The Blame Game: These Two Arsenal players ..

[Lazie]

The Blame Game: These Two Arsenal players should be booted out!

April 9, 2008

Everyone likes to apportion blame and now COS has a home for all that Blame to fester and smell. Sometimes relieving that anger that boils up can be cathartic, sometimes it can backfire and lead to more hurt and suffering and sometimes it’s just plain fun!

Arsenal were on fire for the first thirty minutes of last night’s encounter with Liverpool and they seem to be giving Rafa’s side a footballing lesson and then player number one, Philippe Senderos, decided to not bother marking Sami Hyypia who then nodded home an equaliser. The Swiss international then followed this cock-up with a second attempt at defending but was simply embarrassed by Fernando Torres and made to look like a fool.

Player number two who should be booted out is Emmanuel Eboue, whilst last night was by no means his worst performance, it was however the icing on the cake. The Ivorian just isn’t up to scratch to play for a team as big as Arsenal. Too often he is sub-standard and it is a surprise to me that he has lasted this long without Wenger pulling him out of the starting eleven. They may as well just start with the ultra attacking Theo Walcott, because Eboue gives the side nothing whatsoever.

Both Eboue and Senderos are not the kind of players that should be playing for a title chasing side, simply as that!

[Karl]

I do not know if it "blame game" or simply an assessment of the GUNNERS as this writer sees it?

What I do know is he is bang-on about Senderos' deficiencies...

...now Eboue is a player that I believe has the technical tools to presently play at the very highest levels. My problem with Eboue (stated earlier on this website - when I also called for Wenger to sit him ) is he has become "swell headed" and tends to dwell on the ball too often...unnecessarily "taking on" opponents when a pass would do...and very often loses the ball & possession for the TEAM.

He really loses the ball much too often (i.e. gifting it to the opponents)...and loses concentration too often at crucial times. One such time that his concentration was not up to scratch that stands out in the last game was his missing an opportunity that should have given Adebayor a tap in. He took the ball to the goal-line (and if I am remembering correctly - within the goal-area)...lost concentration...mis-kicked and put the ball into the side-netting of Liverpool's goal when a 'drag-back' to Adebayor was the easiest thing to do.

...my take on him is, too often not playing up to ability!

[Mosiah]

Senderos tried marking them both and failed. Does that mean he is no good, or his oppenents were simply brilliant?

heh heh!

[Sir X]

I think Arsenals unfortunate season has to do more with Arse than anyone else, does Arse really know anymore ?

3 years and counting. Arsenal were burnt out by last month , while liverpool, chel$ki and Man U all seem to be catching a different gear.

[Karl]

LIVERPOOL got out of jail against Arsenal thanks to Peter from the land of hammer throwers, and Phil Senderos

Hatchet Man


Do you know a referee called Peter, or even Pieter? Can we just ban them all from top-level football because when it comes to the big decisions, they just don't get them right.

At the Emirates it was Dutchman Piet failing to spot the arm of his near neighbour Dirk Kuyt tugging back Alexander Hleb as he ran into the area. At Anfield Pete the Swede somehow thought that Ryan Babel's tumble under the merest brush from Kolo Toure warranted a yellow card and a decisive penalty for Liverpool.


So instead of remembering an incredible game for the moment that Theo Walcott – yes, an Englishman – wrote his name large on the European stage, we have Peter Frojdfeldt to thank for turning his mesmerising run into... an irrelevance.

Hatch thought for a minute he was watching a rerun of the 1966 World Cup Final. Adebayor's equaliser following Theo's run stunned Anfield as much as Weber's scrambled leveller for West Germany silenced Wembley 42 years ago.


Scroll down for more
Turning point: Kolo Toure is shown the yellow card after bringing down Liverpool's Ryan Babel for the penalty




And while England needed a little help from 'the Russian linesman' (aka, Tofik Bakhramov of Azerbaijan) to get their dodgy third goal that never crossed the line, Liverpool got out of jail thanks to a man called Peter from the land of hammer throwers. Stick to Abba, son.

At least Babel had the decency, when even Arsene Wenger must have thought it was all over, to score a well-taken fourth goal to lift some of the stench surrounding Liverpool's third.

Ah, poor Wenger. You shouldn't have come out with that line about finishing English and European champions.

And you should have listened to what everyone told you when you first introduced Philippe Senderos to English football. He was rubbish then, and he was still rubbish last night.
He went walkabout for two Liverpool goals (count 'em).
That's the tie, right there. Instead of sticking tight to Sami Hyypia at a corner, he gets dragged all over the shop, giving Hyypia one of the easiest headed goals he can ever have scored. And one on one with Torres wasn't even a contest – the Spaniard made the Swiss roll.

[Mosiah]

These poor, worthless, jingoistic, nostalgic Englishmen. And Arsenal supporters. 1966 was an anomaly and an abomination for football. But hang on to it because it shall never happen again!

It was a penalty FOR SURE! What do they want - someone from London doing the match? I can imagine if it was a black referee or one from a developing country. We would never hear the end of it!

[Karl]

Senderos tried marking them both and failed. Does that mean he is no good, or his oppenents were simply brilliant?

heh heh!

Did I suggest that Senderos was slow? Did I not say the slow Senderos ran by all the Jamaica (Reggae Boyz) players thrown at him in Florida? ...and that our players/those players cannot be expected to PLAY at the TOP OF THE WORLD sauntering around as they did?

Senderos is good...at levels less than TOP OF THE WORLD! It is as I said, we have to look at our players (...particularly the REGGAE BOYZ, as these are really our only players...di GUNNERS and such is nice fantasy...but the REGGAE BOYZ are hitched to us by blood!) thinking always of TOP OF THE WORLD...and the reality that we can and should use at ALL TIMES only the best available that we have?

..but back to Senderos: He will do well...even appear to be brilliant...at levels lower than Liverpool, Chelsea and BoyU? Get up to the Liverpool Chelsea, BoyU and Brazil, Argentina, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, levels and he will be 'not so good'! ..but then not many would be!

[Gamma]

have you seen diarra playing for (who him play for again.....)?

[OJ]

I agree with the sentiment on both. Eboue is classic Rucks and may do better at everton or a kick and run side like pool. Hi final ball is garbage. But still the injury to Roisky and Edurado and Van perse expose Arsenal depth especially at scoring. We need Martins or one of those strikers.

[OJ]

his final ball is no good. Not fitting for a gunner. Him a Benter has the worse touch on the park.

[Mosiah]

Eboue is classic Rucks and may do better at everton or a kick and run side like pool.

Di kick and run side beat di big sideee!!! 4-2!

[Karl]

have you seen diarra playing for (who him play for again.....)?

Is it Villa? ...matters not I have watched him a few times since he left Arsenal...but not to the point of being taken with him. He fights...and maybe he could be good one day. Noticed he holds and pushes down... trips...a bit often.

[Karl]

These poor, worthless, jingoistic, nostalgic Englishmen. And Arsenal supporters. 1966 was an anomaly and an abomination for football. But hang on to it because it shall never happen again!

It was a penalty FOR SURE! What do they want - someone from London doing the match? I can imagine if it was a black referee or one from a developing country. We would never hear the end of it!

You know the kick could have been outside of the area? It apeared to me Toure did not initiate contact in the area. The contact in the area appeared to be initiated by Babel!

[Karl]

I agree with the sentiment on both. Eboue is classic Rucks and may do better at everton or a kick and run side like pool. Hi final ball is garbage. But still the injury to Roisky and Edurado and Van perse expose Arsenal depth especially at scoring. We need Martins or one of those strikers.

Agree we need a striker!

Eboue has the physical goods...the problem is his thinking he is a better player than he is! Remember at the very early part of the season (some way before the Africa Cup of Nations) Eboue's play was of an exceptional high standard. He started to fall off a few matches before he went away for those matches.

[Mosiah]

HAHAHA! I can't believe this! Karl, please, don't let me lose my respect for you as a ref.

Babel was fouled outside the area, the ref allowed the advantage, Babel remained in control of the ball until he was bundled over by Toure leaping on his back. FOUL! PENALTY!!! Argument dun!!!