It’s that time of the year again.
In April-May, football sorts itself out. We get the final league tables and the trophies are awarded.
We know the champions and the runners-up and the runners-up to the runners-up. We know the also-rans and who is relegated and promoted.
So April-May is sometimes exciting and always marvellous because all the news, controversies and comments become irrelevant as football sorts itself out. When the season ends it’s all tidy, all tabulated, all in the record books, all history.
Just a few games more ! I can count the games on the fingers of two hands and I love those small numbers. Ten, nine, eight….I can comprehend small numbers like those.
On my left hand I can count Arsenal’s next five games : Chelsea, Bolton, Liverpool , Liverpool, Liverpool. That’s a nice little fixture list.
On Super Sunday, Liverpool could beat Man United 1-0. Rafa will make it very difficult for Cristiano Ronaldo and if that happens, United might find it very hard to score. I’m sure Rio Ferdinand will recover from his back injury, but Fernando Torres and Stevie G will be lethal in that game.
Rafa has always had the agenda of getting Gerrard out of the engine room and this format (with Kuyt wide right, Babel coming in from the left, and Gerrard in a free-roaming action-man role) has allowed him to do that. Do you remember when Rafa told Stevie G : This season I want you to score 20 goals. And he did.
If Liverpool win, Arsenal get a big boost going into their 4 o’clock game at Chelsea.
Joe Cole was on fire on Wednesday night FOR THE WHOLE GAME !
He had a point to prove because Avram Grant foolishly dropped him for the Carling Cup Final, which they lost 2-1 to Spurs.
That 4-4 was great entertainment, a better game than the 4-4 that I saw on Boxing Day at Stamford Bridge. John Terry isn’t the same player he once was and we can see now why Mourinho opposed an eight-year contract for JT. That was why Terry and Mourinho fell out.
Obviously, Gooners are asking themselves : If we can’t beat Wigan, Birmingham or Middlesbrough, how are we gonna beat Chelsea ? With their home record?
Ashley Cole could have been sent off twice by Mike Riley on Wednesday night. First for a high tackle on Alan Hutton, then for ridiculous and ugly dissent. Cashley Cole is an ignoramus and his behaviour was the worst advertisement for the EPL that I’ve seen all season. He became successful and famous but he didn’t survive success, did he? He lost the plot. A shame. He was the best footballer Arsenal had produced since Ray Parlour.
Sky repeatedly trailed Spurs v Chelsea live but when I tuned in it was Manchester United v Bolton and I was furious. I watched skipper Ronaldo scored two cracking goals in 20 minutes and thought , “The league title is now a straight fight between Ronaldo’s dancing feet and Roman’s billions.” Then I went upstairs to watch the Spurs-Chelsea game on my computer with Martin Tyler’s commentary and I enjoyed a classic game in which Spurs showed a lot of bottle to come back from 1-0 down and 3-1 down.
Chelsea v Arsenal could be quite a high-scoring game. Fabregas will reach down deep into his guts and pull out a performance like the big game player he is.
But Joe Cole, an Islington boy, is hot this week. He’s buzzing. Joe will be ready for France on Wednesday night and I’m sure Capello will pick him.
These days Chelsea are not as formidable as they should be, given the quality of their experienced squad. Cech, Terry and Makelele are not as good as they were two years ago. If Arsenal play with the same tenacity and spirit that Spurs demonstrated in that 4-4 draw, they can beat Chelsea.
When I saw Aston Villa there in that 4-4 on Boxing Day, Shaun Maloney scored two goals. As Maloney dribbled infield from the left side, towards the box, and looked as if he wanted to shoot, I was thinking, “He’s small, he’s not fast, he can’t score from there – no way !” But he hit a right foot shot and it went in.
The papers say that Avram Grant has to win this one to keep his job but Abramovich doesn’t read the papers and doesn’t care about them. The owner might do something radical, like not sacking his manager.
And, as I say, Liverpool could help Arsenal with a draw or a 1-0 win at Old Trafford. It ain’t over till the fat lady sings and Sir Alex reckons it will go to the wire.
Can’t wait for Grant Slam Sunday !
But this has to be said : Looking at the league table, the most likely result is a draw.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Man Utd | 30 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 61 | 15 | 70 |
| Arsenal | 30 | 19 | 10 | 1 | 58 | 22 | 67 |
| Chelsea | 30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 53 | 22 | 65 |
| Liverpool | 30 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 55 | 21 | 59 |
| Everton | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 47 | 25 | 56 |