{"id":6214,"date":"2022-05-21T16:15:38","date_gmt":"2022-05-21T15:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=6214"},"modified":"2022-05-23T13:13:02","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T12:13:02","slug":"one-game-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=6214","title":{"rendered":"One Game at a Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\"><div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1237055667\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div><div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:66.66667% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1237055667?et=HzBD-qzVTyZaCjRRqwwcXA&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=SdKX-bcEUzqd0ZZoMQptBCKC2hgWEsjrVgnFVucFt5Q=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>When I put my hand up for this preview a few weeks back, I had no idea what might be up for grabs with a good result against Everton. Since then, things have swung back and forth; we have gone from being way out of the running for a Champion\u2019s League spot, to having it in our hands, to the situation we now find ourselves in, with our hopes hanging by such a fine thread that most of the fanbase either cannot see it, or are pretending it doesn\u2019t exist as a superstitious precaution \u2013 even daring to dream that Spurs might Spurs this up could be enough to ensure it never happens!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>We finished fifth, move along folks, nothing to see here.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The disappointment of the last two results have somewhat coloured our perspective of this match. I think it is fair to say that, at the start of the season, most of us would have bitten your hand off to be guaranteed fifth and with a Hail Mary shot at fourth as we headed to the last game of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ll leave the end of season analysis until we have made it that far but, personally, I have seen a lot of off-field improvement in how things are being done at the club this season, and I think Arteta has been instrumental in that. Coupled with a fifth-place finish, I am pretty happy with our campaign, even though we can all see that there are issues that still need dealing with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, for one last time before his holidays, the boss will be sticking to the old adage \u2018one game at a time\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mean, all we can do is win against Everton and hope for the best. If we don\u2019t take care of our result, then no amount of dodgy lasagne will help us out of this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Frankly, it\u2019s a bit of an odd lead up to a game. Everton managed a remarkable turnaround against Crystal Palace a few days ago, coming from two goals down to secure their Premier League status with three goals to win a crucial match. I wish we had done that ten days ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the supporters in blue, the excitement was too much, and they spilled onto the pitch. I understand their elation and I don\u2019t want to get all holier-than-thou condemning football fans for over-the-top reactions \u2013 we have all been there &#8211; but there have to be some things that are off limits. I have every sympathy with Paddy, who lost his rag and kicked out at one particular fan who was goading him non-stop (I do wonder what he said that caused such a reaction?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The authorities simply must do better when it comes to preventing fans getting on the pitches, and I wonder how they will resolve the mess it has caused this time out? I cannot see it ending well for our former captain. He will be sanctioned for reacting badly to a situation he should never have been in, by the body that failed to prevent it. Typically farcical stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All of which is really to say that Everton\u2019s race is surely run? They are safe, after months of uncertainty. The pressure is released, they have let off all their steam, and, whilst they won\u2019t&nbsp;<em>want<\/em>&nbsp;to lose tomorrow, it won\u2019t matter hugely to them if they do lose this one. They have already done what they needed to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unless, of course, it goes the other way. They have a much better group of players than you\u2019d expect to be in a relegation battle. Maybe without the constriction of needing to play well, they might actually do just that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Honestly, who knows?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The thing is, we are looking similarly inscrutable. We have been so hot and cold in the last few weeks. We aren\u2019t scoring enough goals, and at Newcastle our entire team looked as though they had nothing whatsoever left in the tank. Have we run out of gas just a couple of weeks too soon? Or, will we find the reserves we need for one last big push in front of the fans who have been so magnificent all season?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I certainly hope so. Arteta seemed convinced in his pre-game presser that we would get a result in this one, saying<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are back in Europe, we don\u2019t know where. Sunday it will be decided. Hopefully, it will be Champions League because on Sunday, I believe we\u2019ll do what we have to do and we\u2019re going to be cheering for Norwich to do what they can do, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, Arteta was also pretty sure that we weren\u2019t going to perform at Newcastle like a team playing under the influence of twice as much gravity as the opposition, so his conviction about the result in this one won\u2019t be a comfort to those of a pessimistic disposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Arsenal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, we don\u2019t have enough defenders, and the ones we have are mostly crocked. White and Gabriel both looked less than fully fit last time out. Tomi got subbed off. KT is the new Ramsey (Ramsey is conversely trying hard to become the new KT by increasing his standing with Celtic fans by any means available). We will have Rob Holding back, and I assume he will play, even if he is still in most peoples\u2019 bad books for getting suckered into a completely avoidable, and extremely costly, sending off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The issues that need resolving over the summer absolutely include the prospect of starting Cedric and Tavares as our two full-backs, but that is what I will imagine we will do tomorrow, although hopefully never again. Personally, I think Tavares is young and exciting, even if he is raw, and his bombastic presence would be offset by Tomiyasu on the other flank. So, I&#8217;d get rid of Cedric over the young Portuguese, but if we get any offers for them, then it might be the last game for both of these two. Let\u2019s hope it\u2019s a good one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I also hope it is Xhaka\u2019s last game for us. Since Partey got injured, he has been pretty good, on the whole, and I could not summon any enthusiasm to get exercised about his comments last week. He was pissed off, and there was nothing particularly surprising about the fact that he felt the team had not shown up \u2013 that was exactly what the rest of us felt. However, I do not think we will get a CL spot with him in our midfield, and tomorrow there is every chance we will see this proven for yet another season, so I think it is time to move on. Hopefully he spanks in a winner and gets a great reception from the crowd\u2026 and then moves to Italy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eddie is another who will probably be playing his last game for the club. He has done okay in the last few weeks; he would not be a bad third choice striker. But we need two signings up top, and he wants game time, so I can\u2019t see him staying. It would be nice for him to sign off with a good performance, and, for him, that means goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I expect Gabi will play instead of ESR, unless the latter has managed to get out of his sponsorship deal with whichever treacle company currently manufactures his boots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If \u00d8degaard wants to be our captain next year, then this would be a good time to heed the words of our Swiss former captain and take this game by the balls. He was anonymous in the last game, and he still needs to improve his physicality to be a consistently effective player in this league.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Ramsdale<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Cedric \u2013 Holding \u2013 White\/Gabriel \u2013 Tavares<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Xhaka \u2013 Elneny<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Saka \u2013 \u00d8degaard \u2013 Gabi<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Nketiah<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Everton<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t care much about them. In their last match they played: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Holgate, Iwobi, Doucour\u00e9, Andr\u00e9 Gomes, Mykolenko, Gordon, Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iwobi will get a good reception. DCL is a good player who has had a difficult season after a great campaign last time out. If the money is right, then he might be someone who interests us over the summer. Gordon works hard and has decent quality as well as commitment. Doucour\u00e9 and Gomes are both solid players at this level. Richarlison is a petulant whinger, but a player capable of hurting any team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The holics\u2019 pound<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is my honour to bestow the hottest tip in betting, our very own holics\u2019 pound, for the last time this season. It is going on an optimistic 4-0 to The Arsenal which is available at 18s. However, for those of you who wish to take your reminiscences of 1998 just a step further\u2026 if you add in Rob Holding to play the Tony Adams role and score the last goal of the game then the odds are 400\/1. Which still looks stingy to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, I would not recommend putting more than an actual pound on any bet this time round. Just buy yourself a beer, buy your mates a beer, and for the last time this season, sing a few songs for The Arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wherever you are tomorrow, enjoy your day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until next year, have a good one \u2018holics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images When I put my hand up for this preview a few weeks back, I had no idea what might be up for grabs with a good result against Everton. Since then, things have swung back and forth; we have gone from being way out of the running for a Champion\u2019s League [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"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\/6214"}],"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\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6214"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6225,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6214\/revisions\/6225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}