By Myles Palmer
Two new books about Arsene Wenger are coming out in September, so The Professor has competition at last.
One is by my friend Alex Fynn, and the other is by Jasper Rees, a guy I don’t know.
Short Books are sending me the latter.I will review it here.
My book has been lonely on those shelves, so it’s nice to have company.
There’s room for at least 3 books about Britain’s most radical football coach.
Virgin have re-published The Professor this week with a new cover and a new chapter about last season.
I will write something about the new chapter next week.
On day one, Toure reminded me of the young Rocky.
A powerful boy with a huge appetite for the game, roaring into tackles.
I loved David Rocastle, who was one of the most tenacious and effective tacklers I’ve ever seen.
Rocky was such a great tackler than Lee Dixon got into the England team.
But he had many knee operations.
George didn’t think he would pass the medical at Leeds.
Early on, Rocky would often dribble in midfield,which annoyed George.
George would say, “I’ve told David to play one and two touch in the back third and the middle third – and then take people on in the front third.”
Most good coaches would say the same.
KOLO TOURE, LIKE ROCKY, NEEDS GOOD HABITS.
Over the next two months, Sol, Jens and Kolo will have to develop an understanding.
Especially if they are gonna defend on the halfway line, or the 40 yard line, a tactic I like .
Make your opponents pass the ball sideways.If they hit a long ball, Sol will race you for it. Ashley will race you for it. Kolo will race you for it.
A really good long ball, Jens Lehmann comes out and gets it.
I think that’s a good way of playing. It worked very well in a 3-0 win against weak, intimidated Rangers.
It can work against better sides than the ‘Gers in the future.
An Arsenal team with Lehmann in goal and Toure at centreback already looks to me like a return to the kind of power football that wins Premiership titles.
What’s needed is time for Lehmann and Toure and the rest of the defence to get to know each other.
You don’t wanna see Lehman,Sol and van Nistelroy all going for the same ball on the edge of the penalty area.
Jens, Sol and Kolo need to develop an understanding.
Inevitably, mistakes will be made. Kolo will make mistakes.
That’s OK because mistakes are part of life, part
of football. Every young player make mistakes.
It’s a team game. If Kolo misses a ball, leaves a man, somebody else can react.
If your players have great recovery pace, you can get away with a lot.
And Toure faces competition. Keown wants his place back.
And Senderos will start playing for the first team in November or December.
CARDIFF?
Not knowing which players will start, I can’t predict that game.
But it’s a pre-season game.Austria was preparation, Scotland was preparation and Cardiif will be preparation for Everton, where three points are at stake.
A year ago, as champions who had signed a world champion, Arsenal had far better preparation and played brilliantly in Cardiff to beat Liverpool 1-0.
I thought they would win but I didn’t think Gilberto would score and I didn’t think they wouild play as well as that.
Sunday, they can beat Man United. But they can’t pass the ball as fast and sweetly as they did a year ago.
To play as well as that, in mid-August 2002, was fabulous.
That’s what I remember from watching the game at Coconuts sports bar in the Algarve, with Caroline and Alice.
How well they played for this time of year.
This time, I can’t say who will win.
But two other things are more important.
Vieira and Pires will sign new deals next week.
And 100% of the finance is in now place for Ashburton Grove.
The four banks are the Royal Bank of Scotland, Hamburgerische Landesbank, Banco Espirito Santo (BES), and the Bank of Ireland.
City sources expect the debt to be underwritten by Hambros, the bank that chairman Peter Hill-Wood worked for, or Rothschilds.
BES, the Spanish bank, are football specialists who are financing the new Benfica stadium in Lisbon, and acting as consultants to Coventry City’s new stadium.
Construction at Ashburton Grove will start in January 2004 and the stadium will open in August 2006.
The total loan is now £260 million because Arsenal have recently negotiated a £50 million deal with Nike, and raked in another £15 million from a debenture scheme which guarantees 3,000 more season-tickets in the future.
Have a good weekend, wherever you are.
August 8th 2003.