Wicked Deflection

Sky Sports on the Barry non-transfer

2008-11-21T13:32:00.000-05:00

Where do I sign?Enough of the failed Gallas experi...

2008-11-21T13:00:00.000-05:00

Where do I sign?
Enough of the failed Gallas experiment.

I thought Wicked Deflection was founded on the bas...

2008-11-21T10:09:00.000-05:00

I thought Wicked Deflection was founded on the basic principle that unjustified ravings and unfounded claims ultimately hold a pearl of truth. See your comment with respect to an untested high-school-aged lad.

I notice you don't dispute the lofty perch of the midfield trio...

You lost all credibility when you tried to spin ge...

2008-11-21T09:21:00.000-05:00

You lost all credibility when you tried to spin getting booted out of the League Cup as a positive!

Disgraceful.

Wilshere would've torn your first team to shreds.

Let's try not to get too overheated about the Gall...

2008-11-20T16:41:00.000-05:00

Let's try not to get too overheated about the Gallas comments. It's a tough time right now, and Gallas is the symbol for that, and there's no way he should be slagging off anybody, but let's not go overboard slagging off him.

Yo, yo - Mans gotta lay down his marker. Gallas ha...

2008-11-20T14:22:00.000-05:00

Yo, yo - Mans gotta lay down his marker. Gallas had nuff hatin.

Gallas is not able to rally the troop as an effect...

2008-11-20T14:01:00.000-05:00

Gallas is not able to rally the troop as an effective captain should do. He should also know that spouting off in the media exacerbates the situation. He should just shut up, play his best on the pitch, and lead by example.

Here I am rambling again ...

433 - you have gone too far this time. you can no...

2008-11-20T13:08:00.000-05:00

433 - you have gone too far this time. you can not take the captain's call for warriors out of context.

433 has been down on Eboue for years. Now Gallas ...

2008-11-20T11:53:00.000-05:00

433 has been down on Eboue for years. Now Gallas is piling it on...

I guess going down like you've been hit by a sniper rifle and being stretchered off every other start isn't "warrior" style play.

Ramblings from a madman are the best kind of ramblings. That's why I read Wicked Deflection.

Bendtner forgot that he was already introduced to ...

2008-11-17T02:31:00.000-05:00

Bendtner forgot that he was already introduced to his feet. He didn't recognized them. I wonder what was going on in Bendtner's head and in the locker room. Playing like that is not going to keep him at the club for long.

I notice that Diaby came way too deep to collect the ball. Cesc did not play well but he wasn't so bad that Diaby had to do everything himself. By coming deep, Diaby left Bendtner even more stranded than he already was and then when the ball was in the front third, Bendtner was practically running away from it. How bad a game is it when you are dominated by Curtis Davies? The wings kept trying to cross the ball but Bendtner just wasn't there to force the Villa defense to earn their pay for the day.

Denilson had his best game impersonating Flamini. He was disciplined, never strayed too far ahead and broke up the opposition's midfield play well.

Now that Sagna is injured, we'd better hope that Eboue is fit again. Good thing Van Persie is back from suspension for next PL game.

Thanks, kdat. I'm glad I'm not alone about Bendtne...

2008-11-16T15:18:00.000-05:00

Thanks, kdat. I'm glad I'm not alone about Bendtner. He's going to have a hard time getting a game playing like that.

Bendtner got a 4? I think you're being unfair to C...

2008-11-16T00:29:00.000-05:00

Bendtner got a 4? I think you're being unfair to Cygan by giving Bendtner a 4. During the game, I was convinced I couldn't make the team any weaker by replacing bendtner. Time to pull out the much dreaded "like it was 433 out there" rating.

And meanwhile, Harry Redknapp's Spurs looked an aw...

2008-11-15T16:07:00.000-05:00

And meanwhile, Harry Redknapp's Spurs looked an awful lot like Juande Ramos' Spurs today. Hope that the honeymoon is not officially over.

I have the Arsenal.com subscription right now, and...

2008-11-14T19:30:00.000-05:00

I have the Arsenal.com subscription right now, and I'm using it quite a bit. For hard-core supporters, it has a lot of info - interviews, etc.

Kolo Toure sounds like he really, really prefers central defense to right back.

Full back is a brilliant position, and people like Gallas and Kolo slagging it off is madness.

Song did well yesterday but I think Djourou was th...

2008-11-12T12:43:00.000-05:00

Song did well yesterday but I think Djourou was the steadying influence in the back. He cleaned up almost all the mistakes of others in the back; except that handball in the area.

That was such as display of unadulterated football. Those kids were playing with superior skills, with directness and audacity. They handled with aplomb the high-pressure tactic that Wigan employed.

One blog writer says they played with "joyous football" and I whole-heartedly agree with that.

It is clear that Wilshere, Ramsey, and Vela are the stand-outs last night. Gibbs still needs a lot of improvement but he possesses demonic pace which bailed him out numerous times last night. I've really liked Jay Simpson ever since I saw him in pre-season. I think he should be included in the group to watch for. Randall has the work-rate and tenacity of Flamini; I wonder if he'll be given chances in the first team in the next year or two.

I've said before that I think central defense is S...

2008-11-12T11:08:00.000-05:00

I've said before that I think central defense is Song's best position.

433 - it is a long time since you said the right t...

2008-11-12T09:09:00.000-05:00

433 - it is a long time since you said the right thing about Alex Song.

433, do I detect a little sentimentality in your c...

2008-11-10T13:17:00.000-05:00

433, do I detect a little sentimentality in your choice of Arsenal's best XI with the inclusion of Toure? His form hasn't been good lately. The Gallas Toure partnership has hit a really bad patch of form. Maybe Wenger has a plan after the debacle at Stoke City but it looks like Silvestre is getting a run in the team to provide that tall center back that everyone is talking about. Gallas' performance against MU was good enough to keep him in the first XI for now but it's hard to figure out what's going on in Wenger's head.

I really like Denilson, especially with his play last weekend. He is capable of being the first choice for partnering Cesc but he has not been disciplined enough to stay behind and mop up after Cesc in many games. Song has shown that he is also capable, although still quite raw. Those are my choices for the other center mid position.

Diaby is only a stop-gap at that position. He excels at the fulcrum position in a 4-2-3-1 so he should play in that role. He doesn't have the appetite for cleaning up in he back. He'd rather chase and hassle in front of Cesc; and which he did well in both the matches in Istanbul and agaisnt MU. I don't think Diaby's tenure at Arsenal will be long if he continues to be this way - Wenger likes people who are versatile and who can do a good job in any position; a prime example of such a current player is our eminently effervescent Mr. Eboue!

As for the keeper, I think Almunia is good enough. World-class keepers don't come around often. How many of the current keepers can be called world-class and play that way consistently? In Italy, only Buffon; in Spain, only Casillas; in England, only Cech. So to demand a "world-class" keeper is not realistic. Almunia has shown that he can do a very good job; with Fabianski hot on his heel, we are in pretty good shape in that department.

The addition of Wilshere and Ramsey has given us a squad with very good quality up and down. The question now is not whether they are good enough; the real question is whether they or Wenger can get them motivated enough to play to win in every game.

A pulsating game throughout. The referee had his h...

2008-11-09T16:41:00.000-05:00

A pulsating game throughout. The referee had his hands full and made numerous mistakes. Berbatov was in an offside position but he tapped in the rebound so that one should have stood. Nasri was fouled twice by Ferdinand (or as it Vidic) and that should have been a penalty. Arsenal were lucky that Rooney didn't have a good day in front of goal but in general, Arsenal's defense held up well as opposed to MU's nervousness on set piece defense.

It's nice to have this game won but I am concerned that this Arsenal side is reverting to their form in 2005 when they played well against the big four and CL but couldn't get themselves motivated against the "lesser" sides and had to depended on lasagna to remain in the top 4. This has to be sorted out especially now that Wilshere and Ramsey are pushing for places.

You said it all, brother.

2008-11-09T11:17:00.000-05:00

You said it all, brother.

You have a valid point. Arsenal really don't know ...

2008-11-07T14:36:00.000-05:00

You have a valid point. Arsenal really don't know how to defend and they have been playing like they really don't want to defend.

Spuds.

2008-11-07T13:38:00.000-05:00

Spuds.

No way 'Header. Attacking Arsenal.

2008-11-07T13:37:00.000-05:00

No way 'Header. Attacking Arsenal.

Given the serious lack of players due to injuries ...

2008-11-07T13:02:00.000-05:00

Given the serious lack of players due to injuries and stupidity (only in RvP's case), I think Arsenal will be very defensively minded, and necessarily so. Tighten the back, play for a draw and hope to nick a lucky goal; that'd be my plan but I'm not the manager so this is all just air moving.

Not having Adebayor really hurts because he has been consistently a threat whenever we play MU.

Cheeky bastard.

2008-11-06T15:01:00.000-05:00

Cheeky bastard.