Mine’s a Guinness – and put a Shamrock on that, won’t you?
I decided not to comment on the biggest football story of the last seven days until the weekend was over, just to make sure that it actually was.
[Editorial Note: For cricket and other people who didn’t or wouldn’t notice, Manchester United beat Arsenal 8-2 at Old Trafford – probably a record.]
What developed on Sunday afternoon was certainly food for thought, as Manchester performed something of a demolition job on North London.
First up, Spurs were hit for five by City, as Edin Dzeko’s transformation from misfiring dud into a striker who might actually resemble £27 million well spent continued – yes, City look like genuine contenders this time. Then the decline of Arsenal into a gutless shambles reached what Gunners supporters can only hope was the ultimate nadir. You know the situation is pretty bleak when the opposition’s rather hefty tally has to be spelled out on the vidiprinter for confirmation. Conceding eight (yes, E I G H T) in a single game, even to Manchester United, is the dismal stuff of which truly dire teams are made.
Having taken in a bit of 606 post match, those Arsenal supporters who expressed concern along the lines of “oh my god – we’re definitely not good enough to crack the top four” are balls-on accurate in their analysis, but somewhat missing the point. A pal of mine casually enquired last week as to how the final placings might finish up this season, and two predictions of mine caused raised eyebrows – Liverpool to finish third, with Arsenal down in eighth (apologies to all Gooners who must be sick of that number already). After today I’m revising that view, and would be unsurprised if they finished somewhere in the 9-12 bracket come May – lots of pretty football, little in the way of end product, too many passengers and a lack of mental strength, both collectively and as individuals. Hardly a combination with success written all over it.
This bunny’s considered thoughts are that Arsene Wenger is a manager who defined a previous era, but now looks lost having not won a trophy in six years. His squad is alarmingly absent of steel, leadership, tacklers, winners and players with a competitive edge. With Thomas Vermaelen, easily their best defensive player, in the side, the backline looks vulnerable as it did when Liverpool cruised to a 0-2 victory at the Emirates. Without him, we’re into full-on Keystone Cops territory. Wenger appears in the last two seasons to have made it his personal mission to replace Arsenal ‘legend’ Gus Caesar several times over, with the inevitable result:- a rearguard possessed of an exquisite combination of indecision and an impending sense of calamity.
Everyone with even a vague interest in football knows that Wenger needs to sign defensive re-enforcements before the transfer window closes on Wednesday. The killer question may not be as to the availability of funds, since it appears that they are certainly there after the sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. Perhaps a more burning issue is – does Wenger actually want to purchase an ugly centre half in the Phil Jagielka mould, along with a holding player who can provide much-needed steel in midfield? Or does there remain this misguided sense of footballing principle telling him that such an addition would somehow be ‘wrong’? If shipping eight, even with a depleted side against the champions, does not spell out in black and white what the solution is, then nothing will.
My hunch is that Arsene, brilliant as he once was, may have crossed a line where his idealism is no longer applicable to ‘real football’ and has gone into what could best be described as a ‘late period Malcolm Alison’ phase. The god-like status of that famous back four of the 1990s rockets with every passing week; they always put up a fight:
In reality that is only just over half the true scale of the problem. It’s a story that has of course been magnified after their midweek win over Udinese and qualification for the Champions League had appeared to paper over a few cracks. In that sense, we’re fortunate that a much more positive tale had already aced it.
When I say positive, I am of course assuming that there are no fans of Partizan Belgrade reading this, since their take on Thursday night’s events may vary somewhat. Anyway, Shamrock Rovers became the first Irish side ever to reach the group stage of a major European competition when they scored a shock 1-2 victory against the Serbian champions on their own patch to complete an equally unlikely 3-2 aggregate victory.
Pat Sullivan’s superb dipping volley from almost 30 yards out and Stephen O’Donnell’s ice-cool penalty in extra time decided the outsome of what was evidently a dramatic game in which both sides could have nicked it:
The reward is a guaranteed six games for manager, former Hibernian and Northern Ireland midfielder Michael O Neill, and his players home and away to Rubin Kazan, PAOK Salonika and the might of Tottenham Hotspur.
Shamrock are already faced with a dilemna as to whether they should stage the home games in their group at Tallaght, the tight and compact ground where the initial 1-1 draw with Partizan was achieved, or move the fixtures to the Aviva Stadium/Lansdowne Road, saving the trouble of installing temporary seating to meet UEFA requirements and netting a tidy sum in the process.
As an outsider looking in, it would appear to come down to a straight choice between maximising potential revenue or the chance to progress further in the competition. Nobody, not even Spurs, will see a trip to Tallaght on a cold Thursday night as a foregone conclusion, and one gets the feeling based on last week’s efforts that Shamrock will put up a far stronger fight against Harry Redknapp’s side than a rather pathetic Hearts did. They will of course go into the group as rank outsiders, but it would be unwise to totally count them out if they can use the Tallaght experience to full effect.
Still, all of this is something of a sideshow for now and it’s worth explaining why that victory in Belgrade is such a significant achievement, both for Shamrock themselves and club soccer in the Republic of Ireland as a whole.
In 2005, Shamrock were relegated after entering examinership and being bought out by a group of its supporters, the 400 club. Promotion back to the top flight was achieved at the first attempt by the club under fan ownership, then O’Neill was appointed as manager in 2009. After a second-placed finish in his first season, they secured their first title in sixteen years the following year, as well as knocking out Bnei Yehuda of Israel to land a high profile Europa League tie with Juventus. The current season had already seen Flora Tallinn defeated in the first stage of Champions League qualifying before going down in a competitive two-legged affair with FC Copenhagen. This brought them up against Partizan, the outcome of which was not a bad consolation prize.
Something I remember quite fondly was keeping an eye on the qualifying phases in various European competitions before the ‘proper’ football season kicked off, hoping to see someone from Wales, Northern Ireland or the Republic progress to the first round proper. In European terms, clubs from those nations could all be lumped into the bracket of ‘cannon fodder’, often drawing sides from Eastern Europe or Scandinavia, with heavy defeat a fairly frequent occurrence. The victories were rare and invariably the product of favourable draws as opposed to any genuine and measurable improvement. All of this changed in the last decade, as the League of Ireland moved to the summer and many of its top sides went professional.
Perhaps the first sign of real progress to the wider football world came when Shelbourne stunned Hadjuk split to reach the final qualifying round for the Champions League:
With half an hour to play in the second leg of their tie with Deportivo La Coruna, the aggregate score remained goalless before the Spaniards finally broke Shels’ resistance, eventually prevailing 3-0. 2006-07 was another solid year, with Derry City winning home and away against IFK Gothenborg, then anihalating Gretna of Scotland 5-1 on their own turf before themselves achieving a scorless draw at home against a European powerhouse in Paris St Germain. Meanwhile, Cork City, who had previously made headway in the InterToto Cup, eliminated the seeded team Apollon Limassol in the first stage of the Champions League.
There have been further successes, such as St Patricks Athletic upsetting Swedish side Elfsborg in 2008:
and this is just the natural next step in what has been several years of progress for both Shamrock themselves and the League of Ireland in general. On the same night that the remaining Scottish representatives in Europe (namely Rangers, Celtic and Hearts) were knocked out, Shamrock stayed alive in style. Regardless of what happens from now, their current continental exploits are guaranteed to continue until at least December, and who’s going to bet against them lasting slightly longer than that?
Take care and I’ll see you soon.
August 30, 2011 at 12:27
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Tweet of the week: “Arsene Wenger claims he still has control of the
Emirates, but rebels have moved in to within a mile of the dressing room”
- August 30, 2011 at 13:44
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August 30, 2011 at 12:22
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Moderation? Uh? What did I say?!
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August 30, 2011 at 11:48
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Cricket. Oddly my first TV memory of cricket is seeing Richie Benaud, some
30 years or so before Warne and Gatting, bowling Peter May behind his legs.
Weird.
- August 30, 2011 at 00:49
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Whilst I have my dress blown up around my armpits. Why the hell is the sour
faced glaswegian tosser a Sir?
- August 30, 2011 at 11:39
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It’s really spelt ‘c-u-r’.
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August 30, 2011 at 11:47
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‘Cos he like to hang with the New Labour gang, and openly proclaimed that
he voted for them. Frankly, whilst his achievements may merit it, his
behaviour in public does not. Says he with his nose in the air
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August 29, 2011 at 23:20
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Being an open minded chap by inclination, I watched a rugby match in the
pub on Saturday with a mate. It was dull, and that needs to be viewed in light
of the fact that booze can make me enthusiastic about almost anything. Then
there was a football match. That was dull too, but I’ve watched football
before so I was expecting that.
I’m sure other people enjoy them. They certainly seem to, what with all the
shouting, and the spending lots of money (though I suppose on that criteria,
you could also argue that people enjoy getting divorced). It’s just lost on
me, I’m afraid.
Cricket, on the other hand. Now that’s a game of beauty.
- August 30, 2011 at 15:35
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If you think rugby and football are dull, then you should try sitting
through a baseball game. Watching paint dry is far more interesting and open
to a full and frank discussion.
- August
29, 2011 at 23:10
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Can’t stand the damn game!
Modern football has taken what was a great
amateur and local sport and turned it into one of the most crass and
introspective commercial industries on the planet. Modern league clubs have
priced genuine fans out of the stadia and removed the game from ordinary fans
onto pay TV to feed its voracious greed for vast undeserved salaries to
characters who make even Big Brother and X factor contestants look
intellectual.
By paying such huge transfer fees, salaries and bonuses it
was in many ways the pattern for, and has led the way into, the present bonus
culture that has so damagingly infected bankers and local authority execs.
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August 30, 2011 at 11:45
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Oh it’s bonkers, but it is still a huge thrill to see a great team in
full flight. And I will include some of the United teams in that, slightly
grudgingly! The two Manchester teams at the weekend looked as though they
could rip any other team to bits. City v United for the European Cup
Final?
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August 29, 2011 at 22:19
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John Pickworth. What a shame my old man is long gone – you two would have
got on! I’m from a middle class rugby playing North Cheshire family, and the
old man – played till he was 42, Cheshire trial which never happened as a
result of WWII – was appalled that I preferred football.
Football, he opined, was for women and the working classes. And who was I
to nay say him?
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August 30, 2011 at 02:28
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The reverse for me Jeremy.
My old man played professionally (for a small Yorkshire team hardly worth
mentioning). Also when I was very young, many of the Nottingham Forest first
team were my occasional baby sitters – believe it or not, most of them did
it for the extra cash (those were the days).
Later, I was ‘pushed’ into playing football by my father and while I had
a certain flair, I absolutely hated it. Would much prefer rugby even though
I didn’t have the build for it but I could out run anyone – getting caught
hurt though. And I adored cricket but I was a bit rubbish at that.
Later I took up surfing and now days the only sport I follow avidly is
Formula One (now there’s a contact sport).
- August 30, 2011 at 11:44
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Agreed, and the Test Match the summit of sporting contests, and the
Ashes, the summit of Test Matches. My Grandfather of Newton Heath fame was
a member at Old Trafford (the real one ;->), so he could use the
pavilion. However, my mum so loved cricket that he, bless him, would take
her, and as the pavilion was men only, couldn’t sit there.
Our house ground to a halt when Test Matches were on. Sarnies for
lunch, and sarnies and salad for supper.
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August 29, 2011 at 21:28
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Wenger has indeed lost it it seems. Not sure why I no longer respect him as
once I did, but it may be the non-stop whine that seems to emit from him these
days. Even this lifelong City supporter rather enjoyed United duffing Arsenal
up. I had it down for an easy United win, even had Arsenal not been missing a
lot of regulars. Their spine is very very flimsy it is true.
Chelsea for third, I reckon and a rewind to 1968 for the top two.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967%E2%80%9368_in_English_football#First_Division
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August 29, 2011 at 21:09
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Over-paid pansies with bad hair-cuts and a penchant for tatts.
- August 29, 2011 at 20:33
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FFS – don`t we get enough footy everywhere else? More than enough!
- August 29, 2011 at 21:49
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Burned in my memory as a 12 year old schoolboy (some decades ago) I still
remember our burly Welsh sports teacher saying ‘at this school we play
rugger, if you want to play soccer there’s a girls’ school down the
road’.
A bit harsh perhaps then, perhaps not so now.
My own view is
that football has the particular merit of making cricket seem a fascinating
and manly pastime.
- August 29, 2011 at 23:53
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Cricket is a facinating and manly pastime!
- August 30, 2011 at 15:30
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Best enjoyed afterwards in the club bar!
- August 30, 2011 at
15:51
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August 29, 2011 at 20:31
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Cor, yes, isn’t? Hmm. Beautiful game. Boys in the park. Jumpers for goal
posts…
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August 29, 2011 at 19:49
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What is really interesting about this is the psychology of Wenger and
Furguson. Article, anyone?
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August 29, 2011 at 19:51
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Ferguson, even
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August 29, 2011 at 19:54
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Interesting how Fergie actually sounded vaguely sympathetic towards
Arsene in his BBC interview yesterday (I’m just getting used to the fact
that he’s talking to them again).
- August 29, 2011 at 19:57
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He’s only sympathetic in public to the ones he knows are beaten!
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August 30, 2011 at 00:45
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Fergie in condescending row. Shock horror!
- August 30, 2011 at 08:41
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I agree. Fergie being nice about Wenger is code for: I no longer care
about him, he’s finished, his team is not a threat. And he may well be
right.
- August 29, 2011 at 19:35
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For the record, Man U aren’t in Manchester. All true Mancs support
City.
- August 29, 2011 at 23:51
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Nonsense. As someone who’s spent plenty of time in Manchester, the shirt
split is 50-50. (And no I’m not a United fan, just someone who grew up with
whiney City fans and got fed up of them peddling this myth). It’s true that
most United fans come outside Manchester, but that’s just because of their
widespread fanbase, not a lack of support in Manchester.
- August 30, 2011 at 11:41
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As a City fan, I concur ON 50/50 – and there may be a slight geographic
twist to it – North and North East – United, the rest City (very loosely).
When I were little growing up in Bramhall, everyone “supported” one of the
teams, tho’ for many it was rather like supporting Oxford or Cambridge in
the Boat Race. Most real supporters were City. AVROs, up the road, now
BAE, which used to have Vulcans on the runway (and in one of our houses,
the back garden backed on to the edge of the site, and the fence was so
badly broken you could wander in and peek at them – had a City Supporters
Club in house, and no United one. They met at the Thief’s Neck across the
road (our local, where I had my first pint at 14 – Robbie’s Mild, still a
magnificent pale Mild), run by the same family as before the war – the
Landlord’s family were all City, and there was cracking banter at the
bar.
Where was I? No idea. Anyway, that’s my tuppence worth on this
matter.
Ah yes – in Bristol, it’s City south of the river (Bristol &
Somerset), North, Rovers – Bristol and Glocs.
- August 29, 2011 at 19:33
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Just one point about ‘Arsene’, why on earth won’t he spend some cash on
recognised players? All the other managers go out and buy quality that they
don’t have in the club except Wenger. This suggests that he either doesn’t
have the funds or that he has ‘lost it’ and really believes that the youth
team can always fill the first team vacancies. Even Barca buy mature players
to supplement the youngsters and yet he seems loathe to splash the cash!
- August 30, 2011 at 00:46
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The anti Arsene bandwagon is really creaking at the moment as people jump
onboard. 3 games gone and a weakened team thumped. I can think of the famous
Mark Twain quote about his obituary.
More to the point, on the Sky Sports side bar, on record premiership
wins, why was there no mention of Boro’s 8-1 demolition of Man City?
- August 30, 2011 at 15:28
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I know what you mean but something isn’t ‘right’. The papers had
Fabregas and Nasri leaving weeks ago and yet it seems like the club has
been slow to replace them. I think the directors are happy as long as he
qualifies for the Champions League each season and if they win something
it’s a bonus. At the moment, I’d accept that but it is a long time since
the club actually won something which is probably where the supporters’s
views come into play.
- August 29, 2011 at 19:04
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Surely there are sports blogs for this tedious and boring
stuff?
Yawn.
Sorry, but it just irritates me that what was a good site
seems to have been taken over by sporting garbage that is so excessively
lengthy, and in my view completely out of place on Annaracoon.
I suspect
that if anyone tried to post a similar length political article on a sports
blog he would get lynched!
- August 29, 2011 at 19:28
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Oh I get it, you want the blog to be no more than a one trick pony! Life
is more than just politics and anyway, some of us enjoy football. The main
problem on Sunday was that Arsenal didn’t do it to Man Utd! Then there would
have been cause for celebration and perhaps we wouldn’t have had to
read/hear/see just how invincible the latest Man U team is…..
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August 29, 2011 at 21:23
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Oh dear – who forced you to read it?
- August 29, 2011 at 23:46
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If you don’t like, don’t read. That way you won’t need to worry about how
lengthy or tedious it is. It’s not as if the subject wasn’t obvious from the
first sentence.
- August 29, 2011 at 18:50
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Arsenal top 5 finish…you’re on.
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