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Hyvää huomenta Positivistas,

I admit I anticipated problems this morning in producing anything vaguely readable or fresh about yesterday’s game. Different competion to the 4^th December but same score, same result, almost the same players, same one-eyed nonsense from Sam Allardyce about how his side deserved “more” from the game, same weather, same bloody goal-scorers for Gawd’s sake….Ok Ok, Lee Cattermole was not booked but could I weave 600 words from such a handful of limp straw ? …………… What is an artist to do ??!

Well like all the truly greats when faced with a blank canvas I go out and steal.

And my choice of burglary victim was “A Love Supreme” the biggest and, it seemed to me, the most sophisticated of Sunlun fan sites. Those Mackems and their match report did not disappoint;

“Sunderland lost 3-1 away to Arsenal in a game where we were undone by a side with far more quality in their ranks. An early goal from Jermain Lens gave the travelling fans hope, but three great goals from Arsenal saw us eliminated from the FA Cup at the first hurdle.”

“Sam Allardyce had explicitly stated he would name a team of youngsters down at Arsenal, partly down to our league position, but also down to the horrendous fixture congestion which we’d been conned into, having to play three games just days apart. Whether he had a change of heart, or it was just mind games, that wasn’t how the starting XI ended up, at all.”

I could not have put it better myself, saved all that tedious crowing about us being clearly the better side. (Using a word like “explicitly” about Fat Sam’s pronouncements is also ‘cutting edge’ in my view). Describing the second half they went on to say;

“Their passing was very impressive, and the pace in which they played seemed too sophisticated for us.”

“It was almost deja vu the way Arsenal worked their way in for the second goal — passing, moving, and scoring goals is obviously something they’re proficient in, unfortunately we wouldn’t know anything about that, ourselves”

And for all our readers interested in the topic of refereeing A Love Supreme’s commentator added this pithy observation;

“Arsenal should have scored again after Giroud was played through on goal. He was brought down by Deandre Yedlin, who just full-on charged into him. It was a definite penalty, but the ref wasn’t having it. Hilarious. Not very often those decisions go our way, and what a waste of a time to cash that in. The game is already gone!”

 Such painfully honest writing deserves to be read in its whole excruciating sequence of revelation and self torture. It is the sheer truthfulness that gets me. (I’m welling up here) I attach a link at the bottom of the page.

As I say I think they have it spot on. We were far superior from minute one to minute ninety three. We found it difficult to score a second and really get a solid grip on the game but the introduction of Aaron and Mikel raised the pace of our attacking game in the final third and the quality of our passing just above the level that Sunlun could cope with. The outcome after that was pretty much inevitable.

Pats on the back for Joel and young Alex Iwobi, the Ox was much livelier and even Theo was much more involved. Chambers is growing into his job in midfield, bit erratic but loads of energy. And don’t forget Cech. What saves Petr had to make where performed in a manner that made the difficult look common-place, a trait of all great keepers.

If I was looking for areas of improvement I thought we looked a little edgy in the centre of defence to the high ball and Fetcher caused us a few problems. I expect Per will be back for Anfield as instead of the ageing Fletcher it will be Benteke swooping through the air six yards out.

Enjoy your Sunday and roll on Wednesday.

http://www.a-love-supreme.com/Match%20Reports/matcharsenalawaycup.htm

Well, it’s a new year and I think that’s a good time to look at the squad and management. So let’s analyse them individually through my expert eyes.

Petr Čech

A Chelsea back up player that showed us all we need to know when he threw in two during our first league game against West Ham. In the twilight of his career but I suppose he is better than the alternatives.

Davis Ospina

The less said about this dwarf keeper the better. I mean, he can’t even catch a ball and nearly saw us out of the Champion’s League.

Mathieu Debuchy

That he was still playing for Newcastle at 29 years of age says it all. Now he can’t even get a place on the substitutes bench. He won’t fight for his place because he is weak minded.

Laurent Koscielny

Was plucked from obscurity when we should have been buying Samba. Turns his back on driven balls and has a horrible habit of going to ground in the box, a penalty waiting to happen in every game.

Kieran Gibbs 

When he is ever fit to play his positioning is useless. He can run quite fast but offers little when he gets to where he is running. Only makes the squad because of the home grown rule.

Nacho Monreal

Yet another bargain basement buy. He is a liability. Poor defender by any measure. Worst of all he looks like Peter Crouch.

Per Mertesacker

This guy has the turning circle of a battleship. He is six foot five and can hardly get off the ground, midgets beat him in the air. Quite assured on the ball when he eventually passes it, after allowing the opponents to get back into shape.

Calum Chambers

Honestly, I don’t even know what this kid is supposed to be. We have tried him at right back, centre half and defensive midfield and he has failed to impress anywhere. £16 million down the drain? I ask you.

Gabriel

Another cheap option. Total madman,he couldn’t even see what Costa was up to! Reasonable back up but no more. You get what you pay for, I suppose.

Hector Bellerin

This lad looks like a prospect, but no way should he be learning on the job at our great club. Barca didn’t want him so that perhaps should tell us what we need to know. Not big enough to defend his post. Still, he is lightning fast and might make a good winger some day.

Tomáš Rosický

This ageing perma-crock has played about 10 games in 10 years. Never big and powerful enough to be a proper player in the Premier League. Good on the ball but nothing at the end of if. Runs about like a senile terrier chasing a tennis ball. His days are long gone. Deadwood if ever I saw it.

Aaron Ramsey

The most over-rated player at the club (and that’s saying quite something ). Loses the ball all over the pitch. Obsessed with scoring, the greedy  git. No defensive discipline at all. Vacates the midfield in search of glory. He isn’t even English. Should have been sold into the Championship where he belongs.

Mikel Arteta

Lol. I mean, just lol. He came to us when already past his best, as a replacement for the sensational Cesc Fàbregas, I mean, just as if! !??!! What legs he ever had have gone and he just passes backwards. Captain? He couldn’t lead a dog on a walk. We need a leader of men, not a leader of the conga at an old folks home.

Santiago “Santi” Cazorla González

Moved into midfield because he couldn’t cut it on the wing, where he was bought to play. How can a midget play centre-mid in this league? I suppose we can say he has two good feet, but we need power and pace in midfield and he offers neither.

Jack Wilshere

This lad looked good 6 years ago, but it turns out he is made of glass. Some good close control but just runs into blind alleyways. No longer sure what his best position is, but it should be at another club as we can’t depend on him being fit. Popular with fans because he is a local lad, but is that enough?

Mathieu Flamini

Left us when we needed him and came back when no one wanted him. He was free for a reason. Technically woeful. All he can do is shout and point. A red card waiting to happen too. Never good enough. The rich bastard.

Mesut Özil

Lazy overpriced Muslim flop. Floats about the field like he is out for a jog. Doesn’t think a player like him should track back. Proper big time Charlie, just because his team mates won the World Cup for him. OK, he gets some assists, but he is a passenger the rest of the time. To think we once had Cesc and now we have him. Its disgusting.

Francis Coquelin

Called back in an emergency after several loan spells where he had failed to impress anyone. Very limited player . OK as a back up. We need an upgrade in this position that has been neglected for 10 years. With money in the bank we should be buying a beast, instead we have to put up with a player we were trying to push out of the door.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Five years since Southampton fleeced us and he has not improved a jot ! He plays out wide and gives us no end product. Spends most of his time looking down at his boots. No goals, no assists, no anything apart from a winning smile.

Olivier Giroud

He is a lamppost. The worst striker to ever lead the line for Arsenal. He is a big lump with the pain threshold of a toddler. Absolutely no pace, when he can be bothered running that is. His flicks lead to a goal once in a blue moon and somehow people think this is OK. Perhaps fans are as infatuated by his good looks as he clearly is? After Wright, Henry, and the wonderful RVP we are stuck with this. Its not right. It just isn’t!

Danny Welbeck

Does he even still play for us any more? A United cast off. No end product.Can play centre forward or on the wing, but when I say “play”?? You know.  If he ever does play again he will offer little.

Theo Walcott

We have been paying him massive wages for almost 10 years now, and for what? He can run fast, but we pay him to play football. After 10 years of doing nothing on the wing he has been shunted to centre forward because everyone else is crap. Goes totally absent for almost all of our games and can only score if he hasn’t got time to shit himself.

Joel Campbell

Yet another one that was half way out of the door before we negligently left ourselves short following another useless transfer window. He will never be good enough. Works hard it has to be said.

Alexis

He is God. The best player since Henry. He is everything a professional player should be. Wonderful beautiful glorious man.  Runs endlessly, tracks back and scores for fun.

Arsène Wenger

Useless at tactics, outdated training methods, stealing £8 million a year. He puts faith in players we all know cant string two games together. Happy with his 4th place ‘trophy’, and he is French. What more can I say WEGNER OUT.

Steve Bould

Nothing more than a yes man for the great dictator. He is allowed to do nothing more than put out the cones.

Stan Kroenke

An owner with no interest in football. Has bought 70% of the club so he can steal money under the pretence of one of his companies doing some imaginary work. Gives the manager free reign to run the club like a holiday camp as long as he gets the Champions League jackpot money.

Ivan Gazidis

Just a spin doctor. Promised us we would like Bayern Munich and we are not. He lied to us.

Now at  this point I feel its only fair to say I’ve never actually seen any of these players play the game. All my insight comes from reading twitter, blogs and listening to podcasts. I am surprised though that given what I’m lead to believe, Arsenal have won back to back FA cups and currently sit on top of the hardest league in the world.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Boker Tov Positivistas,

I think the lesson I take from this season’s Festive football fixtures is “to expect the unexpected”, and perhaps it will be the theme of the whole 2015/2016 campaign?

Having allowed the in game adrenaline to cool I enjoyed the game yesterday. We were clearly not at our best. After a bright opening we found ourselves out of ideas and the visitors worked their way commendably back in to the game. By the half way mark it was an even contest.

My pre game expectation was that Toon would come for a point, ten players behind the ball all afternoon, park the proverbial charabanc, and cross the half way line only with great reluctance. As matters turned out when they found they were able to and allowed to play football they responded positively. It made for better entertainment, looking back, albeit a little hard on the nerves at the time.

The hysteria about McLaren setting out to ‘kick’ Arsenal out of the game seem misdirected. Precious little dishonest aggression from either side although the Ox was a little fortune that Taylor was following the ball rather than spotting his scissoring an opponent after 20 minutes. Don’t do that at the Camp Nou son, it will be noticed. Colback picked up his traditional weekly booking – regular as clockwork that boy – remarkably consistent. These things happen, no harm done, both sides I thought treated each other and the laws of the game with respect.

Into the second half and for a few minutes the visitors really did have the initiative with Petr Cech earning his corn in his busiest home game since Bayern ( or Spurs !). Man of the Match was not in much doubt. There was little rocking along the back four and, unusually, for our intrepid and older Spanish full back the incisive Geordie thrusts were coming down that left hand side. Nacho had a difficult afternoon by his smooth standards but, to his credit, stayed on the job and put in a few important interceptions and tackles. When we went forward we looked dangerous to the edge of the NUFC box but after that, in the tight confined of Barcode Central, we never managed to find the extra space to put in a killer shot or accurate header.

The one serious error I thought McLaren’s and his boys made in the second half, after about an hour really, and when they were still enjoying possession and creating chances was to start wasting time. It may have been part of their game plan, it may have been because after an hour of running at us they were knackered. That breather for both sides changed the rhythm of the game, as did the introduction of that old piece of Costa Rican deadwood Joel Campbell ! We steadied, and began to move forward again.

And then the goal, described by some as a ‘tap in’, by others as a ‘classic poacher’s’ goal. Probably somewhere between the two but Laurent did very well to find that yard of space that had eluded every other Arsenal player all afternoon and despatch the ball efficiently.

After the goal I thought we were relatively comfortable. Not that Toon did not push us and put in a couple of late headers but our defending was more assured, with Gibbs and later still Chambo on, while the visitors became more ragged and both sides tired on a wet afternoon. And the newly pink cheeked Aaron nearly rounded off the afternoon with a beautiful solo goal. Unlucky son but don’t stop trying the magic. Not aware of any injuries so a good afternoon all round.

New Years Honours List for Arsenal yesterday; Medals for Cech, Nacho, Laurent, and Joel. Mentioned in Despatches the Flamster and Ramsey. Must try harder/naughty step certificates for Theo and the Ox, the former anonymous and the latter still struggling to balance his enthusiasm with doing the simple things well. For the visitors I award the best player pennant to Wijnaldum. I suspect that Mike Ashley will have him in the shop window before long.

A week to rest and recuperate before Sunlun at the Ems and almost certainly a few of yesterday’s starts benched or given the afternoon off. Fat Sam will also rest what passes for first choices among his motley crew of the SS Black Cat. We shall see.

Enjoy Sunday !!

See, that’s the kind of seemingly innocent enquiry which really chafes my backside, brings me out in hives and makes me want to go hunt down the editors who instruct their minions to ask such loaded questions. Journalist to Arsène at this week’s presser: “Can you tell us a bit more about the work he’s done off the pitch to make such an improvement on the pitch?” This enquiry was, believe it or not, about Mesut Özil. Why do I get in such a lather about such an irrelevance as the form of words chosen? Isn’t the hack actually praising one of Arsène’s key signings? More than that wasn’t there an unintended sliver of praise for the great man and his coaching methods?

The editorial line and media mantra where Mesut is concerned has shifted to ‘the jury used to be out’ (certain ex managers have failed to read the memo on that one haven’t they Mr Moyes?). This in turn had followed on from the nonsense about him being a ‘flop’. Now that it has become simply impossible to deny his genius and maintain credibility with any other than the criminally insane (and a few Chelsea fans), the line has had to be altered once more.

Of course what matters to the press is that their earlier gibberish about Mesut being a flop must under no circumstances be shown up for the utter horse shit that it always was. So rather than apologise for the lies they have consistently told about him they have to suggest he has improved. Not that he was and always has been one of the very best players in world football but that he has miraculously got better since a couple of seasons ago when he committed the ultimate crime of signing for Arsenal. An act heinous enough in itself but one compounded by proving that Arsène Wenger will in fact spend money when he has it to spend. For these sins our Deutsch Genie simply had to be castigated. Being part of a disgraced and disgraceful body of men and women the apparatchiks of the press must now say he has improved. Not admit they were wrong, but say that things have changed.

Ian Wright uses the same damning with faint praise on the telly. I accidentally had English speaking commentary on the other day and the one time Arsenal legend couldn’t just say what a great player Nacho Monreal is. Neither could he point out how brilliant an Arsène Wenger signing he was, thus proving so many people wrong yet again by not being a huge ‘name’ and not costing the earth. No, Ian had to describe him as the most improved player in our squad. Once again that word, implying that all the undeserved criticism wasn’t short sighted and ill informed over reaction but that things had unexpectedly changed. It is grudging false praise, disguised, self serving criticism and hearing it makes me want to sit on a barbed heated spike for relief.

How anyone can defend any of these lying, parasitic, twisted, immoral scumbags defeats me. They dig the well and fill it with the poison upon which the anti Arsenal Regiment sustains its moronic hordes of foot soldiers. They direct the herd, they are cheerleaders for all that is base and wicked about the modern game and society in general. Eschew them I say! Eschew them vigorously and at every turn.

Right, now I’ve cleared that one up let us turn to the matter in hand. A Saturday afternoon three o’clock kick off, nearly a week after our last game. Some semblance of normality returns. I used not to mind Newcastle. There was a time they played good football and were a thorn in the side of the red nosed prince of darkness. Since that ruddy cheeked ex side kick of Sauron took over at St James’ Park and sent his boys out with the express instructions to boot us off the park back in August of what I suppose I must learn to start calling last year, my views have tilted away from such magnanimity.

It was as horrible and inept a display of the violent thuggish approach to stopping us play as you could hope to see. Inept because even the referee couldn’t ignore it. Also, given that some of their team can actually play, it was unnecessary and ultimately self defeating. Some will feel that we ought to have won by more goals but then some people would moan that a million pounds was too heavy if you handed it to them as a gift. McClaren’s reaction to the frustration of his plans was almost one of disbelief. Brought up to believe that Arsenal are there for the kicking and they may be shoved around and stamped upon with impunity he must have been bewildered to see the rules of the game applied.

How different are the two teams today? Back in the late summer sunshine we were bruised and confused by an opening day defeat, injured by a wrongly disallowed winner against Liverpool and with only one victory in three might have viewed a trip to Geordieland with mild trepidation. Newcastle had drawn two and lost one in the league and played us on the back of a four one victory over Northampton in the League Cup four days previously. Now, at the time of writing, we are top of the tree and they sit languishing in the relegation zone with the abject Aston Villa and a sorry Sunderland for company.

They had an up down time in November and December losing heavily to Palace and Leicester and beating Liverpool and Spurs since when they’ve drawn with fellow bottom feeders Villa and lost narrowly to both Everton and West Brom. Pick what bones from that lot as you see fit. I think that in line with everything else that has happened this season it means they are unpredictable. As of course are we. Out on our feet against twelve man Southampton and two days later gambolling through the Bournemouth defence like spring lambs.

We are now in the wonderful position of holding our destiny in our own hands. Win by at least as big a margin as Leicester and we stay top. It really is as simple as that right now. Like all good recovering alchies I take the season one game at a time. This approach prevents me from getting carried away with the end of the season before the February snows have fallen and helps me to live in the moment. It also means that I’m extra crushed by poor results but every philosophy has its downsides. As long as I don’t wallow in disappointment then I know I only have to stay sane for a few days and another match will come along to sustain me.

I hope Newcastle don’t try to boot us off the pitch today. I’d like to see a good game of football. This supporting lark is, after all, about entertainment first and foremost and results are a secondary consideration. A good result can console you after a poor performance but nothing beats seeing us in our swashbuckling free flowing pomp as when we scored that most Arsenal of second goals on Monday evening.

More of the same today please chaps. If you’re lucky enough to be at the match I hope the pies are hot and the urinals fragrant. If not I hope you find a stable stream with unintelligible commentary and lets hope we continue to prove the pathetic drones of the press corps wrong – even if they are too craven to ever admit it.

So here we are, the New Year arrives with The Arsenal sitting atop the Premier league. 2015 saw us accumulate considerably more points than any other team, not to mention retaining the FA cup. We signed a genuine world class goal keeper and kept all the talent we had.

Everyone must be happy then?  Right? Surely no one can be discontented ?

But no! It is, unbelievably to any right thinking fan, not the case.

We still hear the shrill cries from the malcontent hoard that “Wenger f**ked up the Summer window. No outfield players signed don’t you know?”

He balls’ed it up to such an extent that we are top as the next window opens. We now know what injuries we have and can address those problems, rather than buy expensive players that will warm the bench, drain resources and perhaps cause discontent in the camp. Of course the ‘expert’ fans knew already who and when certain players would suffer injury, Soothsayers to a man!

We had such little depth that no team has coped better than us.

Despite the clear and obvious evidence that there are now better players in just about every team, bar MUFC, the moaners insist the the league is weaker and it’s only that weakness that allows us to be at its pinnacle  at this point. The middle of the table teams  are now what the top teams were. They have 6 or 7 good players and 3 or 4 very good players. To ignore this simple reality takes a tremendous amount of stupidity. Yet many Arsenal fans and pundits have managed  to do just that. To call them halfwits is doing a disservice to halfwits.

Those that have invested years in negativity and hatred for the manager are beginning to worry. What if we win the league?

So now the narrative has become”We must win the league or Wenger must go – no excuses!”

Again this “no excuses” bollocks does nothing but display a total lack of understanding of football, and life in general.

Despite Arsene proving time and again, that he can turn existing players into  some of the best in the league , Monreal,  Bellerin, Ramsey, Coquelin, Santi, Koscielny, to name but a few, demands are made that he goes headlong into the transfer market to get some sort of magical player.

Well he is going to buy. He has said as much, but you can bet your bottom dollar that won’t shut them up. Oh no, it will be hailed as a cheap option and the old “he could have done more” crap will be wheeled out.

We are challenging for the title. We should be enjoying the ride, not looking back to the period where Gervinho was the best we could buy, and citing this period as if Arsenal choose to be financially disadvantaged.

Whether people believe the club could have done more between 2006 and 2012 is now totally irrelevant. The fact is we are now winning silverware again and just looking at the team the clear improvement is there for all but the most idiotic to see.

I for one am looking forward, and will enjoy every moment. If we fall short, I will be disappointed, but I will brush myself down and look forward again, because there is no indication the the upward trajectory the club is on is showing any signs of slowing down.

Lets hope for a happy new year for us all.

Güete Morge Positivistas,

A mood of satisfaction this morning after events at the Ems yesterday evening. The ship is off the rocks, the holes in the hull patched, re-floated, and back on course. Half way point, top of the league, coping well with long term injuries to players who appeared to be pivotal, playing good football, and probably starting 2016 in pole position (barring an upset at the KP  tonight) – not too shabby.

Yesterday’s game, as it played out, was not what I was expecting with AFC Bournemouth playing a lot more football than I anticipated. No suggestion of settling for a draw or coming only to stifle and spoil at all from the visitors. I have watched the Cherries a couple of times this season on TV and I still would not recognise any of their players if he sat next to me on a bus. They have a combination of hard working and apparently very fit players, and most seems comfortable on the ball. They lack a real goal scoring threat and Cech did not have much to do. If they can address that weakness, and I read AFCB also have injured players to come back, they are good enough for a mid table finish.

We started a little hesitantly I thought, perhaps still aching after Saturday’s hammering, but gradually assumed control. Our German maestro gradually found the time and space to place his passes and pick out team mates. I thought Ox and Aaron also worked well and got a grip on the midfield against our industrious opponents, the key to dominating the match. The goal when it came was a surprise too. Gabriel found himself in an acre of space for the first, with Bournemouth’s defence asleep. Good header nevertheless. No mistake. As against Spuds earlier in the Autumn we came across a side who appeared to have a fatal weakness against our corners and high balls into the box. I have no idea why certain teams in certain games fall apart like that but I never look a gift horse in the mouth. There followed a flurry of goal scoring chances with the visitors rocking on their heels, but no killer second.

There was a slight edginess until our second on 63 minutes, a classic very Arsenal goal. Olivier’s touch exquisite and Mesut’s placing of the pall past Boruc precise and deadly.

Thereafter we settled back and ceded possession and space to Bournemouth for the final twenty. As in the first half we created another handful of chances that could have racked up the goal difference. Rewatching the chances in slo-mo and from multiple angles they look easy don’t they ? Shows what I know. With both sides beginning run out of gas after two games in three days the Cherries finished on the front foot but came no nearer to spoiling Peter Cech’s new PL clean sheet record.

Arsene took the risk in rotating but those players he brought in all played well, one and all. In the past when a player has been given a chance after a spell on the bench they have often been ‘too eager’ and messed it up. Young Callum earned well deserved plaudits, a little wild at times which would get him into trouble on another day and against less honest opponents, but fully competent. The notion of Le Coq on the sidelines and Matty unavailable is not the worry it was a month ago.

A few days off now before another home game against team with the fans for which the phrase “long suffering” was surely created.

Enjoy your Tuesday.

The sad thing is I’d been having a nice Christmas up until then. Shan’t be sending Mr Moss a card next year that’s for sure. Some people have tried to claim that as he missed a couple of other offences we shouldn’t be cross with him for gifting Southampton the game. Fascinating logic. That’s as polite as I can be on that particular theory.

The great thing about Saturday night is that I got to spend some quality time with Liz. After turning off the match and thereby saving myself the sting of the final goal and not having to see the faces of my sporting heroes in their degradation I wandered into her majesty’s throne room and watched the TV instead. Had I been at the game I’d have stayed and sung to the last of course, but having the luxury of watching from my Parker Knoll Albany Manual I was able to switch off the computer and walk away without the least stain on my character.

Public shows of solidarity are one thing, blatant masochism is another entirely. All that might have improved matters is if we’d watched something better than the frankly disappointing second episode of Luther. I wanted True Detective but was out voted. In fact, where my marriage is concerned I’m not entirely sure I have a vote. Or if I do I suspect my wife has the power of veto and can, like certain countries at the United Nations, ensure the will of the powerful prevails at all times.

Enough of my domestic cold war. On into Sunday and that strange disconnected feeling I always get when Arsenal lose a game. It comes, I suppose, from the effort of trying to whistle through the day with my hat at a jaunty angle all the time knowing that no matter how much I might convince the neighbours, their cats and the milkman I cannot entirely fool myself. There were some high points, moments where the wound felt less keen. My mountain biking took my mind of the football for a few wet and gloriously muddy hours, but in general there was a constant undercurrent not unlike a hangover dragging my day into deep and unpleasant waters.

When taken in the context of this crazy season, the result was actually perfectly in keeping in many ways.

Unexpected? Check.

Opponents in poor form? Check.

Opportunity to overtake nearest rivals? Check.

Top of the table unaltered? Check.

Still in contention despite crushing disappointment? Check.

There is definitely a pattern here and while I fully understand the frustration of not taking the chance to leapfrog the Foxes I am consoled by the fact that whenever we fuck up we seem somehow to remain in a strong position.The trick is of course not to fuck up again.

My concern is that while anyone with the power of sight knows full well that Jon Moss was the single biggest factor in the result at St Mary’s there were other ingredients in our humble pie. Chief among these was what looked from the outside like mental tiredness. It may have been physical – who knows? May have been the debilitating effect of too much pud. I doubt that in the modern age of highly tuned athletes but I know we’ve had to flog this same horse a little too often for comfort lately and I fear for their ability to find the strength to return to the fray so soon.

Or maybe I’m wrong.  Maybe the quick turn around is just what they need. Perhaps they weren’t tired at all just overwhelmed by the circumstances and the impossibility of beating a side allowed, if not actively encouraged, to play by different rules. Oh and while we’re at it spare me the guff about ‘did the ref stop us scoring?’. This is Flying Spaghetti Monster stuff. We can all write a fantasy list of things the ref didn’t do. The only relevant thing is that which he did do and that was to gift the home side the game. Highly laudable and festive of him perhaps but an unwelcome example of seasonal altruism if you happen to be on the side of the good guys.

I’m really glad I don’t make predictions in these pre match meanderings. I shy away from them not just because they’re so tedious nor because they’re such an utter waste of everybody’s time. I can’t be arsed making up the future where my own life is concerned never mind trying to see into the tea leaves when I have no control over the outcome. In this season of bizarre results and ever changing fortunes the task of the football oracle becomes even more difficult. Did anyone think Chelsea would be lucky to snatch a draw at home to Watford now the Classless One has gone? Who of you saw Palace and Leicester doing so well for so long? Did any of us honestly imagine Mark Hughes and Stoke City would be playing with the artistry of Barcelona? How, if Van Gaal is so awful and Man United in such a mess are they only three points off the top four? Just what the hell is happening in the Premier League this season? I’ve put five quid on the game being stopped because of an Aardvark on the pitch later. Why not? It seems anything can happen right now.

The whole improbable mess is providing wonderful entertainment, I’ll say that for it. Anyone, it seems, can beat anyone, and everyone can beat Villa. The entertainment stops when it is us being drubbed by an out of sorts Southampton of course but we cannot expect our side to be exempt from the curious magical miasma which has descended over top flight football this season. The simple fact is we have to believe the boys can rise from the ashes, overcome their understandable disappointment and turn on the style against Bournemouth tonight.

Should I even bother looking at the form of our visitors? Given the utter unpredictability of the Prem at the moment I wonder. Taken over their previous six results they are doing better than us. In fact they are third in the form table right now behind only Leicester and Watford. Unbeaten in their last three away games they’ve won the last two on the road beating mid table West Brom and lowly strugglers Chelsea. Not happy reading for Arsenal fans right now and you can bet the boys from the south coast will be well up for it this evening. I just hope the complexity and speed of our passing will be beyond them and we can score early enough to hit the cruise control switch and see out the game without too much charging about.

Looking on the bright side we could go top tonight and Leicester and Man City cannot both win tomorrow. Watford are more than capable of shoving Spurs back down where they belong and Palace ought to be able to take advantage of this and ease them out of the top four. This time tomorrow everything might look a little rosier, so chin up Positivistas we live to fight another day and whatever happens there will, I suspect, be many a slip twixt cup and lip for all the teams chasing glory this season. As I’ve said many times it’s just a ride, and the ride sometimes goes down as well as up. Just hang on, smile for the cameras and try to look as if you’re enjoying it.