Olivier Giroud has worked his whole career to defy those who have said he wasn’t up to the task, starting in the lower divisions of French football.
The price tag dictated the general attitude towards him as a player. Giroud, a title winner in France’s Ligue 1 and a scorer of 21 league goals, the most that season, was deemed not good enough when Arsenal spent £10 million on him in July 2012.
The thing is he was being judged against the class and calibre of Robin van Persie – an unfair comparison for almost any striker in English football. Instead of asking what a new-look strike force could do for Arsenal, one which included Lukas Podolski, people were questioning whether Giroud was yet another bargain signing from French football.
It’s nothing new, though. People will question anything. Like whether Neymar is just a YouTube sensation. You have to wonder whether they believe what they’re saying or if they’re just out to ruffle a few feathers.
Nevertheless, Giroud, like most, was owed a period of adaptation to the Premier League. Memories of van Persie would have flashed across most people’s minds in last season’s opening game against Sunderland when Giroud missed a good opportunity for his first league goal. Yet even as the season progressed and he earned himself 17 in total and a place in the hearts of the Arsenal faithful, the overtures towards Luis Suarez and Gonzalo Higuain this past summer were wrongly labelled as indirect attacks on the Frenchman rather than what they were – a club looking to bolster its attacking options.
This season we’ve seen another set of defiant performances from Giroud. He doesn’t have the grace and fluidity of van Persie, Dennis Bergkamp or Thierry Henry, but that doesn’t matter. Giroud has made Arsenal’s Plan A stronger by adding the elements of a different way of attacking. He offers the powerful target man approach without ever compromising the team’s preferred style of play. If there is a doubt about his technical ability, take a look at his involvement in that Jack Wilshere goal against Norwich.
Can he finish? Many good centre-forwards go through scoring droughts, including van Persie; four club games is no cause for alarm. With 10 already in all competitions, there’s no reason why Giroud can’t register 20-plus goals for Arsene Wenger’s side. As a reference, seven of those 10 have been in the league. The league’s top scorer, Sergio Aguero, has 10.
Giroud’s desire to prove that he belongs has forced him onto a long table seating Arsenal’s most improved players. Of course, there was never anything really wrong with the former Montpellier striker. That first season in English football, however, a bridge as I like to think of it, has done wonders for his overall contribution and confidence.
He looks like a player who is enjoying the responsibility, never buckling under its weight. Against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Giroud was one of the few who seemed unfazed and wholly determined to put in a shift, closing down and harassing the backline. He won’t force his way through defences in the way Luis Suarez can – they’re completely different players. Yet his work rate cannot be questioned this season.
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As a player still short of breaking into that category of world-class strikers, there shouldn’t be any lasting concern. A far more fitting comparison for Giroud would be to look at his similarities to Didier Drogba, another alumnus from Ligue 1 who was seen as a late bloomer.
Arsenal’s lack of success in finding another striker in the summer may be seen as something of a positive. They now know what they have in Giroud. The player himself is full of confidence and knows what he’s capable of. There is room for improvement for both club and player, but the trust instilled in Giroud is proving to be invaluable in his transition and further development as a high-end striker.
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville was forced to explain his commentary from last night’s Champions League fixture after he implied that Mesut Ozil has some work to do.The Sky Sports man was brutally honest as he set the record straight as to the work needed in order for Ozil to reflect his efforts for Germany in the 2010 World Cup.As is typical with the pundit, he linked current events to his experiences at the Old Trafford club and openly used Ji Sung Park as an example of the work-rate Ozil must mirror.It seems Mesut cannot sit back and ‘Park’ the bus anymore!
For such a proud footballing institution, Newcastle haven’t half become a laughing stock over the last few seasons. After suffering the ignominy of relegation from the Premier League back in 2009, Mike Ashley has seemingly done everything in his power to bring farce and controversy to the North East.
From renaming the stadium, to selling off their best players; nothing it would seem could come close to the shock appointment of Joe Kinnear as Director of Football last year.
The former Republic of Ireland international was to answer only to Mike Ashley on all things football Kinnear reacted to the appointment by claiming he “could open the door to any manager in the world” and asked fans to judge him on the signings he made.
Since then we have seen just a couple of loan signings in Loic Remy and Luuk de Jong, and an inability to find a suitable replacement for the outgoing Yohan Cabaye. The amateurish nature of his work doesn’t stop there, the man that professes to being a master of the game somehow managed to recommend one of Newcastle’s own players in Shane Ferguson while the youngster was out on loan at Birmingham. Add to this his inability to pronounce any vaguely foreign sounding name and you begin to wonder whether this man is just a complete fraud?
After Saturday’s loss to Sunderland, Pardew made it clear he was unhappy at the club’s lack of transfer activity:
“If I was in charge, solely, of transfers, things might be different but I’m not,” he said.
“I think I’ve made my opinions very clear this week and all the rest of it is confidential.”
The conspiracy theorists have always surmised that Kinnear has something on Ashley, because to the face of it his involvement is nothing short of a joke. Ever since the resignation of Derek Llambias the club has been run, at least in footballing terms, by a clown.
The most bitter of pills to swallow for Newcastle fans was the departure of Yohan Cabaye at the back end of the January window. Newcastle shouldn’t though be castigated for such a move, in the end the lure of PSG was too great and the money on offer huge for a club of their current size. The actual lunacy here was in the inability to line up a replacement, with moves for Lyon’s Clement Grenier ending in failure.
Newcastle legend Alan Sheared summed up his feelings for Match of the Day 2:
“It was a strange appointment in the first place. When you sell your best player three days before the transfer deadline you have to have a plan.
“Maybe him resigning is a way of saying he didn’t do his job, but I’m not sure what his job was anyway. Saturday’s defeat against Sunderland was as poor a performance as I’ve seen for a long time. They were lucky it was only 3-0.”
Even Kinnear’s departure was scattered with controversy, with Newcastle clearly left in the lurch. The failure of the January window could well have spelled the end for the Irishman, but to leave his club without a replacement or indeed contingency plan is borderline cowardly for a man that supposedly cares so much.
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Newcastle fans will be glad to finally be rid of the man that has brought them so much ridicule. A tenure that will be remembered for his media gaffes and transfer window hash ups above anything else, you would hope his departure would now open the door for someone that will actually take the role seriously.
Fans will be praying it’s an end to the comedy sideshow at St James’.
We can establish the kind of person Robin van Persie is by analysing and comparing his most recent outburst against his club or teammates with what has happened in the past. There’s previous and there’s symmetry. It’s now no longer bitter Arsenal fans who are rifling criticism at the Manchester United striker.
Were van Persie’s comments about his teammates after the loss at Olympiakos taken out of context? Is there a frustrated team player in there who is struggling to gel in a new setup created by a new manager? That’s the easy conclusion to hold if he hadn’t done this sort of thing before.
The story away from van Persie individually is that David Moyes has lost the dressing room. Based on the way the team have been playing, it’s difficult to argue that point.
But van Persie has a method of getting what he wants from a football club, first getting his much-desired exit from Arsenal to a club closer to title honours, and now creating tension and raising questions as to his position at Manchester United. An exit during the summer is very much a talking point.
For footballing reasons (heh) there is a case to be made that Manchester United should move on the Dutchman anyway. He’s a better player than Wayne Rooney, unquestionably, but those two simply aren’t working as an attacking one-two punch. Seeing as the club committed to one via a ludicrously-sized new contract, it leaves van Persie as the odd one out and the easier individual to usher out the door.
You can’t help but think that talk of a new contract or wanting to see out his career at Old Trafford is an act to take away from the reality of the situation. Van Persie may be scoring – though not to the same effect as his previous two campaigns – but his interest in being at United looks to be up.
For the club, it’s not the end of the world. They’re capable of reinvesting and replacing; regardless of on-pitch difficulties this season, this isn’t a club who will struggle to attract very good players.
For van Persie, however, other clubs around Europe may be asking if the reward, which may or may not come, is worth the risk. This isn’t a player who is approaching his prime with plenty of time left at the top of the game; depending on fitness, he may only have a couple of seasons left at the very top of European competition.
And it’s hard not to believe clubs or long-standing managers won’t be concerned about his attitude and behaviour. There’s been a lot of criticism for Rooney and for the club handing him such a sizeable new contract, but Rooney doesn’t need much motivating to go out and perform. The same can’t be said for van Persie, who allegedly kept himself away from first-team action this season, prolonging his stay on the treatment table, because he wasn’t happy with life under Moyes.
He has a record now of kicking up a fuss. He won’t play for the current manager, if news on his lack of interest to return from injury is to be believed, and his teammates certainly won’t have appreciated his comments post-Olympiakos if their interpretation of it was the same as everyone else’s. And this is completely discounting his horrendous injury record at Arsenal.
It’s telling that very, very few came in for van Persie when he publically confessed to his desire to leave Arsenal. Perhaps he was thinking Real Madrid and Barcelona. Maybe even Bayern Munich or PSG. Instead, the only serious interest outside of England came from Juventus, who failed to meet Arsenal’s asking price. And this is at a time when he was arguably Europe’s best out-and-out striker, firmly in his peak years.
It never made much sense for United to retain Rooney and van Persie now that Juan Mata has joined. It will make even less sense if Adnan Januzaj is to improve even further and perform as a regular in the No.10 role at the club, and they go on to spend heavily on attacking players in the summer.
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There is sure to be another striker merry-go-round this summer, yet how many clubs capable of spending will be interested in van Persie, 31 in August, who can’t be relied upon to get his head down when the going gets tough?
His Champions League comments following the loss in Greece smacked of apportioning blame elsewhere; at Arsenal, it was the club who couldn’t match his ambitions, despite Arsene Wenger regularly being without van Persie for prolonged spells throughout his time in north London.
For a player is perceivably can only perform to a world-class standard when happy, van Persie is doing a lot of damage to a brand which needs to extract as much from these final few years as it can.
With the World Cup over and the transfer window in full swing, the 2014/15ÂPremier LeagueÂcampaign is nearly upon us. In fact it’s just 23 days away, which is probably just enough time to watch all the highlights from last season to remind you how amazing it was.Luckily, next term could be equally as exciting, with Arsenal finally splashing the cash, Manchester City determined to produce a much better title defence than last time,ÂManchester UnitedÂwelcoming a new manager in Louis van Gaal andÂChelseaÂseemingly only growing ever stronger under Jose Mourinho.Around Liverpool too, there is a great sense of intrigue. Can the Reds match their runner-up finish from last season? Can they compensate for the loss of Luis Suarez to Barcelona?Only time will tell, but to give you some idea of how the Anfield side’s season might pan out, we’ve taken a previewed look of their potential starting XI next season.
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GOALKEEPER – SIMON MIGNOLET
Simon Mignolet may have committed a few costly mistakes last season – most notably against Manchester City – but overall the £9million signing has proved an effective purchase forÂLiverpool.
The Belgium international is an impressive all round ‘keeper; confident with his feet, comfortable in the air and a consistent shot stopper – this save against the Citizens being a classic example:
With Pepe Reina returning from loan to provide some much-needed competition for the No.1 jersey, the Reds will expect an even higher level of performance from the 26 year-old next season.
RIGHT BACK – GLEN JOHNSON
It remains to be seen whether contract rebel Glen Johnson will still be at Anfield come the end of the summer. The England international’s current deal is set to expire in 2015 and there are now rumours he could be on his way to QPR:
But as things currently stand, the 29 year-old remains Liverpool’s resident No.2 for next season. Furthermore, the former West Ham and Chelsea defender’s performances weren’t half as bad as they were made out to be last term, just take a look at his vitals from the 2013/14 campaign:
Johnson’s complete full-back style, offering in both defence and attack, is vital to the Reds’ progressive philosophy. This assist to Wayne Rooney at the World Cup wasn’t too bad either:
But Brendan Rodgers is already preparing for the worst. Not only does he have the highly-rated youngster Jon Flanagan waiting in the wings, but the Ulsterman has also wrapped up a loan deal for Atletico Madrid’s Javier Manquillo:
CENTRE-BACK – MAMADOU SAKHO
Mamadou Sakho’s first campaign in England was by no means an easy ride. The France international looked a little out of his depth at times and his performance against Crystal Palace – a match which arguably cost Liverpool the title – was particularly poor.
But Brendan Rodgers invested £15million in the 24 year-old last summer and will be keen to give him the chance to impress, especially following a strong World Cup campaign with Les Tricolores where Sakho made four starts, earning two clean sheets.
Furthermore, despite widespread assumptions otherwise, the 6 foot 2 centre-back can actually be quite productive on the ball, just check out his passing stats from last season:
These kick-ups aren’t bad for a big and burley centre-half either:
CENTRE-BACK – DEJAN LOVREN
It’s no secret that Dejan Lovren has become the object of transfer desires on Merseyside, with the Southampton defender handing in a transfer request some time ago.
The Croatia international joined the South Coast outfit from Lyon last summer and has since proved to be a major coup, with his 2.7 interceptions per match only bettered by three Premier League centre-backs…
Offering relative pace, comfort on the ball, an astute reading of the game and dominance in the air, the 24 year-old is an incredibly impressive, complete defender, as demonstrated in the video below:
//www.youtube.com/embed/dzENWWAoIlU
Despite Liverpool’s well-documented interest however, Saints boss Ronald Koeman insists the club are yet to receive a refreshed bid for Lovren:
LEFT-BACK – ALBERTO MORENO
Football – Spain v Italy – UEFA European Under 21 Championship Final – Israel 2013 – Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem, Israel – 18/6/13Alberto Moreno – Spain U21Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Alex Morton
Securing a resident left-back is a must for Brendan Rodgers this summer, and evidence thus far suggests his priority target is Sevilla starlet Alberto Moreno:
The 22 year-old has enjoyed a sensational twelve months, muscling his way into the Spain senior fold, notching three goals in 29 La Liga outings and claiming the Europa League title with Los Palanganos. Here’s the vitals from his 2013/14 campaign:
And a quick look at the Roja international in action:
//www.youtube.com/embed/bdY6ls0SpQM?rel=0
But with Sevilla seemingly holding out for an incredible offer, whilst Real Madrid and Chelsea have also been linked, it’s alleged Brendan Rodgers could switch his attentions to Blues left-back Ryan Bertrand:
CENTRAL MIDFIELD – STEVEN GERRARD
The first name on the team-sheet for the last 15 years, Liverpool’s Captain Fantastic may have reached the ripe old age of 34 but he’s as integral to the club’s successes as ever.
The now-retired England international was in unbelievable form last term to earn a spot in the PFA Team of the Year for the eighth time of his career, as detailed below:
Gerrard has found a new lease of life in a more refined holding role, freeing him from the physical requirements of his more traditional box-to-box style.
Also adding vital experience to an incredibly young and ambitious roster, although the Anfield icon will eventually have to pass the mantle to someone else, he will remain a key figure in the Reds starting XI for at least next season.
Here’s a look at his highlights from last term:
//www.youtube.com/embed/k-T1bgK3k_4?rel=0
CENTRAL MIDFIELD – JORDAN HENDERSON
Jordan Henderson finally begun to pay back some of his £16million transfer fee last season by producing a number of impressive performances with incredible consistency, as detailed below:
The Geordie work-horse proved himself a good partner for Steven Gerrard too, compensating for the Anfield legend’s declining pace and stamina. There were also moments of sensational individual quality – this assist to Daniel Sturridge being a classic example:
Most tellingly, barring a three-game absence due to suspension, the 24 year-old featured in every minute of Liverpool’s domestic campaign, finishing up with the third-most appearances:
Things are changing quickly on Merseyside but Henderson remains an ever-present, now intrinsic figure.
CENTRAL MIDFIELD – PHILIPPE COUTINHO
In the more important games, Brendan Rodgers may feel it necessary to consider more defensive options in the middle of the park.
But Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho was a vital influence on Merseyside last season, providing the quality to link the midfield with the attack.
He may lack output in comparison to other Premier League No.10’s, but the 22 year-old’s overall contribution to build-up play cannot be overstated, as detailed below:
Continued Premier League exposure can only further improve Coutinho’s game, but there are concerns that he could soon become overshadowed by Liverpool’s new signings Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic, both of whom can adopt a similar role.
RIGHT FORWARD – ADAM LALLANA
//www.youtube.com/embed/nlpmDjYVfTE?rel=0
Brendan Rodgers wasted no time in launching a swoop for Southampton’s Adam Lallana this summer and clearly has high hopes for the England international’s future on Merseyside.
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No doubt, the 26 year-old was in incredible form for the Saints last season, as detailed below:
This solo effort against Hull City was a particular highlight:
An elusive, fluid and versatile playmaker, Lallana is a perfect fit for Brendan Rodgers’ breakneck paced attacking philosophy.
For this Xi, he’s featuring on the right hand side, but expect Brendan Rodgers to use the £25million signing in a variety of positions throughout the season.
LEFT WING – RAHEEM STERLING
After a captivating season for Liverpool and an impressive World Cup campaign with England, it seems logical to assume that Raheem Sterling will be given a regular role in the Reds’ starting line-up next season.
The 19 year-old really came into his own last term, scoring and providing regularly as detailed below, and offering the Reds unique pace to make them particularly proficient on the counter-attack:
His dribbling at the World Cup caused Italy and Uruguay huge problems, and it also completely bamboozled Manchester City’s defence last season:
There is some debate however regarding how Sterling can be best utilised. As viewable below, his ultimate position remains unclear:
STRIKER – DANIEL STURRIDGE
Liverpool may have lost one talismanic striker to Barcelona in Luis Suarez, but they’re still privy to the exceptional goalscoring skills of Daniel Sturridge.
As viewable below, the 24 year-old was the second-top scorer in the Premier League last season – and the highest-scoring Englishman:
He also netted for the Three Lions at the World Cup against Italy:
With his SAS partner now departed, Brendan Rodgers will expect an even bigger contribution from Sturridge next season.
Tottenham made easy work of Harry Redknapp’s QPR at White Hart Lane this afternoon, with a 4-0 rout to put them top of the league.
It was their opening 45 minutes that was most impressive, with Eric Lamela stealing the show to provide two goals as Nacer Chadli popped up with a brace.
Eric Dier also scored – his second in two games – to also give him the perfect start to life back in England. Here’s all the best bits as Spurs thrashed QPR this afternoon…
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Chadli’s opener
Nacer Chadli was the surprise scorer of Spurs’ 11th minute opener and it was a well worked goal.
Adebayor delivered a wonderful deep cross towards the back post and Chadli brought it down on his chest and neatly dinked it over Robert Green. A good finish and a well deserved lead for Spurs after a bright start…
Eric Dier scores AGAIN for Spurs
Well, Spurs didn’t sign Eric Dier to score goals but he’s their unlikely top goal scorer with two in two this season.
The young Cheltenham-born defender double his goal tally for the season with a neat header in from a Lamela free-kick. What a start to his Tottenham career. Two shots, two goals…
Spurs’ first half performance
Spurs’ were just unbelievable in the opening 45 minutes, ripping Harry Redknapp’s QPR to shreds with three wonderfully worked goals.
The performance was certainly more to do with their conviction rather than QPR’s lack of ability and organisation, which says a lot about the work Pochettino is doing at White Hart Lane.
Eric Lamela’s performance
Spurs fans have been desperate to see Eric Lamela prove that he’s worth the £30m they paid for him last summer.
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And the opening 45 minutes will have been enough to convince them that they’ll finally be able to see why cost so much.
Adebayor sends Spurs top of the league
It’s still early days and there’s no way Spurs will win the league on the basis of thrashing a newly promoted QPR side, but the Spurs fans couldn’t help but boast of their new found place at the summit of the Premier League after Adebayor made it 4-0 to the hosts. That goal pushed them above Chelsea in to 1st on goal difference. As you can imagine, Tottenham fan’s were absolutely loving it…
After the fans openly expressed anger towards last season’s disappointment of a 13th place finish and a long run trying to steer themselves clear of the dreaded relegation zone little was really expected this season. Not only were they upset about the bottom half finish, but the style of football that was being played and the lack of goals were also a major concern for everyone associated with West Ham. How times have changed.
With a plethora of new signings arriving in this year’s summer transfer window, former striker and West Ham fans’ favourite Teddy Sheringham being appointed as a striker coach and a new system on the field that enables the Upton Park outfit to keep the ball on the deck, the east Londoners currently sit in an impressive seventh place in the table. Above the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal, the Hammers can now be classed a force to be reckoned with. On the basis of this excellent start by Sam Allardyce’s men, can the Boleyn Ground side reach the dizzying heights of a place in the Europa League for the first time since 2006 where they crashed out against Italian outfit Palermo?
The one element that has been fundamental to the great beginning to the 2014/2015 campaign is balance. Since Big Sam took the reins at Upton Park, West Ham have been known to play long balls, and the players built for the physical battle instead of being blessed with flair and skill were chosen. This was fine in the 2011/2012 season in the Championship, however, it sometimes fails to work in England’s top flight. With requests to play more attractive football this season, Allardyce has had to be clever with his signings considering he needs more firepower in front of goal balanced with solidity.
Signing the likes of Aaron Cresswell, Carl Jenkinson, Alex Song and Cheickhou Kouyate brings a good work ethic, strength and capability of going on the offensive from the defensive position at any given time. Up top, Diafra Sakho has scored five goals in as many starts, and where do we even begin with £15m forward Enner Valencia! – scorer of a thunderbolt away at Hull City. As well as bringing flair, Mauro Zarate brings a certain class and greediness that the Hammers have lacked, with Frenchman Morgan Amalfitano also contributing to the team of late. The Hammers are in good shape to continue this great run so far.
However, one player that has surprised everyone in Premier League is Stewart Downing. Playing at the head of the diamond midfield, the former Liverpool winger has reignited his ailing career in the Hammers’ line up. Statistically, the Middlesbrough born midfielder has created 87 chances since the 2013/2014 campaign, more than any other player. Compared to £59.7m Manchester United superstar Angel Di Maria, the former Aston Villa player has better shooting accuracy, has created more chances, has completed more crosses and passes with greater success, as well as winning more tackles than the Argentine wing wizard.
Compared to their previous two seasons since their promotion to the top flight, the Hammers’ changes are coming into fruition. Having more shots per game, more shots on target, more possession per game and a greater passing accuracy, it’s definitely noticeable that Allardyce has listened to the fans and owners about the football that is being played, and better still the results are exceeding expectations.
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Fabio Borini’s agent has insisted that there’s no truth in rumours linking his client with a January move back to Italy from Liverpool.
The 23-year-old forward spent last season on loan at Sunderland and was expected to leave Anfield on a permanent basis during the last transfer window after the Reds accepted offers of around £14m from the Black Cats and QPR for his signature.
Despite the club’s decision Borini himself elected to stay put in a bid to battle for his future, yet some rumours have suggested that his choice was based on a potential loan move to Serie A in the winter, amid links with Inter Milan.
WANT MORE? >> Liverpool transfer news | Latest transfer news
The former Chelsea, Swansea and Roma forward has since featured for the Merseysiders in both domestic and European games, and his agent, Marco De Marchi says that both the player and Liverpool are content with the current situation:
“Borini is a top level player, so consequently he has a contract with Liverpool and any club interested knows how to approach them,” he told FCInterNews.it.
“At this moment I am certainly not going to look for another club, as the boy is happy to remain at Liverpool. Let’s not forget he left a journey he already started at Roma in order to come to England.
“Liverpool have no intention of loaning him out, as they already proved in August. We know that and so do all the clubs who came looking for him in the last transfer session.
“The situation is exactly the same as it was in September, in the sense that he is very happy to be part of this important team.
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“He has managed to find some space playing in the Champions League and starting in the Premier League. Things are progressing as expected.”
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The everlasting divisional rivalry between Liverpool and Arsenal has never received an official name, but one suitable title, at least in the context of the current Premier League season, would be the battle of the #managerout hashtags.
Indeed, Brendan Rodgers and Arsene Wenger have found themselves at the brunt of the fans’ frustrations this season, with the Reds and the Gunners both some way from achieving their Champions League qualification ambitions in sixth and tenth place respectively, and as ever in the modern world, that’s manifested onto social media.
In the last 28 days, 110,946 Twitter posts have included either the #WengerOut or #RodgersOut hashtags – a worrying increase from around 80,000 in the same time period previous. #Wengerout was posted around 15,000 times alone following a 3-2 defeat to Stoke City on the 6th of December and at one point in the last 28 days, it became a national trend in Nigeria. Meanwhile, Rodgers’ peak came after Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Basel on December 9th, eliminating them from the Champions League, with the #RodgersOut trend picking up 5,209 hits. Perhaps more worryingly for the Liverpool boss, the @RodgersOutClub account now has nearly 5,000 members since its creation in September.
So when Liverpool and Arsenal drew at Anfield yesterday evening, it was always going to be a case of damage limitation – at least in terms of Twitter analytics. But who came off worse from the 2-2 affair?
In regards to hashtag tracking it was Wenger who drew the most criticism, undoubtedly due to the manner of the result. Arsenal played poorly – in fact, statistically speaking, it was their worst performance since the incarnation of OPTA in 2003, recording their lowest ever possession figure of just 36.5% (their average this year is 58.9%, only bettered by Manchester City) and the most shots against them, 27, in eleven years. But even so, the Gunners were within five minutes of taking all three points until a stoppage time header from Martin Skrtel – the subsequent emotions being far more familiar to a defeat. Resultantly, 4,557 tweets included #WengerOut yesterday.
In comparison, the last-gasp 2-2 draw must have felt like a victory for Liverpool – especially compared to their 3-0 loss to Manchester United the weekend prior. They were largely the better side throughout the ninety minutes, most particularly in the first half, and #RodgersOut was posted just 1,596 times. That’s almost honeymoon traction compared to Wenger’s current average of 3,118 per-day over the last month, but still an increase on Rodgers’ average of 1,043 per-day, suggesting disillusion towards the Anfield boss is continuing to grow.
A significant factor in that will be the nature of the performances; unfortunately for both managers, Liverpool and Arsenal were unravelled yesterday evening by the same ailments that have plagued them all season.
For Liverpool, it was another set piece goal that cost them dearly; the Reds have conceded 14 times from either free kicks or corners in their 26 games across all competitions this season, including Mathieu Debuchy’s header for the Gunners yesterday. Most infuriatingly for the fans, it came just a minute after Philippe Coutinho’s technically superb opener, with the 5 foot 10 full-back somehow out jumping Liverpool’s leading aerial combatant Martin Skrtel, who measures in five inches taller, at the far post.
Arsenal could be accused of poor defending too – Per Mertesacker was anonymous when competing with Skrtel for his last-minute header, whilst Liverpool’s first goal of the afternoon stemmed from Arsenal losing the ball in their own third.
One could argue both teams were undone by dogmatism of their own idealist approaches; the Gunners caught trying to over-complicate things in possession, the Reds quickly exploited on the counter-attack for Olivier Giroud’s strike.
Interestingly, both ‘Liverpool poor defending’ and ‘Arsenal poor defending’ hit their Twitter peaks for the month yesterday evening with inclusion in around 600 tweets – closer to 1,000 when adding tweets that contained #lfc and #afc instead of official club names.
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There were certainly no clear winners from the Anfield draw; neither #RodgersIn or #WengerIn – two hashtags that for a significant segment of Twitterites are used in ironic jest – breached the 1,000 barrier on Sunday, despite enjoying highs of around 2,500 and 3,000 respectively at the start of the month.
But in terms of who came off worse it has to be Wenger. In addition to this being reflected in the analytics, as previously discussed, Arsenal squandered a win that would have seen them move within two points of the top four, whilst Rodgers can at least claim his Liverpool side triumphed through adversity to save a vital draw, propelling them over local rivals Everton into the top half.
With both #RodgersOut and #WengerOut still consistent in their popularity however, the battle of the #managerout hashtags is still far from conclusion.
After Saturday’s hard-fought 2-1 FA Cup fifth round win over Crystal Palace, Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool have given themselves every chance of lifting the famous old trophy come the end of the season.
But do Liverpool have to win the FA Cup to save their topsy-turvy season? Obviously, with the imminent departure of captain and club legend Steven Gerrard, it would be the perfect send-off for a player who has done so much for the Merseyside club during his illustrious 16-year career at Anfield.
With the final taking place on Gerrard’s birthday, Rodgers told the Guardian recently that there would be no better goodbye present:
“I think the FA Cup final is on his birthday, so there would be no better way, for him. It would be a wonderful send-off for him,” said Rodgers. “There are a lot of games to play in between. If we could do it, it will be really special.”
But to suggest Liverpool must win the FA Cup is probably a little bit over the top. Of course they would love to, and not being able to capitalise of last season’s second place Premier League finish has been a massive disappointment for everyone involved with the club. Nonetheless, the way the FA Cup has panned out this season, the Reds have a real chance of winning the trophy for the first time since 2006.
With giants Manchester United and Arsenal going head-to-head in the quarter-finals, Liverpool’s home tie with Blackburn Rovers becomes even more important. No disrespect to Rovers, who had an excellent 4-1 win over Stoke City in round four, the Reds really should be looking to put Gary Bowyer’s team to the sword and confirm a Wembley semi-final spot. The draw has also set up a Midlands derby as Aston Villa host West Bromwich Albion, and League One side Bradford entertain Championship side Reading.
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It’s been far from the usual FA Cup campaigns we’ve been so used to seeing in recent years. With giant-killings galore – including Bradford City’s memorable 4-2 win at Chelsea and Middlesbrough’s superb 2-0 victory over Manchester City – this FA Cup campaign will certainly live long in the memory.
With the cup aside, Liverpool still have a good chance of gaining one of the much-coveted top four spots. Securing Champions League football for next season must still be Brendan Rodgers’ number one priority, but that shouldn’t deter too much attention from FA Cup success. The Reds currently sit in seventh place, four points off of Southampton who currently occupy the last Champions League position.
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With a number of clubs all vying for what looks like just two remaining top four spots, Liverpool have certainly got their work cut out to overhaul all those teams. Which makes the FA Cup an excellent opportunity to somewhat save their season from disaster.
All the omens in the world are pointing to Liverpool’s name being etched into this year’s FA Cup. There are still a few big clubs who will have their say, but wouldn’t it just be so fitting to see Steven Gerrard lifting a trophy in a Liverpool shirt, one final time?