Arsenal FC or British Lyonnais?

Arsenal football club under Arsene Wenger have been a top 4 side in the Premier League throughout his entire tenure. From 1997-2005, he’s led the Gunners to 3 league titles, 4 FA Cup and Community Shield victories respectively. However, since 2005 they have not won anything and that begs the question, are Arsenal still a top side? The short answer would be yes, but where they sit now among Europe’s upper echelon has changed.

When Arsene Wenger led Arsenal to all of those titles, he did it with a predominantly veteran side built on solid defense, dynamic attack and a sprinkle of youth. Since the departure of Thierry Henry to Barcelona marked the end of the old guard at Arsenal, Wenger has undertaken a youth movement that is not only yet to yield results but in the last year looks to be regressing. Arsenal are among the most naturally talented sides in Europe with a core of players who’s maximum potential is are nowhere close to being reached. This all sounds fantastic and with Wenger’s shrewd eye for young talent, you would think the club is on the right path. Well its true they are on the right path…almost.

Arsenal have become a selling club, it is fitting that the club be under the guidance of a French manager because they have essentially become the British version of Lyon. A predominantly young side with enough quality to challenge domestically and in Europe but cannot quite reach the top because of an inability to hold onto and attract Europe’s elite players.

There is one major difference however between Arsenal and Lyon, that difference is Arsenal possess the ability to immediately change their circumstances. Arsene Wenger’s fiscally responsible management approach should be applauded for the most part. He is a football purest, he believes in playing the beautiful game the right way, developing young talent, not overspending on player transfers and not paying exuberant player salaries. The problem is that his refusal to acquiesce to the modern economics of the game has seen Arsenal continually lose its top players to big clubs willing to pay them on par with Europe’s elite. This approach was all well and good when he yielded a side of polished veterans with the ability to win immediately, but when you have an extremely young team who are not yet ready to win, players will leave for big money and the promise of trophies. The best example of this is Cesc Fabregas having left this past week for Barcelona and already having won a trophy after only playing for 15 minutes on his debut. Names such as Diarra, Flamini, Hleb, Adebayor and soon to be Nasri have all left or in Nasri’s case will soon leave the club just as they are ascending to the level of top class players.

In his time as Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger most expensive transfer has been a £14, 520,000 move for Andrey Arshavin. In terms of world football’s economic climate that is just unacceptable for a club looking to win trophies. For Arsenal to turn their fortunes around in the near future, Wenger needs to first make use of that large blank cheque that the club has made available to him and sign 3 or 4 fully developed world class players in their prime, and second re-sign his young stars to contracts with salaries on par with the rest of Europe so they don’t leave for more lucrative pastures. Wenger need look no further than Barcelona for the blueprint. Barcelona now have a senior squad where 50% of the roster are homegrown players straight out of La Masia, and with the signing of Cesc Fabregas can now field a world class starting 11 comprised solely of homegrown players. Barcelona are smart enough to know that you have to pay your best the salaries that will keep them with the club, which they have systematically done with every youth system product. They have also shown the willingness to splash the cash when they think it be necessary. Arsenal have been called mini Barcelona, its time they started acting like it.

With the sale of Cesc Fabregas and the imminent departure of Samir Nasri, Wenger has eluded to the possibility that he may be willing to spent upwards of £30 million should the right player become available. It seems he may have no choice but to spend big now with the transfer market drawing to a close in a few weeks. Even the best managers, and Arsene Wenger is certainly one of them, run out of time after not winning for too long and his time may be up if he does not make a drastic change soon.

Arsenal have the manager, stadium, history, potential and most importantly the money to attract the best players. ‘The Professor’ has his finger on the trigger, now its time to pull it.

A Tribute To RONALDO

Enjoy these 2 videos...

Simply the Best: Ronaldo Retires

Brazilian star Ronaldo was quite simply the best striker in the history of world football!

Read more at Suite101: Simply the Best: Ronaldo Retires http://www.suite101.com/content/simply-the-best-ronaldo-retires-a347375#ixzz1DwSqaGNP

Present Day F.C. Barcelona: The Best in History

The current edition of F.C. Barcelona is the greatest football side ever assembled! The following is my supporting argument.

Being a 100% biased Barcelona supporter, most automatically dismiss my notion for them being the best side ever as fanaticism without fact. However, as a lover of the game and a football purest, I would be insulting the game I love were I took make such a bold statement without providing a thorough argument as to why. There are only a few sides in the history of the game where you can make a legitimate case for being the best side in history.

First being the Real Madrid team if the 1950’s featuring Di Stefano, Puskas and Gento which won 5 successive European Cups, and 8 Spanish Primera titles. Numbers like those in the modern era are more or less impossible to achieve. The overall level of play has risen substantially, and there is vast parity in football now, particularly on European Cup competition. Nonetheless, this Real Madrid side is considered the first real dynasty of world football and therefore considered to be one of the greatest ever.

Next up is The Ajax team of the 1970’s which boasted the like of Cruyff, Van Dijk, Rep and Neeskens. They won 3 European Cups and 5 Eredivisie titles, highlighted by their treble winning year of 1972 where they won the European Cup, Eredivisie title and Dutch Cup that year. This great team though statistically impressive, will be most remembered for introducing the world to Total Football. The style of football they played brought the world to its feet by showing how all 10 outfield players could be involved in attack.

The third team on this list is Liverpool of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Featuring current club manager Kenny Dalglish, they won 4 European Cups, 2 UEFA Cups and 6 of 11 English League titles the club amassed from 1972-1990. Not as attractive to watch as the other sides being compared, though extremely efficient. The domination over such a long period solidified their place as one of the great sides for all time.

The first of what can truly be considered the modern era of football is the A.C. Milan team of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. They were the first team to field a laundry list of stars, featuring Baresi, Maldini, Gullitt, Van Basten and Rijkaard among others. They won 3 European Cups, 2 UEFA Super Cups, 4 Italian Super Cups and 4 Serie A titles with probably the most balanced side ever at that point in history. The incredible balance between an almost impenetrable defense and high-powered made them the only back-to-back European Champions to date.

Finally we come to Barcelona of present, simply the greatest the world has ever seen. Beginning with the Champions League winning team centered around 2-time FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho to the present squad built around 2-time FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi. They have won 2 Champions League titles, 4 Spanish Primera titles (likely to be 5 this year), a Spanish Cup, 4 Spanish Super Cups, A European Super Cup and a FIFA World Club Cup title. They are the only side to ever win all 6 trophies available to them in one year (2008-2009) and have all 3 players shortlisted for FIFA World Player of the Year (FIFA Ballon D’or) come from the same team. The play a brand of football never seen before, it is the blueprint of Ajax Total Football taken to new heights. During this time they have switched managers from Frank Rijkaard to Pep Guardiola. They have also changed regimes on the pitch as well from the trio Ronaldinho-Deco-Eto’o to Messi-Xavi-Iniesta. They are setting Spanish League and European records for points, winning streaks, and goals scored. Lionel Messi is also well on his way to breaking all individual record for club, league and Europe for goals and awards. They are flat out the best we’ve ever seen, not to say they can never be surpassed, but it will take some doing.

You may disagree, as I guarantee many will. You can put forward an argument for another team, but it won’t make you any less wrong.

In a thrilling and competitive football game, the Green Bay Packers emerged victorious. A game that provided a few twists and turns, was not decided until the final minute. The Packers outlasted the Steelers to bring the NFL Championship trophy, named after legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi, back to its rightful home.

The Steelers in large part, shot themselves in the foot. Three turnovers that resulted in each time in a Packers touchdown was more than the difference in the game, especially in contrast to the zero turnovers from the Packers. Both teams lost players during the game, notable were the loses of veterans Charles Woodson and  Donald Driver for the Packers to a broken collar bone and sprained ankle respectively.

The quarterback matchup was highly featured in the lead up to the game but it was the Packers secondary that made the difference with two interceptions. The Packers star linebacker Clay Matthews forced the third turnover from Mendenhall late in the game.

Aaron Rodgers executed exceptionally, even with receivers dropping more than a few passes. Jordie Nelson alone dropped four passes, yet still Rodgers continued to sling the ball around with surgical precision. The way he moved the ball down the field in the fourth quarter solidified his MVP award. Greg Jennings was an honorable mention with two touchdowns, including the game winning score. Aaron Rodgers, after three years as a a starter, is finally out from under the shadow of Bret Favre. Now equaling Favre's sole Super Bowl victory, coupled with MVP honors, Aaron Rodgers has surpassed the accomplishments of his legendary predecessor.

It wasn't the greatest Super Bowl ever, but it was highly competitive. The Packers were deserving winners, with Aaron Rodgers, his 304 yards passing and 3 touchdowns, a deserving MVP. This matchup of two legendary franchises left nobody wanting, the city of Dallas put on a good show and speaking for football fans everywhere, we can't wait until Super Bowl XLVI next year.

A poem by Cindy Le

This is a poem my friend Cindy Le sent me this morning. I really liked it so I asked her if I could post it and she agreed. I have another poem posted by the same name its called 'In The End'. Enjoy...

Can't believe the mistakes we made..
Nothing more than a price we have to pay.
Matching tattoos of his and hers,
Our meaning of "eternal love" has gone away.
 
Many things were said and done
It was when I fell in love with you, 
swore in confidence i'd never leave, 
But there's nothing left for us to do.
 
Thanks to the blood and tears
Of all the promises, so hard to keep.
From this uncalled for fight,
Our pain and hurt will scar so deep.
 
As the months turned to years,
It seemed I would only love you more..
but now everything is a mess,
and my soul lays torn on the floor.
 
And now our love will fade,
Fade away and never, ever come back. 
I can't do this any more. 
My heart is down to it's last crack.
 
I said I would never forget you, 
And i swear this will always be true.
But our love, it's not the same.
You and I, "we" just can't continue.

My review of "Barney's Version"

Over the weekend I went to see Barney's Version and while overall I enjoyed the film it left me with some thoughts and questions.

Let me start by stating for those who don't already know, Paul Giamatti is one of the better actors of our time, he has mastered the art of dramatic comedy and in this film showed what a good actor can do with a mediocre script. His portrayal of Barney Panofsky is brilliant, he manages to layer his character and really convey the essence of a man that is of two minds and two hearts. Let the record also show that Dustin Hoffman who plays Giamatti's father in the film is subtly masterful, while its clear he drew quite a bit from his character in the "Meet The Parents" franchise, he still manages to compliment Giamatti very well and adds moments of real delight to the film.

Now, with that said there are aspects to this film that are less than spectacular. The first being the length, it runs 132 minutes and drags on at certain points. I'm usually a fan of length because I enjoy very detailed storylines but this one seemed to add length for no reason, if certain parts of the story had been resolved then maybe the time lags wouldn't have been so apparent, if at all. That leads me to my next issue, the film introduces certain things into the story that are never fully resolved, like how 'Boogie' played by Scott Speedman dies and its never actually revealed how it actually happened, disappointingly so because Barney was his suspected murderer. The film hints at an explanation but its a bit of a stretch and never confirmed. Near the end they seemed to want to just be done with the murder suspect part of the plot as the story had already developed into so much more away from that, the film really could have done without the whole accused of murder story.

There are many who may not like the dark and sad ending to the film but I actually thought it was well done, it showed an elderly Barney losing his memory and having to be taken care of by his ex-wife and kids whom he had hurt in the past, it presented the moral that in the end all you have is family. It really helped leave the audience feeling the effect it deserved and that which the writing otherwise did not provide.

Overall the cast was well put together and the roles well executed, in many ways it reminds me of "There Will Be Blood" whereby a less than award worthy film is carried by more than awards worthy performances.