Bleacher Report - Articles by Felix Poh

Federer Won The Battle, Roddick Won Hearts

Felix Poh — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:05:13 -0400

This year's Wimbledon final had a tough act to follow from 2008, but boy did it deliver. Federer created tennis history with his 15th Grand Slam title, and living legends such as Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg, and John McEnroe were there to witness it.

Even better was the match itself.

Roddick, 2-18 against Federer coming into the match, played fearlessly to stretch Federer to a fifth set and was never broken throughout the match until it was 15-14 in that final set. The words Federer, Roddick, and fifth set have never been used in a sentence together until today!

The 2009 version of Roddick has been a revelation, and marvelous to observe.

He has always been a classy loser, with the most humorous of comments even after a heartbreaking loss. Who can forget his memorable "I threw Federer the kitchen sink, but he went into the bathroom and found the tub" comment? The 2009 version has not lost that trait. After Federer tried to console Andy by saying that he too had suffered a five-set loss last year, Andy retorted in mock indignation "You won five before that!"

But the 2009 Roddick is much more than a lovable one-liner. The 2009 version has overlaid Andy's traditional strength—his serve—with grit, better movement, a credible backhand return, and superior fitness as evidenced by the loss of 15 pounds in the offseason.

All of this has allowed the public to once again witness the full spectacle of Andy's most valuable trait—his heart.

From the five-setter win against Hewitt in the quarters, to the four-set "upset" of Murray in the semis, and to today's classic against Federer, Andy has fought back, bloodied but unbowed, to regain the public's respect after two years of fairly indifferent results.

Who could have blamed him for slowly fading into insignificance? How de-motivating it must have been for him to live in the shadow of the Federer era, and over the last two to three years seen the emergence of a new generation spearheaded by Nadal, Murray, and Djokovic bypass him as well!

Roddick was clearly in danger of being known simply as a one-hit wonder. One Grand Slam title. One year-end ranking of No. 1. One key trick—an incredible serve.

It might have been a lot simpler to have gotten married, and faded off into the sunset to enjoy newfound marital bliss, leaving all the scraping for Grand Slam titles behind.

But instead Roddick has shown his true character, and chosen to put in the hard work to make himself relevant once again, and to re-invent himself, with great results so far this year. Once he has put the immediate disappointment of the Wimbledon finals behind him, there are plenty of positives for him to feel proud of. And to leave him extremely confident for the upcoming US Open.

Roddick will never be Sampras-like, clinically racking up title after title. That accolade belongs to Federer, the new king of Grand Slams.

But Roddick has a real chance to be Agassi-like, in terms of making the unlikeliest of comebacks and inspiring the adoration of neutrals. Based on today's display and the past six months, I will assert that Roddick has two more Grand Slam titles in him. It will be fun to watch him win them!

Please Dismantle This Arsenal Team Now

Felix Poh — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:34:33 -0400

I am incredibly disappointed in this Arsenal team.

No bite, no character—not even showing up for the most important game of the season.

Please, Arsene, get rid of most of them.

They are not worthy of putting on the same shirt that Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira and most of all, Tony Adams once did.

Arsenal's most important player in recent weeks was cup tied for the CL semi-final, and it thoroughly showed. Arsenal could have used some of Arshavin's maturity, determination, and above all, coolness in a "winner-takes-all" high stakes game.

Trust me, Wenger has pleaded with us fans time and time again.

Trust me that the team will come good.

Well, Wenger's initial success in the early part of this decade has been enough to see him and the team through four barren years, but no more.

While the relative lack of quality the team has compared to the Manchester United team is bad enough...what is more galling is how overawed they seemed tonight, and how they seemed so thoroughly outplayed—truly men against boys.

Members of the team urged the fans to respond with an incredible atmosphere at Emirates, but they hardly gave the fans a reason to cheer tonight.

Almunia—A decent but not great keeper. Could not deal with Ronaldo's free kick.

Toure—A shadow of the player he once was.

Djourou—Made you pine for Silvestre, oh dear...

Gibbs—Made a critical error for the first goal, thereby swinging the momentum toward Manchester United.

Sagna—Solid if unspectacular.

Walcott—Totally anonymous over the two legs.

Song—Come back Flamini...Come back.

Fabregas—Still not the same as before. Probably played in the wrong role as well.

Nasri—The one bright spark of a horrific night.

Van Persie—Tried occasionally with not much to show.

Adebayor—Please sell him right now.

Manchester United, although I hate to say it, has offered Arsenal a much more compelling template to follow in terms of staying successful while overhauling the team.

They have blended youth with daring moves in the transfer market—remember when people thought Ferguson overpaid for Ronaldo?

But no, you may say. Arsenal cannot afford to spend money like Manchester United can.

All I have to say is—success generates cash.

And all indications so far is that Arshavin, a relative expensive player in the latter half of his twenties—completely against the template Wenger likes to follow—is quite the success.

We need more players like him.

Ones that have talent, but back it up with gumption, and the ability to perform in the most critical of games.

The manager may want to win only with French and African youngsters, but that is fast proving to be a pipe dream. And besides, how many more crushing defeats can this team take before its psyche is damaged irrevocably?

Stan Kroenke's takeover cannot come too soon.

Arsenal is not a bad team, but they are not great—destined to finish fourth in the league each year and reach the later stages of the CL.

But never to win it.

Only Five-Year-Olds Allowed at Arsenal (Satire)

Felix Poh — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:14:53 -0400

Arsenal today ushered in a bold new youth policy: "From here on out," Arsene Wenger announced, "I will only buy players who are five-years-old or younger."

Amidst a collective gasp arising from the group of journalists gathered at his press conference, Wenger confidently carried on.

"Real Madrid and Barcelona keep wanting to buy my players when they are 21 or 22. Under our old policy, where I only bought 17-year-olds, that meant they were only at Arsenal for four to five years."

"Now, I can finally assure fans that Arsenal players will be here for a good 15 years or more!"

Ivan Gazidis was also in a bullish mood, and full of praise for his manager.

"What a visionary he is!" Gazidis gushed. "He truly knows what planning for the long-term means. And given that we have a mountain of debt to pay back over the next 100 years, Arsene's new policy puts us on an extremely sound financial footing."

"Why, we can now even afford to provide the players with up to three meals a day!"

Wenger was clear that he knew the pitfalls his new policy might bring.

"We cannot always be certain about the potential of a player when he is five-years-old. But at least we can ensure that they do not pick up any bad habits, like learning how to play defence."

"Furthermore, we can assure their parents that we will provide them with the best accommodation possible. We still have a ton of unsold Highbury flats we can use."

To wrap up the press conference, Wenger could not resist yet another dig at his old rival, Sir Alex Ferguson.

"I am in the market for a Chief Nanny now. Perhaps Sir Alex will apply. After all, he knows how to take care of a team of cry-babies!"

Did Arsene Wenger Get It Wrong?

Felix Poh — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:16:11 -0400

Arshavin chose one of football's biggest stages—the Kop—to show Arsenal exactly what it missed on Saturday in its FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea, when he was puzzlingly left on the bench by Wenger.

Four goals in a game—the best goal-scoring performance by an Arsenal player since Julio Baptista in an inferior Carling Cup game way back in 2007—ensured that Arshavin went a long way to re-paying his 15 million pound transfer fee.

Alas, Arsenal were without a defence, and had to settle for a draw, with Liverpool scoring the equalizer with two minutes of injury time to go.

So was it worth it?

Sacrificing the FA Cup semifinal for the sake of keeping Arsenal's unbeaten run in the league going, and perhaps maintaining enough momentum to overhaul Chelsea for third place?

In my opinion, a resounding no.

Say what you will, but silverware is silverware. By not fielding his strongest side on Saturday, Arsene threw away Arsenal's best chance at silverware this year, especially since Everton later beat Manchester United in the second semifinal.

I actually thought Arshavin might have been slightly injured on Saturday. But judging from tonight's performance, that is clearly not the case.

With Arshavin cup-tied for the Champions League, and Barcelona in ominous form, the Champions League campaign seems destined to end in tears.

There are some who say Arsene's main goal is third place, to avoid a tricky Champions League qualifying tie in August. Well, the difference between tonight's draw and a loss is only one point.

On the other hand, the difference on Saturday was the difference between potentially ending the year with a trophy, or "good effort, boys, we'll try again next year."

As an Arsenal fan, I am tired of trying again next year.

Roger Federer: Tennis Can Be Cruel

Felix Poh — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:32:43 -0400

Tennis is the sport of gladiators.

Two players, using their weapon of choice, aim to systematically dismantle the other over the course of a best-of-five match. It can be fascinating to watch, as each player rises to the occasion.

But it can also be cruel.

There is no draw in tennis, and usually no round-robin. There is nowhere to hide. If you lose, you are out of the tournament. And it can be particularly galling if you have gotten used to four years of unprecedented success, with people calling you a living legend of the sport. It can make you want to scream and destroy your racket when you can no longer get into finals with sheer force of will, when you are forced to admit there are players now better than you.

I am a big Roger Federer fan, and I still think he will eventually hold the all-time Grand Slam record. But whereas I used to think he would eventually win 19-20 titles, now I think it will be more like 15. That's right: two more titles before Federer eventually calls it a day in the next three years.

In many ways, he is a victim of his own success. We only think his fall is great now because his success was incredible. Almost any other player would be grateful for Federer's start to 2009 (Grand Slam final, two Masters semifinals). But we hold Federer to a different standard. He, who owned an 83-4 record in 2007. He, who at one stage won 24 consecutive finals.

But that era is over. Nadal, Murray, and even Djokovic have all gotten the better of Federer in recent times, and are all in their early 20s, with their tennis prime arguably still ahead of them. They have figured out how to play Federer, and how to beat him.

And Federer, sadly, has not responded well to the challenge so far. That is what immense success can do to a person. It can make him rigid, and continue with what has served him well, but which no longer quite works.

Federer is still without a full-time coach, and still bereft of ideas as to how to beat Nadal or Murray. Yes, he has been close many times, but as they say, a miss is as good as a mile. Maybe it has become a mental thing with him as well. If that is so, then get a sports psychologist, Roger!

Federer is too proud, and too much of a champion, to allow us to witness his continued decline. And that is why, unless things turn around, I believe he will hang up his racket by the relatively young age of 31.

As fans, we should continue to encourage Federer, while savouring the growing talents of Nadal and Murray. That is, until the next giant-slayer appears on the tennis scene.

Such is the cruel cycle of life on the tennis circuit.

It's Make or Break Time for Arsenal

Felix Poh — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:04:13 -0400

Make no mistake about it.

The trophy Wenger most covets is the Champions League winner prize. His stats in Europe make for dismal reading for someone thought to be one of the foremost coaches in Europe: two European finals with Arsenal, two defeats, during the Champions League in the quarter-final stage last year. All this, while seeing his contemporaries in the English game enjoy sweet European success: Sir Alex Ferguson twice (1999 and 2008), and Rafael Benitez during Liverpool's incredible fightback against AC Milan in 2005.

Wenger craves European success, and he is hungry to put his record straight.

Will Arsenal make it all the way this year?

With the quarter-finals against Villarreal poised delicately at 1-1 after the first leg, Arsenal is a slight favorite to go through. This is due to home ground advantage and the absence of Marcos Senna, Villarreal's enforcer, himself an Arsenal target a few years ago. Senna comprehensively outplayed Arsenal in the first half of the first leg last week, and scored a tremendous goal in the process, so his absence is quite a blow to Villarreal, while it comes as a relief to Arsenal fans.

Not that Arsenal don't have any injury problems of its own. Defence is fast becoming an area of concern, with central defenders falling like flies; Gallas is ruled out for the season while Djourou is also injured. Almunia is uncertain for the second leg, while his replacement, Fabianski, has seen all of 180 minutes of competitive football so far this year. As shown by the Chelsea-Liverpool game earlier today, goals can be scored at will if the defence is weak.

However, Arsenal potentially welcomes back Eduardo and Van Persie on Wednesday night, and despite Arshavin continuing to be Cup-tied, should prove to have too much attacking flair for Villarreal.

With Captain Fab pulling the strings, if the boys don't get too nervous and are able to rise to the occasion, I predict a 2-1 scoreline for Arsenal, and passage towards the semi-finals, where the team will face either Porto or Manchester United.

At this point, I also feel confident that Arsenal will be able to make it past either Porto or Manchester United. We surely have enough quality to get by Porto, while Manchester United is a shadow of the side that conquered all teams earlier in the season. Perhaps an example of speaking too early, which was Arsenal's issue last year!

Alas, I fear that a potential Champions League final in Rome is set to end in tears for Arsenal, as it will face a near-insurmountable barrier called Barcelona. Just like in 2006, Barcelona is once again firing on all cylinders and playing like the great team it justifiably is. Blowing away Bayern Munich 4-0 in the first leg of the quarter-final was a great statement of intent. Wouldn't it be the irony of ironies if Thierry Henry were to score the winning goal against Arsenal!

Still, teams prove their greatness by winning the Champions League, and stranger things have happened in the past. Victory is made even sweeter when it is achieved with one's back to the wall. Who thought Porto would go all the way in 2004? Who gave Liverpool a chance at half-time in 2005? For that matter, who thought Manchester United was done by the 89th minute of the 1999 final?

Perhaps it is time that Arsenal's team of youngsters proved themselves on club football's greatest stage.

FiveThings That Will Define Arsenal

Felix Poh — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:33:03 -0400

As I've mentioned previously, Arsenal are a team in transition. Whether they move back to experiencing sustained success on a longer basis or remain a consistently frustrating team depends on the following five factors:

1. Will Arsene Wenger learn to buy good defensive players over the summer? Wenger's best buys have traditionally been attack-minded players with a penchant for flair. Pires, Henry, and Eduardo all come to mind. With the summer looming, the Gallas situation has to be resolved.

He is probably leaving the club, and is now playing out of his skin to make himself as attractive as possible to potential suitors. Who will replace him? Djourou still has not proven himself as being consistently reliable, while the only thing reliable about Silvestre is that he spends more time injured than on the pitch.

In addition, not replacing Flamini with a top-class defensive midfielder was a critical error on Wenger's part that everyone else was able to see. Diaby has potential, but it remains to be seen whether his body will last the rigors of a full season.

Arsenal needs good defensive players who can contribute to the team immediately, not more kids who may contribute one day.

2. Will Arsenal be able to hold on to their best players? A worrying development last season was that Wenger was unable to hold on to two players he truly wanted—Flamini and Hleb.

Hleb is less of an issue in my mind—the club has plenty of attack-minded midfielders—but Flamini was a real loss. Plus he was only 24, with his prime years still ahead of him. Many factors conspired against Arsenal keeping him, not least the massive salary AC Milan offered him.

Was his departure a one-off, as players have traditionally moved on from Arsenal when their best years are past them, not before them? Or is it the start of a broader trend?

Can Wenger hold on to his core group, or will Robin Van Persie and the rest once again make subtle hints that they are open to transfers to more successful clubs that will also pay them more?

Will Fabregas not be able to resist the allure of Barcelona, particularly if the spitting row does not die down? Arsenal's recent run of games has calmed the speculations for now, but we shall see what happens over the summer.

Arsene's grand plan is predicated on a team that has worked together right from a very young age, and is undermined if Arsenal is seen merely as a feeder club for bigger teams.

3. Will Wenger learn that winning is as beautiful as the passing game? Arsenal have a manager who has revolutionized their approach to the game, making them far more enjoyable to watch.

At the same time, many of the bread-and-butter teams in the Premier League have figured out how to neutralize and grind down Arsenal. Arsenal seems to do their best against other top teams that want to play football, not shut the game down.

But the League is won not just with victories against Manchester United, but also with victories against Middlesborough, Hull, and the rest. Will Arsene continue to believe his approach is best, or will he learn to adapt his tactics against teams that have historically shut down Arsenal?

4. Will Arsenal get rid of the players that infect the dressing room?

Thank goodness the Gallas situation will probably resolve itself naturally over the summer. Gallas was never a good fit for Arsenal, despite being French. His penchant for going public with dressing room disagreements have effectively isolated him within the team.

Kolo Toure, one of Arsenal's most loyal servants, famously handed in a transfer request in January. Gallas may be a great defender, but his departure could actually strengthen the team.

Another concern is Adebayor. Seems like one season of 30 goals and a super-sized contract has really gone to his head. He has not looked dedicated to the cause all season long. If he plays for Togo and gets re-injured, Arsenal should sell him, if anyone wants him. Seems like AC Milan might do Arsenal a favor in this regard?

5. Will the team develop a winning mentality?

Success breeds success, it is often said. And there may be some truth in that regard.

During Arsenal's 2004 season, Arsenal usually had a psychological advantage going onto the pitch—not many teams expected to win against the Gunners, and that in itself was worth half-a-goal. This season, despite a current League unbeaten run, four of those games were goalless draws, not exactly the stuff of intimidation.

At the same time, the young players have heard for four long years now that they are "full of potential," and only need a little more time to develop, or realize success. That must play on their minds, and it only eats away more at them the more the club goes without a trophy.

At some point, potential turns into wasted opportunity, and it seems to me that if Arsenal does not win anything this year, the "potential" plea will have truly outlived its welcome.

Arsene claimed that his players could make a statement in their second leg with Roma. While all credit to the players who hung on grimly to a 1-0 defeat and finally went through via a penalty shootout, it was perhaps the least convincing performance by an EPL team.

The only statement made is that Arsenal is the team every other club wants to face in the remaining rounds of the Champions League.

In sum, the answers to the five questions I pose above will determine whether Arsenal are being set up for another glorious era like the one experienced from 1998-2005, or whether Arsenal is destined to be known as the weakest member of the Big Four EPL teams.

Arsenal: When Will They Turn Potential to Success?

Felix Poh — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:19:09 -0400

It's official. Arsenal are a team in transition, yet again. It's amazing how expectations quickly change. In 2004, Arsenal were the Invincibles, a great team which seemed it might contend for the Premier League title perennially.

Now, beating out Aston Villa for fourth place seems like a great triumph, while erstwhile rivals Manchester United go from strength to strength, gunning for their third straight title, two League defeats in a row not withstanding.

What I really take issue with is Arsene Wenger's lack of transparency with the fans. It's fine to say that he's sticking with the youth philosophy, but at least admit that one over-riding reason behind this shift (which coincided with the new stadium being built) is the significant debt pressure Arsenal now find themselves under as a result of the £200 million+ loan they need to service.

Consider this as well: The wage bill has doubled since 2004, despite having 54 players now, compared to 61 players then.

Wenger's teams are now too unbalanced- too young and the best players he buys are all attack-minded. It is no surprise that the team is better when it has 27 year old Arshavin on the field, along with players like Eduardo (25) as opposed to a bunch of 20 to 22 year-olds.

Plus, when was the last time Wenger bought a great defensive player? Gallas was brought in as makeshift cover when Cashley Cole was sold to Chelsea, Silvestre only when Manchester United deemed him surplus to requirements, and Amaury Bischoff has been a regular in the physician's room since he joined the team.

Why does Arsenal seem to buy only defensive castoffs and misfits from other teams? To not replace Flamini and Diarra from last season was no way to prepare for this year.

For too long now Wenger's way has been the only way at Arsenal. When Dein left the club, Arsenal lost the only voice Wenger would listen to. No manager is bigger than the club, and Wenger is not bigger than Arsenal.

There needs to be different points of view to bounce around the club boardroom, hopefully the new CEO Ivan Gazidis can bring some much-needed counter-balance. Although, quite frankly, things don't look great- he just promised Wenger a job for life.

Just the performance incentive Arsenal needs for a manager becoming complacent in his ways!

The last couple of games have seen a marked improvement, but that has been the nature of this frustratingly inconsistent team—able to go on unbeaten runs but not able to mount a sustained challenge through 38 League games due to the nature of youth and a lack of depth in the squad.

Still hope springs eternal- perhaps Arsenal can somehow win the FA Cup or even the Champions' League this year. For the last four years Arsenal's fans have had Wenger preach patience to them.

It is time to start turning potential into actual success, starting with the final phase of this season. If this team fails to that, at some point we need to start calling Wenger's experiment a failure. Great managers reinvent themselves and are able to admit when they have been wrong.

It remains to be seen whether Wenger will be able to change if necessary.