Invinciblog’s alternative trophy presentation

You may know him from http://invinciblog.com or from twitter @invinciblog but he’s a funny dude and I asked him if he would make me some alternate trophies for 1st-5th place in this year’s Premier League. And naturally he obliged!

Tottenham’s Andres Villas-Boas gets this gem for his “downward spiral” jibe after Spurs got lucky and beat Arsenal 2-1. 5th place and a half-hearted handy! Enjoy Euroa League football without Gareth Bale next year, chump.

For finding his balls and dropping Szczesny and Vermaelen after that loss to Spurs and thus inspiring the Arsenal defense to one of the best finishes I have ever seen in the Wenger era, here’s 4th place’s “found your balls” trophy.

There’s nothing worse than Chelsea and their managerial revolting door, except their fans and their smug sense of satisfaction at buying some “history” over the last 8 years. I hope they get Mourinho back and he starts fighting with the owner on the very first day. It’s what they deserve, that and this trophy.

It was a close call between Mancini and Benitez as to which would win the revolting manager award. But in the end, Samir Nasri’s slack-jawed 5 goals haul at the cost of over a £2m a goal put Man City one up on Chelsea and ensured that they won the Costly Cup.

And finally, to Man U and Sir Alex Ferguson, 1st place goes to you lot and may it be your last for many many years to come. I know we are all supposed to be teary-eyed because chicken-fried-steak-face retired and all his great “achievements” for England. But I’m going to save my hagiography until after he actually dies because until then, like herpes, we never can trust that he’ll be gone for good.

Mind the spiral

30 Replies

The final day of the English Premier League 2012-2013 season came to a close with Arsenal thumbing our noses down on the French from on our wall and Tottenham hitting a late goal with a bang. Yet it was Arsenal’s superior run of form late in the season which ultimately secured them 4th place and a seat at the Champions League table next season.

Arsene Wenger said after the match that it was Arsenal’s form after 2 February which sealed the points and that no team had taken as many points as Arsenal after that date and he’s right. In League play, the Arsenal took an astonishing 35 points from matchday 24 to the end of the season. Champions United took 30 and just to make it clear how hard fought the run-in was Tottenham took 30 points as well.

Arsenal took those points largely thanks to Arsene setting ashore on a brave new world and relying on defense to see the Gunners through. “Brave new world” comes from the Tempest when Miranda, having never seen outsiders before, sees the riff raff of humanity for the first time and exclaims:

O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t.

And many of Arsenal’s matches in that run-in were of the quality which only Miranda could appreciate. The 2-1 win over West Brom in which Arsenal held on while Lukaku assaulted the Arsenal castle gates, a better finish from him at the death and our story takes a different turn. The 1-0 win over Fulham, which Arsenal seemed to take forever to grow into despite the fact that Steve Sidwell was sent off early for a rash challenge. On and on, by most counts, Arsenal uglied up those games, stifling their opponents and holding on for the win.

Which is exactly what they did against Newcastle yesterday.

Mind the spiral!

I was wrong in thinking that we would see an all-action Arsenal from the start. Instead, Arsene’s side looked like they were a bit bowled over by the importance of the day and they retreated inside their shell. Newcastle started brightly and looked the more likely to score, slipping easily behind an ill disciplined Gibbs time and again. Fortunately, Newcastle were already on vacation and no one felt the need to venture too far forward so that time and again the Toon attack fizzled out.

Referee Howard Web played his part and I thought it was to be the spoiler. Webb loves the physical approach to the game and tends to let players get away with more in a tackle than most refs. This often leads to some over-the-top physical play and things did get tetchy for a while in the first half as Arsenal spent that first 30-40 minutes remonstrating with the referee and shrugging shoulders at each other as if to say “what would you have me do?”

But after the break, Arsenal started to grow in confidence. Almost as if the lessons learned against West Brom and Fulham set off the cartoon lightbulbs over their collective heads. Playing up to the referee instead of just complaining, they started pressing all over the pitch and in the end Arsenal made 27 tackles and won a season high 62 duels all combined (Stoke’s 63 doesn’t count, because Stoke forced Arsenal into 70 aerial duels). This feisty approach from Arsenal suited the refereeing style of Howard Webb and Newcastle remained effectively hemmed into their own half from minute 40 onward, unleashing just two shots total.

Meanwhile, with Theo Walcott up front and told to stay wide for the second half, Arsenal probed and looked for the counter. Walcott probably should have doubled Arsenal’s score but for the post. It was an audacious attempt on goal from the Englishman. He rounded the keeper and attempted to poke home but got his angles wrong. It was the sort of goal that someone like Henry would score in his pomp but that Theo even tried gave me pause to wonder if we aren’t seeing glimpses of more to come from the young man.

Theo Walcott in many ways embodies the growth of this Arsenal team, benched at the start of the season, branded a contract rebel, Theo quietly forced his way into the first team and then into a bigger contract. That was followed by a fallow period and he still manages to annoy at times with his insistence on clogging the center of attack, but when he’s on his game he’s a deadly striker with obscene pace and new-found dribbling ability. His goal against United ensured the point and his goal against QPR, the match winner. He also scored the go-ahead goal against Wigan in a blistering performance which reminded everyone why they made a song about him signing the ting.

But what makes the run in so special for Arsenal is that Tottenham, in the body of just one man, piled the pressure on taking 30 points from their final 14 games. Gareth Bale seemed to will his mediocre team over the line, scoring spectacular late goal after late goal and few better than the curler on the final day against Sunderland. Bale scored 5 of his 21 goals in the last 7 League games for Spurs and his last goal was one of the best, curling in from outside the box, past the defender who knew what he was going to do, past Simon Mignolet who is a fine keeper, and it was almost as if he was announcing to the Tottenham supporters that he is too good for them — and he is. Arsenal put in team performance after team performance defending slim leads garnered by a team orientated passing scheme and Tottenham looked to one player to will them over the line. It might be trite and you might not like to hear it but Spurs are a one-man-team.

Arsenal didn’t have the luxury of just one special player to hang out hopes on and as a result the Gunners counted on a variety of goal scorers and heroes to get us over the line. None more than Koscielny whose play on both ends of the pitch on that final day against Newcastle won the game. Statistically, Koz didn’t do much: 2/2 tackles, 1/3 headed clearances, 2/3 aerial duels, etc. But he made a crucial block and did everything right defensively that us stats folks have yet to find a way to quantify. Oh, and he scored a half-bicycle kick (a unicycle?) to win the game.

Kone-Baloney

Koscielny’s form and partnership with Mertesacker has been a major reason why Arsenal finished the season so strong. Back in November there were a lot of voices calling for Thomas Vermaelen to be dropped by Arsene. After a poor 0-0 draw against Villa I remarked that doing that was the “nuclear option” and it seems that after the Spurs game and their two, too easy, goals Wenger pushed the button. It worked and credit to Wenger for doing it. Yes, Ramsey’s willing work rate and Arteta’s absolutely perfect positioning helped, along with the whole team pressing all over the pitch but when they were called upon to make a spectacular save, block, interception, tackle, header, Koz and Mertesacker did it. 5 clean sheets later and both center backs have scored to win games in this run and Arsenal are back in the Champions League for another season.

But the club can’t rest on its laurels. There can be no doubt that Arsenal’s run of form in the last 10-14 games is the best I have seen from Arsenal since the Invincibles or perhaps the start of the 2006-2007 season. But there can also be no doubt that this summer we will see a massive exodus of players out of contract: Squillaci, Fabianski, and Arshavin. And perhaps a massive exodus of players who are no longer wanted: Bendtner, Djourou, Coquelin, Gervinho. Moreover, managers are moving all over Europe next season, most notably at United, City, and Chelsea, signalling that there will be major disruptions to many teams as they all try to bring in their favorite targets. Arsenal have started the rebuilding process by bringing in the excellent Santi Cazorla, a purchase that reminds me of Dennis Bergkamp, and Arsenal have a solid base to build on in terms of midfield and attack. But they must add depth and quality in certain positions if they are to truly challenge for the League and Champions League next season.

It’s going to be a big summer, I suspect, there are bumper new television contracts, challenges to financial fair play, players moving all over Europe, managers coming and going, and just one constant as the North Star, Arsene Wenger and Champions League football at Arsenal.

Congrats to the boys, but now the hard work begins again.

Rogues Gallery: Emmanuel Adebayor

8 Replies

By Les Crang

Now I have two more games and I will just give it everything, give it a go… If we finish above Arsenal I will be very happy… I don’t care what Arsenal do, what they achieve, that’s not my problem anymore. If I can kill them, I will definitely kill them because we are in a game where wherever you are you have to do your best. – Emmanuel Adebayor 11.05.13

The Rogues Gallery for today was a request on twitter from Ankush Agarwal who tweeted me and Tim asking :

@7amkickoff at this rate, I know who will be the next in Rogues Gallery #Adebayor [After Ade scored against Stoke at the weekend]

I recently wrote a piece on Stewart Robson and I was surprised about how many people disliked him. I don’t dislike Robbo, but Adebayor? He is my Stewart Robson.

It all started so differently, in more ways than one and in many ways, so similar. Different, in that in the January transfer window Arsene Wenger bought three players (the largest amount on players Wenger over spent in mid season). On the 13.01.06 Arsene bought two french based players in Abou Diaby and Emmanuel Adebayor from Auxerre and Monaco respectively. A week later Arsenal bought Theo Walcott.

Emmanuel Adebayor joined for £3,000,000. His record at Monaco was 89 league and cup games and 20 goals, plus two red cards. He had also been a member of the champions league finals team in 2004 for Monaco as an unused sub. Hardly the most auspicious career. I certainly wasn’t expecting great things from him. Ade was seen described as ‘the new Kanu’ [what originality].

On joining Ade said:

Before joining Arsenal, I told myself I’ll do anything to survive and I’m ready for it. I’ll always fight. No matter what striker they bring to Arsenal, even if Samuel Eto’o comes here – and he is one of the best in the world – I will fight. Or if Arsenal should bring back Henry I am ready to fight for my place. I’m not giving up.

If I have the chance to play I will give my best and I am sure the manager and the fans will be pleased with my output, so I am not afraid at all. I have always done that in my life, so why should I stop in this stage of my career? I am now very happy with my form and the way I have learnt from my previous mistakes. I have good team-mates and I am very pleased with the way things are going for me and the way the team is playing.

The similarities between that season and this was that Arsenal were trying to best Spurs to 4th spot. Emmanuel Adebayor made his debut against Birmingham City in a 2-0 win at St.Andrews, with Ade scoring. He scored also against Fulham and then scored the second in a 3-0 win at Highbury over Charlton. I do believe this was Tim’s first game he saw. Of the goal he described it thus:-

Adebayor gets the second after a poor defensive clearance sets him free on goal.

Season 2005-2006 was the season Arsenal were on the march in the champions league, and Arsenal needed to rest Thierry for Europe. As Ade was cup-tied, he covered for Henry, scoring 4 goals in 13 games, as Arsenal pipped Spurs to 4th spot on the final day of the season in a 4-2 win over Wigan. Although we lost the European Cup final 2-1 to Barcelona, Henry had signed a new contract to stay at the Emirates.

With Ade the new signing, It was also a period in which Dennis Bergkamp would get fewer appearances in the team. Kevin Whicher and Alex Fynn;s book Arsenal: The Making of a Modern Superclub wrote:

Besides, unlike many in his trade he wasn’t materialistic. As he said when he arrived at Highbury, “I never believed in star status,” and so easily adapted to the cameo role of the bit-part player. Though as he revealed after his retirement, he felt he was used too infrequently in his last season. Ironically, Arsenal came closest to winning the Champions League in his final year at the club, by which time he had been phased out of the starting line-up, with compatriot Robin van Persie, José Antonio Reyes and Emmanuel Adebayor all ahead of him in the queue for the strikers’ positions. In Europe that season of 2005/06, Wenger often fielded a 4–5–1 formation, leaving Thierry Henry to forage alone in attack whilst withdrawing his second striker into the midfield. It was a relatively new approach on the manager’s part and the team was visibly more compact in the centre when not in possession.

It seems a shame a real legend was phased out for Adebayor, but at the time I guess we never knew the problems he’d later create.

The first inkling that Ade might be a troublesome player was the world Cup of 2006. Ade had scored 11 goals to push Togo into their first World Cup. Most players would be proud of this, but the Togo team players had said they had not been paid their bonuses. At one stage there were rumours of Togo players walking out of the World Cup. In the End they did play. 3 defeats and no goals. Certainly worth that bonus then?

Having retained the service’s of Titi, Arsenal opened their new stadium at the Emirates. Unfortunately, for Henry, he would play only 28 games in his final. Fortunately for Ade, he’d take Henry’s position as main striker. During season 2006/2007 we’d see the good points about Ade. Hight-lights such as scoring the winner at Old Trafford in a 1-0 win. Add to that scoring against Arsenal in the League and Carling Cup Semi at the Emirates.

His bad side was seen in the League Cup Final against Chelsea. Having taken an early lead through Theo, Drogba had got an equaliser and lead goal. Then the defining moment of the final when Jon Obi Mikel started kicking Kolo Toure. A melee of players in which punches were thrown (Cesc being unable to miss Fat Frank’s belly with a punch) meant both Captain Kolo and Ade were sent off for violent conduct. Mikel was the only Chelsea player sent off. Arsenal lost the match 2-1, with a weaker team. Wenger said after the match:-

I’m very proud of the performance of my team… [of the fight] Suddenly we lost it and they lost it as well and i’m not sure the referee picked the right ones out but he made a decision. [He also described the Linesman who advised Webb to send off Ade ‘a liar’.]

Ade’s indiscipline would be a recurring event either for or against Arsenal. Overall though Ade had a good first full season of playing 44 games and scoring 12 goals. My first goal I actually saw scored at the Emirates was when I Ade got one back in a 2-2 with Pompey, in which he put in a fairly good shift.

With Titi moving to Barcelona in 2007, Ade, along with RVP and new signing Eduardo were seen to take up the strain for Arsenal. Season 2007-8 would be the a defining season for Ade, for although his performances were on an upward spiral, as the season progressed his attitude to Arsenal and its supporters disintegrated.

In a season in which Ade scored 30 goals in 48 games you’d think he would have been loved by the fans. Unfortunately, season 2007-2008 was a season of almost winning the league and doing well in Europe and the League Cup. It was also the year the fan’s questioned if Ade knew the off side rule, with one writer saying:-

‘Even if his profligacy irritated those whose glasses were half empty.’

Although Ade could score (even though six of his 30 goals were scored in two games against an abject Derby County team) the season for 2007-8 summed up Ade pretty well. Two stunning goals against Spurs in a 3-1 win at WHL. He also scored against Spurs in December 2007. His scoring record against Spurs also included a Semi-final goal against them. In a 5-1 defeat. The game was best remember for Ade and team-mate Nikolas Bendtner squaring up to each other. Ade’s attitude was now openly being questioned by players and fans.

Overtures from Milan and Barcelona had turned the Togolese international’s head and, endeavouring to exploit his 2007/08 season… he demanded pay parity with the world’s top strikers. In response, Arsenal said they were prepared to let him leave, but at a price, which was set so high as to deter interested parties. So in the end a new deal was eventually struck. (During an argument with a disgruntled fan – “You earn 80 grand a week and you don’t even try”. Adebayor: “Actually, I get 100 grand” – the extravagance of the settlement came to light.)

I have personally meet Ade during this period. I used to frequent a pub called ‘The George’, off the Holloway road before matches. Its hardcore gooner pub. Ade, strolls up in his Chelsea tractor, Friends in tow and parks outside the pub on matchday. Nobody asked for an Autograph or anything or photo, but ‘are you leaving for Milan?’ etc. Ade just shrugs it off and walked away.

A couple weeks later I read about this in Popbitch:-

Emmanuel Adebayor may not be winning the Arsenal fans player of the year award. He parked his car outside a North London pub popular with the club’s fans last week and came back to find it in something of a slightly less-good state when he returned.

Drinkers at The Bailey had amused themselves by making some slight changes to the paintwork as a thank-you for the effort he’s been putting in on the pitch recently.

Now, I don’t condone this type of behaviour, but if you earning such large amounts couldn’t you park in the stadium or a private car park?

In a season in which we came so close in 2007-8, we seemed to be missing one part to win a trophy after we lost Eduardo in Birmingham in 2008. That was a striker to make up for Ade’s many misses. Many felt signing Nicolas Anelka from Bolton would have helped our league push.

Over the close season Ade seemed to be tarting himself both to AC Milan and Barcelona. Ian Castle said of him:-

All in all I didn’t feel that the squad had improved and the loyalty of some of those who remained was questionable. Adebayor had just completed an incredible season in which he scored 30 goals in all competitions but now came the disquieting media gossip, encouraged by his agent, that Adebayor would be interested in possible moves to Barcelona or AC Milan. Fans appreciate loyalty from the players they support – Adebayor’s relationship with the fans deteriorated rapidly after that.

Although Ade stayed for another season, the highlight being again Scoring against Spurs in a forgettable 4-4. Ade had said he wanted to leave by the end of the season for a bigger club. He got his wish. Or half of it when he joined Manchester City for £25,000,000. The disinterest in Ade can be seen in the a Statement by Peter Hill-Wood in 2010 when he said:-

“profits were boosted by some £38 million from the sales of players who were no longer central to Wenger’s future plans”, in an acidic reference to the transfer of Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Touré to the ever-generous Manchester City.

Ade though was not one to leave quietly. On joining City he said:-

I can’t wait to play for City’s fans and show them what I can do, I was born to play football and that is what I want to do. I have come here to make history for this club and those supporters. It what the chairman and the manager told me that they want too and I can’t wait to get started.

On his first game against us at the Ethiad he proceeded to show his class in scoring against us and running to the Arsenal end to nearly incite a riot. He then kicked RVP in the face to earn a 3 match ban.

It was ironic that later in the season when Ade played at the Emirates, he hid behind Patrick Vieira so as not to be boo’d so badly.

Ade has since moved on loan to Real Madrid and Spurs. I think for many fan’s, the fact that he joined Spurs wasn’t too surprising. It seemed he felt rejected by Arsenal and wanted some petty revenge in joining our local rivals. The vitriol he received last season when taking Spurs penalty against us at the Emirates sums it up. This was again underlined when Ade scored again at the Emirates for Spurs this season and got sent off for a petulant stamp on Santi Cazorla.

This season though Ade has been pretty ineffective, with many Spurs fans thinking Ade is trying to lose them a champions league spot above us and that he is a Arsenal ‘plant’. They point out his lack of goals (just 5 goals in comparison to 17 last term). His penalty miss at Basel has since become a tremendous joke for us Gooners. But in the lead up to the final few games Ade has found form (just through pure spite against us I believe). His goal against Chelsea and Stoke propelling them above us briefly.

Owing to Arsenal’s excellent form taking 26/30 points since the loss to Tottenham, as of Sunday, Spurs have again lost out on Champions league football and we can celebrate St.Totteringham’s Day. In many way’s I blame Ade for Spurs losing out. Having scored just 2 more goals than Mertesacker in the league underlines his deficiencies

When Spurs lost Defoe to injury, they hoped Ade would step up to the plate and score. Fortunately, he’s a bottler and them losing out on 4th because of him, couldn’t happen to a more dislikable player.