in the lunchtime game. But I’m sure Chelsea will win that game. Roberto Mancini has gone. He’s living in a hotel, his family is in Italy, and very soon he will not be there.
I just hope Wenger doesn’t embarrass himself again. The Sol Campbell-Fabianski farce allowed a dodgy Swedish referee to bungle a free-kick that cost Arsenal a goal. It was stupid, naive play by Sol and Lukas. They were just as guilty as the ref.
Sol switched off, gave up mentally, and Fabianski should not have picked the ball up. It was like Clichy in Birmingham : If Clichy had done his job, the ref would not have had been given a chance to make that mistake in punishing his recovery tackle.
Stoke have size, shape and momentum. They’re unbeaten in eight EPL games. Abdoulaye Faye and Andy Wilkinson are back after suspension.
I hope Ramsey plays because he is creative and has bottle. But is Nasri going to turn it on 10 days before Porto, his biggest game of the season? Does Nasri want to get injured and miss a massive night on March 9 that will be screened to all his mates in France?
There could be goals.
Let’s face it, Almunia and Sorensen are the worst goal keepers in the Premier League.
Have a good weekend.
And remember : It’s only football