8/3/2019 Jan 8th Remeber the Date

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/jan-8th-remeber-the-date 1/1

W e’d had a play-of nal, then a semi-nal, so the third season in League 1

was beginning to get tiresome, and winning automatic promotion back to the second tierwas certainly a monumental occasion. But thelads’ FA Cup run provided a diferent kind o excitement, not to mention some long awaitedbragging rights! For me, knocking the scumout o the FA Cup in the third round was t hehighlight o last season. Se eing Fergie chompingthrough a multipack o Wrigley’s Extra gaveme more satis action than the prospect o aChampionship season. Not just another FACup David and Goliath, but something Whiteseverywhere could’ve only dreamed o . In Fergie’s23 year stint, the scum had never been knockedout by a lower division side, nor had they everlost in the 3rd round o t he cup.

During Sundays draw or 2011’s third round,Oasis’ Noel Gallagher picked out ball 20 a erball number one, meaning or our boys, TeEmirates await.

Playing the Gunners is a much anticipatedxture in many ways. De spite not winning

silverware since the FA Cup in 2005, Arsenalare without a doubt a top our English club,

and strong contenders in Europe. Tey play antastically exquisite ootball, something Gary

Mac tried to bring to United during his termwith the club; he is now attempting to bringthis style to ad Albion! In the last 18 monthsUnited have lost to Liverpool, drawn and lost toSpurs, and o course, beat the scum, not a badrecord against the ‘top clubs’.

Not only do I like the way the Gunners play,but I also admire the way the club is run. UnlikeChelsea and Man City’s gross spending tactics,Arsenal run themselves the way clubs should do.Wenger has a knack o spotting talent in players

rom a young age, and rather than paying orbig names, players arrive, virtually un-heardo , and make a name or themselves in NorthLondon. Marouane Chamakh is the latest caseo this. His 6 2in stature has brought anotherdimension to Arsenal’s game. Where be ore they looked to pass the ball quickly through de ence,Chamakh’s aerial threat means they are nowbeginning to utilise crosses and long balls inbehind de ences as well. When Van Persie andFabregas return rom injury, they can be very dangerous, not to mention the in orm SamirNasri.

Arsenal are o en criticised or not killinggames o , they play some lovely ootball, goone up, then lack concentration and allow theiropponents to come rom behind. But in thiscase I think our boys need to be scoring rsti there is to be any chance. Tey tend look orthe attractive goal and take one pass too many,rather than taking every chance they get.

United have managed to nd themselves in4 FA Cup nals, winning once, the Centenary Cup nal o 1972, where an Allan Clarke headerended Arsenals successive FA Cup wins. Tisis also the day Leeds Leeds Leeds (MO ) wasborn. Tere isn’t the same rivalry with theGunners as with the scum obviously, but thereshould be enough to spur t he lads on. Underthe Wenger era, the Gunners have only lostat home in the FA Cup once, by Lee ds in the96/97 season; all other FA Cup de eats havecome away rom home or Arsenal. In the caseo 03/01/10 the winning ormula was 100%passion, zero expectation. No-one expected awhite victory, and this will be the case or nextyear too. Playing or a club like Leeds, the boysare under constant pressure as expectations areso high. It’s that relie o pressure they had inSal ord, that produced the result.

Tis xture also resonates with me on apersonal level. I rst set oot inside ER whenI was 14, in 2004, against the Gooners. Tatwas to be the penultimate clash, where we lost4-1. Te last time we played Arsenal was laterthat season; we lost again, 5-0. But what gotme hooked rom that point was seeing how

everyone inside ER was singing and showingthe same passion they would i the score linewas reversed. Tere is no doubt that the 8,500travelling ans can show enough o that this time

round, as always.In terms o the team selection, I think Arsene is wise and experienced enough to showus the respect we deserve and eld a decentstarting 11, as Fergie did a year ago, selectingRooney and Berbatov as his strike orce. Wengeris also about to enter the nal year o hiscontract, and a er having not won silverware

or 5 years, will be eeling pressure to eld thebig hitters, and progress in the competition.

We’ll be very lucky to produce a passingmovement that can penetrate their back our,and it will undoubtedly turn into a game o oofall, which our de ence have had a lot o practise as o late. But a er all it was a Jonny Howson punt up eld that ound a quicker thanmost Jermaine Beck ord (RIP) that ended thescummer’s FA Cup run. I think the main ocuswill be to get the ball in the box by any meanspossible, and hope we can get something on theend o it. Luch is the best bet, he will try to ndhimsel in good positions and produce someclassic poaching. Te main weakness is t hatArsenal don’t yet have a world class keeper, orcentre-backs. And whereas the mid eld battlemight be over be ore kicko , a long ball inbehind an inconsistent de ence, and who knows,ecstasy once again in early January? TSB

Wi h Ar nal on h horizon, beN stANLeY wond r whawa h gr a r o a ion, may 8 h or January 3rd?

“s ing F rgi ho ping hrough aul ipa k of Wrigl y’ ex ra gav or a i fa ion han h pro p of

a cha pion hip a on”

JANUARY 8REMEMBERTHE DATE?

22 2010-2011 Season • Issue 5 The Square Ball thesquareball.net 23Magazine • Podcast • Forum