PL (A): Wolverhampton v Arsenal -11/07 Sat- 17:30 gmt

[ibby]

Why does Song turn 360 degrees every other time he gets the ball before passing it?

Tbf, it nearly always works, he's hardly ever caught in possession.

It's his off the ball activities that bother me though but it seems to be more of a problem at home than it is away. Perhaps he's more lethargic at home because opposition are **** scared and he thinks he can afford to relax a bit but away from home he's more alert and switched on and therefore covers his space better and isn't attracted to the ball as much.

 

[MAK 14]

It's nice to come away with clean sheets, but providing they are consolation goals they're not a worry.

Thought we were great today. Started off poorly but once we got into our stride we were great. Thought Ramsey, Fabregas and Sagna were great today. Eduardo was good too.

Also, Song is a major piece of our midfield. As soon as he came on we started dominating the midfield.

 

[IBL]

those Wolves fans are surely some of the most idiotic around. First there was 'England' chants, then the booing of Eduardo...and then the above.

We need to blood our youngsters (Coqueline or Eastmond) quickly as we cant be relying on Song to be our single defensive style midfielder. I dont trust any of our other mids to fill that position on a consistent basis, only other option is for us to buy someone in jan but thats not going to happen

 

[stiiphunn]

I think we exagerate a little bit about Song changing everything today.

It may be one of the factors but Wolverhampton couldn't keep pressuring us like they did in the first 20 minutes. At one point they were obviously going to give us a bit more space. Also scoring the first goal - especially the way we did - made it very hard for them.

 

[Gooner_Stu]

So badically we learned today that we need as many points before Song goes on Holiday in Jan/Feb to keep the title fight going forward. This is the fixtures for January he could miss

09 Sat Barclays Premier League H Everton
17 Sun Barclays Premier League A Bolton Wanderers
20 Wed Carling Cup N Semi-Final 2L
23 Sat The FA Cup N Round 4
27 Wed Barclays Premier League A Aston Villa
31 Sun Barclays Premier League H Manchester United

Im looking at them thinking those are the kind of games we'l need him for, although im sure those dates are subject to change.

Anyway, on today. Good performance once Song came on, i think the midfield and Defence must feel so much more at ease when he's amoungst them and it was noticable. Sorry that Eddie's not been given the goal, although i wonder if Craddock would rather it be listed as Eduardo's then his OG :mrgreen: But glad the AFC bandwagon rolls on with another victory. I hope this moral see's us through the month and onto the new year !!

 

[Gooner_Stu]

Why does Song turn 360 degrees every other time he gets the ball before passing it?

Maybe its something to do with protecting the ball? Turn your back on a player and he's probably going to foul you in trying to win possesion?

 

[USArsenal]

Chelsea's turn will come when they lose their players in the ACN.

no it won't.. they are playing teams like Hull, Sunderland (home), Birmingham (home) and Burnley... i expect them to get maximum points against those teams, even without Essien or Drogba..

 

[Rohit]

Good professional away performance.

Next!

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Would be nice if Essien and Drogba could get injured at the African Cup of Nations, as they play us about a week after it finishes.

 

[Rohit]

I have to admit i was wrong about Ramsey not being ready to start in Premiership games as i thought he struggles when the pace of the game is very high. The kid still has a lot of work to do and shouldn't be starting games week in week out but on the evidence of the first 20 minutes when Wolves simply chased and closed down everything he is not that far off. Decent overall performance from him.

 

[Nela]

Chelsea's turn will come when they lose their players in the ACN.

no it won't.. they are playing teams like Hull, Sunderland (home), Birmingham (home) and Burnley... i expect them to get maximum points against those teams, even without Essien or Drogba..

ACN isn't just a problem because those players miss a few games, it's a problem because of what it takes out of them physially and the danger of injuries. Just look at how Toure returned after the last ACN. In fact that same year I remember that Drogba wasn't back to his usual self for a couple of months after the tournament.

 

[sabret00the]

Good stuff all round, except of course our set piece defending which is still abysmal.

We got lucky God fixed Wenger's mistake by smiting down one of Diaby/Ramsey. What the hell was he thinking playing that midfield?

That's a little harsh, looking at the game, I had confidence that Ramsey could grow into the role and also provide those diagonal balls that Fabregas used to make for Adebayor. That said, he clearly needs games to grow into the role and i doubt he'll get that.

 

[GoonerGurjit]

Overall Ramsey did pretty well, but some of his passing wasn't great. He messed up a couple of great opportunities to put a team mate through on goal. Also he pretty much messed up the pass that Eduardo scored from.

 

[sabret00the]

His passes are all far to soft

 

[Anzac]

His passes are all far to soft

I'd say that is typical of Diaby's passing.

 

[USArsenal]

Chelsea's turn will come when they lose their players in the ACN.

no it won't.. they are playing teams like Hull, Sunderland (home), Birmingham (home) and Burnley... i expect them to get maximum points against those teams, even without Essien or Drogba..

ACN isn't just a problem because those players miss a few games, it's a problem because of what it takes out of them physially and the danger of injuries. Just look at how Touré returned after the last ACN. In fact that same year I remember that Drogba wasn't back to his usual self for a couple of months after the tournament.

and yet look what happened to Eboue when HE came back from the ACN in 2006.. he came back a more accomplished player and helped backstop us to the CL final..

i understand the point about players being tired afterwards, but the reality is, they wont have as many problems as people keep saying.. when Drogba goes, they have Anelka.. when Essien and Mikel go, they have Ballack..

if any of their players get injured, THEN then might start having a problem

 

[GoonerGurjit]

His passes are all far to soft

Are you talking solely about this game or generally?

 

[Anzac]

Just watching the 1st half now.
Graphic has us lining up 4231 with Cesc in the hole.
What I've noticed is that Cesc is working B2B but often Ramsey is our deepest CM & Diaby is often aheaf of the ball (again). Cesc & Ramsey are mainly the deeper CMs.

 

[Gurgen]

His passes are all far to soft

I think it's nerves, his passing in the middle of the park is usually crisp but he fluffs some easy passes in the final third.

 

[KY]

Posted this on the injury thread but any news on the Diaby front? Is it bad?