The Hammers are in for a hammering 4 November, 2006

I can’t wait for tomorrow’s game, Sky Sports 1, 1pm. I think we will be angry from Wednesday’s inability to finish and will stick at least three past Alan Pardew’s struggling West Ham. I think we will perform well as we did in the week but hopefully we will learn from our mistakes in front of goal and put in an excellent performance; I’m expecting something along the lines of what happened at Reading. Wenger feels it wasn’t our system that stopped us from scoring, it was just bad luck and sometimes in football you get ‘one of those nights’. Adebayor is in the squad for tomorrow however Eboue will not be fit in time but is expected to be in the squad for the Carling Cup clash with Everton on Wednesday.

I see the team lining up the same as against CSKA Moscow with RVP switching between the wing and striker throughout the game. Van Persie has said he wants to improve his distribution game and has been getting a bit of stick for it especially from Thierry Henry. This is what Robin had to say:

“I have not set myself any objectives, but I have focused myself on improving my distribution and passing. I want to help my team-mates, I want them to trust me in every situation and know that I am there to help them on the pitch. It is important for a striker to work hard for the team – that can be through goals, assists or just being there for your colleagues.”

I think this is a part of Robin’s game that needs working on and he needs to learn to be a little less selfish in front of goal. It’s not a really bad problem; it’s just that sometimes there is a better option than the one he takes. However it is refreshing to see a player not passing the ball when there is a clear shot.

In the summer we were linked with Nigel Reo-Coker but Wenger says we did make a bid. Wenger is an admirer of the West Ham captain but didn’t go as far as to try and buy him:

“I like Reo-Coker but we never made a bid to West Ham for him. He has a good work rate, technique and power. He has physical power. In the middle of the park he uses that very well, he is very incisive and wins the ball. He did that against us last year.”

We were also linked with Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez before they signed for the London club on transfer deadline day. The two Argentineans signed from Corinthians somewhat controversially and were expected be a massive hit for the club and turn them into a side fighting for European places. However the Argentine internationals have been poor for the Hammers and were left out of the side’s win against Blackburn last weekend. I was one of the Gooners that wanted Arsene buy these players in the summer, not so much Tevez but more Mascherano, I’m so glad now that Arsene didn’t. I don’t know whether they are getting poor service at West Ham and the quality of the players around them are effecting them, or if they are just shit. I do not know.

Arsenal’s least favourite striker in the whole Premiership, Teddy Sheringham, might be playing tomorrow. He was successful at Spurs at Man Utd, which automatically makes him the most loathed player in the world. Also because he is a twat too. Anyway, he might be playing which I welcome, hopefully the old man will break his leg or something and it’ll be something more for the travelling Gooners to shout at.

Arsene Wenger has been having a go at FIFA over the new home-grown players rule. In a few years time FIFA are looking at making a rule of having at least 6 ‘home-grown’ players in a 16-man squad. Obviously this is a problem for Arsenal and our manager has been having his say:

“I am very unhappy because it is not linked to what I like. You must always say to a player: ‘You play because you are better.’ I have always done that in my life. This is not right. What can you tell a supporter who pays money to watch your team? ‘His first touch is not good, yes, we know. But he is English, what can you do?’ I would like to say: ‘Listen, is he English, South African, French or South American? He is a good football player’.”

“I would never like to feel as a player that somebody is better than me but sits on the bench just because he does not have the right passport. I am really concerned that when you love football, you cannot act this way. You have to be big enough and capable enough to tell a player: ‘You do not play because you are not good enough’. Elite sport is first about quality. I would not like to say that I paid £2 million for a player just because he has the right passport. At that level of money, you just have to be good enough to play and not be protected. That is what I fight for. I would prefer to say that you make £4 million per year as a player because you are good enough, rather than say I give you £2 million because I need you and you have the right passport. I do not find that right, and that is not respecting the fans who are paying £60 to watch a game. You are telling them ‘Yes, okay, he is not good enough. But we have to play him because he is from the right country’. We want to be an elite sport, well paid, and so we have to accept it is just down to quality, nothing else.”

I understand the reasoning behind FIFA’s new vision but it really is insane that we must play an English player because he is English when we have a much better Brazilian player now on the bench. It’s like saying at the World Cup You’re only allowed to select players from your own leagues. Brazil would be rubbish as most of their players play in Europe. It’s just mad. A home-grown player can be many things, I don’t 100% understand what makes a player ‘home-grown’. Apparently our French left back, Gael Clichy counts as ‘home-grown’ because he has been with us since a young age and has been living in the country for a long time. My readers have told me before who counts as a ‘home-grown’ player but I’m still not sure. Hopefully FIFA will re-think the rule anyway and we wont have to worry about it at all.

And finally, all-time France leading goal scorer Michael Platini thinks Thierry Henry did the wrong thing not going to Barcelona. Thierry signed a four year deal before the World Cup to stay at Arsenal instead of moving to Champions League winners, Barcelona. Platini thinks he made the wrong choice:

“I sincerely believe he made a mistake in not signing for Barcelona. I told him so and said the same to Barca president Joan Laporta. Henry would have grown a lot at Barcelona. Thierry Henry is a truly great player and is on the verge of over-taking me as a goal scorer for France. However, he hasn’t achieved the same category of other great stars. Why? Because he lacks playing in a great team and winning titles with his club like he has done with France, where he has been European and world champion.”

Titi has won plenty of silverware at Arsenal thank you and I’m sure he’ll win plenty more. Platini is a footballing legend but he is also a knob. Go away, Henry chose to stay at Arsenal because he loves the club and wants to help us move on to greater things.

That’s enough for today, have a good weekend.