Bleacher Report - Articles by Arran Dutton

Championship Manager Ruined My Life

Arran Dutton — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:56:32 -0500

Okay, so I admit that the title is maybe a little dramatic but the more I thought about it I began to realise that while it may not have ruined my life, Championship Manager has definitely had a negative effect and has probably slowed it down a bit.

Some people will look at the title and fully understand this statement. Others will be completely in the dark. Well for the latter, here goes.

Championship Manager , which is now known as Football Manager , is a football management simulation that allows the user to pick any team from any league in 51 countries and has an adjustable database of over 350,000 players.

To the untrained eye it may look like words and numbers on a screen, but for years it’s had a loyal international following that can’t wait to pick up a team and manage in the obvious places, England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France as well as in the likes of Belarus, Singapore, Hungary, Chile, and even the Icelandic third tier if they really wanted to.

Player profiles are put together using a network of professional scouts all over the world and even Everton manager David Moyes uses it to look at players after his club signed a deal with the makers SI Games.

It’s this attention to detail that gives this game authenticity and is one of the main reasons that the game is the leader in its category.

The game’s realism is also the driving force behind the addiction of playing this game. It’s claimed so many days from so many lives and it will continue to do so.

I’ve been hooked since the age of 12 and it’s frightening but somewhat comforting to say that I am now aged 24, and Championship Manager has been with me for half of my life. The truth is I don’t know whether this is a good or bad thing.

On the one hand Championship Manager or Football Manager, FM, CM, Champ, Champ Man, Champo or whatever you want to call it has given me a lot of joy. Growing up in a small town and enduring my fair share of boring days and nights I have always had something to turn to. On the other hand, I wonder what I could have achieved with all of the hours that I have thrown away on this game.

It’s probably fair to say that this game has had an effect on my life. I honestly think that time spent on the game throughout my education at school, college and then University may have affected my grades, especially when many a teacher or lecturer has said that I’ve underachieved.

Post education, the game has further delayed my progression. As an aspiring scriptwriter I spend a lot of time working on various projects trying to get my break in the industry and I do feel I work hard, but sometimes not hard enough.

While I’ve sat at my computer struggling to find the inspiration to write something noteworthy I often click on the logo for the latest version of Football Manager and waste a few days with a casual bit of escapism. It's not the greatest cure for writer's block.

So while I can’t adjust my grades, which may have sent me down a different path than I would’ve without the game, I suddenly realised that I might be able to get something back from this game. I feel like I deserve it.

My first Championship Manager was the '93/'94 edition and it came in a package with the first PC that my parents bought.

Along with Sensible Soccer, it would open up a whole new world to a fresh-faced, tubby football enthusiast who was just starting secondary school.

Early on in the game’s history you didn’t have the luxury of managing in Peru or Hong Kong, you had to make do with little old England. The database was also limited with only a handful of overseas players being available to buy on the game - the standout was Lars Bohinen who went on to play for Blackburn.

The game was fairly simple but I still got a lot of enjoyment out of it. I could never have guessed that it would go on to become the monster that it is today.

I soon realised I was a few editions behind my school friends who also played the game. I saved about eight week’s worth of pocket money and eventually bought the '96/'97 edition. The difference was amazing.

You could now manage in Italy and Scotland while a larger database of European clubs and players made the game a lot more interesting and sadly a lot more addictive. It was in this edition that I found my first Champ Man legend, Fredi Bobic, who, like many to follow, never became the world-beater that the game had predicted.

I couldn’t wait to finish school and get home to the computer and resume whichever career I had going at the time. Unfortunately, I had to share my computer with my brother and sister, meaning that every evening my time on the game felt short-lived.

As a youngster, football always occupied me, and Championship Manager was of course part of this. I often got told off for day dreaming at school and in amongst the clichéd naïve dreams of scoring the winner in a World Cup final, thoughts like “I wish my brother and sister went to boarding school” and “I reckon I can win the Champions League with my Luton Town team” often went through my head. It didn’t go unnoticed.

One dreadful night in October '97, my mother and father returned from a parent’s evening at my school. They told me that a number of my teachers spoke of how I seemed distant, mentioned my short attention span and how I regularly neglected homework. Championship Manager got the blame. It was banned in my household.

In the absence of this game there were signs of improvement, and by the time the ban was lifted, my CM '96/'97 became outdated. It had always run slowly on my computer due to it only just meeting the game specifications and when a friend lent me CM3 , I soon realised that my computer couldn’t handle it. I was gutted.

I would continue to play CM '96/'97 until the internet really kicked off. Our old computer couldn’t handle it so a brand-new PC came along and CM '00/'01 came into my life. I started to slip again.

By now my brother was in college, my sister was also in secondary school and it was clear that one computer wasn’t enough for me with my CM addiction.

Somehow I negotiated a deal to have my birthday and Christmas presents for a few years all in one go and along with some money that I had saved I managed to get my own computer.

Not only did I discover porn, I also discovered that monumental nine-hour stints on Championship Manager could easily happen.

Maybe you could blame lack of sleep from playing the game, maybe just the hours playing on my solo game and my network game, perhaps it was spending classes passing notes between other victims about our current Champ teams or maybe I just wasn’t bright enough, but revision for my GCSE’s went out of the window. I barely passed getting the borderline results that I needed to get onto my college course.

It may not surprise you to hear that I royally screwed up my first year in college but thankfully some maturity hit me and I managed to salvage this and eventually get into University. I knew that this game had to be a thing of the past.

Many legendary Champ careers had passed, getting Cheltenham Town into the Champions League was my finest achievement and converting little known Icelandic striker Orri Freyr Oskarsson into English Footballer of the year came a close second - In his career, he scored over a goal a game for 200 games for the Robins. But that was it. I decided Champ was out of my life.

Unfortunately, house sharing and the network game was a match made in heaven. Champ stayed.

This is where I'll fast forward a few years to the week running up to my dissertation deadline. Worryingly both my housemate and I were addicted to our game and despite the most important deadline of our lives fast approaching, we couldn't stop playing the game.

One morning in particular comes to mind when we were eating our cereal ahead of a penned in “day in the library” that then turned into a 17-hour Championship Manager session that ended in the early hours of the next morning. This ruined the next day as we both had to sleep it off. That was three days before the hand in.

Somehow we met our deadlines but neither of us did as well as we could’ve and we didn’t in our degrees either. Both ending up with a 2:2 it was kind of disappointing as neither of us were far off of a highly respectable 2:1.

The knock on effect hasn’t been so bad for him and due to my writing ambitions I haven’t been applying for many jobs. However, there was one occasion where an appealing job went out the window because I didn’t have the minimum requirement of a 2:1. I blame Champ .

As I said, this can’t be changed but I can get something back. Then it hit me. Why not make a documentary film about the game? So I am.

I’ve got an award-winning director involved, (nothing like the Oscars, but he’s very good) Ashley Parker (www.handisland.com ) and I’ve started to pull some people together to take part so it’s going well.

There are a few attempts on YouTube of the same name but I knew I could make this special. I want to talk to Championship Manager legends that failed to live up to the hype, like my friend Orri Freyr Oskarsson amongst others including Tonton Zola Moukoko, Maxim Tsigalko and Ibrahima Bakayoko and I'm intrigued to find out if their reputations on the game held them back at all. I also have so many other ideas to make this project work.

The game has been cited in 35 divorces in the last few years so maybe I can speak to the addicts and their former partners, and in the meantime, I’m going to try and find the person whose life has been affected the worst by the game.

I want to get to the bottom of urban myths such as Demetrio Albertini showing Italian national coach Giovanni Trapattoni players on Champ Man before a match against an unknown England XI as well as speaking to celebrities who are hooked, go behind the scenes at SI Games and look at gaming addiction and sport as an escape as well.

So there you have it. Hopefully Championship Manager, or Football Manager as I should really call it, will give something back to me. If you want to support the documentary then there’s a Facebook group so come and join my revolution: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=182782286950&ref=ts

Of course I could easily slip back into a career on the game and this project may subsequently be delayed. I’ll keep you posted.

Football Podcasts: A Brief Guide

Arran Dutton — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:42:48 -0400

The football season has started and for most it’s been a long summer without it. The confederations cup did its bit, pre-season had the odd highlight and a few big transfers got us excited but now the business begins.

Last season, one thing that changed the way I keep up to date with the game we all love was the football podcast. Free to download through iTunes, I discovered that there was a lot of football media out there to keep me amused between matches.

So to help you prepare or if your team has already kicked off, continue to enjoy the football season here are a list of the top five football podcasts that can keep you up to date with the beautiful game….

5. The Game Podcast—Times Online

This weekly podcast anchored by comedian Phil Jupitus provides a detailed look into the events of the top-flight football of the weekend. Released every Monday, the knowledge and analysis of pundit Gabriele Marcotti is second to none and his views and insight alone make this podcast worth a listen.

Not afraid to speak his mind and not beat around the bush like a lot of the television football pundits that we see, Marcotti shows his intelligence on a consistent basis and you have to wonder why he is restricted to this Podcast.

The same can’t be said for many of the other guest pundits with the exception of Amy Lawrence who participates from time to time and while Jupitus does well in moving the podcast along his football knowledge isn’t as impressive as other sports presenters.

However, the major letdown for this podcast is that it is only released weekly and this can be frustrating when they try to recap on the midweek fixtures from the previous week.

With the football fixture congestion that we see in Football nowadays the coverage on the likes of the Champions League matches are old news and have been discussed in other media beyond necessity by the time they get to it.

On an international footing this isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it covers all bases, unfortunately when trying to fit the events of a whole week in one episode, the end result is that the recent news gets less coverage than it would on a lot of The Game Podcast’s competitors.

4. ESPN Soccernet Podcast

Three times a week, longer in length, and looks beyond the Premiership—this is why this podcast edges out most of its competitors.

This is obviously recorded with a US audience in mind and the weekly US Soccer Show (Friday) takes a detailed look at all of the talking points in the MLS while also looking at the progress of US nationals that are playing around the world, all which gives the listeners decent coverage on their domestic front.

That said, Premier League football is still more popular in the US and the British presenters for the two main shows (Monday and Thursday) gives a sense of authenticity due to the fact that they all have a wealth of knowledge and support Premier League clubs.

Although the latter could have been a major downfall, the positive is that their views don’t seem to be extremely biased towards their clubs and a sense of professionalism remains amongst the occasional banter while the continual mix up of the participants keeps the episodes fresh.

An effort is also made the cover the other major European leagues with experts giving regular updates from Germany, Spain, Italy, and France.

3. BBC World Football—BBC World Service

Staying away from the over exposed Premier League day-to-day, football transfers and managerial changes, this podcast is for anyone that has a keen interest in subjects behind the scenes, around the world and at the grass roots level of football.

With the feel of an in-depth radio documentary, the segments are approached with impartiality and this provides a healthy balance. Recent episodes looked at topics such as the referees respect campaign, the selling of club licenses and the effect that the recession has had on the lower leagues and players without a club.

Recently there was an in depth look at Liverpool’s tour of the far east and the unfair balance of enjoying the economic benefits of touring in Asia verses giving the Asian supporters value for money.

2. Football Weekly—The Guardian

Hosted by the humourous James Richardson (Football Italia and Setanta) this podcast has a similar layout to ESPN Soccernet’s and its priorities are similar with the Premier League coverage being at the top of the bill.

The difference is that it’s a bit more fun, the coverage comes from a host of the football writers from the British press and the European football coverage is a lot better.

Sid Lowe gives in depth coverage from Spain in most episodes and Raphael Honigstein does the same in Germany—both know their football but aren’t afraid to speak their mind however controversial their views are, while they are happy to join in with the in-studio banter as well. We even hear about Sid’s dog from time to time.

Barry Glendenning is a particular highlight with some of his unusual stories and questionable views on the game while the informal feel and the freedom of honesty that you get doesn’t come in Football programmes on TV.

The Football Weekly podcast is a good listen and can be downloaded twice a week on Monday and Thursday.

1. The Football Ramble

This is the most downloaded football podcast around at the moment and you only have to listen for a few minutes to see why. The words that spring to mind are “banter” and “honesty” with this podcast making you feel like you could be down the pub chatting about the game. Apparently it all started in a kitchen.

Currently fortnightly, the Ramble is going weekly from the start of the football season and the regular features will all be there.

The Dean Windass hall of fame—a player profile that looks at legendary players or teams from the past (Recently Eusebio, Dennis Bergkamp, St Pauli, FK Start) in detail, funny stories from around the world, (mainly South America) opening questions like “Who is your favourite pony-tailed footballer?” and “What was your first ever football kit?” and general catch up and discussion on recent football events will all be included.

Like Football Weekly the views and opinions are honest and the “say what you’re thinking” style means there is no tip-toeing around certain subjects like the on-screen pundits have to.

The best thing about this podcast is how authentic it —it’s clear that they are a group of good mates and within any group there is a lot of banter between them, plenty of ribbing each other as well as respect and even a bit of love. These guys know their football as well.

Lukey Moore, Marcus Speller, Pete Donaldson, and James (or Jim) Campbell are four guys worth listening to. If you love your football, you’ll love this.

Paper Dreams: Werder Reach Final with a Bit of Help from a Litter Bug

Arran Dutton — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:24:03 -0400

Werder Bremen have set up a clash with Shakthar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup final after edging ahead of fierce rivals Hamburg in an entertaining semifinal.

With the odds stacked against them after losing the first leg at home 1-0, Bremen looked to be on their way out of the competition when Ivica Olic gave the home team a 2-0 aggregate lead early on.

Werder refused to lie down and grabbed a deserved equaliser after a well worked goal from their majestic Brazilian Diego made left the tie interestingly poised at 2-1, and 1-1 on the night.

A goal would change the tie, if Werder were to score again they would be heading through on away goals and when Claudio Pizarro fired in from 25 yards to set up this scenario, it ensured that the supporters would see an exciting finale to what had been a thrilling two-legged semifinal.

With time running out disaster struck for Hamburg, as a routine back pass was made complicated when the ball hit a scrunched up piece of paper that had been thrown on to the pitch by a home fan.

As the defender swung his leg to pass the ball back to his keeper, the ball bobbled up, causing the player to slice the ball out for an unnecessary corner.

The fan in question must be devastated because what followed was the visiting teams third goal of the night when Frank Baumann showed incredible bravery to head home from close range and put the tie out of reach for the home team.

However, there was to be another twist as the hard working Olic pulled a goal back with minutes on the clock to make the aggregate score 3-3, but leaving Hamburg needing another to prevent elimination on the away goals rule.

It wasn't to be, as Werder Bremen held on and their reward is a place in the UEFA Cup final in Istanbul. The only sour point for Werder is that star man Diego received a booking which sees him suspended for the match against Shakthar and will be a huge miss.

As for Hamburg, Chelsea fans will agree—Away goals is a cruel way to go....

Ugliness Required for Chelsea To Reach Rome

Arran Dutton — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:54:27 -0400

Some matches really don’t need building up. We all know the score, we all know the history and there is no easy way to predict the outcome of Chelsea verses Barcelona in the second leg of the Champions League semi final.

It seems that 0-0 is a score line that both teams are confident with going into the Wednesday's second leg.

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has already claimed that the Spanish League leaders will go to Stamford Bridge and book their place in the final, while Chelsea fans were happy to be the first team to go to the Nou Camp and come away with a clean sheet after the first leg last Tuesday.

The same questions are raised again, the most obvious being—Can Chelsea stop Barcelona scoring?

Maybe, maybe not, but with the team touted as being the most attractive attacking team in world football coming to town, they may have to play ugly and be ruthless in exposing Barcelona’s weaknesses.

Before we look at the second leg on Wednesday, let’s look back and see what Chelsea did right in Spain, after all certain aspects of their game plan may once again benefit the Blues who many believe have to take aspects of their “anti-football” display in order to set up another all English clash in the final of the European cup.

While it is easy to point the finger at Chelsea, who were up against it for the entire match and poor with the ball when they were in possession, it is fair to say that Guus Hiddink got his tactics spot on and although they rode their luck at times, this was a defensive master-class from Terry, Cech & co.

Chelsea stopped Barcelona from playing, they got men behind the ball, congested the areas in and around the box and saw move after move of the neat, intricate, flowing football break down.

In the process they stopped the “big three” of Henry, Eto’o and Messi from tearing them apart like they have done to most teams they’ve faced this season. This is impressive when you consider that the three of them have scored more goals that any other team in Europe between them.

Although they showed glimpses of their outstanding ability, Chelsea’s full backs did a fantastic job of stopping Henry and Messi who played from the wide positions in the three-pronged Barcelona attack.

Both of these players like to cut inside at every opportunity and it was crucial that Bosingwa and Ivanovic stuck with them as they did and in doing so providing a further hinderence as the pair tried to make things happen in the already congested areas around the box.

Despite the obvious positives, this, of course, left Chelsea vulnerable as they became extremely narrow and left certain areas exposed, notably the wide areas.

Later in the game, Barcelona would begin to use this to their advantage as Abidal and more often Dani Alves would be found in the space created by the in cutting runs of Messi and Henry.

Barcelona’s best chances came from the right hand side and Alves put a number of decent deliveries into the box, notably the cross for Bojan who saw his header go over the bar in what was the home team’s best chance of the game.

This was evidence that there wasn’t really a player in Barcelona’s team that can head a ball, with Keita who is their strongest player at coming onto crosses, not featuring. Barcelona didn’t take advantage of the space left by the full backs until late in the game, and they were forced to do this as Chelsea had forced made them desperate.

Obviously, this highlights Chelsea’s strength defensively in this match, however the most disappointing aspect of their performance was their inability to counter attack effectively and their poor use of the ball when going forward.

Perhaps we should be praising Barcelona's tactics in this area as the three central midfielders for Barcelona won the midfield battle and provided a platform for a number of Barcelona attacks.

Xavi, Iniesta and Toure really showed Lampard, Essien and Ballack up on the day and broke down everything that came through the middle of the field, stopping attacks before they could even build any momentum.

Chelsea did however have a golden opportunity, even if it was aided by a defensive error from Rafael Marquez. The Mexican saw his poor back pass seized on by Didier Drogba who was through on goal only to see his shot and the rebound saved by Victor Valdes who spared the Blues a crucial away goal.

Other than this Valdes had a quiet night and at the final whistle Barcelona were left frustrated as the tie was all-square at the halfway point. Now for the second leg...

I believe that Chelsea will have to play ugly in order to reach the final in Rome, and I think that they are fully equipped to do this and take advantage of Barcelona’s weakened defence, their lack of a plan B and the versatility that they have in their own game.

Didier Drogba could make a big difference in this match. The Ivorian is central to the way that Chelsea play football and his ability to play like a stereotypical old fashioned English centre forward may well be the crucial factor in this tie.

Barcelona are struggling in the centre of their defence with Marquez out for the season after injury in the first leg and Puyol unavailable due to suspension.

This leaves Pique, a player who is well suited to the Spanish league but struggled with the physical aspect and the intensity of the English game while playing for Manchester United, as well as either Martin Caceres who has been criticised for his performances and Eric Abidal who is naturally a full back.

If Chelsea can put real pressure on the Barcelona defence then Drogba can have a field day.

Many have asked the question: How do you put pressure on the Barcelona defence? The answer is to bypass Xavi, Iniesta and Toure. Not exactly easy, or is it?

While praise has been lavished on the front three, the heart of Barcelona’s midfield have provided crucial defensive cover due to their reading of the game and ability to maintain possession and take pressure off of the backline.

They are also an attacking threat and pull the strings in midfield with Xavi and Iniesta in particular having the ability to play short or long and provide defence splitting passes, play box to box and even chip in with the odd goal.

They dominated Chelsea’s “world class” midfield in Spain and they may well do it again in London. Chelsea cannot afford to lose this battle again.

What may be effective is to mix up the way that they play on the night and try and expose Barcelona’s defence by playing long balls and focusing play down the wings. This is where Drogba comes in.

If you want a battering ram up front then Drogba is your man. In very much the way that Chelsea play to Drogba’s strengths when they face Arsenal, who have a similar style to Barcelona, his ability to terrorise defenders in the physical battle will benefit Chelsea.

When you also consider his ability in the air and in holdings up the ball, if the likes of Lampard, Malouda and Kalou can provide support and get beyond him, then Drogba will be able to bring them into the game and create chances for them.

It may even be beneficial to play 4-4-2 and have Anelka playing up with him and using his pace to take full advantage of any ball that Drogba wins in the air.

With Drogba spearheading the Chelsea attack, this opens up another option as his exceptional ability to attack a ball in the air means that he will be able to take advantage of goal scoring chances from out wide.

If Chelsea can get crosses into the box then Drogba will be able to take full advantage and they will be able to do this by pegging back and getting in behind the attacking fullbacks that are naturally exposed by Barcelona’s formation.

If last week is anything to go by, then Chelsea will know that Messi and Henry, if he plays, will look to cut inside at any given opportunity and work the quick give and go passes to try and break through the middle of the defence.

Whoever plays in the full back positions, most likely Ashley Cole and maybe Ivanovic, will have to be aware and not only track these runs but also have to sacrifice any attacking freedom and maintain defensive discipline if Chelsea are to succeed in this match. Failure to do so may lead to them being punished.

Chelsea will also have to be as cautious and hardworking as they were in Barcelona. If they can congest the central areas in and around the box like they did last week, then it will yet again make it hard for them to play their game. If you can stop them, you can stop Barcelona.

Whatever happens, it is going to be a tall order for Chelsea. Barcelona will go into the match on a high after the 6-2 victory against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, but may also be tiring after such a big game being sandwiched in between the two Chelsea matches.

Chelsea will be hoping that three huge games in a week will prove too much for the Spanish league leaders and if they make it difficult enough their “negative” football may well see them travelling to Italy for the final in Rome.

Meet Arsenal's New Twenty Five a Season Striker: Nicklas Bendtner

Arran Dutton — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:57:54 -0400

It’s 4.30 pm on a Saturday afternoon at the Emirates, the pitch is cloaked in sunlight and Arsenal are up 2-0 against Manchester City. The opposition have barely threatened in the second half and Arsenal continue to produce wave after wave of attacking football that is easier on the eye than a house party at the playboy mansion.

The fourth official is forced into action. It’s time for Emmanuel Adebayor to leave the pitch after scoring twice on his comeback from injury. As he runs off of the pitch he is given a rapturous applause from the Arsenal faithful as the team are coasting towards a result that will see them move six points ahead of an Aston Villa team that once upon a time seemed out of sight.

What could possibly ruin this afternoon?

On comes his replacement and the answer is clear. The man in question is Nicklas Bentdner of course, but he hasn’t ruined this afternoon, the groans of discontent and the needless abuse from fellow supporters—that’s what ruins the afternoon.

The lanky Dane seems to be getting a raw deal from the Arsenal following and it seems like he is currently edging ahead of Emmanuel Eboue in a two horse race to claim the title of the fans least favourite player award.

Sitting in the stands you hear a variation of opinions on the sport that we all love. On Saturday a man in front of me claimed that “Theo Walcott is having a blinder and causing so many problems down the right hand side” whereas a man behind me often stated that the same player was “a waste of space” and that “he hasn’t made a decent decision all day”. A woman next to me claimed that these two men were both right and wrong and that “he had caused problems, but his decision making at times has been terrible”—she was right.

That said there seems to be a lot more consistency with the views on Bendtner, and it’s a damning verdict for the kid from Copenhagen. Most agree that he isn’t good enough to wear the red and white of the Arsenal.

Are the fans being too harsh? He is a frustrating player to watch at times but I believe the potential is there. My credibility as a football supporter may be questioned when I state that Arsenal may well have a twenty five goals a season striker in the player that I heard one fan call “Nicklas Bambi” this weekend.

So let’s look at the stats. It may surprise you to hear that Bendtner has scored twenty one goals for Arsenal in just forty starts. Of course with sub appearances, this ratio of one in two rises to one in four, but as football fans I think we sometimes underestimate how difficult it can be to make an impact off of the bench.

Age is also a factor, many forget he’s only twenty one and he is an improving player. His record at this age is quite impressive in comparison to some of the other strikers that have graced the pitch at Highbury and the Emirates.

Adebayor may be the toast of the town at the moment after his stunning goal against Villarreal, but this wasn’t always the case for the man from Togo.

Moving to the club at the age of twenty-two he was often subjected to the sort of criticism that Bendtner currently receives from both fans and the media alike. The truth is that it wasn’t until last season, when people started to notice that Adebayor has become more of an asset than a liability and he stopped being cursed for his clumsiness and lack of composure in front of goal like Bendtner is now.

Then we have Thierry Henry, probably the best player to ever have played for the club. When we signed him as a twenty one year-old, he had only netted twenty three times in one hundred and twenty one appearances. When Wenger had finished with him he was one of the most prolific strikers that had ever played in the Premier League.

The point I am trying to make is that Messi, Ronaldo or Fabregas aside, inconsistency can be seen in the game of most young players.

This has been Bendtner’s problem—he has been very inconsistent. On occasion he has put in great performances for Arsenal—away games at Bolton and West Brom in particular spring to mind. Unfortunately there have been a string of poor performances to accompany this with missed chances and misplaced passes really underlining how frustrating this player can be.

To be ruthless it can be said that a lot of Bendtner’s goals have come against lesser opposition. A lot of goals have come in the Carling Cup and his better performances have often been against teams struggling at the bottom of the league. However, watching him play I feel that the potential is there for all to see.

Going back to his last appearance, on as a substitute against Manchester City at the weekend, the fans were treated to the Jekyll and Hyde ability of Nicklas Bendtner.

Moments after coming on he exquisitely controlled a sixty yard pass from Sagna and held the ball up well. Minutes later he used his strength well and showed good touches as he brought a ball down in the opposition half and laid the ball of to a teammate to set up an Arsenal attack. But then we saw the dark side of his game when he was played into a goal scoring position, had a poor first touch and blasted high and wide from close range. Sadly they are the moments that his critics seem to remember.

So the question from most Arsenal fans is what does Wenger see in him? Wenger himself has said that a player can progress so much between the age of twenty one and twenty three and that he sees a world-class striker in Bendtner.

Is he deluding himself?

Personally I agree with Wenger, he does have a lot of positives in his game. He’s good in the air, he’s strong, and holds the ball up well, he links the play together well at times, he works hard, and his movement off the ball is very good at times. It is true that at he lacks composure in front of goal at times, but then he wouldn’t be the only young striker that has had this problem. Look at Adebayor. It may be a cliché but at least he’s getting into the goal scoring positions.

Furthermore, he’s confident, and while he has been criticised for it, albeit slightly harshly with the misquote from a Danish magazine interview coming to mind, this confidence will allow Bendtner to defy the boo-boys and become the player he wants to be because he has faith in his own ability.

Maybe Arsenal’s injury situation and bad luck with strikers in particular hasn’t helped Bendtner. I don’t think Wenger would have wanted Bendtner to play in as many games as he has this season, but he hasn’t really had a choice. The brutal honesty this season is that he isn’t yet good enough to be a regular in a side that wants to challenge for the title, but it doesn’t mean he will never be.

In an ideal world Arsenal wouldn’t have had as many injuries as they did, and if so then Bendtner wouldn’t have been the immediate deputy when Adebayor or Van Persie were injured. That said, it’s happened and while it could have been good to see the player go out on loan and get experience at another Premier League team, he now has a lot of first team games behind him that will only benefit him moving into next season.

To say that next year he is going to hit twenty or more may be a step to far but the potential is there, and maybe when he reaches Adebayor’s current age of twenty five he will be scoring that many goals for the club consistently, and for seasons to come.

Can Arsene Wenger Save Arsenal's Season?

Arran Dutton — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:41:37 -0500

It’s the first week in November and Arsenal sit six points behind league leaders Chelsea and Liverpool.

There are 27 Premier League games remaining, yet every pundit in the game seems to believe that the Gunners have no chance of claiming their first title since the unbeaten season of 2003-04.

Looking at it in black and white, these suggestions would seem to be premature. Unfortunately, even the most loyal Arsenal supporter would agree that it looks unlikely and that something isn’t right this season.

Before looking ahead, let’s look back to 5.15pm on September 27^th as Arsenal kicked off their "home banker" against Hull City at the Emirates stadium.

Sitting top of the league and having played some irresistible football in getting there, the team who weren’t fancied at the season’s start were now expected to increase their lead at the top of the table with an easy three points.

Times were good for Arsene Wenger as four days earlier the Arsenal youngsters had demolished Sheffield United 6-0 in the League Cup, and with winnable fixtures against Sunderland, Everton, West Ham, Tottenham and Stoke on the horizon, it looked possible that Arsenal could put a run of victories together that would put them in a commanding position moving into the winter period.

The critics had cited Arsenal’s lack of strength and depth as the reason why they had written them off. Obviously high profile names such as Hleb and Flamini had left the club, with Samir Nasri, who had been tipped as one of the brightest prospects in European football, being the only player to come in that could step straight into the first team.

Wenger had put his faith in the group of players that were already at the club. In the previous season players such as Denilson, Eboue, Bendtner, and Walcott weren’t performing to the standard that fans had come to expect from players who wore the famous red and white. It looked different this season as these players showed early promise in preseason and took their form into the opening games of the league season.

It looked like Wenger’s faith would be repaid.

Then came a shock.

Hull City became only the second team to win at the Emirates Stadium and since then Arsenal have been very much part of the chasing pack.

A draw away at Sunderland allowed Chelsea and Liverpool to pull away from Arsenal. Then came a mini revival with wins against Everton, West Ham, and away to Fenerbahce showing enough positives for supporters to believe that they had overcome a minor blip in their season.

However, Arsenal would again come unstuck, this time against their fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Leading 4-2 and moving into injury time, Arsenal conceded two late goals to draw the match 4-4. The result had a devastating effect on the players and there were reports of a rift in the changing room after the match.

Even still, when Saturday came and the challenge of Stoke City loomed, Arsenal were expected to get a victory and try and get their title ambitions back on track. It wasn’t to be.

Stoke City won 2-1 and all those that had predicted that Arsenal wouldn’t have the resources to compete with Manchester United, Chelsea, and even Liverpool this season look to be right. However, none of them could have expected Wenger’s team to struggle in the way that they have.

So why has this happened?

There are a number of reasons, but the logical place to start would be the perception of Arsenal’s lack of strength and depth. Unfortunately for Arsenal fans there are a number of players that haven’t been good enough on a regular basis.

As mentioned, at times the likes of Bendtner, Denilson, and Eboue have shown that they can compete at the top level, on the other hand there are also times when the game seems to pass them by and leads them to look fairly ordinary.

Highlighting Bendtner and Denilson in particular, it’s one thing to have an impact on a game when the Arsenal team are playing well, but when Arsenal are up against it, like they were away at Stoke, that is where the club needs their players to have that extra bit of quality to make something happen.

Both of these players had arguably their best game in an Arsenal shirt earlier in the season when they played away at Bolton, yet in games away at Sunderland, Fulham, and Stoke they failed to make any impact when the pressure was on.

Without singling them out there have also been other players to show this with Nasri, Eboue, and Song all being guilty.

Perhaps the players mentioned above aren’t the biggest culprits though. Ironically, you would have to look at the only three players in the squad with Premier League winners medals to find the biggest problem that Arsene Wenger faces. This of course would be the central defenders and their lack of ability aerially, and especially when defending set pieces.

At the back Arsenal have two of the best full-backs in the league in Sagna and Clichy, and on one hand the central defenders have also been very good in certain situations. Arsenal haven’t conceded that many goals in open play and there has been an element of bad luck in the goals that they have.

If you take away wonder goals from Geovanni, Leadbitter, Bentley, and Jenas—strikes that came from twenty five yards out or over—then Arsenal have only conceded three goals in this way in ten Premier League games this season. That was of course until the game at Stoke, although you could successfully argue that any goal conceded from a Rory Delap throw in should be regarded as a set piece.

Including the goals conceded at Stoke from Delap’s throw-ins, Arsenal have conceded crucial goals from set pieces.

William Gallas in particular has been at fault for the winning goals for both Fulham and Hull, as well as the goal conceded at Bolton, where on all three occasions he switched off and lost his man when Arsenal were defending corners. As captain and the oldest player in the current Arsenal team, it seems he is the one player who is consistently making schoolboy errors.

Kolo Toure hasn’t been much better.

I believe the problem is that both players share the same weaknesses, this being their lack of height and inability to struggle with an aerial threat makes Arsenal vulnerable from set pieces. This may continue to become Arsenal’s undoing.

Both players are very good defenders, but it’s no coincidence that Toure played his best football alongside Sol Campbell while John Terry brought the best out of Gallas when they played together at Chelsea.

What both of the English centrebacks have in common is that they are both phenomenal in the air and while Toure and Gallas are extremely good at other aspects of their defensive duties such as reading the game, timing tackles, and along with their full-backs having the pace and strength to deal with players who are running at them, they are constantly exposed when they are facing players with an aerial advantage.

Maybe it’s time for Wenger to drop one of the centre backs?

Should this happen, Toure would be the fans favourite to keep his place in the team as William Gallas’ infamous "sulk" at Birmingham last season still bothers the fans.

Out of the players that could come in, I would like to see the lanky Johan Djourou get a run in the team. My opinion is that he has looked reasonably assured in the air, adds extra height to the backline and has a wealth of international experience despite not having as much in the Arsenal line-up.

Summer signing Mickael Silvestre and another young defender Alex Song are the other options although when they were paired together away at Fenerbahce you could argue that they struggled to cope even worse in the air than Gallas and Toure as they struggled to deal with long balls.

This may sound slightly unfair on Silvestre, who has had a different centreback playing alongside him in every match he’s played for the club so far. However, the early signs show that Arsenal fans shouldn’t hold hope in him being the answer for their defensive problems.

If Arsenal can sort the defensive problems out they will definitely be in contention for the title but whether the manager will finally get his cheque-book out in the transfer window looks unlikely as he is stubborn when it comes to adding to his squad.

Another problem is in the centre of midfield where not only Flamini but also Gilberto are both missed. I don’t believe that Denilson is the long-term option for this position alongside Fabregas.

Aaron Ramsey has looked impressive when he has come into the team but you get the sense that Wenger will take his time over giving him a long run. Abou Diaby is an option and Amaury Bischoff, a player that Wenger rates highly, is finally playing matches for the reserves after signing with a long-term injury.

Emmanuel Eboue has also played there and has done surprisingly well in games but in comparison to the other title contenders Arsenal look particularly weak in what was a strong position for them only twelve months ago.

The lack of goals from midfield is also a worry for Arsenal and is another area where their competitors have an edge. Although hitting a purple patch at the beginning of last season, Cesc Fabregas doesn’t look to have the ability to score goals on a regular basis in the way that Gerrard and Lampard do for Liverpool and Chelsea respectively, where Manchester United have the exceptional Cristiano Ronaldo who outscored every other player in Europe despite playing on the wing.

This used to be one of Arsenal’s main strengths when they last won the league title.

Pires and Ljungberg would consistently hit double figures and Arsenal need another player who can do this from midfield to ease the pressure on the strikers. Nasri has scored a few goals this season, and hopefully Walcott who has started to add goals to his game will continue to do this.

Both players are enjoying an extended run in the first team and if they can get themselves on the score-sheet on a regular basis it can only be good for Arsenal if the strikers have an off day.

We will know more about Arsenal this season after the next four games.

With injuries and suspensions piling up, Arsenal fans will be watching on nervously ahead of Saturday’s encounter with Manchester United. This match is followed by another home game with Aston Villa who have never lost at the Emirates before away trips to Manchester City and then another crucial match away at Chelsea.

This is a tough run of fixtures that will test the resolve of the Arsenal squad.

There isn’t any room for error.

Is This The Year That Liverpool Will Mount A Serious Title Challenge?

Arran Dutton — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:17:17 -0400

The start of the Premier League season is just around the corner and as usual I can’t wait. As I think of what every football fan has to look forward to, I begin to mull over certain questions and I am struck by a sense of deja vu.

Like every summer there has been a lengthy transfer saga which remains unresolved, media and fans alike have different points of view as to whether any team outside of the big four can break into a Champions League place and whether any team that comes up from the Championship will have any chance of staying in the division. But there is one more question, and it always catches my attention, can Liverpool mount a serious title challenge?

We usually don’t have to wait that long for the answer.

My personal opinion is that Liverpool showed a huge improvement and a lot of potential last season. While they did finish fourth they did only finish 11 points behind the winners, Manchester United.

Now to use the word “only” makes it sound like they nearly did it, and of course we know that finishing 11points off of the pace is too far behind to suggest that they did have a realistic shot at winning the title. But with regards to Liverpool it was a massive improvement in comparison to the 21 points that they trailed at the end of the previous season.

There is no doubting the reason for this improvement, the signing of Fernando Torres. One year on this striker who was always considered as a promising player has now blossomed into a world-class talent and it has been argued that he is the best striker in the world at the moment.

His record of 24 goals in 33 Premier League appearances was the goal record that Liverpool’s strikers have got nowhere near since the departure of Michael Owen, and it seemed that his arrival had managed to take some of the pressure off of the club's captain Steven Gerrard who in previous seasons has carried the team at times.

Gerrard and Torres were a joy to watch, and their link up play in the second half of the season was the reason behind Liverpool’s strong end of season run where they lost just once in their last 15 games and made the semifinals of the Champions League. The form shown by the team has hinted that there may be things to come but is this the season that they will do it?

It is appropriate to mention that the one defeat was against Manchester United, and it was a heavy one, a 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford that ended any slim hopes of the title finally finding its way to Anfield. This defeat sums up why the club ended up finishing fourth in a season that at times looked like it could offer so much more.

Their record against other members of the big four hasn’t been good for a number of seasons, and last year was no different. While they got creditable draws away at Arsenal and Chelsea, they failed to win against both of these teams at Anfield and slipped to defeat against Manchester United there as well.

So why is there record so bad in these games? The answer, they lack the world-class squads that their rivals possess. While Liverpool had a strong spine of a team with Reina in goal, Carragher in central defence, arguably the best choice of central midfielders with Gerrard, Mascherano and Xabi Alonso, with Fernando Torres up front, there are other members of the squad who would get nowhere near the first team of their fiercest rivals.

In terms of attacking ability if Gerrard and Torres have an off day, Liverpool have an off day, which goes someway to explaining the disappointing and inconsistent form which saw them slip to disappointing defeats away to Reading and West Ham, and a series of poor home draws with Birmingham, Spurs, Aston Villa and Wigan. Simply, players like Kuyt, Benayoun, Pennant, Voronin amongst others were not good enough.

So can Liverpool do something this season? That is the question that has popped up again. So far the different views of the media seem to vary between the prediction of Manchester United or Chelsea to win the Premiership. You can’t really disagree with them.

Liverpool fans will have been watching Rafa Benitez’s business very closely this summer. For a while there was a sense of same old story, with the club bringing in a number of relative unknowns that will have worried fans. We do know that Liverpool have been chasing Gareth Barry, and he may still be wearing the famous red of the club by the start of the season, yet fans have questioned whether the position of central midfield needs to be filled urgently.

Personally, I’d agree and there are a number of other positions that I’d highlight as being weaker than the centre of Liverpool’s midfield.

For starters I thought that Liverpool needed full backs. The players that filled these positions last year were Riise, Finnan, Aurelio and Arbeloa. Would they get into the teams of Manchester United, Chelsea or even Arsenal? They’d struggle to even make it onto the bench.

In fairness Benitez has gone out and bought two, but does anyone know anything about Phillip Degen and Andrea Dossena? They both have experience that is a positive factor, and it is unfair to write a player off when a ball hasn’t been kicked this season, but surely a club like Liverpool can attract players of a higher pedigree? Benitez has said that the two full backs he has signed will add an attacking dimension to the team, so it sounds like he knows why he has signed them. Liverpool fans had better hope that they can defend as well.

Another area where I felt Liverpool had to strengthen was up front and they’ve done this with the signing of Robbie Keane, an impressive one at that. My opinion is that this is an excellent piece of business for the club and while he cost a lot they did make good money by the sell of Peter Crouch. I’m a fan of Crouch and I think Liverpool would’ve kept him if he was happy to warm the bench, but when he left I worried that Torres, who can play up front on his own, would be partnered with Kuyt or Voronin for long parts of the season.

But now they have Keane, and he could well be the ideal strike partner for the Spaniard. The decision to sign him could be as inspired as the one that brought Torres to Anfield one year ago. Maybe Robbie Keane is the missing link?

While Keane doesn’t have the goal record that suggests that he will become a thirty goal a season striker, as a second striker to Torres, Liverpool fans will be confident that the pair can score a large haul of goals between them.

Robbie Keane is an intelligent striker and has the ability to create space for himself and others with his clever movement. He can also drop deep if needed and he is a grafter who will work hard for the team. He is a great finisher and shows incredible composure in front of goal and he also has the ability to make the right decision under pressure, something that Dirk Kuyt in particular failed to do time and time again.

Most importantly he is another player that Liverpool can rely on. If Torres is out injured you no longer think that the team will struggle to find a goal because Keane is always a threat. This may take the pressure off of Liverpool’s star players as he will shoulder some of the responsibility that other members of the team haven’t done in the past and with his ability to produce something out of nothing, a moment of brilliance that can win you a match, I have no doubt that Keane will be an excellent signing for Liverpool.

What Benitez has done well is that he has bolstered his squad. They signed a much-needed second goalkeeper in Diego Cavalieri and a number of young players who look to have potential for the future. The squad is there in numbers, whether it is in ability is another question.

My surprise is that he hasn’t attempted to sign a winger. I think that Ryan Babel showed huge potential last season, he scored goals from the bench and his pace and trickery caused problems. I think he will find himself starting more and more this season and as he is young he looks to have a good future ahead of him. I couldn’t understand why he didn’t play more last season, I can only speculate that maybe Benitez felt that he wasn’t as good as he needed to be defensively, but that should come with experience.

Maybe Benitez was relying on another young winger in the form of Argentine Sebastian Leto, however he has been dealt a blow as the midfielder has been denied a work permit for the new season.

Whether Benitez will look into the market to make any more signings, we will find out in the next few weeks. Gareth Barry still looks like a possibility but his spending may end with him. There are other positives for Liverpool, they had problems in the centre of defence but Daniel Agger should return after missing the entirety of last season with injury that will be a huge boost to their title hopes. Martin Skrtel who arrived in January, settled and played well towards the end of last season just at the time when Sami Hyppia was starting to look like his best days were behind him.

No doubt Liverpool fans will also hope that the manager’s famous squad rotation system doesn’t affect their chances to mount a serious challenge. At times gambles didn’t pay off last season. His reasoning was that if he rotated players at the start of the season, they would be fresher at the end of the season. As I highlighted their form towards the end of the season did get better, but some of his early season decisions, especially regarding Torres were strange.

The most notable was the decision to leave the striker out of the team for a Premier League match against Birmingham that they ended up drawing 0-0, but then field him in a less important League Cup game away at Reading. Decisions like this frustrated Liverpool fans at the start of the season.

I think that Benitez has learnt from his mistakes and I also think that Liverpool will be a lot closer again this season, but whether they have enough to win it is another question. Their fans will have to hope that the new signings settle quickly and that they have good luck with injuries, especially with regards to their key men. If so then maybe Steven Gerrard will be lifting the Premiership trophy come May.

Arsene Wenger Hints at Key Role for Aaron Ramsey—Should He Gamble?

Arran Dutton — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:52:34 -0400

With the season opener against West Brom less than a month away, Arsene Wenger is facing the dilemma of who will partner Cesc Fabregas in the heart of the Arsenal midfield after the departures Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva.

If you read into Friday’s reports, it looks like the answer could be the club’s first summer signing, Aaron Ramsey.

The Gunners fought off a host of Premier League clubs for the promising Cardiff City midfielder’s signature, with both Everton and Manchester United reported to be interested in signing the teen prodigy.

United had even released a statement on the club’s official website claiming that a deal had been struck to sign the versatile 17-year-old, who can play anywhere across the defence or midfield.

However, this wasn’t the case as Ramsey signed for Arsenal, citing the influence of Arsene Wenger as the key reason for him choosing The Gunners.

Cardiff City chairman Peter Risdale later revealed that Manchester United was the club’s preferred destination for the player. His reason was that the United had agreed that the midfielder would move back to the Championship club on loan for the following season.

However, Wenger insisted that if Ramsey were to sign, then he’d be a part of his first team plans for the season ahead. There is no doubt that the dangling carrot of Premier League football was what persuaded the player to move to North London.

As an Arsenal fan, I assumed that this meant that the player would face the usual task that every youngster at the club seems to face. This, of course, would be the chance to impress during matches in the Carling Cup, accompanied by a host of substitute appearances in the league and the occasional start in the early rounds of the F.A. Cup.

This would show that the player has what it takes to become a first-team regular. It’s a tried and tested method for Wenger, and over the past couple of seasons it has separated the men from the boys.

Taking this into account, it was a surprise to see Wenger’s comments, stating that Ramsey, who made his first team debut in the annual pre-season fixture at Barnet, is set for a key role in the Arsenal team this season.

Now, not to misquote Wenger—he hasn't said “Ramsey will start”—but Arsenal fans will ask if this is the right time to gamble with even more youngsters?

It has been well documented that Arsenal have now gone three seasons without a major trophy, with their last success being the F.A. Cup win in 2005.

After coming so close in the Premier League last season, the fans will now feel that this is the season for silverware, but again, Arsene Wenger’s faith in youth may hinder Arsenal’s chances to achieve this.

So with regards to his comments about Ramsey, should Arsenal fans be worried?

Last season, Flamini, whose name raised eyebrows when it appeared on the team sheet at the start of the season, was to partner Cesc Fabregas in the heart of Arsenal’s midfield.

Of course, fans thought that this was a short term measure, as the reliable Gilberto Silva was given extra time to recover after representing Brazil in the Copa America, but when Flamini managed to string together a number of impressive performances, the Brazilian had to settle for a place on the bench.

It looked like a new partnership had been born, a partnership which many thought could be a long and fruitful one for the club.

Many thought that putting Flamini into the midfield was a bit of a gamble, but was it really? Flamini had been at Arsenal for a number of years, he’d taken the chance to impress in some of Arsenal’s less important matches and he excelled during Arsenal’s run to the Champions League final in 2006.

Yet, the reason that it was less of a gamble was the presence of Gilberto, an experienced campaigner who had won titles at Arsenal, who could replace Flamini should the player have a dip in form.

Unfortunately, Wenger doesn’t have this luxury anymore, as Flamini did to Arsenal what he did to his previous club and left on a bosman, while Gilberto, unhappy at being ousted last season, decided to make big money in Greece.

So that brings us swiftly onto Arsenal’s current midfield options. Fabregas is a given, but you have to worry that if he starts the season as the more experienced of two central midfielders, will the added pressure of this affect his form?

I suspect that it probably won’t, but as an Arsenal fan I’d prefer it if we didn’t have to find out the answer to this question.

Who will play alongside him? The candidates are Diaby, Denilson, Song and, of course, Ramsey. If only we had kept hold of Diarra.

Out of the four, Diaby would be my choice. Firstly, he is the most experienced of the four, and the team can benefit from his physical presence.

When Flamini left, it was a obviously a disappointment, but I have wondered whether it could be another blessing in disguise. It will force Wenger’s hand into fixing a problem that maybe he wouldn’t have if Flamini had stayed at the club.

My worry was that Flamini and Fabregas have to similar with regards to their stature. Both players are both lacking in height, and while Fabregas is un-droppable, the same couldn’t be said for Flamini.

The weakest aspect of their partnership was that between them they often struggled to win aerial battles in the middle of the park and I often wondered if a Vieira-type figure played alongside Fabregas, would this be a problem?

I believe that if Diaby came into the team, Arsenal fans would find out the answers to this question. I think the benefit as well would help with set pieces, both in offence and especially defence, where the benefits of a gangly midfielder who is good in the air are obvious.

Over the years Arsenal have been vulnerable when defending set pieces. One reason is the lack of height throughout the team.

Maybe having a midfielder like Diaby who can come back and help defend would allow Arsenal to clear their lines a lot better.

What we do know about Diaby is that he can break forward from midfield, with his unique dribbling style can take him past players with ease in the way the Vieira used to, and of course, there are goals in his game as well. The screamer against Derby and the goal at Anfield in the Champions League immediately spring to mind.

My worry with Diaby is whether he is good enough defensively. While the player can tackle, and can read the game, he often strikes me as being a bit clumsy. Occasionally, Diaby can be guilty of losing concentration, or his touch lets him down.

He concedes possession cheaply and will dive into the odd rash tackle. His red card against Bolton last season is just one example this.

This leaves three, and personally I’d even say two, because to me Denilson is too similar to Fabregas.

Don’t get me wrong, I think he is a wonderful talent, and he’d probably find a place in most teams in the Premier League, but he is too good to be a squad player at Arsenal. I believe that he won’t get enough games at the club and eventually leave to do great things elsewhere.

So we’re left with Song and Ramsey. The latter seems more likely, as Wenger has said he sees Song as a centre back who can come into midfield if needed, but not as a long-term option.

So now we have to look at Ramsey, with no Premier League experience and a handful of international caps to his name. He may be touted as the next Steven Gerrard, but even he wasn’t thrown in at the deep end.

I think Wenger needs to dip into the transfer kitty and ease the worries of every Arsenal fan. Gareth Barry would be ideal, he’s done it year in, year out, in the Premier League, and now he’s also started to show he can compete at international level.

He’s also a natural leader and with a bit of luck he may even displace William Gallas as captain.

Better still, his ability to hold together a midfield which will allow Fabregas to roam, influence and even dominate a game in a way that we know he can, makes this potential partnership mouth-watering to the Arsenal fan.

Add the fact that he has the ability to chip in with the odd goal, put in a decent set piece delivery and his versatility which would allow him to fill in at full back or on the wing down the left hand side, you’d have to wonder why Wenger hasn’t snapped him up already. Well, that’s the only problem, his price tag.

We know this, of course, as Liverpool have been chasing Gareth Barry for the whole summer, and the fee is hefty at around £18 million. Despite Wenger stating his admiration for the player, history shows that he won’t pay it. But maybe it’s time for Wenger not to be so stubborn?

The Arsenal manager claims that the benefits of the move to the Emirates Stadium has allowed him to spend more in the transfer market, yet he also claims that the mortgage on Arsenal’s new home means that the club has to watch what they spend.

The only people that can answer my next question would be the Arsenal accountants, but why is a manager that has recouped more on transfer fees than he has spent, scared to spend big money when necessary?

He’s done it with Nasri, but that was funded from the money that came from Alexander Hleb’s transfer to Barcelona. Who knows? Still, although £18 million for Barry is steep, most fees are in the current transfer market.

You have to accept that for Villa, their valuation is realistic. OPTA stats show that in the past two seasons, Gareth Barry has scored 17 goals, clocked up even more assists and created an average of two goal scoring chances per game.

If you look at his pass completion rate, his excellent defensive records, and the fact that he is their captain, Barry could make the difference for a club with ambitions of breaking into the top four and reaping the rewards from the gold-mine of the Champions League. So why not just pay it?

United paid over the odds for Michael Carrick two seasons ago, but he made a difference and the club won the Premiership. What do you think that United fans remember? The fee paid, or the players lifting the trophy in May? £18 million is a lot to pay, and when you pay that much for a player, it will always be a gamble.

However, when it could make a lot of difference to Arsenal’s chances of winning a major trophy, why not take the gamble? Surely fans would prefer to see the manager take a gamble and fail, rather than hide behind the fact that it is a young side and their time will come.

To close, it would be appropriate to speak about Aaron Ramsey, who many believe will become a great player. What will help him, as I’m sure it will help many youngsters, is the ruling to allow Premier League clubs to field seven substitutes instead of just five in league matches.

When a manager has to name five substitutes, he has to name players who can do something to change a game if needed, five players who can suit any contingency plan that has to be made. Now with two extra subs, a player like Ramsey can come into a game when the club is in a comfortable position and gain valuable experience.

I’d be delighted to see Ramsey do this, and if he impresses then later in the season, he should start a few games. But to throw him or any of Arsenal’s young midfielders into the team now may be a gamble that won’t pay off. Why do it when there is no need to gamble? Let’s hope that Wenger gets his chequebook out!

Alexander Hleb's Departure From Arsenal: A Blessing In Disguise?

Arran Dutton — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 08:38:20 -0400

Tuesday's reports of a feud between Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and the Gunners Belarus international Alexander Hleb has seemed to all but confirmed the players departure from the North London club.

The speculation that has dragged on quietly alongside the "Ronaldo to Real" stories should soon come to an end, and while the winger has enjoyed his best season in a rejuvenated Arsenal side, many feel that the club will be able to cope with his loss.

Like many of Wenger’s signings, Alexander Hleb came to Arsenal as a relative unknown after his move from German side VfB Stuttgart. This was where the player had built a reputation following impressive performances as an attacking midfield play-maker that played just off of two strikers. Wenger never had this role in mind for Hleb and the player would go on to occupy a place on the right wing, and to me, he has never looked comfortable in this role.

There is no doubting that Wenger has hoped that Hleb could adapt to this role, after all you only have to look at Arsenal's recent history to see that players such as Pires and Ljungberg who also had not been considered as out and out wingers, thrived in Arsenal’s midfield. At the time of Hleb's move, the combination of Highbury’s narrow pitch and the teams attacking full backs allowed the wingers to enjoy a free role almost as two attacking midfielders who could often get beyond the strikers and score crucial goals for the team. Pires and Ljungberg did this consistently.

Unfortunately Alexander Hleb has never looked capable of this, with the frantic pace of the Premier League and its physical nature making the midfielder seem like a bystander week after week. Hleb looked like a misfit with the fans and media alike understandably questioning whether the player would become the natural replacement for the ageing Pires and injury prone Ljungberg.

However, the saving grace for Hleb came in the form of Champions League football, the European game, which is a lot less physical and played at a slower tempo than the domestic one, came as a welcome break for Hleb and seemed to highlight his best attributes.

This quick footed, intelligent midfielder with an eye for a defence splitting pass thrived when given time and space on the ball, and his ability to keep the ball and maintain possession fitted well with the patient style of football that Arsenal had adopted for the Champions League.

Accompanied by the fact that Wenger would decide to field a 4-5-1 formation in European competition allowed the likes of Hleb and Fabregas the freedom to roam in midfield and with their ability to supply the talismanic figure of Thierry Henry with goal scoring opportunities, it shouldn’t have been a surprise when Arsenal reached the Champions League final in his first season, only to be denied by Barcelona.

In Arsenal’s run to the final Hleb’s performances were exceptional in contrast to the form that he showed in the Premier League, and the player showed glimpses of quality that would start to justify his hefty transfer fee, a reported £11.2 million.

Despite this, neither Arsenal or Hleb managed to build on this progression resulting in a largely forgettable season where the club struggled to make an impact domestically and also to build on their runners-up position in the following seasons Champions League.

However, the start of the 07-08 season would see Hleb start in a slightly different role, playing just behind Robin Van Persie in the season opener at home to Fulham. This was the first time that Arsenal fans would see the best of Hleb in the Premier League, with the midfielder being more involved in the game with his clever passing and probing runs at the opposition defence causing problems from the start.

With the scores locked at 1-1, Arsenal fans feared that the difficulties they encountered when trying to break teams down at home in the previous season were to continue into the new one. With minutes remaining this changed, Alexander Hleb scored a late winner that both manager and media alike claimed was an early important turning point in the fortunes of the club. It was also going to be a turning point in Hleb’s Arsenal career.

Hleb continued to play in this role, and play well in doing so. This was going to change and perhaps it was disappointing for him when Wenger reverted back to the regular 4-4-2 when Emmanuel Adebayor, who had been struggling with early season fitness, came back in the team and formed what looked to be a deadly partnership up front with van Persie. Hleb found himself playing out wide again, but something was different this time.

It could’ve been down to finally settling into the Premier League’s style of play, many believed that a lot of the players had taken on more responsibility following Thierry Henry’s departure, but in the case of Alexander Hleb it seemed to be that his early season form had given him the confidence boost that he always seemed to lack in his early years at Arsenal.

Hleb would be called on again to play in what seemed to be his favoured role in the hole, preferred over Bendtner and Walcott as the persistent injury problems of van Persie and the unfortunate Eduardo incident left Arsenal often looking lightweight up front.

Arguably his best game in an Arsenal shirt came at Old Trafford in April. The match against Manchester United was a must win for The Gunners if they were to have any chance of catching the reigning champions, it was crucial that Arsenal picked up three points. The first half was lit up by Hleb whose performance, again in his favoured role, was eye-catching and the midfielder was the best player on the pitch by far.

The midfielder showed his best attributes, being solid in possession, running at the defence and causing problems and creating chances—notably for Adebayor who wasted them. Hleb came off with an injury in the second half and although Arsenal went on to lose the match, Hleb’s performance came in for a lot of praise.

At the end of the season Hleb was looked at as one of the many positives in a season that saw Arsenal finish just four points behind Manchester United, so it may disappoint Arsenal fans as his future now seems to lie away from the club.

Despite this, if the right man is brought in the loss can be muted in a similar way to how the departure of Overmars quickly looked like a great piece of business with Robert Pires signing for a fraction of the fee. It seems like Wenger has looked to Marseille again with Samir Nasri, signed this week, looking like the man to fill the void left by Hleb.

The problem with Hleb is that he doesn’t score enough goals and doesn’t get into goal scoring positions nearly as much as he should. Screams of “SHOOT!” often rings around the Emirates stadium when the player is in and around the box, yet more often than not he will look for the pass, which can often lead to goal scoring opportunities breaking down.

While you can argue he lays more assists on for the team, the goal scoring midfielder is crucial for any team in the modern game. You only have to look at the goals that Gerrard, Lampard and Ronaldo score from midfield to see how their competitors have had the edge over the past few seasons.

While Pires and Ljungberg used to hit double figures every season Hleb has never managed this, nor Rosicky to be fair. Hleb’s record of just 11 goals in 129 appearances highlights the current problems with Arsenal’s midfield who surely have to chip in with more goals if Arsenal are going to compete for silverware.

While it seems like I am highlighting Hleb for this problem, I don’t mean to do so. However, I do believe that the Arsenal wingers need to score more goals next season, and with Hleb, who has never looked like doing so, maybe Nasri or another Wenger signing can do so, meaning that the inevitable departure of Hleb may prove to be a blessing in disguise.