SINCE the north has been the graveyard of Arsenal’s title hopes in recent seasons, Blackburn v Arsenal looks like a fascinating PremPlus game for the 5.15pm slot on Saturday
After Ewood Park, 12 Premiership points to play for.
Blackburn have been playing really well since Arsenal beat them 6-2 in that somewhat misleading game on Saturday December 23.
Can I preview the game? Not really. Not without knowing which players are playing.
But Brad Friedel is a lot better than Dudek, we know that.
It’s a pity that David Bentley is suspended.
He had his own website when he was a teenager at Arsenal and always fancied himself as a cross between Beckham and Bergkamp. He’s done some good things at Blackburn and Mark Hughes, one of the more promising young managers, obviously rates him.
Bergkamp was a Rolls Royce of a player, as Don Howe once said, and if Bentley can be a Bentley for the next ten years, or even a Saab, he’ll be doing well.
Striker Benni McCarthy has amazed me. At Celta Vigo he had no touch and was in and out of the team. He looked a rotten player. Of course it’s a massive cultural jump from South Africa to Spain.
But he did OK in a loan spell at Porto, when Mourinho got him playing well, and Porto eventually signed him with the money they got from Spurs for Helder Postiga. He scored two good goals against Manchester United in 2003-2004 and Porto went on to win the Champions League.
Blackburn bought him last summer for £2.5 million. What a steal ! Tough, confident and lethal, Benni McCarthy has improved more than any striker I’ve seen since Crespo at Parma, who was pedestrian in his first season, OK in his second, good in his third, and superb in his fourth. I love to see footballers who prove me wrong and Benni has done that.
ARSENE smiled on Friday afternoon when asked about conflicting reports on Freddie Ljungberg.
“You have conflicting reports because you don’t read our website…..We’re not in the market to sell Freddie Ljungberg.”
I smiled myself when I read his quotes on William Gallas last night, taken from Arsenal.com by Sky Sports.
Arsene said we wouldn’t be seeing Gallas for two or three weeks. He’s right about that.
Arsene has sent Willie to rest in Guadeloupe for two weeks with his parents. The manager probably said something like this : Look, you’re frustrated here watching us train. It’s doing your head in. You’re a warrior, you want to play, but you need a rest, physically and mentally. Go over, chill out, see your Mum and Dad, Thierry will give you a call and let know how we’re doing. Every warrior deserves two weeks in paradise. When you come back, we’ve got loads of games. We’ve got Wigan, PSV, Aston Villa, Reading , PSV – and I want you in good shape for those PSV games.
Recently, very recently, I’ve rediscovered my appetite for football, having lost it somewhere between Colorado and the Christmas-New Year holidays.
But now I’ve got it back and today I heard that Samuel Eto’o, one of my favourite footballers, is playing well in training at Barcelona.That sort of thing gets me buzzing. And the Henrik Larsson goal for Manchester United reminded me of Romario : a short, super-nimble player showing how a goal should be scored. Rooney needed Larsson and their combination play will be fun to watch.
JOSE MOURINHO is on his way out at Chelsea, who might implode because of internal politics and an injury crisis.
Some of us, perhaps including Arsene Wenger, always thought Chelski might implode after three or four years,
and that it was possible that Arsenal could move into Ashburton and rebuild the team and take over after Chelsea’s success collapsed on itself
After the 2-2 against Fulham, Mourinho came into see reporters ten minutes the final whistle, apparently without going to the dressing room first. And what the hacks got was an honest statement by a very unhappy man, something they had never seen or heard before
After the 1-1 draw at Wycombe he refused to say whether he would be at Chelsea next season
The difference between Jose and Arsene is that Arsene is in charge, Jose isn’t.
Insiders at CFC says that Kalou was a Kenyon signing, Shevchenko was an Abramovich signing, and John Obi Mikel was a Frank Arnesen signing. Ballack is still in the side because he was – wait for it- a Mourinho signing.
It’s even conceivable that Mourinho and Capello could swap jobs in the summer, if Guus Hiddink doesn’t come to Stamford Bridge. Putin might tell Roman that he wants Hiddink to stay and finish the job as Russia coach. Abramovich might say, I’m paying for it, I need him at Chelsea.
But since RA is the shrewdest oligarch he will not jeopardise his relationship with Putin over a football coach, even one as talented as Hiddink.
CAPELLO has sidelined half a dozen players (including Ronaldo, Beckham, Salgado and Cassano) and actually said, “I wish I could have Beckham’s attitude in Ronaldo’s body.”
On the other hand, the directors are not impressed by Emerson or Cannavaro or the way Real Madrid playing.
Of course, Capello knew it would always be a circus there. Last time he won La Liga in 1998 with seven games to spare and president Sanz suggested that his son, who was a centreback in the squad, should be given a game. And Capello told him his son wasn’t good enough to play for Real Madrid. And he also told Sanz he wanted to win the next seven games and send out a message for next season. Capello hated having private conversations with the president and then finding they were in the papers the next day.
He didn’t think that Spanish players were as professional as Italians, so he walked after one season. AC Milan was a serious club. Real Madrid was a pantomime where having the president’s ear was more important than doing it on the pitch.
Why did Capello go back? Any port in a storm. The Serie A corruption scandal was imminent and Capello wanted out before Juve were relegated for bribery.
HEARD a Sven story last night that may be in the papers already. He’s in Dubai at the invitation of a sheikh and Marseilles, Lazio, Benfica and Bayern Munich are playing a winter break tournament there.
In front of the current Marseilles coach, Sven talks on the touchline to Djibril Cisse, who is on loan from Liverpool. Sven tells Cisse he’s the next Marseilles coach and asks: “Will you be here next year?”
The gall of the Swede is amazing. And we still pay £13,000 a day to man that the perceptive Adam Crozier knew was the next England coach within thirty seconds of meeting him.
Many years ago, when Rob Hughes was friendly with Juventus owner Gianni Agnelli, he was in Agnelli’s office when Sven, then at Benfica, phoned and offered to coach Juventus ! Sven is shameless and always has been.
I thought Terry Venables had more front than Harrods but Sven-Goran Eriksson has more front than Harrods, Harvey Nicks, Bloomingdales and Macy’s put together.
The meek shall inherit the earth? Yeah, right.
In other transfer news, I’m not moving from ANR.
I’ve decided to stay and fight for my place.