stebs Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 c'mon spav. Dont give up on this one i love it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted July 10, 2005 Author Share Posted July 10, 2005 No problems, stebs. I've just been working on my Lincoln story recently, but I will get some updates on this one soon. I'm currently at Manchester United as you know, so that's no place for a Chelsea fan to leave a story hanging, is it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted July 14, 2005 Author Share Posted July 14, 2005 Christmas Day didn’t go too badly, considering what a dysfunctional family I belong to. I arrived just before lunch and had just got as far as taking off my jacket when Dad opened his mouth to say something about the Manchester United shirt that I was wearing underneath. Mum gave him a slap across the top of the arm and reminded him that Christmas was time of joy and celebration and we all needed to make compromises in our lives. Five minutes later I got a similar slap from Mum when I went to say something about Dad and Fulham. My brother arrived late as usual, but I didn’t see him getting a slap from my Mum. No, the apple of her eye could do no wrong – not even when he asked me why I was wearing a Manchester United shirt and was it because my Crystal Palace, Spurs and Bolton jerseys were all in the wash. Anyway, things settled down after we had all eaten and we even had a couple of hours of decent conversation as the afternoon wore on. I would usually have stayed at Mum and Dad’s overnight, but I left instead so that I could go home and prepare for the trip up to Manchester to watch the boys play Charlton on Boxing Day. Sunday 26th December 2004: Manchester United v Charlton – Old Trafford, Manchester Just 3 minutes had gone when Ryan Giggs took an in-swinging corner from the right wing and Hreidarsson climbed all over Christopher Eagles in his attempt to reach the ball. The referee gave us a penalty and I was surprised to see Roy Keane step up to take it. There were no problems though as Keane put his spot-kick directly into the bottom corner of Kiely’s net to give us a 1-0 lead. The next time that we got a corner on the right was in the 10th minute and it was Eagles who took it. He chipped it to the near post where Kleberson flicked a header across the front of the goal and in via the far post to make it 2-0. It only took until the 17th minute for the score to move to 3-0 as Quinton Fortune advanced down the left wing and play a ball inside to Wayne Rooney. The young superstar took the ball with his back to goal, turned past Young and hit an early shot towards the far post. The shot by Rooney caught Kiely flatfooted and he could only watch as it sailed into the top corner of the net from 25 yards. The chances kept coming in the first half as Rooney headed over from Ruud van Nistelrooy’s cross in the 27th minute and then van Nistelrooy himself appeared to have his header handled on the line by Powell in the 35th minute, but another penalty wasn’t forthcoming. As half-time arrived we had a comprehensive 3-0 lead and I was confident that more goals would follow in the second 45 minutes. Alan Smith replaced Eagles and Paul Scholes replaced Kleberson as the second half began. When I saw those two changes I thought that Sir Alex was going for Charlton’s jugular vein and I might get to witness a real goal-feast as a belated Christmas present. Instead thing just seemed to fade out for us. Ryan Giggs went quiet on the left hand side and Scholes never added anything of worth during the half. Van Nistelrooy was anonymous and only Smith looked like he was trying as he saw a lot of the ball on the right hand side. We created only two chances – a weak shot by Smith after 68 minutes and a curling free-kick that was well wide by Rooney after 84 minutes. Still the first 20 minutes were outstanding and I can only recall Charlton having one shot during the whole game and that never troubled Tim Howard. Manchester United 3 Keane 3 (pen), Kleberson 10, Rooney 17 Charlton 0 Manchester United: Howard, Neville.P, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Fortune (Silvestre), Eagles (Smith), Keane, Kleberson (Scholes), Giggs, van Nistelrooy, Rooney. Charlton: Kiely, Young, Fortune, Hreidarsson, Powell, Rommedahl, Murphy, Diao, Hughes (Holland), Lisbie (Euell), Johansson (Perry). My MOM: Quinton Fortune doesn’t always get the recognition that he deserves, but today he was solid in defence, supported the attack well and was the most consistent player on the park. Christmas cheer #1: Charlton’s generous Xmas present of three points in return for little effort. Thanks very much Curbs!! Christmas cheer #2: Finding out that my smart-arse brother got food poisoning from dodgy piece of stale Christmas pudding. Good one Mum!! Next up: Birmingham v Manchester United – St Andrews, Birmingham Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted July 15, 2005 Author Share Posted July 15, 2005 As the end of the year looms I have been looking back at my actions over the past five months and I must admit that they have been shameful. How I couldn’t have seen that United were obviously the best team in the Premier League, I don’t know. Our revival is gathering pace now and I can’t see Birmingham denying Manchester United another three points in our next game. Not only are we playing some great football which is pleasing to watch – we are also showing the world that the Manchester United club is still a proud and feared footballing entity and fully deserving of the praise and respect it engenders. Tuesday 28th December 2004: Birmingham v Manchester United – St Andrews, Birmingham It was a very slow start by United and Birmingham took up the running as a result. It looked like Fergie was playing his 4-4-1-1 formation with Wayne Rooney in behind Ruud van Nistelrooy, but we still weren’t getting any impetus out of the midfield. Izzet had a couple of shots which Tim Howard dealt with quite easily, but in the 22nd minute we fell a goal behind. Upson took a free-kick from defence and Johnson outjumped Quinton Fortune on our left side to head the ball into the centre. Gabriel Heinze had completely lost Heskey and the big striker controlled the pass before driving a low shot past Howard from 12 yards to make it 1-0 to Birmingham. Johnson headed just over from Gronkjaer’s corner as we continued to struggle. I couldn’t see why Roy Keane was on the bench and Kleberson was playing. We needed Keano out there. Eventually we got some attacking going after half an hour and that culminated in Rio Ferdinand heading a bullet-like effort at the Birmingham goal, only to see Taylor brilliantly tip it over. From the resulting corner Cunningham headed clear and Phil Neville picked up the clearance. However before he could cross the ball back in, he was tackled and dispossessed by Upson. A quick long pass sent Heskey charging away and he rounded Howard to make it 2-0 to the Blues after 41 minutes. We’d been hit by a classic counterattack. As half-time loomed things had been decidedly poor by United and I was worried for our prospects in the second half. Well into injury-time Ryan Giggs took a corner and Ferdinand leapt high to put his header past Taylor and pull the score back to 2-1. That made me feel better. As I had hoped for, Keane came on for Kleberson at the break. We immediately looked a better team and the chances started to flow. Rooney crossed for van Nistelrooy to connect with a diving header after 52 minutes, but Taylor pulled off another great save. Just a minute later and Ruud’s turn and pass put Cristiano Ronaldo in the clear, but with just Taylor to beat he dragged his shot wide. We were definitely the better team now, but the final ball was just letting us down. Finally Fortune sent Giggs sprinting down the left and we had four on two in the middle waiting for the cross. Giggs picked out Rooney and he volleyed sweetly from 12 yards, but Taylor refused to be beaten and dived to his right to push it away. There was a slight interruption as Forssell had the ball in our net after 71 minutes, but he was correctly ruled out for offside. The final chance for an equaliser came in the 88th minute when Ruud sent Rooney running through the middle. The youngster got past Taylor and was about to tuck the ball away when Cunningham came in with a lunging tackle to force the ball away for a corner. That was the last throw of the dice I’m afraid and Birmingham had got themselves a 2-1 victory. I stayed on with the Birmingham faithful to celebrate our win over Manchester United. We sang and chanted with great enjoyment because it’s always one of the season’s highlights to put those glory-hunters and their team back in their box where they deserve to be. Christmas and the festive season has been tough on my wallet, so unfortunately I wasn’t able to go to the club-shop and pick up a Birmingham jersey to wear to our matches in the New Year. That isn’t too much of a problem really – the main thing for us hard-core Brummie fans is to be true to the club and follow the team with all our passion and enthusiasm. The ability to wear that blue shirt is just a bonus. Birmingham 2 Heskey 22, 41 Manchester United 1 Ferdinand 45 Birmingham: Maik Taylor, Melchiot, Cunningham, Upson, Clapham, Johnson (Dunn), Izzet, Carter, Gronkjaer, Heskey (Till), Yorke (Forssell). Manchester United: Howard, Neville.P (Neville.G), Ferdinand, Heinze, Fortune, Cristiano Ronaldo (Smith), Scholes, Kleberson (Keane), Giggs, van Nistelrooy, Rooney. My MOM: Maik Taylor kept the red hordes at bay with the some breathtaking saves and won the three points for us. Don’t you love it #1: When your victory keeps Manchester United firmly embedded in mid-table. Suffer, you has-beens!! Don’t you love it #2: When the same victory keeps you higher on the table than Aston Villa. Suffer, you scum!! Next up: Charlton v Birmingham – The Valley, London Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted July 15, 2005 Author Share Posted July 15, 2005 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Premier League - 31st December 2004: |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |1st | Chelsea | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 43 | 11 | +32 | 50 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |2nd | Arsenal | 21 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 42 | 18 | +24 | 46 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |3rd | Liverpool | 20 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 35 | 12 | +23 | 44 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |4th | Newcastle | 21 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 40 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |5th | Southampton | 21 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 36 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |6th | Fulham | 21 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 35 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |7th | Man Utd | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 37 | 27 | +10 | 32 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |8th | Bolton | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 24 | +5 | 32 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |9th | Tottenham | 21 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 31 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |10th | Birmingham | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 27 | 25 | +2 | 30 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |11th | Aston Villa | 21 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 29 | 26 | +3 | 28 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |12th | Portsmouth | 21 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 28 | 38 | -10 | 23 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |13th | Charlton | 21 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 21 | 35 | -14 | 23 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |14th | Blackburn | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 30 | 31 | -1 | 22 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |15th | West Brom | 21 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 25 | -10 | 22 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |16th | Norwich | 21 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 29 | -15 | 16 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |17th | Everton | 21 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 28 | 48 | -20 | 16 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |18th | Crystal Palace | 21 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 19 | 39 | -20 | 15 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |19th | Man City | 21 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 16 | 37 | -21 | 15 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |20th | Middlesbrough | 20 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 41 | -21 | 13 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
haze.13 Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 KUTGSupporting Spav Great read mate keep it coming. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian of Nazareth Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 come on Charlton! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Come on you Addicks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 Thanks guys. Here's some good news for you Charlton supporters. ================================================ I love the start of a new year. You can have a clean slate and wash away all those things that you cocked up the year before. And looking back over 2004 there were a lot of things that I wanted to put behind me. The failure of my relationship with Karen was one of the biggest issues that I could now consign to the past. It was a pity too, as things had been great until her inflexibleness over something as simple as which football team we supported had got in the way of our budding romance. I also remembered that I needed to make further allowances for my family. My bother was a total smart-alec, but I let him get under my skin far too easily. Dad was just Dad – he was a product of another generation and they had made their name with their stubbornness throughout World War II – and he was never going to change. Yes, that was the biggest change that I was going to make in 2005 – I wasn’t going to let people get to me as easily as they had before. They couldn’t help their faults, so why should I worry about what were basically character flaws on their behalf. Saturday 1st January 2005: Charlton v Birmingham – The Valley, London Several of the team were unable to back up from last Tuesday’s win over Manchester United, including our two-goal hero Emile Heskey. Jesper Gronkjaer had switched to the right wing and Stan Lazaridis took up his usual place on the left wing. Those two players gave us some good attacking moments early on, but Charlton slowly started to get on top. Thomas had already fired a shot into the side-netting after 14 minutes as the Addicks came back into the game. In the 18th minute after some concerted pressure Young released Rommedahl down their right. Although Martin Taylor got a tackle in, the ball failed to clear into touch and Rommedahl collected it again. As players lined up in the middle the Dane crossed to the far post where Thomas headed past Maik Taylor to put Charlton 1-0 up. Our response was good though and we created a couple of chances with the clearest falling to Mikael Forssell as he ran onto Darren Carter’s pass and fired in a low shot which Kiely turned away well. A slick free-kick routine undid our defence for a second time in the 30th minute when Hreidarsson playing a short ball to Johansson who laid it off for Thomas. The winger then crossed towards the near post where Lisbie nipped in front of Matthew Upson to head past Maik Taylor and make it 2-0. Worse was to shortly follow when Hreidarsson took a long throw in the 37th minute and found Lisbie well inside the penalty area. A quick turn fooled Kenny Cunningham and left Lisbie free to drive the ball across the six-yard box where Rommedahl dashed in to sidefoot it home and make the score 3-0 to Charlton. We had the last chance of the first half though when Carter bundled a loose ball goalwards following a Lazaridis corner, but Kiely managed to push it away and Fortune finished off the clearance. Throughout the second half we just couldn’t seem to get our attacking abilities together at all. Time and again forward passes failed to reach their intended targets or crosses were thrown into the box to where Fortune and Perry had no trouble in clearing them. Only the wild shooting of Lisbie meant that we didn’t concede another goal or two. It got so bad that even Charlton substitute Bartlett was looking dangerous and only a quality save from Maik Taylor denied the South African a goal in the 79th minute. We finally got something to cheer about in the 83rd minute when Damian Johnson fired in a 20-yarder that forced Kiely into a full-length diving save. In injury-time Lisbie rocketed another shot goalwards from a Hughes corner, but Maik Taylor was equal to the task and he tipped the ball over. It was a pity that the rest of the Birmingham team weren’t following our keeper’s example though. In the end it turned out to be a comfortable 3-0 win to Charlton. It was great fun sending those Birmingham supporters back home with their tails between their legs after our great 3-0 win. I never did like those Brummie buggers and that horrible accent of theirs. London was the real place for football, that’s for sure, and Charlton were one of the cities up-and-coming teams. It gave me real pride to think of how our boys had consolidated themselves in the Premier League over the past few years. It now looked like we were ready to take the next step up. Charlton 3 Thomas18, Lisbie 30, Rommedahl 37 Birmingham 0 Charlton: Kiely, Young, Fortune, Perry (Bartlett), Hreidarsson, Rommedahl, Murphy, Holland, Thomas (Hughes), Lisbie, Johansson (Powell). Birmingham: Maik Taylor, Melchiot, Cunningham, Upson, Martin Taylor (Traore), Gronkjaer (Johnson), Dunn (Izzet), Carter, Lazaridis, Forssell, Morrison. My MOM: Kevin Lisbie was an absolute handful for the Birmingham defence all afternoon. It he was a little more accurate with his shooting, he could have had five goals. New acquisition: I just love my new “Herman The Hero†t-shirt with the big Icelandic defender on the front. Cool!! New year: 2005 looks like being the Addicks year judging by that great start. Keep it up Curbs and the lads!! Next up: Chelsea v Charlton – Stamford Bridge, London Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stebs Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 good going spav. i think that maybe charlton could be a bit of a one hit wonder with stamford bridge coming up but we'll see. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
haze.13 Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 Looks like you'll be staying in London at least! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted July 29, 2005 Author Share Posted July 29, 2005 stebs & haze.13 - I think we can see the writing on the wall as far as Charlton is concerned. ================================================ Now I’m not sure if there is such a thing as a true one-eyed supporter. Certainly unless you are a supporter of one of your league’s truly almost-invincible teams, then you must look at some matches with the possibility that you may be beaten lodged somewhere in the back of your mind. Such was my state of mind as I looked at Charlton’s next match away to Chelsea. For someone like me who truly values the merits of their team being unbeaten, to look at Chelsea so far this season was to gaze at near-perfection. The Blues had registered 21 games in a row unbeaten from the start of the season back in August 2004. However to me that also made them vulnerable. Long sequences of results and record runs are made to be broken eventually. Chelsea would lose sooner or later and there was no reason why it shouldn’t be on Monday when Charlton were the visitors. Actually the more I think about it, the more I feel convinced that we could indeed produce one of the shocks of the season at Stamford Bridge. Monday 3rd January 2005: Chelsea v Charlton – Stamford Bridge, London There was a swagger to the way that Chelsea started and it had me worried. When Terry headed away Chris Perry’s long pass in the 7th minute, it was Luque who picked up the ball and he simply sprinted past Luke Young. A one-two with Robben saw Luque advance further still and a low cross to the edge of the box found Cole unmarked. With time to pick his spot Cole took a steadying touch before hammering a low shot past Kiely for a 1-0 lead. Chelsea’s left side was slaughtering us and Bridge and Luque combined in the 13th minute to free the Spaniard who crossed to the near post where Ballack stole in to head home the Blues second goal. In the 17th minute another Luque cross flashed into the box, but this time Ballack headed inches over the cross bar. We had a few feeble attempts to start some attacks, but Chelsea’s defence shut us down each time. When the 22nd minute arrived, the Luque/Robben partnership split us open again and Luque’s cross to the far post was headed home by the rampaging Ballack to make it 3-0. A thumping shot by Tiago went safely into the midriff of Kiely after 28 minutes and Robben hit a shot into the side-netting after 34 minutes as Chelsea maintained their grip on the match. When half-time thankfully arrived we were still 3-0 down and hadn’t managed a single shot for the entire first period. As the second half progressed it seemed that defensively we were getting a little bit better. Young was containing Luque on their left wing and Ballack didn’t seem to be getting forward quite as much. We still weren’t making any headway in attack though. Chelsea seemed to have lost their way a bit, so Mourinho bought on Duff for Luque and that sparked them up again. Duff crossed for Ballack to head inches wide as he searched for his hat-trick. As we headed into the final five minutes I reflected that things could have been a lot worse based on what had occurred in the first half hour. 87 minutes had passed when Chelsea’s left wing play broke through again. Bridge and Duff did the lead-up work and substitute Kezman found his fellow replacement Drogba with a far post cross which the big striker powerfully headed home for 4-0. Shortly afterwards the fourth official indicated that we had three minutes of injury-time to endure. Ballack was still looking for his hat-trick and he worked his way to the edge of the box before letting fly with a low shot that Kiely did well to push around the post. Duff took the resulting corner and curled it firmly towards the near post where Gallas leapt high to send a bullet-like header flashing past Kiely to make the final score 5-0 to Chelsea. I had been annoyed that I’d had to take a ticket in with the Charlton supporters for this match, but that’s how difficult it is for a Chelsea fan to get tickets to see their team now that we are so popular. It hadn’t been too hard to stomach my surroundings anyway – we were on top all of the day and the Charlton fans had little to sing or cheer about. By midway through the second half they were making their way out of the stadium anyway as they’d seen enough. By the time Gallas was heading in the fifth, the section that I was in was almost half-empty. After that I was able to sit back and calmly bask in the glory of our 5-0 demolition of the Addicks. Premier League title – here we come. Chelsea 5 Cole 7, Ballack 13, 22, Drogba 87, Gallas 90 Charlton 0 Chelsea: Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Gallas, Terry, Bridge, Ballack, Tiago, Cole (Drogba), Robben, Luque (Duff), Gudjohnsen (Kezman). Charlton: Kiely, Young, Perry, Hreidarsson, Powell, Rommedahl, Murphy, Holland, Thomas (Hughes), Lisbie (Diao), Johansson (Bartlett). My MOM: Michael Ballack was a titan in the centre of midfield today and he is the only man who can be compared to the brilliant Frank Lampard. Unbeatable fact #1: That’s 22 games unbeaten from the start of the season. Arsenal’s record will soon be ours!! Unbeatable fact #2: You can’t beat Stamford Bridge for watching quality English football with a 'continental' flavour. Class!! Next up: Birmingham v Chelsea – St Andrews, Birmingham Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
uskopite Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 *coughstevengerrardcough* Yeah, that Frank Lampard is good *coughstevengerrardcough* Really have enjoyed this story! I keep cheering for the opposition, but you tell a good tale. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted July 30, 2005 Author Share Posted July 30, 2005 Your words have merit uskopite, but I'm always true to my team (whoever they are this week!! ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footy4ever Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 how many teams you went through now? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted July 31, 2005 Author Share Posted July 31, 2005 Crystal Palace - 5 games unbeaten Tottenham - 7 games unbeaten Bolton - 4 games unbeaten Manchester United - 3 games unbeaten Birmingham - 1 game unbeaten Charlton - 1 game unbeaten Chelsea - 1 game unbeaten (currently) So that makes 7 teams altogether. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
haze.13 Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 You'll never take away those great palace memories in the dawn of the season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted August 4, 2005 Author Share Posted August 4, 2005 With a weekend off for the FA Cup I had a few extra days to contemplate where I was at with this whole “unbeaten run†thing. I couldn’t deny that things didn’t look good from an aspect of club loyalty. Let’s not be ostriches and bury our heads in the sand here – I had shamelessly moved on from Crystal Palace to Tottenham, then to Bolton and Manchester United, followed by Birmingham and Charlton and now finally to Chelsea. Why had I done that? After much thought I realised that there was only one conclusion. I was on a journey of discovery and it had finally bought me to enlightenment. Here I was now, a Chelsea supporter, with the team unbeaten after 22 rounds of the Premier League season. It was the perfect situation for someone like me who was looking to support a team that would never register a defeat. Chelsea was far and away the superior team of the Premier League this season and even the most sceptical members of the media had already been convinced that they were watching this season’s eventual champions. No, there were no more questions about it. Chelsea was the team for me and I knew now that I had nothing more to fear when it came to wandering on to “the next best thingâ€. I had found my destination at Stamford Bridge. Saturday 15th January 2005: Birmingham v Chelsea – St Andrews, Birmingham To be honest, it didn’t look like the strongest side that Chelsea could put out on the park, but Jose Mourinho knows what he is doing. Adrian Mutu was playing as the right-hand side attacking midfielder in Chelsea’s 4-3-2-1 formation and he had the first chance after 5 minutes when Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard combined to set him free on the right. Mutu drove a low shot towards Taylor’s right, but the Birmingham keeper managed to parry it and Upson hacked the loose ball clear. The clearance found Gray who advanced down the left and passed the ball inside to Heskey. The big lad drilled in a shot from 20 yards which Peter Cech safely held to his midriff. A couple of minutes later and Heskey was outjumping John Terry to send a header inches over the cross bar. In the 11th minute a poor Cech kick gave possession to Upson and he quickly fed Dunn who in turn slipped a pass into the feet of Heskey just on the edge of the penalty area. A quick turn bemused Terry and gave Heskey room to send a low shot skidding into the corner of the net to put Birmingham 1-0 up. I wasn’t too worried – Chelsea would turn this situation around without too much effort. It was Birmingham we were playing, after all. Robert Huth came up for a corner in the 20th minute and he met Mutu’s kick with a powerful header which Taylor did well to turn away for another corner. Birmingham responded with another effort in the 28th minute as Dunn’s back-header from a Gray free-kick forced Cech to claw the ball out from under his own cross bar. Ballack was roaming at will around the midfield and forward line and he popped up on the left wing in the 37th minute to dribble past Melchiot and send over a teasing cross which Mutu wastefully headed a foot wide when he was unmarked. When half-time arrived Birmingham were resolutely holding onto their 1-0 lead. At half-time it looked like Birmingham manager Steve Bruce was already planning to hold onto this lead until the end as he replaced the winger Gray with the defensive midfielder Savage. After 54 minutes Arjen Robben floated over a lovely cross for Lampard to head goalwards, but Cunningham cleared the ball off the line when Taylor was beaten. A Birmingham counterattack after 58 minutes saw Gronkjaer break free on their left and when Huth could only half-clear his cross, Savage drove in a fierce shot which Heskey diverted with his shin. Cech somehow managed to change direction and parry the shot with an outstretched arm. Birmingham were slowly pulling further back in defence and even Yorke was generally found in the midfield as they tried to hold onto their lead. Ballack and Dunn traded shots that were easily dealt with by the opposing keepers, but Birmingham were continuing to frustrate our attacking efforts. With 75 minutes gone, Mourinho sent on Felipe Oliveira for Huth as we changed to a more attacking formation. It didn’t make much difference though as the team just couldn’t break through Birmingham’s resolute defence. I was desperately praying that the lads could create something in those final few minutes, but it wasn’t to be. Birmingham had beaten us 1-0 and the unbeaten run from the start of the season had been ended at 22 games. I was in a daze at the end of the match. I really wasn’t sure what I was feeling. Part of me felt despair at seeing the end of Chelsea’s unbeaten run and part of me felt joy at watching Birmingham pick up a win against the odds. I sat in my seat at St Andrews for a long time contemplating what to do. When I stumbled out of the stadium 20 minutes later I was still no closer to a decision. Much later, on the train back to London, I arrived at a decision. I realised that I had no time for losers. I knew what was up next – Birmingham’s trip to Arsenal in two week’s time. Birmingham 1 Heskey 11 Chelsea 0 Birmingham: Maik Taylor, Melchiot, Cunningham, Upson, Clapham, Gronkjaer, Dunn, Izzet (Carter), Gray (Savage), Heskey (Till), Yorke. Chelsea: Cech, Paulo Ferreira (Johnson), Huth (Oliveira), Terry, Babayaro, Lampard, Ballack, Tiago (Makelele), Mutu, Robben, Luque. My MOM: Emile Heskey is constantly criticised by the media and supporters of other clubs, but when he performs like he did today you can see why he is a regular England international. High-point #1: Ending the 22-game unbeaten run of those cocky Londoners. Magic!! High-point #2: Just for good measure I’ll state it again - ending the 22-game unbeaten run of those cocky Londoners. Double magic!! Next up: Arsenal v Birmingham – Highbury, London Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
attjen Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 ooh... That last game seems like you cursed them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
haze.13 Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 ha... classic! The one game run extends to three clubs. I'm guessing you might push it to four after the next fixture. Heres's hoping i'm wrong though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted August 5, 2005 Author Share Posted August 5, 2005 attjen and haze.13(years old) - I think I got a bit carried away when I saw saw that big fat zero in the Chelsea loss column on the EPL table. What will I do now? ================================================ I’d had a couple of weeks to muse over this latest turn of events. I had been so certain that Chelsea was the team for me, but they had spurned my loyalty by losing to Birmingham in such a poor way. What I couldn’t get out of my mind though was that intoxicating feeling of supporting such a big club and one who were sitting at the top of the Premier League as well. I was now in a bit of a quandary – my head was saying that Birmingham was the way to go, but my heart was looking for something more. The closer that I get to Saturday’s match at Highbury, the more I am secretly hoping that Birmingham might lose and that I will be able to follow Arsenal afterwards. The whole thing is very disconcerting. For some reason I am now looking to the future instead of the present. Saturday 29th January 2005: Arsenal v Birmingham – Highbury, London As usual at Highbury when you played Arsenal, the home side immediately slipped into a short passing, high possession game with the ball spending a lot of time on either wing. Cole overlapped in the 4th minute to create their first chance when he sent in a cross which Henry headed a foot wide. When the ball found itself in the centre of the pitch possession was more disputed, but Vieira or Gilberto would win it and send it wide again. This happened in the 8th minute when Gilberto stepped in to rob David Dunn and spear a pass out to Reyes on the left wing. He advanced and swept a cross-pitch pass to Pires on the right wing. The Frenchman had time to run to the bye-line before pulling the ball back for Henry to sidefoot it home from 8 yards to make it 1-0 to Arsenal. Reyes created the next chance within a minute of the restart as he sent another fine cross in from the left, this time finding Aliadiere who tried an audacious half-volley from 18 yards which sent Maik Taylor scrambling to his right to shovel the ball away for a corner. We’d had limited possession, so when the ball reached Forssell in the 17th minute and he found himself 25 yards from goal, he decided to unleash a shot while he had the chance. Lehmann was completely unprepared and the ball tore past him before crashing against the cross bar and rebounding to safety. Arsenal came back at us and Vieira and Henry both had headers which Taylor needed to be smart to catch. In the 29th minute Pires appeared on the left wing where he tricked Melchiot before sending a cross to the right where Aliardiere was unmarked as he volleyed home from 12 yards to make it 2-0. Upson curled a free-kick just a few inches wide in the 35th minute as we searched for a way back into the game. In the 40th minute Pires replied with an Arsenal free-kick which clipped Kenny Cunningham on the end of the wall and sent Taylor scurrying the other way to bundle it away for corner. Pires took that as well and found Campbell whose header was blocked by the body of Cunningham. Gilberto drove the loose ball goalwards, Taylor dived well to block it and Henry was on hand to crash home the rebound from close range to put Arsenal 3-0 up. At half-time things didn’t look good for us with the Gunners holding a three-goal lead. The Arsenal youngsters Aliadiere and Senderos must both have had minor injuries because they did not reappear for the second half with Bergkamp and Clichy coming out instead. It was Bergkamp who had the first chance as he sent one of his famous curling efforts into the side netting in the 47th minute. Henry and Vieira continued the pressure with shots that went wide of our goal. Things were not looking good for a comeback as we continually failed to put together any serious attacking moves. After 70 minutes Clapham headed another Bergkamp corner off the line to give Arsenal a corner. This began a period of sustained Arsenal pressure where we just couldn’t hardly get the ball, let alone create any sort of offensive pressure. After several crosses were partly cleared and several half-chances were blocked, the ball was spread out to Pires on the left in the 73rd minute. A quick step-over fooled Savage and Pires crossed to the near post where Vieira surged forward to head past Taylor and put Arsenal 4-0 in front. That was the game over as far as I was concerned. There was still time for an unmarked Vieira to scuff his shot wide from 6 yards out and fall to his knees holding his head in frustration, but it didn’t really make a lot of difference. When the final whistle went, Arsenal had carved out a quality 4-0 win and Birmingham had been resoundingly beaten. To be honest it was a relief to be rid of the Birmingham period of my life. I’d come to Highbury today with the idea in the back of my mind that Arsenal would win and I had been proved right. It was all very well to be a supporter of one of the Premier League’s middle-tier clubs, but what I really craved was life at the top with one of England’s biggest clubs. I was pleased that I hadn’t splashed out any of my hard-earned cash on some Birmingham gear. I now had enough money to head down to the Arsenal supporter’s shop and get myself the latest shirt. I didn’t even bother taking it off after I had tried it on in the dressing-room. There was no need to as I was going to proudly wear it home on the tube so that everyone knew I was a lucky Gunners fan. Arsenal 4 Henry 8, 40, Aliadiere 29, Vieira 73 Birmingham 0 Arsenal: Lehmann, Hoyte, Campbell, Senderos (Clichy), Cole, Pires, Gilberto (Ljungberg), Vieira, Reyes, Henry, Aliadiere (Bergkamp). Birmingham: Maik Taylor, Melchiot, Cunningham, Upson, Clapham, Gronkjaer (Jagielka), Dunn, Carter, Gray, Heskey (Savage), Forssell (Yorke). My MOM: Robert Pires produced a sublime performance on both wings and was the architect of all four of our goals. He was basically untouchable today. Good news for the present: Pires, Henry, and Vieira all still have their magic and their desire for more Premier League titles. Magnifique!! Good news for the future: Aliadiere, Senderos, Clichy and Hoyte are quality youngsters who will be Arsenal’s future. Looking good Arsene!! Next up: Chelsea v Arsenal – Stamford Bridge, London Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted August 5, 2005 Author Share Posted August 5, 2005 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Premier League - 31st January 2005: |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |1st | Chelsea | 25 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 55 | 12 | +43 | 62 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |2nd | Liverpool | 24 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 42 | 13 | +29 | 54 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |3rd | Arsenal | 25 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 49 | 21 | +28 | 53 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |4th | Newcastle | 25 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 32 | 19 | +13 | 47 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |5th | Fulham | 25 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 45 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |6th | Tottenham | 25 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 43 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |7th | Southampton | 25 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 40 | 32 | +8 | 39 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |8th | Bolton | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 34 | 27 | +7 | 39 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |9th | Man Utd | 25 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 42 | 32 | +10 | 38 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |10th | Aston Villa | 25 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 38 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |11th | Birmingham | 25 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 31 | 32 | -1 | 36 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |12th | Charlton | 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 26 | 41 | -15 | 30 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |13th | Portsmouth | 25 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 30 | 42 | -12 | 25 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |14th | Blackburn | 25 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 32 | 38 | -6 | 23 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |15th | West Brom | 25 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 33 | -18 | 22 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |16th | Everton | 25 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 31 | 53 | -22 | 20 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |17th | Norwich | 25 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 16 | 35 | -19 | 19 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |18th | Middlesbrough | 25 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 24 | 50 | -26 | 19 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |19th | Crystal Palace | 25 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 23 | 45 | -22 | 18 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |20th | Man City | 25 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 16 | 41 | -25 | 16 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted August 12, 2005 Author Share Posted August 12, 2005 I couldn’t help myself. I just had to call my brother, even though I knew he would take the **** out of me like he always did. But with Arsenal playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night and tickets being at a premium, there was no more definite way that I could get hold of one. After a few pleasantries (which are quite difficult when you’re talking to my cocky little brother) I manoeuvred the conversation around the mid-week football. Right then, where are you off to? he asked. Norwich maybe, or perhaps Middlesbrough or Newcastle? I bit my tongue to stop myself rising to his bait and then just answered his question matter-of-factly. I want to go to the Bridge to see Arsenal play Chelsea. Any chance that you know of a spare ticket floating around? I could just imagine his face breaking into a smile on the other end of the phone. Oh, they’re scarce, but I might be able to rustle up one. What’s in it for me? he asked. Well, I’ll pay you for it, what else do you want? I replied. Mmm, let me think about that one, he said. Let me make a couple of calls and I’ll get back to you. The little sod kept me waiting until the morning until the morning of the match before he rung me at work. He told me he had a ticket for me and all that I had to do was make sure that I wore my Arsenal shirt to the game. Well, that was easy as I was planning to do that anyway. I was to meet him at the Fulham Broadway tube station at 7 o’clock. What was he up to? Wednesday 2nd February 2005: Chelsea v Arsenal – Stamford Bridge, London Arsenal’s fast start stunned Chelsea and pinned them back in their own half. Reyes had the first chance after 4 minutes when Babayaro played on onside on the far side of the pitch. He cut in from the left and hit a low shot from 12 yards, but Cech spread himself well to force it away. Babayaro already looked to be the weak link in the Chelsea defence and Henry exploited that after 9 minutes by twice dribbling past him before sending a cross into the near post. Gilberto had lost his marker and he had time to bring the ball down before lashing it past Cech to make it 1-0 to Arsenal. A quick free-kick by Pires gave Reyes another chance in the 18th minute, but from an acute angle he could only find Cech’s legs with the shot and the ball spun away to safety. It took until the 23rd minute for Chelsea to fashion their first chance. Mutu got some room on the right to whip in a cross and Ballack met it at the near post and flicked it on with his head. Drogba was at the far post and he launched himself at the ball with a diving header, but Lehmann was able to get his hands up and parry it away. Campbell scrambled it away and Gilberto played a good pass out to Reyes on the right. A counterattack was on and Reyes stormed forward with Henry and Pires in support. Reyes waited until he could draw Terry out of position before releasing Henry and the Frenchman ran in on Cech. He had just gone around the Chelsea keeper when Paulo Ferreira lunged in from his blind side to knock the ball away for a corner. For the remainder of the first half, Arsenal held sway and Chelsea were doing the bulk of the defending. There were half-chances for Vieira and Reyes, but a second goal didn’t really look like eventuating. As injury-time began, Chelsea put together an attack down their left which saw Robben put Duff into some room. He forced his way past Hoyte and made it to the bye-line. A perfectly-placed chip to the far post and there was Lampard stealing in to nod the ball back across Lehmann and into the top corner to make it 1-1. Arsenal had dominated possession in the first half, but the second half was much more equal. Chelsea’s goal right on the break had hauled them level and they came out revitalised after the break. Mourinho took off Babayaro after 58 minutes and bought on Gallas which closed down that chink in Chelsea’s armour. To be honest, there was nothing of note in front of goal for either side until the 74th minute when Duff managed to break down the left and send a firm cross curling over towards the far post. He would probably preferred Drogba or Ballack to be the player arriving to meet the ball, but it was Robben. The Dutchman is not renowned for his heading and he showed why as he got underneath the ball and sent into looping into the crowd behind the Arsenal goal. Arsenal’s best chance of the half came as late as the 88th minute when substitutes Edu and Aliadiere combined to set the Brazilian free on the left. As Edu made ground down the wing, Aliadiere raced towards the near post and he arrived just in time to meet the cross with a flicked header which skimmed the top of the cross bar. In the end the 1-1 draw was probably more of a bonus to Chelsea than Arsenal, but overall it still keeps the Gunners in touch with the Blues at the top of the Premier League table. Chelsea 1 Lampard 45 Arsenal 1 Gilberto 9 Chelsea: Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Babayaro (Gallas), Lampard (Cole), Ballack, Robben, Mutu, Duff, Drogba (Parker). Arsenal: Lehmann, Hoyte, Toure, Campbell, Cole, Pires, Gilberto (Edu), Vieira, Ljungberg, Henry (Aliadiere), Reyes (Bergkamp). My MOM: Jose Antonio Reyes gets my vote, but nobody really stood out tonight. What my brother made me do: Wear my Arsenal shirt in the middle of a block of Chelsea supporters, mainly him and his mates. Bloody ****-takers!! What I did in response: Took it all in my stride and showed dignity under extreme provocation. C’mon, there were twenty of the bastards!! Next up: Arsenal v West Brom – Highbury, London Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stebs Posted August 19, 2005 Share Posted August 19, 2005 still going strong Spav. This is my favourite story by a mile. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted August 20, 2005 Author Share Posted August 20, 2005 Thanks for your ongoing support stebs. Here's the next match for you. ================================================ Being an Arsenal fan meant that I didn’t have to worry about games against the likes of West Brom. There is no way that they are anywhere near the standard of the Gunners and we will blow them away with little fuss on Saturday. And I should know what I’m talking about – I’ve seen the Baggies four times already this season and they have not impressed me the slightest on any of those occasions. With Chelsea not playing this weekend, we’ve got the chance to eat into their nine point lead and put a bit of pressure on them at the top of the table. We may be second at the moment, but there is nothing else but getting into first place on the minds of myself and my fellow Arsenal supporters. Saturday 5th February 2005: Arsenal v West Brom – Highbury, London Henry showed that he was keen to get proceedings started when he fired in a swerving 35 yard effort that Johnsen had to batter away after just 40 seconds. Skipper Vieira was ranging forward to add his support to the ever-increasing Arsenal attacks and twice he headed into the side netting after 12 and 17 minutes. Despite an almost complete dominance of the midfield, Arsenal just couldn’t convert their final passes into goal attempts. It took until the 34th minute for the Gunners to break the deadlock. Cole and Reyes combined to release Aliadiere on the left and the young striker produced a fine bit of trickery to beat Gaardsoe and swing a left-footed cross into the box. Henry met it with a firm header, but the ball struck the post. The rebound fell to Pires on the right of the six yard box and he squared it into the middle for Reyes to sweep the ball home from 8 yards range. Before Arsenal could capitalise on their 1-0 lead, injury caused them to make two unforced changes. Gilberto injured his shoulder and was replaced by Pennant and then scorer Reyes had to leave the field with an ankle injury as he was substituted by van Persie. The second half had not been long underway when Aliadiere appeared to tweak his left hamstring and he was replaced by Bergkamp as a precautionary measure. Arene Wenger had now been forced to use all his substitutions and there was still nearly 40 minutes to go. No sooner had Bergkamp settled in than his striking partner Henry sent a scare through Highbury when he failed to get up after falling to the ground following a heading duel with Albrechtsen. Eventually he left the field with a brace around his neck and Arsenal was now down to ten men. A more defensively-minded Arsenal still managed to hold West Brom at bay. Cole was getting through a mountain of work on the left side, acting as both a full-back and winger so that van Persie could offer more support to Bergkamp up front. This was perfectly demonstrated in the 71st minute when Vieira burst forward from midfield and threaded a through-ball towards the left side of the attack. Cole ran onto the pass and collected the ball before rounding Johnsen and rolling the ball into the empty net to make it 2-0 to Arsenal. After 78 minutes Dobie broke the Arsenal offside trap and headed towards Lehmann in the Gunners net, but Cole produced a lung-bursting sprint to get back and hook the ball away just as Dobie was about to shoot. In the end, despite a one man advantage for almost 35 minutes, West Brom were unable to break down the Arsenal defence and they demonstrated why they are widely tipped to suffer relegation at the end of this season. Arsenal 2 Reyes 34, Cole 71 West Brom 0 Arsenal: Lehmann, Hoyte, Campbell, Senderos, Cole, Pires, Gilberto (Pennant), Vieira, Reyes (van Persie), Henry, Aliadiere (Bergkamp). West Brom: Johnsen, Haas, Gaardsoe, Sigurdsson, Albrechtsen, Clement, O’Connor (Johnson), Farinos, Greening (Scimeca), Zalayeta (Dobie), Earnshaw. My MOM: Ashley Cole owned the left-hand side of the pitch, both in defence and attack, and was the dominant figure of the match. West Brom fact #1: No matter how many times I see the Baggies, they are yet to convince me that they’re not the poorest team in the Premier League. Useless!! West Brom fact #2: Gary Megson has run out of ideas and the axe must surely be hovering over his neck. Start packing Gary!! Next up: Arsenal v Everton – Highbury, London Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeWillAlwaysBeALight Posted August 20, 2005 Share Posted August 20, 2005 This is great Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stebs Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 I think Arsenal will be your longest run of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
attjen Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I expect he's cursed to be an Arsenal fan, as his team will probably go on to finish 2nd, far behind his brother's Chelsea... salt in the wound... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted August 22, 2005 Author Share Posted August 22, 2005 Latest statistics: Crystal Palace - 5 games unbeaten Tottenham - 7 games unbeaten Bolton - 4 games unbeaten Manchester United - 3 games unbeaten Birmingham - 1 game unbeaten Charlton - 1 game unbeaten Chelsea - 1 game unbeaten Birmingham - 1 game unbeaten Arsenal - 3 games unbeaten (currently) attjen - I hadn't thought about the Chelsea / Arsenal / brother angle to this story. I can see the smartarse taking the mickey out of me if it stays this way. WeWillAlwaysBeALight and stebs - Thanks for your support too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted August 29, 2005 Author Share Posted August 29, 2005 It seems that my brother has taken an interest in my footballing preferences now that he realises that he might be able to have some serious fun at my expense. I’m quite happy to indulge him in his conversations about things at the top of the Premier League and how the rest of the season may pan out. Of course he is constantly harping on about how Chelsea is by far the best team in the competition and that the title is heading towards Stamford Bridge for the first time in fifty years. Of course I stick up for Arsenal and point our how our aspirations are still alive, but I know that he is just trying to get me fired up because he is convinced that my team cannot overcome the Blues before the end of the season arrives. I don’t make any wild predictions to him like I would have done a few months ago because I’m just saving up all of that kind of stuff so that I can shove it back down his throat when we win the championship in May. Saturday 12th February 2005: Arsenal v Everton – Highbury, London I’d barely settled into my seat before Arsenal was already a goal up. Reyes sped down the left wing before passing inside to Edu. He chipped the ball towards the near post where Aliadiere darted in to volley the ball across Martyn and put us 1-0 up after just 38 seconds. I didn’t get too long to celebrate the lead though as Everton was level within 2 minutes. Gravesen and Cahill cut through the centre of our defence to release Bent. Lehmann came out to challenge and forced Bent wide, but the striker swivelled and crossed to the far post. Toure got a head to it to flick it away from Campbell, but it fell behind Osman who leapt acrobatically to fire home an overhead kick from the tightest of angles. Things looked dangerous after 7 minutes when Cahill surged into the box from midfield, but Lehmann made a fine save at the Australian’s feet. We replied with a good chance after 12 minutes when Vieira forced a great save from Martyn as he headed a cross from Reyes goalwards. It took an Everton defensive error for Arsenal to retake the lead. Henry closed down Pistone well, forcing him to turn back towards his own goal. The Italian mishit his back-pass to Martyn, allowing Aliadiere to intercept the ball and glide past the keeper before rolling the ball into the empty net to make it 2-1 after 19 minutes. Things were quiet in front of goal for the next 20 minutes until Henry took a free-kick in the 39th minute. His curling effort clipped Osman on the end of the wall and only a miraculous twisting save by Martyn kept it out. From the resulting corner Ljungberg managed to get the ball into the six yard box where it fell for Campbell to smash goalwards, but unfortunately it struck Yobo and bounced clear. Everton had the final chance of the first half as Bent struck his 20 yard effort into the side netting. I was much more pleased with the start of the second half as Arsenal took control of the match. Vieira went close with a couple of headers before a great chance fell the way of Toure in the 57th minute. Cole and Reyes stormed down the left in tandem before Reyes rolled a pass across the edge of the penalty area. Normally I would have expected Vieira or Edu to be there to hit it, but it was Toure who was lurking and he sent a low shot fizzing into the post and then bouncing to safety. The next decent attack saw Reyes head Cole’s pass to the feet of Aliadiere 20 yards from goal. The young Frenchman took a touch to move the ball to his right. Aliadiere then curled the ball around Weir which masked Martyn’s view of the shot and it crept inside the near post to make it 3-1 after 61 minutes. It was also Aliadiere’s first hat-trick in senior football. A few minutes later Aliadiere was given a standing ovation as he was replaced by Bergkamp. There had been 78 minutes gone on the clock when Arsenal wrapped the game up. Vieira surprised Martyn with a wickedly serving 25 yard shot and the veteran keeper could only parry the ball out in front of himself. The ever-alert Bergkamp pounced quickly and prodded the ball back past the off-balance keeper to make it 4-1 to the Gunners. van Persie threatened to make it five when his late free-kick flew into the side netting, but it didn’t make a lot of difference. Everton had been well and truly spanked and our challenge for the Premier League title was still very much alive. Arsenal 4 Aliadiere 1, 19, 61, Bergkamp 78 Everton 1 Osman 3 Arsenal: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Campbell, Cole, Ljungberg, Vieira, Edu (Pennant), Reyes (van Persie), Henry, Aliadiere (Bergkamp). Everton: Martyn, Watson, Yobo, Weir, Pistone, Osman, Cahill, Gravesen, Rubins (Naysmith), Bent (Chadwick), Campbell (Ferguson). My MOM: Jeremie Aliadiere was the unquestionable MOM after his fine hat-trick today. Definitely one of the league’s rising stars. The Arsenal report: A fine free-scoring 4-1 win has us up to second on the table and just four points behind Chelsea. Roll on lads!! The Chelsea report: A 0-0 draw at home to 14th placed Blackburn was a poor result. Surely not end of season jitters, Jose!! Next up: Blackburn v Arsenal – Ewood Park, Blackburn Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted August 29, 2005 Author Share Posted August 29, 2005 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Premier League - 28th February 2005: |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |1st | Chelsea | 27 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 56 | 13 | +43 | 64 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |2nd | Arsenal | 28 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 56 | 23 | +33 | 60 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |3rd | Liverpool | 28 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 46 | 16 | +30 | 59 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |4th | Newcastle | 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 34 | 21 | +13 | 51 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |5th | Fulham | 28 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 50 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |6th | Aston Villa | 28 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 47 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |7th | Bolton | 28 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 39 | 29 | +10 | 46 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |8th | Man Utd | 28 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 45 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |9th | Tottenham | 28 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 45 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |10th | Southampton | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 45 | 38 | +7 | 43 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |11th | Birmingham | 28 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 33 | 38 | -5 | 37 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |12th | Portsmouth | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 37 | 42 | -5 | 34 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |13th | Charlton | 28 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 28 | 44 | -16 | 33 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |14th | Blackburn | 28 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 36 | 41 | -5 | 27 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |15th | West Brom | 28 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 16 | 38 | -22 | 23 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |16th | Everton | 27 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 34 | 57 | -23 | 23 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |17th | Middlesbrough | 28 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 27 | 55 | -28 | 23 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |18th | Norwich | 28 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 18 | 39 | -21 | 22 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |19th | Crystal Palace | 28 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 26 | 55 | -29 | 18 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |20th | Man City | 28 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 17 | 45 | -28 | 17 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 I'm trying to guess if you'll wind up back at the same club for a second spell at any point... ... love the shifting viewpoint, its wonderful how quickly your "true colours" show after each setback. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted August 31, 2005 Author Share Posted August 31, 2005 Thanks Amaroq. I've already had two one-game spells at Birmingham. ================================================ I was really looking forward to the trip to Blackburn after Arsenal’s enforced break due to the FA Cup quarter-finals and the League Cup Final. Speaking of the League Cup Final, although Arsenal hadn’t made it, it was still of interest to me. The reason was that it enabled my crazy family to get together for the first time since Christmas because my brother’s team Chelsea were taking on my father’s team Fulham. It was actually quite nice to sit around the television in our family home and not to be the centre of aggravation for everyone. I totally excluded myself from voicing any support for either Chelsea or Fulham, stating that if my beloved Arsenal weren’t playing then I had no real interest in the result. That comment was the only time that my brother sneered at me or my father put his hand to his forehead in frustration during the whole afternoon. Of course the two of them went hammer and tongs at each other throughout the entire match. Chelsea had gone 1-0 up through a Joe Cole volley after 14 minutes, but Dad insisted Drogba was offside whilst my brother just laughed at him. Then early in the second half when Radzinski arrived at the far post to head home Malbranque’s cross only for the linesman to rule it out for offside, my father was up in arms again. The final score ended up 1-0 to Chelsea, but my father and my brother had such an argument about the goal that my brother was banished early before tea could be served. Afterwards Mum and I shared the extra slice of banoffee pie that should have been my brother’s. What an excellent day it was. Saturday 5th March 2005: Blackburn v Arsenal – Ewood Park, Blackburn There was an early chance for Henry as headed a cross from Reyes towards the top corner of the Blackburn goal after only 33 seconds, but Friedel made a fine save. A much simpler chance fell to Gallagher after 3 minutes following good lead-up work by Jansen, but the young Scotsman blazed the ball over from just 8 yards out with Lehmann at his mercy. Bergkamp took a knock after 15 minutes, so Ljungberg replaced him and Reyes moved up front with Henry. I thought that the first goal would come after 17 minutes when Reyes beat the offside trap and dribbled around Friedel. However he had gone wide to his right and he was only able to find the side netting with the ensuing shot from his weaker right foot. We suffered another early injury when Cygan collided with Gallagher and he too had to limp off. Clichy was his replacement. Blackburn were putting up a good performance though and when Ferguson put Thompson away on their right wing in the 27th minute, the midfielder cut inside to fire a low shot to Lehmann’s left. Luckily our German keeper was on his game and he pushed it wide for a corner. However it was Friedel in the Rovers net who was the difference between the two sides. When Reyes slipped past Johansson and found himself free after 39 minutes, the big American keeper spread himself well to get his body in the way of the Spaniard’s shot. It was 0-0 at the break, but Arsenal had definitely been the better team. In the 54th minute van Persie replaced Reyes and immediately he was on the attack, chasing a long pass from Gilberto and firing in a low left-footed shot which struck Friedel’s shins and rebounded to safety. Lauren and de Pedro were having a great battle on the right side of the pitch, but there was not a lot happening in front of goal. Even Henry was having trouble breaching Blackburn’s tight defence, so he resorted to a vicious 35 yard effort which swerved past Friedel and clipped the outside of the post in the 71st minute. As we looked for a late winner, even skipper Campbell could be found up front as he joined in from the defence. Gilberto set him up for a shot from the edge of the penalty area after 81 minutes, but it looked like the shot of a defender as it flew so wide that it ended up hitting the corner flag. In the end our dominance in possession and shots counted for little as the match finished as a 0-0 draw. Blackburn 0 Arsenal 0 Blackburn: Friedel, Emerton, Oleguer (Tugay), Johansson, Matteo, Thompson (Riggott), Douglas, Ferguson, De Pedro, Gallagher, Jansen (Bothroyd). Arsenal: Lehmann, Lauren, Campbell, Cygan (Clichy), Cole, Pires, Gilberto, Vieira, Reyes (van Persie), Henry, Bergkamp (Ljungberg). My MOM: Sol Campbell was well in control of the Blackburn forwards and even joined in our attack, but the real star was Brad Friedel who won a point for Blackburn. What I hate about football: Spending two hours sitting in a stadium and ending up seeing a 0-0 draw. Time wasted!! What I love about football: Finding out that the 0-0 draw I just watched has been duplicated by league leaders Chelsea. No change at the top!! Next up: Arsenal v Newcastle – Highbury, London Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stebs Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 My prediction for arsenal being your longest time at a club is looking good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted September 2, 2005 Author Share Posted September 2, 2005 It's five games now and there is still the one below to follow, stebs. ================================================ It’s a big game for us this Sunday as we take on Newcastle at Highbury. The Magpies are 5th, but they’ve had a turbulent season under Graeme Soeness. Kieron Dyer fell out with the manager and was shipped off to Manchester City during the transfer window, Titus Bramble is rotting in the reserves on the transfer list, new signings Samuel Kuffour and Fabian Ernst from Germany have not performed as well as would be expected and Lee Bowyer has been whining about not getting a regular start all season. With only 35 league goals, they are 14th on the goalscoring table, but they have relied on their mean defence which has surprisingly given up only 22 goals in 29 matches. Thankfully for Newcastle, Alan Shearer and Patrick Kluivert seem to be able to score the necessary goals to get them up the table. But speaking earlier of their defence, tomorrow they will be under-strength as Andy O’Brien, Steven Taylor and Robbie Elliott are all out through injury. Youngster Paul Huntington has been named to play at centre-half and I bet you that Thierry Henry is rubbing his hands together with glee at the thought of that. Sunday 20th March 2005: Arsenal v Newcastle – Highbury, London Emre gets Newcastle off to a confident start with a skidding low shot in the 1st minute, but Lehmann grasps it well. The keeper throws it out to Lauren who advances down the right and slides it out to Henry on the touchline. He beats Bernard and gets to the bye-line where he pulls it back to Lauren on the edge of the box. The Cameroonian full-back squares it for Vieira to run in and crash a shot past Given from 20 yards to give us a 1-0 lead after only 2 minutes. Lauren and Ljungberg are already controlling the right side and causing havoc with the Newcastle defence. In the 16th minute a sweeping move involving Pires, Reyes, Vieira and Henry ends with Pires finding room on the left wing to cut back onto his right foot and curl in a tempting cross. Gilberto arrives perfectly on time from midfield to power a header past Given from 10 yards to make it 2-0 to Arsenal. The pace of Bellamy takes him through the centre of our defence after 25 minutes, but thankfully Lehmann is on form and he spreads himself well to block the Welsh striker’s shot. After 34 minutes Henry conspires to head Ljungberg’s corner flush against the cross bar from close range and 5 minutes later Gilberto decides to knock his free header straight into the arms of Given. I reckon we could have been four or five up at the break as half-time approaches, but for missed chances. However Henry makes the score-line prettier as he nutmegs the young defender Huntington and then calmly sidefoots the ball past Given from 10 yards range to make it 3-0 just before the interval. Things get even rosier at the start of the second half when Vieira storms into the near post to flick home a corner by Pires and it is 4-0 after 48 minutes. Newcastle is being ripped apart and I am absolutely loving this, along with about 35,000 other Gunners fans. With some of the players starting to tire, Arsene Wenger decides to freshen things up with the introduction of Bergkamp for Reyes and Edu for Gilberto. Kluivert is isolated up front for Newcastle as Bellamy is needed to defend deeper and deeper against our attacks. When the Dutchman gets a half chance after 64 minutes, he hastily snatches at the shot and hits it well wide from 15 yards out. There have been 74 minutes played when Wenger makes his final substitution and sends on Clichy for Pires and tells the young wing-back to play further forward on the left wing. Lauren and Ljungberg continue to own the right side of the park. They work a great combination in the 80th minute which allows the Swede to send a cross to the far post where Clichy is free and he superbly half-volleys a shot from 15 yards which thumps into the roof of the Newcastle net for his first-ever goal for the club. At 5-0 we are cruising, but Clichy has got a taste for goalscoring now and he grabs his second goal in the 87th minute as he outjumps Jenas and heads home from Ljungberg’s corner to make it 6-0. By now, any Newcastle fans that hadn’t already left Highbury are now streaming out of the ground. They are not present to see the score move to 7-0 as Edu tees up Clichy for a rasping 25 yard drive which flicks off Kuffour’s shoulder and deflects past Given for the youngster’s hat-trick. It has been a magical quarter-hour for Clichy and a wonderful day for the Arsenal Football Club. Arsenal 7 Vieira 2, 48, Gilberto 16, Henry 45, Clichy 80, 87, 90 Newcastle 0 Arsenal: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Campbell, Cole, Ljungberg, Gilberto (Edu), Vieira, Pires (Clichy), Henry, Reyes (Bergkamp). Newcastle: Given, Carr, Kuffour, Huntington (Hughes), Bernard, Salihamidzic, Ernst, Emre (Jenas), O’Brien (Robert), Bellamy, Kluivert. My MOM: Freddie Ljungberg gets the nod just ahead of Lauren for his tireless display on the right of midfield today. There’s also a special mention for Gael Clichy and his wonderful cameo performance. I walked into Highbury: Slightly tentatively, expecting a tough battle with the Magpies. It might be tricky today!! I walked out of Highbury: Feeling on top of the world after witnessing seven brilliant goals. It was a doddle today!! Next up: Middlesbrough v Arsenal – The Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted September 2, 2005 Author Share Posted September 2, 2005 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Premier League - 31st March 2005: |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |1st | Chelsea | 30 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 62 | 15 | +47 | 71 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |2nd | Arsenal | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 63 | 23 | +40 | 64 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |3rd | Liverpool | 30 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 47 | 18 | +29 | 62 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |4th | Fulham | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 43 | 32 | +11 | 53 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |5th | Newcastle | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 35 | 29 | +6 | 52 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |6th | Man Utd | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 50 | 34 | +16 | 51 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |7th | Aston Villa | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 44 | 32 | +12 | 51 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |8th | Tottenham | 30 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 44 | 31 | +13 | 49 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |9th | Bolton | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 43 | 32 | +11 | 49 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |10th | Southampton | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 44 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |11th | Birmingham | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 36 | 39 | -3 | 41 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |12th | Portsmouth | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 40 | 43 | -3 | 38 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |13th | Charlton | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 30 | 46 | -16 | 35 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |14th | Blackburn | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 39 | 45 | -6 | 28 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |15th | Everton | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 40 | 63 | -23 | 27 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |16th | Norwich | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 19 | 40 | -21 | 24 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |17th | West Brom | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 17 | 40 | -23 | 24 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |18th | Middlesbrough | 30 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 28 | 61 | -33 | 23 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |19th | Man City | 30 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 18 | 47 | -29 | 18 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |20th | Crystal Palace | 30 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 27 | 60 | -33 | 18 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian of Nazareth Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 7-0! Awesome win - and a ten minute hat trick for a left back Still enjoying this lots - looks as though it oculd be the last side this season though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
attjen Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 7 points behind with 8 to play. I don't have a good feeling about this Spav. What are Arsenal's remaining games? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimony Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 Enjoying this so far, you're writing my cousin's season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted September 4, 2005 Author Share Posted September 4, 2005 BoN and Dimony - thanks for your comments and support. attjen - sorry, no fixtures as I only look one week ahead and you never know when that loss may come and it will all be irrelevant. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raptor Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 Still going strong, probably my fav story on FMS this year Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stebs Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 Arsenal kepp going well although I think that was their last game. My prediction for the next ga,e is a 2-1 for Middlesborough Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted September 8, 2005 Author Share Posted September 8, 2005 stebs, read on and see how your career as a pundit has begun. ================================================ There’s a new guy that has started at my work in the last couple of weeks. He’s an Australian and his name is Chris. I’ve had a few chats to him and he seems like a decent lad, but he has absolutely no knowledge about football. He’s willing to learn though, so I’ve been explaining him the rules and telling him all about the Arsenal and how they are one of England’s top teams of the last one hundred years. We were getting on well until bloody Andy popped his head over the partition and says Don’t listen to him, mate – he’s a sodding fair weather fan. Now Andy and I haven’t had much to say to each other since I found out that it was him I saw up at Liverpool back in October when I was supporting Spurs. He’d deliberately avoided going to the game with me. I’d only found out a few days later when I overheard him on the phone telling a mate about the game at Anfield. Anyway Chris says What do you mean by fair weather fan? and Andy replies He changes his team to suit the weather – you know, depending on the results. Chris looked at me strangely and asked me Is that true? I sat there for a moment and then I gave an honest answer. Yeah, I did have trouble deciding who I wanted to follow earlier in the season, but I’m 100% behind Arsenal now, just like I’ve been telling you. Andy just laughed and sat down behind his partition again. Just you wait and see what happens when Arsenal lose Chris, just you wait and see. Sodding Yid!! Saturday 2nd April 2005: Middlesbrough v Arsenal – The Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough With Vieira out through suspension, Pennant comes into the starting line-up on the right wing and Ljungberg moves into central midfield. Pennant has a good start as he sees a lot of the ball and uses it wisely. In the 8th minute he threads a pass through to Henry who is one-on-one with keeper Pieckenhagen, but the Frenchman’s shot hits the German’s legs and rebounds to safety. In the 15th minute Henry learns from his earlier miss when he runs onto an identical Pennant pass, but this time he places it wide of the keeper to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead. Middlesbrough are nearly equal just two minutes later when a total lack of communication between Campbell and Toure allows Hasselbaink to run onto a long kick from Pieckenhagen and advance unmarked on Lehmann in our goal. Thankfully our German keeper was on his game and he parried the effort well. Pennant was involved again in the 28th minute when he again set Henry free, but this time the striker squared the ball to his left and Edu ran in to curl a left-footer into the bottom corner from 25 yards to make it 2-0. Although we are two up at the break it has been a far from exciting match so far. The chance to gain an almost unassailable three goal lead arrives as early as the 48th minute as Aliadiere’s intelligent flicked header sends Henry racing away again. Ehiogu manages to manoeuvre him to his left and Henry shoots into the side-netting instead of testing Pieckenhagen. The game falls into a dreary battle in midfield with Middlesbrough packing the centre of the park and therefore forcing both sides to get bogged down. Gilberto comes on for Pennant and he begins to make a difference as he picks out a couple of good passes for Ljungberg and Pires. Bergkamp replaces Aliadiere (as he has done frequently lately) and he goes to work trying to break the Boro defence down. A classic piece of Bergkamp magic gets him free on the left in the 78th minute and he pulls the ball back for Gilberto who rifles a shot against the post from 20 yards out. It is as close as either side has come to scoring since Henry’s chance early in the half. In the end Arsenal wins 2-0, but after our last match where we beat Newcastle 7-0 it is quite a comedown. Middlesbrough 0 Arsenal 2 Henry 15, Edu 28 Middlesbrough: Pieckenhagen, Oude Kamphuis, Nosworthy (Hammell), Ehiogu, Bates, Mendieta (Aruna), Zanetti (Job), Boateng, Queudrue, Hasselbaink, Viduka. Arsenal: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Campbell, Cole, Pennant (Gilberto), Ljungberg, Edu, Pires (Clichy), Henry, Aliadiere (Bergkamp). My MOM: Jermaine Pennant was lively and dangerous on the right wing until Boro jammed up the midfield. Another fine display from a quality Arsenal youngster. Landmark #1: Thierry Henry notched his 25th goal of the season with the opener today. Bravo, mon ami!! Landmark #2: I’ve now visited 50 league grounds after today’s trip to The Riverside Stadium. Bravo, moi!! Next up: Arsenal v Norwich – Highbury, London Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted September 9, 2005 Author Share Posted September 9, 2005 The joke is on Andy at work after the new Aussie boy Chris asked if he could come with me to watch Arsenal play Norwich on Sunday. Andy has been quietly been trying to get Chris to join with him and go and watch Spurs play a match, but I reckon that my obvious love for the Gunners has convinced him that we are the team to follow. I think that it also helped when I downloaded all of our honours from the internet and compared it with those of Spurs. That and the fact that we are right in the hunt for the Premier League title as we only trail Chelsea by five points. Highbury is a much more interesting place than White Hart Lane at any time, but especially right at this moment. I’m looking forward to bringing a new Gunners fan into the Arsenal stable. Sunday 10th April 2005: Arsenal v Norwich – Highbury, London It’s a very promising start to today’s match as Henry and Vieira both blast shots over the bar in the first 5 minutes. The lads step it up a further notch in the 8th minute. Pires crosses from the right-hand touchline all the way to the far side of the penalty area where Reyes hits it first-time from 20 yards and the ball bends around Green and flies into the far side of the net for a magnificent goal. After that we set up camp in the Norwich half and attempt to prise our way through their defence yet again. It takes until the 25th minute for the next clear chance to come and Vieira converts it as he powerfully heads home from a corner by Pires. Henry is the next to test Green after 32 minutes as he shoots from 15 yards out on a tight angle, but the young keeper tips it over. Vieira climbs high to meet a cross by Aliadiere after 38 minutes, but Green tips his header away as well. From the resulting corner the ball drops at Edu’s feet after a scramble, but he blazes it high over the cross bar from just 6 yards out. What a change for the Brazilian – just last week he scored a cracking 25-yarder, today he is missing from the six-yard box. Aliadiere has been doing some outstanding running off the ball and his movement is getting him plenty of room. Right on half-time Campbell sprays a pass out to Aliadiere on the right and the young striker beats Brennan before centring the ball for Reyes to head past Green and make it 3-0. There’s no slowing down as the second half begins. Edu takes a free-kick after 49 minutes and curls it against the join of the cross bar and the post from where it falls into Green’s grateful arms. In the 53rd minute Pires takes a corner low towards the penalty spot and Edu runs in from the edge of the box to volley it home from 14 yards through a crowd of players and make it 4-0. Norwich is close to cracking completely and we could have a repeat of the 7-0 Newcastle drubbing on our hands. The clock shows 62 minutes when Aliadiere crashes a header against the post from a Pires cross. It’s only a few minutes later when Toure volleys a shot from the edge of the penalty area only to see Shackell head the ball off the line. A swathe of substitutions slows the team and signals Arsene Wenger’s desire to hold onto the result without conceding a goal whilst perhaps freshening things up enough to create one or two more goals for us. van Persie lets rip with a 30 yard effort that skims the cross bar after 82 minutes whilst Norwich finally raise a effort in the second half when Shackell spots Lehmann off his line and floats in a free-kick from the halfway line which goes inches wide of the post. In the end I’m very happy with the 4-0 win as we continue to hunt down Chelsea from our position in second place. Arsenal 4 Reyes 8, 45, Vieira 25, Edu 53 Norwich 0 Arsenal: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Campbell, Cole, Pires, Vieira, Edu (Gilberto), Reyes (Pennant), Henry, Aliadiere (van Persie). Norwich: Green, Helveg, Fleming, Shackell, Drury, Jonson, Holt, Francis, Brennan (Doherty), Huckerby (Mulryne), McKenzie (Jarvis). My MOM: Robert Pires had one of those games where he involved himself in all aspects of our attacking dominance and was virtually unstoppable. Reason #1 for Chris becoming an Arsenal supporter: The buzz he got from watching a quality team like Arsenal play near-perfect football. He’s hooked!! Reason #2 for Chris becoming an Arsenal supporter: He loves the fact that we Arsenal supporters are known by the nickname “Goonersâ€. Go figure!! Next up: Arsenal v Crystal Palace – Highbury, London Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted September 9, 2005 Author Share Posted September 9, 2005 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Raptor: Still going strong, probably my fav story on FMS this year </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Cheers Raptor. I like to acknowledge everyone who posts in my story, but I missed this one earlier because it snuck in at the bottom of the previous page. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stebs Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 I was wrong about the middlesborough game i guess but i am proving to be right about a long run for Arsenal. Have to be a shocker for them to lose at home to Crystal Palace. I predict a 3-0 for Arsenal. Thanks for the great story Spav Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted September 13, 2005 Author Share Posted September 13, 2005 stebs, it looks like you're getting better at this pundit business. ================================================ Chris and I are looking forward to Arsenal’s Wednesday match quite a lot. We’re both expecting to see a few goals knocked past Crystal Palace by Thierry and his team-mates. My new Aussie pal is fast becoming hooked on the Gunners and he has already planned our itinerary for the remaining five games of the season. It’s good to go to the games and have a mate that you can share the enjoyment with, even if I do still have to explain a few of the more technical moments to Chris as he is sill not completely familiar with all the intricacies of the game. One thing he is picking up is all the singing and chanting which is something that he finds quite alien from his sport-watching past back in his native land of Australia. Wednesday 20th April 2005: Arsenal v Crystal Palace – Highbury, London The first 25 minutes of the match saw Arsenal create just two half-chances whilst Crystal Palace couldn’t fashion any. Aliadiere headed Lauren’s right wing cross just over the cross bar after only 2 minutes whilst Toure fired in a half-volley from the edge of the penalty area which went inches wide in the 8th minute. The next definitive attack bought the opening goal of the game. Lehmann’s goal-kick in the 25th minute found Henry who nodded the ball down for Pires on the half-way line. Henry quickly turned away from his marker and peeled to the right where Pires flicked the ball out to him. The French superstar made ground down the wing and he had several targets to pick out in the centre. One of them was Vieira who made a run to the near post and Henry whipped the ball in at shoulder height for his captain to plant a firm header past Kiraly and into the Palace net to put Arsenal 1-0 up. Just a couple of minutes later and Crystal Palace found themselves in even deeper trouble when the already-booked Butterfield disputed the linesman’s offside call on Ventola’s disallowed goal and was shown a second yellow card as a result, thus sending him from the ground. Before Arsenal could settle down to use their one-man advantage an arm injury to Cole and a shin injury to Pires meant that Hoyte and Pennant had to come on in their places instead. In injury time Henry had a great chance to double the lead, but he hit Gilberto’s cross straight into the body of Kiraly from only 6 yards range. Vieira and Gilberto were proving to be the most dangerous of the Arsenal players when it came to scoring chances. The Brazilian midfielder headed a Reyes cross just over the cross bar after 53 minutes whilst Vieira came close to his second when he forced a great save out of Kiraly with his 20 yard effort in the 62nd minute. Arsene Wenger made his final change after 65 minutes when van Persie replaced Aliadiere, allowing Reyes to join Henry up front. Two goals in six minutes gave the scoreboard a more realistic semblance of the superiority that Arsenal had displayed throughout the match. When van Persie burst through the middle after 69 minutes and shaped to shoot from 16 yards out, it took a fine diving tackle by Hall to knock the ball away. Unfortunately for Crystal Palace it only went to the right side of the box where Henry picked up the loose ball and crossed it to the far side for the unmarked Reyes. He controlled the ball and moved in towards Kiraly before unselfishly sliding it square for the onrushing Gilberto to sidefoot into the net from just 6 yards out and make the score 2-0. It was van Persie who also played a major part in the next goal as he received Campbell’s long pass from defence out on the left wing after 75 minutes. A quick sprint took him nearly to the bye-line where he fired over a dipping cross for Gilberto to dive in and head with ease past Kiraly to make the score 3-0 in the Gunners favour. Routledge finally got a shot on target for Palace in the 82nd minute, but Lehmann dealt with it comfortably. The last chance fell to Reyes when he headed van Persie’s centre against the cross bar in the 90th minute, but Arsenal had the game well and truly wrapped up by then. Arsenal 3 Vieira 25, Gilberto 69, 75 Crystal Palace 0 Arsenal: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Campbell, Cole (Hoyte), Pires (Pennant), Vieira, Gilberto, Reyes, Henry, Aliadiere (van Persie). Crystal Palace: Kiraly, Butterfield, Hall, Lucic, Borrowdale (Kaviedes), Lakis, Derry, Hughes, Kolkka, Torghelle (Routledge), Ventola (Watson). My MOM: Gilberto even outshone Vieira today, which is saying something. It was a top performance by our generally unobtrusive Brazilian midfielder. Looking forward to: The final run-in to the championship with our team in great form. Watch out Chelsea!! Not looking forward to: The trip to Birmingham to play Aston Villa this weekend. Brummieland is never fun!! Next up: Aston Villa v Arsenal – Villa Park, Birmingham Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian of Nazareth Posted September 14, 2005 Share Posted September 14, 2005 here's where the run ends Spav Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stebs Posted September 15, 2005 Share Posted September 15, 2005 oh yes. my pundiot career going well now. I think a 1-1 with Aston Villa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted September 17, 2005 Author Share Posted September 17, 2005 BoN - I hate it when my readers seem to have a better idea of what is about to happen in my story than I do. stebs - Wrong this time, back to your usual day job for you I think. ================================================ With the end of a long season approaching, injuries were starting to play a big part in the make-up of the Arsenal side. Ashley Cole was out and so was his natural replacement Gael Clichy, so Ryan Garry was going to play his first game of the season at left-back. Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg were also both injured, so Jermaine Pennant would start off on the right wing and that meant a place on the bench for young Ryan Smith. However we still had more than enough firepower in the team to see off Aston Villa this weekend – of that both Chris and I were sure. Saturday 23rd April 2005: Aston Villa v Arsenal – Villa Park, Birmingham It was lucky that we took our seats on time because straight from the kick-off the ball went out to Reyes on the left and he quickly crossed it to the near post. Aliadiere slid into to prod it goalwards, but Sorensen got a hand to it. Gilberto rushed in to hit the loose ball, but Sorenson got up to block his effort as well and complete a wonderful double save. All this in the first 20 seconds too. Aston Villa came back at us straight away in the 4th minute and the ball found its way out to the dangerous Bierofka on the left. He jinked past Lauren and drove a low ball across the six yard box. The South Korean midfielder Park stretched for it at the far post and connected well, but Lehmann imitated Sorensen in making a fine close range save. A couple of minutes later and a poor Lauren pass was intercepted by Park who played it up to Cole. The big man fed it off to Hitzlsperger who took it just inside the box before hitting a thunderous left-footed drive past Lehmann and into the roof of the net to put Villa 1-0 up. Aliadiere almost replied immediately as he ran onto Vieira’s through-ball, but Mellberg did just enough to put him off as he shot and the ball flashed six inches wide of the post. I could see why the Villa fans called Hitzlsperger “The Hammer†when he produced another crashing drive from 25 yards which beat Lehmann but rattled the cross bar before rebounding to safety in the 17th minute. The good chances were falling to Aliadiere instead of Henry, but the youngster was fluffing his chances. He drove a shot straight into Sorenson’s midriff when clean through after 28 minutes. At the other end Park’s corner caused all sorts of problems in the 37th minute and when McCann had a whack at it from 10 yards out Ridgewell dived at it and headed goalwards. Only lightning-quick reflexes from Lehmann managed to stop Villa from going two up. When the half came to an end I realised that I may well have seen the best 45 minutes of football so far this season. It had been thrilling end-to-end stuff and Chris and I needed the break to catch our breath. The second half started at a slower pace and it took until the 55th minute for some goalmouth action to arrive. Bierofka’s run and pass had found McCann and he rolled a diagonal pass inside the box aimed for Cole. Toure found himself on the wrong side of the young striker, but he lunged in to reach around Cole. Unfortunately he only succeeded in toe-poking the ball past Lehmann from 10 yards for an own goal which gave Aston Villa a 2-0 lead. Arsene Wenger replied immediately by replacing Aliadiere with van Persie and Reyes with Smith. It proved to be an astute pair of substitutions when Smith took a pass from Vieira and dribbled past de la Cruz in the 63rd minute. He made his way to the bye-line and chipped a cross into the middle where van Persie nodded the ball home to make it 2-1. With the momentum returned to Arsenal, Wenger made a third change and bought on the attacking Fabregas for the more defensive Gilberto. Smith was proving to be useful in defence as well as he nodded Ridgewell’s header off the line in the 72nd minute. The thrilling play continued as Fabregas sent Henry on a clear run though the middle, but Sorensen dived at the Frenchman’s feet to produce a fine save. When McCann sent Cole clear of the Gunners defence in the 82nd minute I was expecting the worse. However Toure brilliantly chased him down and slid in to hook the ball away just as Cole was about to shoot. The ball rolled to Garry, but the young defender failed to see Park closing in from his left and he lost the ball 25 yards from our goal. Park played it into the feet of Cole who was just getting up from the ground after his earlier challenge with Toure. A quick controlling touch and then a shot on the turn from Cole skidded past Lehmann to give Villa a 3-1 lead. Arsenal threw everyone forward for the final few minutes. We had a series of corners and finally got something in the 90th minute. A scramble following a blocked attempt by Campbell saw Henry drive the ball across the six yard box. Hitzlsperger managed to block the ball, but as it bounced up McCann took a panicked swing at it and managed only to knock the ball into the Villa net for an own goal. That made it 3-2 with a couple of minutes of injury-time to play. Despite our best efforts though, Aston Villa managed to hold on from that point and they registered a win to end our great unbeaten run of nine games. There I was sitting in the Arsenal fan’s section of Villa Park, wearing a Gunners shirt and sitting next to Chris in his Arsenal jersey. I desperately wanted to tear off the offending top and hide it away, but I knew that Chris wouldn’t understand what was happening, so instead I zipped up my jacket and looked to make my escape from this pack of Arsenal supporters. I’d got a bit ahead of Chris in the queue to leave when I remembered that he had my train ticket in his wallet. There was no way that I was going to be able to get away from this Arsenal loser and get around to the other side of the ground to celebrate the win with my fellow Aston Villa supporters. I’d just have to suffer in silence and travel back to London with my work-mate. Luckily Chris took my quiet demeanour as indicating sadness at Arsenal’s defeat and he didn’t talk to me too much on the way home. Little did he know that I was already planning how to get hold of a ticket for Villa’s next match up at Everton. That, and ditching this Arsenal shirt that was burning into my skin under my jacket. Aston Villa 3 Hitzlsperger 6, Toure own goal 55, Cole 83 Arsenal 2 van Persie 63, McCann own goal 90 Aston Villa: Sorensen, de la Cruz (Samuel), Mellberg, Ridgewell, Jensen (Barry), Park, McCann, Hitzlsperger, Bierofka (Moore.S), Cole, Vassell. Arsenal: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Campbell, Garry, Pennant, Vieira, Gilberto (Fabregas), Reyes (Smith), Henry, Aliadiere (van Persie). My MOM: Thomas Hitzlsperger was to be found all over the pitch, setting up chances and scaring Arsenal with his powerful shooting. What us Villa fans want: A UEFA Cup spot and the way we are playing, it’s very likely. Go O’Leary’s lads!! What our Villa players did: Put paid to Arsenal’s title challenge and basically handed the title to league leaders Chelsea. Sorry Arsenal (not)!! Next up: Everton v Aston Villa – Goodison Park, Liverpool Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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