{"id":10308,"date":"2024-11-09T00:02:10","date_gmt":"2024-11-09T00:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=10308"},"modified":"2024-11-11T12:42:20","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T12:42:20","slug":"meet-me-at-the-bus-stop-in-fulham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=10308","title":{"rendered":"Meet Me at the Bus Stop in Fulham"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cMeet me at the bus stop in Fulham\u201d is not the most romantic or enticing invitation. It\u2019s not a patch on \u201cMeet Me in St Louis<\/a>\u201d though that city has declined significantly since the era in which the movie was set. Nor indeed is it as beguiling as \u201cMeet Me at Our Spot\u201d, \u201cMeet Me at the Surface\u201d, \u201cMeet me at the Table\u2019 or \u201cMeet Me at the Lake\u201d. But there we are! We have an assignation at the bus stop at 4.30pm on Sunday 10th November that we must honour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not as if we haven\u2019t had fun there previously. I have fond memories of an 89th minute Winterburn pile-driver to win 3-2 in 1997, a 1999 Kanu hat trick in the last 15 minutes to win 3-2 after trailing 2-0 and a van Persie hat-trick in a 5-3 victory in 2011. Our last victory at the Bus Stop was in November 2022, when Gabriel slid the ball into the net at close range from a Saka corner, our third successive victory at that venue for the first time since the seventies. Last season, we made an exhilarating late recovery from a two goal deficit that was the result of a soft penalty (Kavanagh awarded it, for the ball brushing Saka\u2019s arm as he leapt for a header, after being called to the monitor – d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu?) and a fluky Mudryk cross-cum-shot that beat Raya in one of his early starts for Arsenal prompting widespread but ultimately unnecessary angst about his height. We drew level with a 35 yard cracker from Rice on 77 minutes followed by a deft back-post touch by Trossard from a wicked Saka cross on 84 minutes and could well have gone on to win it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have played the Chavs at the bus stop 95 times in several competitions: the Football League Division One, FA Cup, League Cup, Premier League and UEFA Champions League. Including our first visit ending in a 1-2 reverse for Woolwich Arsenal in 1907, we have won 32 games, drawn 31 times and lost 35 times. This is a respectable record and not in any way a record that makes one want to sing along with Elvis<\/a> – though, by several accounts, Mudryk would happily join the chorus. However, these numbers conceal a phenomenon that is now the subject of an as yet unconsummated series of charges. If we split the Premier League era into three periods: Before Corruption, the Russian Mafia Money Years and Post Abramovich we find a different pattern:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Corruption: 5 wins, 3 draws and 4 defeats<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian Mafia Money Years: 3 wins, 2 draws and 9 defeats<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Post Abramovich: 2 wins, 1 draw and no defeats<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The overt and covert shenanigans of Abramovich and his henchmen changed the landscape of the Premier League, transformed a club that was previously a music hall joke and paved the way for the Sheiks of Araby<\/a> with their creative accountancy that distorted England\u2019s competitive landscape even more dramatically. These misdemeanours were called out by Arsene Wenger in the noughties but his warnings fell on deaf ears. Cash clearly talked louder. We now await retribution with bated breath. It certainly made a difference: a club that previously had a solitary first division title  (under Arsenal legend Ted Drake), 3 FA Cups, 2 League Cups and 2 UEFA Cup Winners Cups to its name prior to the injection of Russian money then went on to win 5 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups and 2 Champions Leagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In anticipation of this preview, I decided to watch the Chavs\u2019 Europa Conference League tie against a team named after the man who built the ark, not an inappropriate opponent for a club that spent the last few windows acquiring at least a pair of every sort of player ending up with a squad of over forty players for incoming new coach Enzo Maresca to sort into sheep, goats and those who weren\u2019t getting near the grass because he just didn\u2019t fancy them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Noah game, the ex-Lesta coach made eleven changes from the team that drew 1-1 at the Old Toilet last weekend, resting his entire first team and playing fringe players such as Felix, Fernandez and Mudryk and a bunch of senior academy players. The opposition didn\u2019t amount to much (I don\u2019t think they would have survived the Great Flood), were 4-0 down in 20 minutes and I didn\u2019t learn very much before I switched to the Manure match and then decided to watch paint dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be fair, Maresca has transformed the assortment of misfits that Boehly had collected on a series of very expensive whims and is clearly not only a man who knows the kind of players he likes, ruthlessly banishing those he doesn\u2019t like, but is also a good coach, taking the club that most expected to be a mess into fourth place after ten Premier League games. Coming into this match, they have an identical record to the Arsenal, with five wins, three draws and two defeats but have scored three more goals (20, the third highest in the league) and conceded one more goal (12, seventh equal fewest) but have failed to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League since 21 September. At the Bus Stop, in the Premier League, they have beaten Brighton 4-2 and Newcastle 2-1 and drawn 1-1 with Palace and Forest while losing their opening match 2-4 to C130y. They also have a string of impressive away victories, notably at Wolves 6-2, Wet Spam 3-0 and Brighton 1-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of possession, Maresca tends to play 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, evolving into 3-2-4-1 when the ball is regained. One fullback, usually Gusto, inverts into midfield to overload the centre and the defence links to midfield with quick, short passes to create dynamic forward momentum while the two 8\u2019s push forward to attack the opposition. Palmer, their most consistent creator, missed training on Tuesday due to a knock but seems likely to be fit for Sunday. Maresca has played Palmer as a right sided \u201910\u2019 rather than as a winger and he has thrived there by cutting inside from the inside right channel onto his left foot to shoot or, against an opposition committed to a high back line, playing through balls from deep to release a runner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanchez has established himself as first choice keeper. Gusto has taken the right back slot during James\u2019 prolonged absence and the latter returned at left back against Manure but the club captain was criticised recently by Maresca for a lack of leadership qualities. Cucurella may return at left back against us. Fofana and Colwill are clearly Maresca\u2019s first choice centre backs. Caicedo has been outstanding as holding midfielder and was partnered by Fernandez until recently when Lavia has been preferred. Fernandez played 45 minutes against Noah on Thursday, captained the side and made three assists so may have a late role in Sunday\u2019s game while Lavia had his feet up and will probably start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chav coach currently relies on a consistent attacking set up with Jackson as central striker supported by Palmer and with Madueke and Neto on the wings sidelining expensive acquisitions Nkunku (\u00a352m, 1 start) and Felix (\u00a346m, 0 starts) who generally warm the bench alongside Mudryk and Sancho. All these players have pace and the wingers start wide and dart goalwards, thriving on Palmer\u2019s passing range and threatening the space behind defenders. Frequently, Jackson will drop deep dragging out his marker to create space for a winger or a midfielder to run into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When possession is lost, they immediately counter-press energetically with their midfield overload before dropping into a 4-4-2 block. Caicedo, whom Maresca has restored to the impressive form that interested us at Brighton, leads the club\u2019s stats on duels and ranks top in the Premier League for tackles. He is is often joined in the midfield press by either Gusto or Cucurella both of whom rank in the PL top twenty for defensive duels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can expect to have to work hard to penetrate their organised transition and defensive block meanwhile our defenders will need to be alert to their swift forays behind our defensive line. A significant disadvantage may be the unrewarded, heavy shift that our first team had to put in against Internazionale on Wednesday that will have taken a great deal out of them mentally and physically in comparison with the Chav first team who all had the full week off in which to prepare for our visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our last two games have felt rather like \u2018Groundhog Day\u2019 and the absence of Martin \u00d8degaard appeared more telling in these games than in previous matches. Massed ranks of large, determined and most pertinently, well-organised defenders proved an almost insurmountable obstacle to an Arsenal team lacking the energy, drive, guile and creativity that Martin \u00d8degaard brings to the space between the opposition midfield and defence. We haven\u2019t been as abject as some would have it and there\u2019s no doubt that our performance at the home of the top team in Serie A, <\/em>who have yet to concede a goal this season, <\/em>was better than our performance at Newcastle. But for some bad luck on the penalty front and some great blocks by Milan defenders we would have taken at least the point that our performance deserved. Nonetheless, the arc of ennui reappeared, we kept lumping crosses for their monsters to repel and the lack of a disruptor in the box and swift movement and creativity was significant in the end. Hopefully, a Chelsea defence that has conceded 12 goals in 10 matches will prove more accommodating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As ever recently, we approach this game with injury concerns. Declan Rice who missed the Milan game, apparently has a broken toe, has not trained at all by the time of Mikel Arteta\u2019s Friday press conference and will have a late fitness test. Even should he pass that test, he will clearly not be playing at 100%. Kai Havertz came off in Milan with blood streaming from a head wound after a collision. Hopefully that is merely a superficial gash (the scalp bleeds like a stuck pig) and there are no concussion issues. Merino was subbed at half-time in Milan and MA8 said he had not been feeling well the day before the Milan match and his half time removal was precautionary. Hopefully he has thrown off the lurgy if he is required to replace or play alongside Rice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a huge morale boost to see M\u00d88 take the field on Wednesday, albeit for only 5 minutes but I do not expect him to start this game. The only selection issue is, in his absence, who will comprise our starting midfield trio. Actually, this shows that our team is scarily predictable, making life easy for opposition coaches who merely need to double or triple mark Saka and Martinelli to neutralise Arsenal\u2019s attack. Hence, I would select Ethan Nwaneri, on the basis of his poise and robust appearances to date, his unfamiliarity to the opposition and the unpredictabilty that his movement and control brings to our attack. My team is therefore:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raya<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White Saliba Gabriel Timber<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nwaneri Partey Rice\/Merino<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saka Havertz Martinelli<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After our harvest of one point from our last three Premiership games and consecutive defeats in the last two games, this feels like a \u2018must-win\u2019 especially considering the gap to the league leaders. It\u2019s certainly a must-not-lose and with yet another Interlull coming up, the prospect of festering over another defeat is intolerable. Coming at the end of a difficult run of games, I suspect that our weary players may have to be content with a hard-fought 1-1 or 2-2 draw though the bookies have us as slight favourites at 6\/4 with the draw at 13\/5 and a home win at 15\/8. Nonetheless, as ever recently, this Holic Pound is going to Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoy the game Holics, from whichever global vantage point you are viewing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GO WIN, ARSENAL!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMeet me at the bus stop in Fulham\u201d is not the most romantic or enticing invitation. It\u2019s not a patch on \u201cMeet Me in St Louis\u201d though that city has declined significantly since the era in which the movie was set. Nor indeed is it as beguiling as \u201cMeet Me at Our Spot\u201d, \u201cMeet Me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10308"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10308"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10340,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10308\/revisions\/10340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}