Off and on the field, it was a weekend of turmoil
Mike Ashley didn’t turn up at Newcastle, who lost 2-1 to Hull, and the angry Toon Army held up signs like COCKNEY MAFIA OUT !
Who can blame the Geordies? Do you think Arsenal should be run from Newcastle? Do you think Spurs should be run from Manchester?
Man United lost 2-1 at Liverpool and Vidic was sent off.
Chelsea won 3-1 at Man City and John Terry was sent off .
Amidst all that controversy, the good ship Arsenal cruised to a stylish 4-0 victory at Blackburn. Ewood Park could have been a test but turned out to be a cakewalk.
In an amazingly open game, where the pitch looked like a prairie, Robin van Persie scored after five minutes, and Adebayor scored the kind of hat-trick he scored against Derby last season, although that doesn’t mean Blackburn are as bad as Derby.
The first assist was by Walcott, a lovely pass to van Persie, the second assist was a cross by Denilson which Ade headed in, then Sagna found Eboue in the box, he was flattened, and Ade slotted the penalty, and finally sub Aaron Ramsey’s pass released Ade for 4-0.
Theo Walcott produced his best display ever, exploding out of his own half with the ball, flying past defenders, choosing his passes cleverly. That England hat-trick in Croatia has boosted Walcott’s confidence sky-high and starting him was clearly the right call.
If Blackburn continue to defend like this, Paul Ince will be sacked before he has time to get his feet under the table. He kept Macclesfield up and got MK Dons promotion and he’s first black English player to manage a Premier League club.
Arsenal now look capable of building a sequence, although their next opponents may be better than any team they have played so far.
To qualify for the Group Stage, Dynamo Kiev thrashed Moscow Spartak 4- 1 and 4-1.
No sympathy for John Terry after he grabbed Man City striker Jo round the waist in the centre-circle to prevent a counter-attack.Chelsea were winning 3-1, he knew Carvalho could have tackled Jo, and he’s well aware that he has to set an example as England captain. Ref Mark Halsey gave him straight red card. If an appeal is refused, Terry will miss the Manchester United game next week.
With Lord Triesman in charge, the armband will not make an England captain bulletproof, as Bryan Robson and Alan Shearer used to be.
The News of the World says that Chelsea are demanding a crazy £4.8 million transfer fee for coach Steve Clarke, who wants to join his good friend Zola at West Ham. This after the Scot has given them 21 years of loyal service. Does Abramovich think that is sporting? If Chelsea want to be loved, they should replace Peter Kenyon with somebody who has some sense of league
Without the departed Carlos Queiroz, Sir Alex completely lost the plot at Anfield.
He started with Rooney wide on the right and Anderson on the left ! He had Scholes-Carrick in the middle, Berbatov ands Tevez up front, and Rooney and Anderson wide !
United had no shape or fluency, even though they scored first, a very early goal, classily made by Berbatov, scored from 14 yards by Tevez. In 26, Van Der Sar palmed a cross onto knee of Wes Brown for an own-goal and after that Liverpool dominated, especially in the second half. Sub Ryan Babel slotted in 77 to make it 2-1 and clinch Rafa’s first league win against Man United. When Vidic flew elbow-first into Xabi Alonso’s head, the Serb was sent off.
I’ve never seen Sir Alex look so lost. He won’t pick Anderson-Scholes-Carrick-Rooney in midfield again.
Steven Gerrard came on as a sub but Fernando Torres didn’t. Rafa is saving him for Marseilles on Tuesday night.
On Friday, Newcastle owner Mike Ashley met Kevin Keegan in London, needing an agreement because Ashley did not want to face a hostile crowd at St James’s Park on Saturday.
But Keegan probably demanded the dismissal of Dennis Wise and new chairman Derek Llambios as the price of his return . Llambios was recently MD of the Fifty Club, a casino where Ashley and Wise allegedly hang out Terry Venables.
Overall, a weekend of fear and loathing that made Arsenal FC look a model of dignity and sportsmanship.
Just when you think the EPL circus can’t get any more ridiculous, it gets more ridiculous . For Newcastle’s next home game the Toon Army banner could even be : BRING BACK FREDDIE SHEPHERD !
Imagine a Newcastle fan reading this quote in The News of The World, from a ‘close friend’ of Ashley :
“If the fans continue to say ‘stay away’, he could do just that. They say there are 400,000 Newcastle fans in the area. If they all put in £1,000 they can buy the club and run it themselves. They can have a website and vote for the manager. They can pick the team and choose the players they buy and sell. They can do it all.”
HOW INSULTING IS THAT ?
If that buffoon doesn’t sell the club soon, the Toon Army will be picketing Newcastle’s London office. If he won’t come to them, they will go to him. St James’s Park will come to St James Street.
And Met Police chief Sir Ian Blair has enough problems without the Toon Army invading Mayfair.