That was a sound thrashing yesterday of Arsenal by Chelsea, due to Wenger's failure to prepare his players, his squad selection (and obvious squad depth issues) and Marriner being a fucking daft ref who can't tell the difference between Kieran Gibbs and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Oh well. 4th and the F.A. Cup is all Arsenal can achieve now - based on Liverpool's current form and that City have 2 matches in hand, I can't see Arsenal finishing above either of those, which is a shame considering the great season the club had had up to the start of February. Roll on F.A. Cup (and 4th place trophy and no summer spending, etc. etc. again). Fucksakes.
If only he'd bought a real quality striker instead of some nobody mid-30s Swede with a broken back. FFS. Every year it's the same shit. If we choke the FA Cup I'm going to kick something.
He's never going to buy a real quality striker (or purchase any other players for the other positions that desperately need reinforcing, like at RB and DM and RW) and has shown this by saying that there is "no value" in the transfer market every year. He's a proud penny-pincher and will not change his ways. I expect Wigan to beat Arsenal based on Arsenal's current form and for Arsenal to win 3 out of the 5 remaining league matches and finish 5th or 6th now. The only way things will change at the club is if there is a new manager in charge next season and a Director of Football (preferably a prominent former player) to sign players for the club, since Wenger is too stubborn to change his tactics and approach to individual matches. I feel that Wenger has been given ample time and resources (that's for definite this season but there was some money to spend last season too) and yet, still, every year, it's the same old shit with regards to the title challenge and injuries killing us off. Enough is enough. Wenger out.
Obviously I am happy for the Club for the win but... It was more dumb luck with Kos's goal allowing for extra time. The worst part of this is now Wenger will consider it justified to not spend a damn thing this summer because he can laud the F.A. Cup win over everyone. Lots of players will leave (the 3 frees of Sagna, Bendtner and Fabianski as well as Afobe, Arteta, Coquelin and TV5 to be sold and the loans of Kallstrom and Viviano to end and probably not be extended and Sanogo, Bellerin and Aneke to go out on loan) and Wenger will really HAVE TO spend this summer. It's necessary to sustain the team. He cannot be allowed to get away with fucking up another Summer window like he did this year and bitch about there being "no value" in the Winter window. The excuses are getting old. The money is there for strengthening the squad. He MUST use it. Also, Sagna should not have played yesterday. Jenkinson should have started. I feel the same about Szczesny playing over Fabianski. He keeps showing loyalty to players like Sagna, RvP, Fabregas, Na$ri, etc. who don't show him any back. He needs to stop being so sentimental.
I don't really follow soccer, but I see in the news Landon Donovan was cut from the US team.... Is that a good or bad thing?
I haven't seen much of Donovan recently but he was a quality player. He actually scored the 2nd goal against Mexico to get the USMNT to the WC in the first place. Due to his ability to play a number of positions (deep-lying forward, winger, attacking midfielder...), I think he'll be missed, at least as a squad player who would allow the coach to change things up.
"WAS" a quality player is the key word. Donovan hasn't been the same in late 2013/early 2014. Word is he came to prelim camp a bit out of shape and overweight. Watching his recent performance with the LA Galaxy tells a similar tale. Additionally he ran afoul of Klinsmann when he took his little hiatus/sabbatical early on in Klinsmann's tenure in a semi-important period. At that point he basically earned himself no favors. Came in with the opportunity to earn his spot, wasn't going to be a key contributor, so Klinsmann opted for youth. The other interesting thing about Donovan is as he aged and lost some of his once impressive speed, he didn't really alter his game, didn't want to play deeper (see Steven Gerrard shifting from box to box MF to more of a holding role as he aged). Couple that with Klinsmann's desire for speed on the wings, as evidenced by the squad he chose, and you could see where Donovan didn't fit perfectly.
I nearly forgot... this happened this week 25 years ago. Possibly the single greatest League win by any team thanks to this quite literally league-winning goal in a match played by the top 2 teams that year as the final league fixture of the season after postponement. Don't watch, JWags.