Post Match Thread - Arsenal (H)

[PTP]

Haven’t read the whole thread so don’t know if anyone else has said it but i’ll stick my neck out a bit - I think it was a red for joe cole. Yes it wasn’t malicious and everyone knows he is not a dirty player....but it was very late and reckless – He steamed into the challenge which I understand as he did spend the first 45 minutes charging round trying is hardest which is great, but he got that wrong and it looked a lot worse than it actually was. The arsenal player was going no where, and really joe could just thought about it for a split second longer he’d off realised that there was no need for it. – Yes close him down and put him under pressure, but down just launch yourself at him.

I do think on appeal we have a chance of getting it down to one match ban but i do think whilst harsh it was a red....just.

On to the game, well I felt we battled well, worked our bollocks off, a brave performance – I still felt we lacked a little touch of class though. Obviously we are all hoping Cole’s going to be that player to provide that touch of class so it was a blow to lose him.

Great performances for me were Agger at left back, Skrtel was immense, MAscher class, and Ngog brilliant once again considering his age, how much we paid for, the role he was asked to play etc, he’s a bargain.

Oh and we defo have a new cult hero in Jovanovic – great run in the first half which saw him bounce half the arsenal squad to the deck and then just before he went off probably the funniest attempt at heading the ball I have ever seen from a professional

To sum – can’t complain with the draw – arsenal looked a lot quicker/sharper across the pitch and when we went down to 10 i’d have taken the draw. Still gutting how it happened though!

I do think that we are going to need a few games to get going though

[Reece]

Oh and we defo have a new cult hero in Jovanovic – great run in the first half which saw him bounce half the arsenal squad to the deck and then just before he went off probably the funniest attempt at heading the ball I have ever seen from a professional

Reminded me of this:

[PTP]

it was class

Oh another funny moment - anyone see the sky coverage...

cameras cut to Capello early on......Tyler says "there is capello looking as glumy as ever...." to which andy gray replied - "well he's sitting next to Kenny who I'm sure has got a few lines to cheer him up!"

[Exiled_red]

Haven’t read the whole thread so don’t know if anyone else has said it but i’ll stick my neck out a bit - I think it was a red for joe cole. Yes it wasn’t malicious and everyone knows he is not a dirty player....but it was very late and reckless – He steamed into the challenge which I understand as he did spend the first 45 minutes charging round trying is hardest which is great, but he got that wrong and it looked a lot worse than it actually was. The arsenal player was going no where, and really joe could just thought about it for a split second longer he’d off realised that there was no need for it. – Yes close him down and put him under pressure, but down just launch yourself at him.

I do think on appeal we have a chance of getting it down to one match ban but i do think whilst harsh it was a red....just.

On to the game, well I felt we battled well, worked our bollocks off, a brave performance – I still felt we lacked a little touch of class though. Obviously we are all hoping Cole’s going to be that player to provide that touch of class so it was a blow to lose him.

Great performances for me were Agger at left back, Skrtel was immense, MAscher class, and Ngog brilliant once again considering his age, how much we paid for, the role he was asked to play etc, he’s a bargain.

Oh and we defo have a new cult hero in Jovanovic – great run in the first half which saw him bounce half the arsenal squad to the deck and then just before he went off probably the funniest attempt at heading the ball I have ever seen from a professional

To sum – can’t complain with the draw – arsenal looked a lot quicker/sharper across the pitch and when we went down to 10 i’d have taken the draw. Still gutting how it happened though!

I do think that we are going to need a few games to get going though

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it was a straight red for violent conduct, which carries an automatic 3 match ban (for the first of the season, more for subsequent offences). And that being the case, surely it's either a 3 game ban or the red card being over turned, and I can't see the latter happening

[PTP]

oh aye - yeah you may be right.

[Redspin]

I thought we were poor in the first half, they kept the ball and passed us out of the game. In one sense I think the sending off was a blessing because it changed our mentality and brought out a fighting spirit.

Cole had a debut to forget and was anonymous before the sending off. We had a lot of experience on the pitch and found it hard to compete with what was a young and quite unfamiliar Arsenal. That worries me a little as had we been up against Chelsea, Utd or Spurs, I think we could've had a bit of a battering.

On the plus side the second half was exceptional in terms of committment but I felt we only have ourselves to blame for the goal as at the time we were sat in the penalty box. They had no pressure and plenty of room infront of the goal to move the ball about.

I think going down to 10 men has masked a lot of our problems and a top 4 finish with this squad is unlikely. 5 years ago it would've been different but now there are 4 or 5 teams with better squads than us.

"Passed us out of the game"? Personally I'd love to play teams like that every week. Dozens of passes from left to right in midfield, then back to the left and, for good measure, a dozen more passes back to the right with absolutely zero penetration once within 25 yards of goal. That's why it took them until the 86th minute when they'd been playing against only 10 men for half a match (and just 9 men for 10 minutes) to create their first chance.

If we'd had 11 men on the pitch in the second half we'd have won by at least a couple of goals. As it was we were forced by circumstances to get behind the ball and hope for something from a breakaway or a set-piece.

On the evidence of yesterday we've got far more to be positive about than Arsenal for the coming season

[SK]

"Passed us out of the game"? Personally I'd love to play teams like that every week. Dozens of passes from left to right in midfield, then back to the left and, for good measure, a dozen more passes back to the right with absolutely zero penetration once within 25 yards of goal. That's why it took them until the 86th minute when they'd been playing against only 10 men for half a match (and just 9 men for 10 minutes) to create their first chance.

If we'd had 11 men on the pitch in the second half we'd have won by at least a couple of goals. As it was we were forced by circumstances to get behind the ball and hope for something from a breakaway or a set-piece.

On the evidence of yesterday we've got far more to be positive about than Arsenal for the coming season

but, but they play the prettiest football.. like ever

[Redspin]

I thought Cole got sent off because the tackle was on an Arsenal player rather than because it was a terrible tackle, Wenger moans for years about tackles on his players and the Arsenal players reactions got Cole sent off. For what it's worth if Cole made that tackle home to say Birmingham on his debut it's a yellow all day long.

Also not sure what difference there was between that and Whilshere's tackle on Mascherano.

Personally I thought it was a typical 'Rafa' team performance, tight and compact out of possession, Ngog doing far better than everyone gives him credit for and today he scored as a massive bonus, he also had the header off the line in the 1st half.

Spot on about the Wilshere tackle. It was a shocker. No intent to try to get the ball, over the top and a true potential leg-breaker. Needless to say it was completely ignored in Sky's post-match analysis. Only the big guy on the LFC TV programme after the match mentioned it. Rosicky's challenge on Gerrard was also worse than Cole's challenge.

The other Sky point that did my head in was the comment about how unlucky their player was to get a second yellow card for handball as Ngog had done the same thing and wasn't booked. They conveniently failed to point out that Nasri had deliberately handled the ball in a very similar position to the defender who was booked and yet he didn't get a yellow card either.

It goes without saying that MOTD2 also completely ignored the Wilshere shocking tackle

[Redspin]

but, but they play the prettiest football.. like ever

Indeed - and I must apologise for not calling them Arsenal's "kids" (Copyright Sky Sports 2005)

[SK]

Indeed - and I must apologise for not calling them Arsenal's "kids" (Copyright Sky Sports 2005)

they're gonna peak in about 3 or 4 years

[Kloppster]

they're gonna peak in about 3 or 4 years

Just after puberty !

[Bender]

they're gonna peak in about 3 or 4 years

They have been peaking for the last 10 years ......

[Gaz]

it was class

Oh another funny moment - anyone see the sky coverage...

cameras cut to Capello early on......Tyler says "there is capello looking as glumy as ever...." to which andy gray replied - "well he's sitting next to Kenny who I'm sure has got a few lines to cheer him up!"

Yeah I never knew Kenny was into the Marching Powder

[Reece]

Not sure if this official or not, but:

paul_tomkins

RT @Simon_Hughes__: Liverpool will not appeal Joe Cole's sending off <- Good, as not one that would get reversed; danger of adding a game

[PTP]

to be fair i'd agree with it - if the appeal can only go one of two ways - card overturned and no ban or 3 games becomes 4 - then the likely the fa will not overturn it. - it would set a season long issue where every sending off will be appealed on the basis that they overturned joe coles one.