Arsenal-Liverpool Trilogy : the last word

[Cunny]

http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/index.p...nt01returnid=42

 

Arsenal-Liverpool Trilogy : the last word

 

By Myles Palmer

 

Gooners have to move on.

 

It's over, it's all been said, it's time to move on.

 

On Tuesday night the Arsenal-Liverpool Trilogy ended with a 4-2 defeat at Anfield.

 

I'll just say four things tonight.

 

1. William Gallas had Babel.

 

Gallas was very good at Anfield. His reading of the game, his anticipation, was excellent. and he had Babels run covered. he was there. He was waiting for him. As Toure and Babel collided, Gallas was already in a perfect position to stop him. And he has stopped better players than Ryan Babel, many times. On his form in that match, up to that point in the game, William Gallas would have tackled Babel and got the ball. He is a better right back than Toure because he is lighter and more nimble and played the position many times. He is a concentration player rather than an enthusiastic strongman.

 

2. Having looked at the replays frame by frame, I eventually reached a definitive view.

 

Babel cut across Toure, looking for contact.When there was no contact, other than Fabregas grabbing his hand just outside the box, Babel swung his right arm round to hit Toure on the neck, then twisted his body through 180 degrees so that his left arm went round Toure's body on the other side, then went down - and 40,000 scousers shouted "Penalty!" It was a Kop penalty, just likes scores of other Kop penalties over the years.

 

So the key incident of the Trilogy decider at Anfield was a moment of panic, a big penalty shout, and a Swedish ref who gave in to that pressure, even though he may not have been sure it was a deliberate foul inside the box.

 

3. When Arsenal were on top for half an hour they used to score two goals or three.

 

At Anfield they outplayed Liverpool completely for the first half hour. But they only scored one goal.

 

In 1998 and 2002 and 2004 they were more direct, more incisive, because they were a team who made killer passes and hit killer shots. They had Pires then, and Freddie, Dennis, Thierry - fast, classy players who knew how to score goals.

 

4. The third episode of the Trilogy illustrated the fundamentally different approaches of Rafa and Arsene.

 

Rafa looked at the two 1-1 draws and said : I will do something different in the third game

 

Arsene looked at those 1-1 draws said : Let's do the same things better.

 

That means that while Rafa can surprise Arsene, who always plays the same way and does the same things, pretty much, and always buys the same kind of players.

 

Rafa went 4-4-2 with Torres and Crouch to attack Arsenal's lack of height, sacrificing a man in midfield but telling Gerrard and Kuyt to keep Clichy and Toure back in Arsenal's half. That didn't happen and Rafa was fuming. Second half, Liverpool came out and did what he had told them to do in the first half. They had some luck and won 4-2.

 

As I've said 75 times here, football is a game of angles and habits and partnerships. A team that sabotages its partnerships by moving players around will often self-destruct. About 99% of footballers can only play one position well. Although, of course, many can learn a second position over time. They can't learn it in 90 minutes or two weeks.

 

But there it is. I'm over it, I've drawn a line under it, I wasn't gutted because I never expected to beat Liverpool in that game. That's why I didn't preview it on the day of the game, that's why I said the first game, the first leg, was the big one. Arsenal needed to take a lead to Anfield because one free-kick, one card, one bit of bad luck, one bad call by the ref, would finish them. Rafa is hard to beat over two legs - and the Kop is hard to beat as well.

[Guest SalvaTore]

move on then f*****..

[Lee W]

As I've said 75 times here, football is a game of angles and habits and partnerships

 

Newsflash to Myles Palmer (and to quote Hansen):

 

It's about commitment, desire, skill, team-work and a never-say-die attitude.

 

....and scoring more goals than the oppo

 

 

Arsenal couldn't tick all the boxes, I'm afraid.

[MickeyDocs]

Myles whatever his name is exercising poetic license in the extreme.

[MFletcher]

I had to stop half way through.

 

Your team were second best.

 

Accept it.

[dorgie]

2. Having looked at the replays frame by frame, I eventually reached a definitive view.

 

A facility, unfortunately for you, not available to the ref on the night to allow him reach a definitive view within a matter of seconds.

 

It looked a penalty in real time viewing, as did Kuyt's on Hleb in the first leg.

[Cobs]

what a cn*t

[psl]

Could have sworn he said they'd knock us out.

Edited April 11, 2008 by psl

[sutty]

I think he has a point (albeit convoluted) about the kop and the pen.

 

It was a pen but it was marginal, in the same way that Hleb's should have been a marginal pen.

 

If the Arsenal crowd were like ours maybe they might get some marginal pens. But if you sit on your a*** and the most you do to support the team is to shout hoof every now and then and sway gently to the wonder of you before kick off, you deserve what you get.

[Cobs]

thought both were clear pens, the difference was the ref saw the 2nd one and was ball-watching the first.

[sutty]

thought both were clear pens, the difference was the ref saw the 2nd one and was ball-watching the first.

 

I think they were both pens as well

 

But they weren't clear like Gerrard at OT when Neville dived in and pulled him down, or Unsworth ripping down Heskey, if you know what I mean.

 

Ones that if they hadn't been given you'd have been going "WTF is going on" sort of thing.

[drdooom]

I had to stop half way through.

 

Your team were second best.

 

Accept it.

 

You should read the second half, I think that part makes sense.

[Knoxy]

I think he has a point (albeit convoluted) about the kop and the pen.

 

It was a pen but it was marginal, in the same way that Hleb's should have been a marginal pen.

 

If the Arsenal crowd were like ours maybe they might get some marginal pens. But if you sit on your a*** and the most you do to support the team is to shout hoof every now and then and sway gently to the wonder of you before kick off, you deserve what you get.

 

Exactly

 

There fans were pathetic on Tuesday, and in the first leg.

 

We should be awarded a penalty every home European game just for having the best fans around. No doubt someone would whinge if UEFA made this a law

[honourablegeorge]

Jebus. Compared to Thursday's Myles Palmer, that one almost makes sense....

 

 

I always thought he was some teenage loser who churned this stuff out of a bedsit. Turns out he's in his sixties.

[Romario]

He sounds like an enormous bellend.

[johngibo YPC]

I think he has a point (albeit convoluted) about the kop and the pen.

 

It was a pen but it was marginal, in the same way that Hleb's should have been a marginal pen.

 

If the Arsenal crowd were like ours maybe they might get some marginal pens. But if you sit on your a*** and the most you do to support the team is to shout hoof every now and then and sway gently to the wonder of you before kick off, you deserve what you get.

 

You stole that point off me you thieving c***

[Jim Price]

Myles Has there ever been a decent footballer called Myles, or even Miles? Sounds more like a hockey players name. Why is he keeping count of how many times he's said that b******s about angles. Weirdo.

[Rory Fitzgerald]

I think Hleb hugely exaggerated the contact made with him and that contributed aswell, there is no way that 'spin and fall' was the result of touch/contact on him.

 

On the other hand, Babel's hand was tugged, albeit, for a split second and then Toure jumps across his back making contact - Babel fell down, he didnt jump forward with hands out or spin around.

 

From the way things played out, it appeared that Babel's reaction was natural but Hleb's had an element of "I've been shot" and when refs are trying to spot the divers, that is definitely a factor in their decision making.

[mercury]

Rafa looking to two 1-1 draws

 

Get over it, gooners!

[Guest Snorky]

I think Hleb hugely exaggerated the contact made with him and that contributed aswell, there is no way that 'spin and fall' was the result of touch/contact on him.

 

On the other hand, Babel's hand was tugged, albeit, for a split second and then Toure jumps across his back making contact - Babel fell down, he didnt jump forward with hands out or spin around.

 

From the way things played out, it appeared that Babel's reaction was natural but Hleb's had an element of "I've been shot" and when refs are trying to spot the divers, that is definitely a factor in their decision making.

 

Exactly how I saw it.

[nrkintheuk]

I think Hleb hugely exaggerated the contact made with him and that contributed aswell, there is no way that 'spin and fall' was the result of touch/contact on him.

 

On the other hand, Babel's hand was tugged, albeit, for a split second and then Toure jumps across his back making contact - Babel fell down, he didnt jump forward with hands out or spin around.

 

From the way things played out, it appeared that Babel's reaction was natural but Hleb's had an element of "I've been shot" and when refs are trying to spot the divers, that is definitely a factor in their decision making.

 

spot on

[Tonto]

I think Hleb hugely exaggerated the contact made with him and that contributed aswell, there is no way that 'spin and fall' was the result of touch/contact on him.

 

On the other hand, Babel's hand was tugged, albeit, for a split second and then Toure jumps across his back making contact - Babel fell down, he didnt jump forward with hands out or spin around.

 

From the way things played out, it appeared that Babel's reaction was natural but Hleb's had an element of "I've been shot" and when refs are trying to spot the divers, that is definitely a factor in their decision making.

 

Exactly. I also think Kuyt was clever about what he did, keeping the contact as brief and innocuous as possible but still enough to put Hleb off, whereas Toure simply panicked.

Edited April 11, 2008 by Tonto

[sutty]

I think Hleb hugely exaggerated the contact made with him and that contributed aswell, there is no way that 'spin and fall' was the result of touch/contact on him.

 

On the other hand, Babel's hand was tugged, albeit, for a split second and then Toure jumps across his back making contact - Babel fell down, he didnt jump forward with hands out or spin around.

 

From the way things played out, it appeared that Babel's reaction was natural but Hleb's had an element of "I've been shot" and when refs are trying to spot the divers, that is definitely a factor in their decision making.

 

None of this is relevant to whether it was a penalty

[Rory Fitzgerald]

None of this is relevant to whether it was a penalty

 

Thats true, but the difference is - a penalty is judged by a referee in the heat of the moment.

 

Debating the decision can be done for days on end with multiple replays and angles.

 

A penalty is a penalty - but history has shown that refs dont get all the decisions correct all of the time and I think a factor was how the 'attacking' player reacts to contact.

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

watching it frame by frame isn't going to give you a definitive answer, as there doesn't appear to be a good enough camera angle. Nor does the ref get a chance to see it frame by frame, so it's an irrelevant argument. It looks like Toure is all over him.

 

Why is it teams can't bear being done by us? because they think they're more deserving?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_37NyDn8t8

 

1.45 in - reverse angle, you see Babel's shirt pull across to his right, suggesting there was contact