As Dave would say, it is one of the good days. How much would he have enjoyed that?
It started badly though. Five minutes before kickoff, a tea-related accident saw me fail to place the filter jug securely on the sideboard and my desperate fumbling did not manage to prevent it crashing to the floor, cracking its plastic and spilling water everywhere. As I scurried with old cloths, I reflected that my handling is not as solid as Raya’s and that I was glad he had been passed fit to start.
Two minutes into the game and we were ahead from our second shot. Akanji received the ball from Stones just outside his own area and a heavy touch offered Trossard all the encouragement he needed to get a foot in. The ball squirted to Rice who layed it to Havertz with a lightning first time pass. The German played it unselfishly to Odegaard and our captain found the net despite a flick off Stones whose despairing dive wasn’t enough to save his mate’s blushes.
At this point, I wondered if I was gonna have to wreck a Brita before every match from now on.
I was on my feet when we had the ball in the net again three minutes later, but Martinelli had gone too early and was clearly offside. Calm down everyone.
City had more possession, the aging Silva dropping deep to start plays for them, whilst Odegaard did the same for us. The half progressed uncomfortably. It really is no fun playing this lot. They’ve got a good record against us, there is a lot on the line, and they are good enough that they can punish any mistake, meaning that every error leaves me with my heart in my mouth. So do near misses for us, and that familiar sinking feeling made an unwelcome return after twenty-five minutes when Rice nicked in to steal the ball high up the pitch and it fell to Havertz in the penalty box. As City’s defenders and keepers scrabbled back, our striker took time to steady himself before dragging his shot wide. We should have been two up and I was worried that one would come back to haunt us.
It could well have done before the half time whistle but for a couple of outstanding saves from Raya. The first came from a Gvardiol header direct from a corner, a fantastic hand to push the ball up and out via the bar, frustrating the waiting Haaland. For the second, he got down quickly at his near post to block a Savinho shot deflected off Saliba’s ankle.
Their Brazilian was fouled by the impassable Timber who got a reasonable (if soft) yellow card, but Peter Bankes ignored Savinho brandishing an imaginary card (unless he saw it and simply followed the instruction). He also ignored Bernardo Silva when he charged Odegaard with a leading elbow as a high ball came down. The City captain was not watching the ball and simply played the man; it was a yellow all day long, unless you are playing against Arsenal.
Half-time came, and I could not be sure what had caused the lead and so was not entirely sure whether to smash the magimix or chuck a bucket of water on the kitchen floor. I ended up doing neither but regretted it within ten minutes of the restart when a bright spell from City led to a Haaland goal. He had only touched the ball five times in the first half, never decisively, but he made up for it when he shrugged off Saliba to head home a Savinho cross. The Frenchman won’t want to watch it back. The Norwegian looked satisfied with himself, which I cannot find fault with, but also had the sense to direct a fairly muted celebration at his own team’s fans after his much-publicised antics in the last game seemed to backfire. It was probably to prove a wise decision.
I had been hoping for a clean sheet, but it had not happened, and I’d barely steeled myself to go again when we were ahead once more. A poor pass from the insecure Foden was intercepted by Partey and he raced through the middle. The crowd screamed ‘shoot’ and he obliged with a middling effort that was headed straight for Ortega’s arms until it deflected off Stones and looped into the far corner. I screamed ‘get in’ so loudly and with such a fierce mixture of elation and venom that, ironically, both our cats bolted out the cat flap. I haven’t seen them since.
Five minutes later and we reached my favourite moment of the match. The utterly brilliant Lewis-Skelly found a pocket of space infield on the left, received a pass from Rice and took off towards goal. He cut in and shot well with his weaker foot, Ortega palming the ball off the post and into the net. The young man ran off to celebrate his first professional goal, sitting down in front of the home faithful and replicating Haaland’s meditation celebration. It was bold, it was ballsy, it was funny and, to my thorough enjoyment, it was dismissive. He didn’t spare a thought to the notion that he might light a fire under the league’s most deadly striker, so confident was he that we were going to win. This kid is not only a great player but he has an attitude and a self-belief I’ve rarely seen, far above most players. Saka and Nwaneri are quieter, but this young man puts himself centre-stage and then delivers. He’s got a huge future ahead of him and I can’t wait to see it unfold.
Martinelli went through soon after, his effort was well saved. Trossard recycled the rebound and kept the ball under pressure from Nunes. Silva, full of frustration, chased back and petulantly kicked our mesmeric Belgian. It should have been a second yellow card and a sending off. Instead, he received no sanction. The irony that he’d perpetrated his second yellow-worthy offence against Trossard was not lost on me. No matter who you are or what your agenda, what it beyond debate is that Silva in this game did more to warrant a red card than Trossard did at their place. Instead, less than a minute later Odegaard got a yellow for dissent after he was (correctly) penalised for a soft foul on Kovacic. Arsenal don’t get reffed the same as other teams – argue as much as you like about why that might be, but it is a fact, whatever the reasons.
While I’m at it, changing the interpretation of a law midway through a season is the same as changing the law, and anathema to fair competition. City players delayed restarts all over the pitch all game but not a single one got a yellow.
Mind you, they did get thumped…
Havertz got in on the act to make it four. A quick break started by the imperious Partey saw Martinelli race upfield and he layed it off to Havertz who cut onto his left foot and found the far corner. For the first time in years against this lot, I began to enjoy the watching experience.
We made some subs, Gabriel found himself on the right wing and dragged the ball through to Nwaneri in a bit of skill Ozil would have been content with. The magnificent crowd were enjoying themselves and the oles started up.
In injury time, there was time for one more. Rice swung a long diagonal to Nwaneri (this type of switch had ironically been City’s most effective tactic) and the young man cut inside and found the far corner from outside the area for the second time this week with the penultimate kick of the game. Hale End product with, err, end product.
So, lets get it right, this was a statement win. This was a thrashing. It started off tense but as it wore on we simply overran them. Partey was magnificent and shares MOTM with Lewis-Skelly for me. Everyone was excellent, and they thoroughly deserve all their flowers. Arteta too, he nailed everything today.
There is a long way still to go in this title race. So far, Liverpool have had everything their own way, whilst we have had everything go against us. But we are still in it, and we are a team to be feared. Keep the faith.
Until next time, ‘holics.
Well said, my son
Great report, so happy I can’t get back to sleep now
Anyway, very quick and covered all the main points.
Declan was brilliant too.
And the humble jibe was shoved far back down the throat
with relish
lovely jubbly, dino. pretty much the game. i expect you’d go through a bunch of britas if we can replicate this sort of game every time out. did the cats come back?
i have to say again: if you haven’t watched the hale end series, do so. portents and omens abound.
COYG!
A brilliant, atmospheric report provided in express time . Dave would have loved that game and he would have loved the fact that one of his favourite Holics wrote it with such colour and detail. Other kitchen appliances are available and hopefully your cats have returned GSD . I watch a lot of my televised football with Charlie , a ginger tabby but sadly he exits as soon as I acknowledge our first goal!
No Charlie today but I did watch with the estimable Btm and I can confirm that at no stage did he bolt in panic . It was our best performance of the season . Something has been missing this season but it was there tonight . The team was magnificent. I would find it hard to nominate a MOTM but MLS, Partey and Rice were all magnificent . Nwaneri really is special . Even if we don’t get a striker we have real momentum and the pressure will ramp up on Liverpool if we can continue to play with this energy and quality . It’s not over yet
Where are those cats?
Fantastic report, GSD, and lickety-split to boot.
Partey and MLS men-of-the-match for me, too. Glad you mentioned Rice’s pass to Nwaneri. It was world class. Hit first time and landed on a sixpence (whatever that was).
Bernardo Silva is fast slipping into the Bruno Fernandes class of nastiness, if he is not already there. How the deliberate kick of Trossard after bundling him over went unpunished…oh, hang on…
Nobody likes Manchester City now.
That’s all I can say until I read GSD’s lickety-split Match Report. For the uninformed that is a bit different from Hajduk Split but Bosnian Gooner and Dr. F. probably already knew that.
Cheers all for the kind ones, much appreciated.
Important update: both cats have returned!
If Heineken did football days….well they’d brew Guinness. What a great day. I’ll read your prose on my way to Ipswich tomorrow, GSD, but somehow I know I will enjoy it. 🙂
Villa has got a sweet deal for Rashford: they’re paying 25% of his wages, so $75,000 a week, no loan fee and an option, not an obligation to buy at the end of the season.
yeah, but they get *rashford*.
And Rashford gets the Vile.
GSD@9: Probably best not to let the cats watch the highlights with you.
Scruz@12: There is a decent player in there if Emery can get the Manc out of him.
ned@15, emery had a tough time getting a decent tune out of özil and auba…good luck, is all i have to say!
Scruz@16: ‘Nuff said.
Nice to see Starboy out on the pitch congratulating the team after the game.
And to see how happy the senior players were for the young kids.
Superb piece GSD, it captures both the tension every Gooner will have felt and also the brio of our performance once the troll had scored his goal and woken us up to the need to respond. What a performance!I hope you can find some knock off filters that you can smash before every big game!
Great report GSD, perfectly accurate too as I saw the cards and non-cards incidents in the exact same way from my vantage point too.
What a team, what a win. And indeed Dave would have loved that, I could totally picture him singing ‘stay humble you c****’ with gusto.
Spot on report, Dino.
The atmosphere in the ground as great all day. I hope rest dane across on tv. And the massed rendition of considered advice to the ugly AI generated troll is as the icing on the cake. It is heart-warming that this generation of City supporters now know what it was like for their fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers to support City.
“ I hope this came across….”
Rest Dane?
Ha! I was wondering what the hell that reference to Bendtner could mean…
Cheers GSD, your lightning quick report is the iceing on the cake. A humble but correct description of a good spanking.
Our Academy producing a stream of excellent youngsters and so many of them became young star. We are fortunate to see them rising.
Besides MSK, Rice, Partey I want to highlight Trossard movements. I’m not surprised by Silva frustration. Our checky Belgian bastard make them chasing his shadow all game long.
Pre-match I met a 21 year old from N.Carolina who had flown over to London for the weekend for his first ever competitive Arsenal game. Fantastic day to visit. Then to the stadium and sit at the feet of the venerable TTG and beside a fantastic guy from Norway who picked up on all of the anti-HaHa songs and shouted them at the top of his voice in Norwegian. He claimed to be ‘in-the-know’ and that Sverre Nypan absolutely wants to join Arsenal.
Brilliant atmosphere, very entertaining game and some absolutely spectacular play from the team in red. When our first team has played, over the last three years, Arsenal has been the best team in England. Yesterday they were the best team in England without the best young right-sided attacker on the planet. Arsenal were so good that Bukayo was able to sit in the stand and lead the singing.
I can’t add a jot to GSD’s excellent report other than to agree that MLS and TP5 were joint MOTM.
A great pleasure to watch the cheaters being humbled. 49, 49 Lewis Skelly!
Oh, should have said that I couldn’t believe that that petulant petite portugese poop wasn’t sent off for booting Trossard while he was lying on the ground. Blatant and unpunished in complete accordance with PGMOL rule book relevant only to Arsenal.
And yes, in that rule book, picking the ball up, walking away with it for 10 yards before laying it on the ground to delay a free kick is not a punishable offence while nudging it one yard with a foot is.
We now have a day of ‘ madness’ or rather potential swoops built up by Sky . I’m a bit nonplussed by the interest in Tel . Would the Spuds really have paid £60 m for a 19 year old forward who hasn’t scored this season in 14 games and has one assist ( in a farmers league ) . I’m not surprised we are resisting Bayern’s insistence on an option to buy him in the summer .
If we can get him for a sensible fee I’d be delighted to welcome Ollie Watkins . Hazard played very well yesterday but has lost his nerve in front of goal when he has time to think . We need a surer touch in front of goal
Would that be Eden or Mickey? 😉
On Havertz, I think that even if we buy a forward MA will still play Kai.
I have no idea on Tel either to be honest, but it worries me that judges as bad as Spuds and Manure want to get him.
Thanks GSD for another rapid and informative match review – you nailed it.
The team has been working relentlessly all season despite all the set becks ( injuries / PGMOL ) – yesterday’s win was a just reward for all their efforts. Every single one of them put in a performance worthy of the accolades that have followed. The support from the crowd came over loud & clear – what a great match to be at.
Would you go without any signings in January if it meant getting Sesko, Zubimendi and Williams in the summer?
Whatever we do today, those will still be the targets in the summer, so splashing £60m is only gonna happen if we buy someone who replaces one of them, or if we can afford to get a January signing in addition. Potentially, we might get a wide player if we think Williams is unobtainable in a few months. But it doesn’t look like their are a lot of options.
Spurs have muddied the water with Tel. They agreed a huge fee because they are in trouble and want to distract their fans with big signings. Now Bayern want other clubs to match that fee. I can’t see it happening. Frankly, I’m not very interested in him anyway. Unproven, and not knocking our door down.
Watkins is interesting depending on the money. How much do you earn if you win the Prem and reach the CL final? Paying over £60m for him would look like good business if we did both of those things. It’s a short term gamble which might pay off but equally it might not. Much like Isak, the time to go for Watkins was two years ago, and I dunno if we can rectify that error by paying for him now. Maybe.
We’ve got a break coming up in a few days. The busiest period of the season is will be done with, and we have players coming back (particularly Saka and White) who will raise our ceiling. After scoring 5 against City its easier to be sanguine about adding an attacker, but we need a very strong run to the finish line from here, and the right player could make the difference. Dunno if the right player is available though.
I’ll be glad when the window closes either way!
CER@21: How clearly the singing at the Ems comes through on the TV seems to depend on the whim of the broadcaster. Some turn it up; some turn it down, but selectively. It was noticeable during the Citeh game yesterday that all the inoffensive team songs — ‘Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal’; ‘One-nil to the Arsenal’; ‘We’re the greatest team’: etc — were clearly audible on the NBC broadcast. Songs about individuals were turned down to inaudible background noise. Do other far-flungs experience the same with their local broadcasts?
@32 yes, I think so Ned as i certainly did not hear our fans well-intentioned advice either, and it is generally as you described in your mail.
Would you go without any signings in January if it meant getting Sesko, Zubimendi and Williams in the summer?
Yes! There are a great many things I’d be prepared to go without to see that trio at Arsenal next season. We’ll need the Z man to replace TP5. Job 1 in my opinion.
BtM. I agree completely. Partey was immense yesterday, he’ll be a huge miss. Zubimendi next to the irrepressible Rice would be an excellent way to move on. I’d love Williams on the opposite side to Saka.
I dunno much about Sesko but if he’s the guy the club want then that’s good enough for me. I definitely like that he’s tall, we need a striker with physical presence.
Now all we have to do is work out where to play Nwaneri and we’re laughing!
OM@33: I have often wondered if the broadcasters kept those generic crowd sounds that were played during the COVID-19 pandemic. I would hazard there was a rendering of Sixty-Five Million after Havertz’s goal on Sunday, but an indistinct mumbling was all that came through on the broadcast.
BtM@34: Jorginho to replace in midfield, too, if he is off to Brazil in the summer, as seems likely.
GSD@35: Spot on. We saw peak Partey against Citeh, and, by default, what we lose when he has to play right-back. Plus Rice can’t be as far forward as he was for the pass to Havertz for our first goal without Partey behind him.
9 is the combined tally of goals that the Arsenal men’s and women’s teams put past al-Citeh this past weekend. All in all that was quite the past weekend. 😎
Great review GSD!
I think our record this season with Partey-Rice-Ødegaard in midfield is near flawless, 2 draws and rest are all wins. Partey’s performances in MF this season is a great example of why one should never write a talented player off, injury or not.
The fine margins worked in our favor, and tactically speaking Raya did a brilliant job (as he did with his gloves with a couple of magnificent saves in the first half) mixing up playing out from the back and kicking it long. He was evidently instructed but the intelligence and nervelessness with which he executed that game plan, especially when to go for which option, was brilliant to watch.
Lots of great performances, hope that emphatic finish removes the tentativeness that sometimes plague Kai’s decision making and execution in the penalty box. Hope he can manage to incarnate his goal-a-game version until the end of the season.
Can Ethan be moulded into a central striker? Intriguing proposition from Mikel…
Firstly OM- well spotted! Havertz has morphed into Hazard. It happens with old folks .
I agree with the sentiments held by most of us on signings . The key is that we do sign the targets we have . They all look exciting although Sesko didn’t impress me in the Euros I’m assuming we’ve seen him playing enough to be confident he is much more than hype. We have never made many great signings in January other than two years ago when we recruited Trossard, Kiwior and Jorginho .They are all still with us and have been more than short-term signings …which is the point
There’s been a lot clamor among the restless to sign Isak or Watkins. Newcastle’s rumored price tag of £150 million would be most of our transfer budget for the year, which IMO is not worth it, even for an elite striker. As for Watkins, he is no better than Havertz. Watkins’ conversion rate for the past two seasons is 17.5% while Havertz is at 18%. Watkins just takes a lot more shots than Havertz, which I think is function of our style of play. Even the Norwegian Wank Stain’s conversion rate is only about 22%.
My biggest concern is if Havertz gets injured, we don’t have another experienced player to step into the role of striker. Sure Trossard and Martinelli have played in that position but they are far more effective out on the wings.
A reminder for those hanging on for the big news of the day — the new GHF Predictathon leaderboard — that the current match week extends to February 12 to accommodate the inclusion of the postponed Liverpool derby. You will have to curb your enthusiasm until then.
@36 yeah, the actual punters are just a necessary evil to our broadcast masters. There to make it look exciting but not to actually have a real voice.
And a good point on Jorginho, we have had a couple of good seasons out of what seemed a stop gap at the time, not so easy to replace his tactical nous and top level experience. I will be very happy to have Zubimendi in the summer but maybe we need one more.
OM@43: If we ever get to what now seems the unimaginable point of actually having two left-backs that are fit, perhaps MLS would revert to his natural position as the one more.
Lots of wisdom in the drinks that might have come from the Guvna himself. Invidious to pick out individuals but I can particularly relate to GSD @31,Ned @32, BtM @34, DrF @39ecg @41 & OM @43. Wise words indeed. Much as I revere his opinion and he is indeed entirely correct that we need a surer touch in front of goal, I think the sage TTG is damning Havertz with faint prais @27. We bask in the golden memories of IW8 and TH14 but forget how often they missed the same kind of opportunity that KH missed last night. GSD is right that Ollie Watkins is NO Better in front of goal though would be a snip at £25m but as ecg observes it’s a backup to KH that we require and we should not spend £60m on such a role only to compromise our pot for the summer and acquire a player whose value will plummet in 2-3 years. One of my old bosses advised that it is always best to take the long term view and here TTG is spot on. We must ensure we get our targets in the summer.
I must say it’s great to have such discussion in the Drinks – just like the good old days. Well done chaps. Keep the stimulating discussion going!
Spot on Ned @44.
Bath@45: and another thing like the good old days: a half-ton is in prospect.
*kicks ball*
slides it across the top of the box…
Bang!
Acknowledging the build up play from Ollie and ecg.
HWBAY?
ned@32, i watched the nwaneri goal again on my tv and you could definitely hear the “you’re a cunt” song being sung to their norwegian meatsack…i heard it but didn’t know what they were singing when i was watching the game.
For those who like tactical insight this Athletic piece on our tactics on Sunday is very interesting
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6108674/2025/02/03/arsenal-tactics-manchester-city-rice-lewis-skelly-trossard/
Well in for the half-ton Bath.
Here’s Four-Four-Two’s Adam Clery on the game:
Well in for the half ton Bath and Assistees 👏👏
It seems our powder will remain in the pouch then.
On the one hand we still have the money in the bank
for the summer but on the other we are going to need
some serious sutra chanting and bell-ringing from the
monks to distract the injury gods.
Who are possibles in the squad for emergency forward duty?
KT3 on the left? Gabriel or Merino at CF?
Scruz@53: That’s California for you. Far more prim and proper on the East Coast.
Thanks for the links gents @54 and 55
I wonder how the window will be viewed at the club for our new Edu?
Is Jason more or less likely to be confirmed? On the surface it doesn’t
seem positive but maybe not recommending panic buys will be seen
as good leadership
@44 having watched Adam Clery on 442 about MLS I am guessing Mikel might be
loathe to move him. However, we kept KT3 and Zin who, rumor had it, might have moved in January so I suppose we are keeping options open
Also the press on the first goal was machiavellian in it’s cunning.
Excellent report thanks, GSD ! Sorry to be so late getting to it but lots going on including hospital appointments and scans in readiness for finally getting my knee replacement. Hope to make it back to the stadium once completed – I really miss watching this team live.
Well in bath with the 50!
Good news and good luck, Trev!
Excellent stuff from Adam Clery, as usual. He is such a good analyst, he puts the pundits on the major channels to shame. (Well, he would if they weren’t so far beyond that particular emotion).
If MLS can continue to provide something of a safety net that allows Rice to make more attacking runs then Declan will probably score at an increased rate. That could be very useful. Perhaps Calafiori or KT3 can play on the left wing for the last 20 mins of games we are winning, and Trossard, Sterling and Martinelli (Nwaneri?) can cover the centre forward position? Certainly, any time a game looks safe we should think about taking Havertz off for some rest.
By my quick calculations, we have a max of 23 games left this season over a period of about 16 weeks. Saka should be back after a mere 5 more PL games, and Ben White sooner. If we use our squad well and get some luck on injuries then things will go a lot better than if we suffer a couple more injuries to key players, which our squad doesn’t look deep enough to withstand.
If we get lucky on that front (and so far we’ve had terrible luck all season, added to the performance of referees, which is hard to call ‘bad luck’ at this point but which has certainly shafted us) then we’ve got all we need to challenge for, and win, the biggest prizes.
Not making signings in January is something of a gamble. We can all understand both that this squad needed a short term boost in attack, and also that such a deal was hard to do, even more so given we have big summer plans that we don’t want to jeopardise.
I’ve seen a lot of negative reaction from fans, but the thing with a gamble is that it’s ultimately judged on whether it pays off. I trust the club, if they follow through with the right moves in the summer then that will be an important coda to this window; if we win trophies before then it will be a huge endorsement of the club’s strategy. We’ll just have to wait and see.
UTA!
Her Nellieness agrees with Mike McDonald. Watching the post match interview yesterday morning “Martin Odegaard looks far too thin, has lost too much weight, doesn’t look well, what’s the problem?”
As yet, she hasn’t started writing her own blog though.
The win on Sunday goes a long way to alleviate missing out strengthening in January but will count for nothing if we keep missing chances and dropping points. Maybe the league is too far from our grasp but we need to keep the pressure on. They might buckle. Still think we can turn the Magpies over though, and go far in Europe. Overall, not fussed about signing anyone in this window. I have high hopes Spring will see no more injuries, players returning and refs reffing properly. COYG.
Adam Clery’s analysis is not only superb but underlines the point that currently Pep is way off the pace tactically . That Citeh performance was so inept in both tactical and personality terms and coming after a lot of weak performances it does at least suggest Pep may have listened to the plot. The big question is whether he can come his mojo again
The McDonald piece is slightly OTT as he tends to be . This team is still nowhere near the Invincibles but the portents are very exciting . He does make the point about that game in 2019. I was waiting on the tarmac to fly to Dublin and by 4.36 we were two down. I was glad to switch off my phone . Arteta has transformed the club lest there e anyone out there who can’t see it.
And Odegaard does look uncomfortably thin and drawn
Martin Odegaard 2 on parade last Friday night.
Odegaard has his first child at home. He’s not getting as much sleep as he’d like and he’s going through all the extra emotional energy needed to support his partner as well as being a new dad. No wonder he looks a bit tired and a bit undernourished. He’ll be fine.
Wise words GSD @70. OTOH, Ødegaard minor probably isn’t strong enough yet to propel his playthings from his stroller all on his own.
Bum! So much for smartarse attempts to display “O slash”.
As ever Autocorrect has shafted me
Listened should be lost the plot
And rather than come his mojo ( which sounds a bit rude ) I did mean to say ‘ find ‘
I expect you guessed that. But at least I’m not calling Kai Hazard any more!
I too have noticed how gaunt Øde has become. I noticed it a month nth or two back and this week he looks worse. I do hope he hasn’t developed a wasting illness.
Not strengthening the forward line in January transfer window due to the unavailability of just the right player who would add long term value is a fine decision in isolation.
But this transfer window can also be seen in the context of the last summer, when we wasted time and opportunity and chased goalkeepers etc. to end up with last minute loan signings of Neto and Sterling, neither of them helping to move the team forward in any measures. And without any disrespect, both of them are exactly the kind of “warm bodies” that many here seem to be dismissing. So, the club’s recruiting was incomplete and squad building inconsistent in the summer, this transfer window was an opportunity to rectify some of it. While we wait for the perfect players to arrive in their perfect price and perfect salary, the 24-25 season will not come back.
It’s not just about the immature fans like myself — I can already hear some here sniggering at the suggestion that the club’s recruiting can be questioned — who I understand can be ignored, but how about the players? Is it fair to ask Kai and Gabi and Leo to do so much more for half a season than is usual on players of their caliber and positions? We play high intensity, physically and tactically demanding football. Especially the forward four who scuttles back and forth and across constantly.
How about the manager who seems to be openly saying throughout the window that after Jesus’s injury it’s almost essential that we sign a forward?
It is a huge gamble to still go for PL and CL with that depleted an attacking force. If gambling is the thing we like to do, a better one would have been to take a chance with a player or two who we may not be fully convinced by, and may end up eventually losing money on. But the upside would have been that despite being imperfect they could have significantly improved our chances.
Anyway, I hope Ethan’s spectacular upward curve continues and he saves the club’s recruiting blushes by becoming a consistent and high value alternative in both the RW and #9 (I think his instinct and accuracy are good signs that he can play there) positions in the second half. Maybe we can use MLS on the left wing now and then with Ricky in the fullback.
Mikel and his coaching department surely need to get creative, for our recruiting has almost always been risk-averse and stodgy.
@75: It wouldn’t go amiss to give a few minutes to Kabia and Butler-Oyedeji, even if only to see if they are ready enough for senior football to get some older legs off earlier in games.
Overall, I am happy that we didn’t compromise our ability to recruit a top forward in the summer by tying our hands with a sub-optimal buy in the window newly closed. A loan with no silly salary attached or obligation to buy wouldn’t have harmed. I assume the club turned over every possibility in that regard and came up empty-handed. The Catch-22 is that anyone good enough to play in the team isn’t going to want to be a backup, and there is no point in having a backup who isn’t good enough to play in the team.
Trev@60: Best of luck with the op. Hope it all goes well.
good luck with the op, trev. you’ll be back, no doubt!
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