North London Is Still Red

ARSENAL 5 – TOTTENHAM HOSTPUR 2

It’s difficult to put into words just how much I hate Tottenham Hostpur. It’s something I’ve often tried to do, and usually failed, as there is no one sentence that can truly describe it. They’re our noisy neighbours. That bunch up the road that thinks one decent season marks a power shift in our back yard. And today, we stuffed them 5-2 in an absolute thriller at the Emirates Stadium.

It didn’t go to plan in the beginning though. Our defence was left horrifically open, and Louis Saha’s deflected shot looped over Wojciech Szczesny inside five minutes. We then grew into the game, but whilst we looked dangerous going forward, we looked just as dangerous at the back.

And after a couple of decent chances for Robin van Persie, we found ourselves 2-0 down. From a brilliant defence splitting pass by Luka Modric, Gareth ‘World’s Greatest’ Bale surged into the box, and went down apparently after a joint foul by Kieran Gibbs and Szczesny. Penalty given, and Emmanuel Adebayor stepped up to convert.

It wasn’t a penalty. It was a dive. Mike Dean didn’t even seem sure himself, as he was miles back from the play and chose not to book the offender. Which, given the position on the pitch the ‘foul’ took place, he should have done. He didn’t have a clue (business as usual then), and we were seemingly heading for another defeat largely due to being shit out of luck.

That was the 35^th minute however, and from there onwards there was only ever going to be one winner in this football match. And it wasn’t the scumbags wearing white with a chicken on a basketball for a badge.

After a brilliant touch by Theo Walcott, van Persie hit the post and the ball fell to Mikel Arteta, who delivered a delightful ball into the Sp*rs area which Bacary Sagna headed home for his first goal of the season. 2-1, and game on.

Sp*rs just seemed to crumble after that, and our second was largely due to their own defensive faults. And a fair amount of magic from our captain too. Younes Kaboul and Benoit Assou-Ekotto both totally Squillaci’d their clearances, and the ball fell to RVP who, on the edge of the area, delightfully curled the ball into the top corner. 2-2, game on, and momentum with Arsenal heading into the break.

RVP curling in our equaliser.

All we really had to tell the players at half time was to keep on doing exactly what they have for the last ten minutes of the first half. And that’s exactly what happened.

Sp*rs brought on Rafael van der Vaart, and some twat in a gum shield at the interval, yet the Arsenal rampage went on.

Yossi Benayoun forced a great stop from Brad Friedel early in the half, but it was the excellent Tomas Rosicky who put us in front. The Czech captain led an attack forward, passed wide to Sagna, whose low cross was then flicked in by Rosicky, then celebrating his first League goal in over two years for the club.

The comeback was complete. The Emirates was bouncing. And we weren’t done there either.

Our final two goals were like the great counter attacking Arsenal of old, and both were superbly taken finishes by Theo Walcott.

The first was set up after some strong hold up play by RVP, who fed Walcott as he flew into empty space on our right hand side. Despite a poor touch, he still managed to chip the ball over Friedel, and our advantage had doubled.

Two minutes later, and the rout was completed. This time, an exquisitely timed pass by Alex Song was well controlled by Walcott, who found time in the box and fired home past Friedel for our fifth and final goal.

There was still time for Scott(y) Parker to see a second yellow card, to truly cap of a remarkable day for Arsenal. And one to forget, for Sp*rs.

ANALYSIS

In a season full of ups and downs, this has definitely been the highlight to date. Sp*rs came here on the back of a great win against Newcastle, pretty much a full squad to chose from, and a whole lot of talk to go with their ten-point lead on us in the League.

And we were on the back of dismal performances in two cup competitions and serious questions about the quality of the squad. I blogged yesterday about how poor our mental attitude had been against Milan and Sunderland, and how it was imperative to get that right against Sp*rs, or we’d be toast. Equally, the importance of the midfield, having seen it get completely over run in the past couple of weeks.

Well, both points were answered with aplomb. To come back from 2-0 down to win 5-2 in the North London derby requires a huge amount of mental and technical quality. Wenger made a surprising decision to start Benayoun out wide, instead of Gervinho or Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, which showed how important he thought the midfield battle would be. He was right.

Benayoun was calm, collected and imperious going forward. He linked up exceptionally well with RVP, the midfield, and even aided Gibbs when he bombed forward down the left. Arteta and Song both dominated the central midfield battle. Parker was completely shown up for what he is, and his red card capped off a totally miserable day for the bloke rumoured to be favourite as next England captain. RVP himself led by example, scored a beauty, linked up well with those around him, and held the ball up well when he was required to.

But the Man of the Match for me was Rosicky. He’s had a bit of stick lately, including from myself as I called him a ‘useful squad player, but not going to change games’ in my blog yesterday. But he was incredible today. Probably his best ever game for the club.

Rosicky's first League goal since 2010. Worth the wait!

His work rate was exemplary, and his passion and desire was clearly visible from start to finish. It was the exact sort of dominating midfield performance that Arsenal have been crying for for weeks. He thoroughly deserved his goal too, and it came at the best possible time. And it was right at the start of one of the best halves of football we’ve seen at the Emirates in recent years.

Elsewhere, Theo Walcott deserves a huge amount of praise too. A poor first half prompted calls by some for him to be removed at half time. Luckily he wasn’t, and he came out in the second half a different player.

His off the ball movement, neat flicks, pace and two excellent finishes showed us why Wenger has continued to keep the faith in him. We all know he’s good enough to play at this level, and I believe the abuse he gets from some corners of the ground are more due to the frustration at his inconsistency than the belief that he’s shit. He’s very much a confidence player, and after today there’s no reason why he shouldn’t go from strength to strength during the run in to the end of the season.

Theo celebrating his first goal today.

Despite going 2-0 down in half an hour, our defence should get some credit too. Yeah, they totally ballsed up for the first goal. But after the second, they were very solid at the back, keeping Adebayor, Bale and co very quiet. And Sp*rs barely had a clear-cut chance once we pulled the first goal back. There are still issues and questions to our back four, but well done to them for getting through today, and aiding our cause towards victory.

Credit to the manager as well. As I said, he made some big decisions today and got them all right. Which shows he does still know what he’s doing, and knows a lot more about running this team than you or I sitting in the stand. Well done Arsene.

Sp*rs’ tactics surprised me. It’s like they just didn’t watch our previous two matches. Milan and Sunderland beat us by making it uncomfortable for us to pass and move. By closing us down. Sp*rs did none of that, and were happy for us to play our game and beat them comfortably in the end. It was great to see us pass the ball and counter attack like we know we can. And to see how devastating we can be when it works.

Sp*rs mob looking glum after defeat - ha.

I’m also very surprised that a manager as great and illustrious (ahem) as Harry Redknapp didn’t set up his side better. And allowed his side to get so comprehensively beaten, in such an important fixture. Sp*rs played well in the opening, but in reality it was our defensive shocker, a deflected goal, and a penalty which never should have been that put them 2-0 up. They have good players, but they aren’t all what some people claim they are. Tough fixtures ahead for them now too, with a visit from Man United next. Hopefully they’ll absolutely screw it from here, and we can still finish above them. Given how this season’s gone so far, I wouldn’t rule it out just yet.

But today was all about us. We bounced back in fantastic style after two very poor Cup defeats. Today was our third league win in a row, and we’re still in fourth place. Not bad for a ‘crisis club’ eh?

The pride, passion and desire were all there in force today. That’s what we need to produce in every game, not just the North London derby. The players ARE good enough, just haven’t been producing that lately. And from what they’ve done today, that should be the confidence boost required to hopefully get us to the end of the season and remain in the Champions League. Still a lot of work to be done, but it’s very doable.

It should also be noted that, despite his best efforts with the penalty, the Mike Dean curse is now over, and he didn’t totally screw us over in the game today. A dreadful penalty decision, and a couple of very harsh yellow cards (like for Koscielny, who he booked because Adebayor threw him into Microphone hair twat at left back for Sp*rs). So nice one Dean, although I’m still sick of the sight of you, and don’t want you refereeing for us again anytime soon. Cheers.

All in all, a very proud day to be a Gooner. The gap to Sp*rs is now down to seven points, and the dream of St Totteringham’s Day 2012 is still alive. The Canon will always kill the Chicken, and our history and tradition will always beat theirs.

52 weeks ago today, we had just been beaten in the Carling Cup final by Birmingham. The year we’ve had since hasn’t all gone to plan, but finally we’ve had a big win in a period that in previous years we’ve had crushing defeats.

Next, we go to Anfield to play Liverpool fresh after their Carling Cup final win against Cardiff City on penalties this afternoon. They’ll no doubt be buzzing after that, but hopefully we can catch them still in celebration mode and stuff them as well.

That’s all from me. Stay classy, and enjoy our celebrations. And when you eventually go to bed tonight, be sure to thank the good Lord (or whoever you pray to) that you were born into the red half of North London. Imagine how shit you’d feel tomorrow morning if not. Waking up to the fact that North London is still, always has been, and always will be, red.

Harsh Assessment of Arsenal's current situation

Well what to say about the past couple of weeks for Arsenal Football Club. It started so promisingly with a last-gasp winner at Sunderland in the League, thanks to Thierry Henry’s (probable) last ever goal for the club. But this quickly turned sour, as we were run over in Milan, and dumped out of the FA Cup by Sunderland in a matter of days.

The backlash after these defeats was understandable. Twice in a week we saw our boys get completely outplayed, without any real sign of passion, desire, or fight. And when that happens two games in a row, let alone two Cup competitions in which our only realistic chances of silverware were present, it’s fair enough to be asking serious questions about the mental state of the squad.

Even more so, when Arsene Wenger repeatedly bangs on about how ‘mentally prepared’ his Arsenal sides always are. Well in the previous two matches, our players were nowhere near ready mentally.

I can’t offer an explanation for this. I don’t sit in the changing room, have access to the players during the week, or know what kind of preparation they have pre-match. But something hasn’t felt right about this Arsenal side all year. Is it something to do with the horrendous summer we suffered, where we lost three of our best players and were reduced to replacing them with last minute buys, perceived by many as ‘panic’ purchases? It’s possible. But if a squad had real mental strength, they’d have got past that long ago.

We all know how easy it is to complain about Arsenal’s defence. The definition of Arsenal in recent years has pretty much been ‘brilliant attacking football, but very leaky in defence’. So it’s rather concerning that we’ve been unable to fulfil the former part of that definition recently, whilst the latter is very much still in full flow.

Arsenal simply didn’t create enough chances against Milan and Sunderland. The midfield trio looked completely out of gas, and were over run on both occasions. There’s no doubting the quality that Alex Song, Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey have, but they just haven’t been good enough lately. They had no answer to a dominating Milan midfield, and when Sunderland got in their faces and gave them no time to be comfortable, they crumbled. Ramsey has his moments, but in reality none of them have the creative capabilities required for Arsenal to keep pace with the leaders in England and Europe. Tomas Rosicky is useful as a squad player, but isn’t going to change games. And Yossi Benayoun isn’t getting any kind of a look in. The man we need has been injured all season. Who knows what could have happened had Jack Wilshere been available all year.

And when your midfield doesn’t click, it’s almost impossible to expect your attackers to produce the goods either. They’ve been starved of the opportunities they’re craving. Theo Walcott, Gervinho, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all full of pace and skill, yet none of them have been able to get into our previous two games. Credit where it’s due though to The Ox, who has given absolutely everything (a lot more than most others), and was very unfortunate to have his name in the Own Goal column after Sunderland in the FA Cup. I thought Bacary Sagna’s return to the team would bring back the best in Walcott, but he’s been even more non-existent than he was a month ago.

And how can we expect Robin van Persie to score goals, when he has nothing coming his way from the midfield, or out wide? Well, we can’t. This is worrying for more than just Robin’s goal count. He must be seriously debating if this set of players is truly who he wants to be playing alongside next season. He’s 28, running out of years, and has a very empty trophy cabinet. I’d love to think he’ll stay. And I’m not buying into this ‘he owes us’, or even ‘we owe him’ crap. Wenger needs to match RVP’s ambition, buy him a decent strike partner, and convince him there are glory years ahead for him at Arsenal. If not, he’ll be gone this summer. No doubt about it.

So if last week was debate and angst over the state of our on field problems, this past week has endured similar debate, and largely similar angst, over the state of our off field issues. Most of which stemmed from Monday night’s Arsenal Supporter’s Trust meeting. And it just happened to be the first one I’ve attended.

I won’t bore you with the full details again, as these were posted at the time, re-posted again, and then some more as a large portion of Gooners suddenly became accountants as they dissected all that was revealed on Monday. Which in truth, wasn’t a whole lot of new info.

Basically we pay the fourth highest wages in the League. Have about £60m cash (although expected to be closer to £50m). Will lose around £45m cash if we don’t finish top four. We pay too much for tickets, and are pissed off that none of that seems to be put back into the squad.

There was obviously a lot more discussed than that. I’d recommend having a read of @LittleDutchVA’s piece on Vital Arsenal with all the main points from the meeting.

I’m not going to pretend to know much about finances in general, let alone for Arsenal. As I said, it was my first AST meeting so I was more interested in seeing how the meeting played out, and listening to what was said (and tweeting as if my life depended on it).

One of the most blatantly obvious failings at Arsenal right now is how we pay our fringe players so much more than we should. Diaby, Djourou, Squillaci and Almunia all earn above £40k a week, and their big wages are not only eating our total bill, but will make them difficult to shift over the summer, when Wenger will no doubt be looking to offload most of them (although Djourou’s new contract suggests he’s likely to stay) and bring in some fresh and exciting faces.

It was also fascinating to find out how Arsenal has 71 contracted footballers on its books. This is a baffling amount, given that we are renowned for having very poor strength in depth in our squad. Where are all these players? It’s great to develop youth, and put a large onus on our development programmes. But realistically we’ve only produced two world-class players in the past decade through our academy, and that wage space could be better used having a wider, and more experienced, first team squad. So when we get our annual injury problems we aren’t throwing promising youngsters in the deep end like we have with Carl Jenkinson and Ignasi Miquel. Or worse, play them out of position (as has been the case with Francis Coquelin).

Since Monday night, we’ve had one of our 71 contracted footballers head for pastures new, as news broke last night of the departure of our flamboyant Russian, Andrei Arshavin, who has gone on loan to Zenit St Petersburg for the rest of the season. 

I’ll be honest, I had no idea yesterday was the Russian transfer deadline day. And I had no idea there was a serious link between Arshavin and a move back home. I’d heard the rumours, but thought ‘nah, Wenger isn’t stupid enough to get rid of one of our most experienced players in this desperate time of need on the eve of one of the biggest games of football we’ve had in recent years’.

I hate being wrong…

I can’t explain it. I’ve seen various theories; Arshavin forced a move, as he wanted to play more football ahead of Euro 2012. Or the Manager and players gave up on Arshavin after his dismal form, especially away at Swansea where his laziness was largely responsible for the Swans winner.

Both acceptable arguments, but why let him go? Why now? The most pressing question I had earlier (and I wasn’t the only one) was why weaken an already weak squad? Yes, he’s been terrible lately. Yes, he’s very, very lazy. But as he showed with ultimately his final act in a senior Arsenal shirt, the assist for Henry’s winner against Sunerland in the League, there is that aspect of quality that Arshavin possesses. It’s just unpredictable as to when you’re going to get it.

In truth, his Arsenal career has been a disappointment. He came offering so much, but delivered so little. Four fantastic goals against Liverpool. That winning goal against Barcelona, our 2011 highlight. And plenty more goals and assists in his 133 appearances for the club. But aside from that, there was inconsistency, laziness that I’ve already mentioned, and a lack of effort or commitment that ultimately might have been what ended his Arsenal career.

I feel sorry for him. He’s a funny bloke, a real character, and should have been so much more for our club. But he wasn’t, and it wouldn’t surprise me to find out there’s a future transfer fee in agreement in this deal with Zenit, for them to buy him in the summer at a cut price. Anything around £8-10m would be a bonus, but I doubt we’ll get that much. Good luck to him though. I seriously hope he can re-find his form, and show everyone what a quality player he truly is.

But it now leaves us desperately thin up top. We’ve been so unlucky with injuries this year, it’s hard not to expect something else to go wrong in the run in. A knock to Gervinho, The Ox, or Walcott would mean we only really have Rosicky and Benayoun to call upon to fill in on the wing. Neither of who have been overly convincing out wide, and have had more joy playing in the middle. But that’s a decision the club and Wenger will have to live with. We’ll see how that one plays out.

And the next place we get to try it out is at home tomorrow against some small North London club called Tottnum. Jokes aside, Sp*rs must be licking their lips about the prospect of facing us right now. On the back of probably our two worst defeats this season (yes, that includes Old Trafford), and a depleted squad still plagued by injuries (please be fit Koscielny).

I haven’t been paying too much attention to the Sp*rs squad, and who’s fit and not. I, like most, expected them to struggle after Christmas and slowly fall back into our battle with Chelsea, Newcastle and Liverpool for fourth spot. Again, I was wrong. So credit where it’s due, I guess.

Luckily form often counts for nothing in the North London derby. That’s what I’ve been reading on twitter lately, and I guess that’s all we’ve really got heading into the game. But this is the perfect opportunity to shut up all the doubters out there at the moment.

The tone of this blog might suggest otherwise, but I still have full faith in this squad. That’s a mentality I’ve had since I first fell in love with this club, to trust the side the Arsenal manager picks, and support them from start to finish.

The aim of this blog was to point out the problems we currently face. Because ignoring them would be blind and naïve, and there’s nothing wrong with a bit of constructive criticism. The questions I’ve posed about the mental and technical attributes we possess can all be answered tomorrow, and in some style too.

Really, if our players can’t get motivated and focused for the North London derby, then quite frankly there’s an issue with them that might be beyond fixable. If they turn up with the mindset they’ve shown at Milan and Sunderland, then it’s going to be another horrible viewing. Worse, given who we’re against.

But I fully expect us to come out of the blocks racing, and I think the game will be full of surprises. Hopefully for the best, and a win against Sp*rs would do wonders for our confidence, and put to bed another horrible chapter of this season.

We need an excuse to stop the negativity, and look again towards the positives. Players and fans a like. It’s going to be another year of no silverware, and it might not be a trophy (despite what Wenger might think!), but fourth is all we’re fighting for now.

Tomorrow is the perfect platform to show that we’re serious about getting it.

Season Defining Moment?

SUNDERLAND 1 - ARSENAL 2

Every season has a defining moment. One that either spurs you on to achieve something. Or one that destroys you, leaving you with nothing. Over the past few years, we’ve had too many of the latter, from moments such as injuries, throwing leads away, or losing games we should have won.

Today, we beat a resurgent Sunderland side, who have turned their season around having been early relegation candidates, yet now find themselves chasing a Europa League spot. And who knows, the manner of our victory today could be the defining moment of this season. That might actually lead us to winning a trophy. But more of that kind of ambitious talk later…

The first half at the Stadium of Light was tight, with neither side really having any clear-cut chances. Sunderland set up defensively, playing a 4-5-1 formation, and proved very difficult to break down from the off.

We were most creative down the right hand side, with Theo Walcott having two half chances; one cross-come-shot dragged wide of the far post, and another shot skied high into the stand. Mikel Arteta hit a free kick from a decent position into the Sunderland wall just before half time, and other than that there was very little to talk about in terms of first half chances.

Both sides had penalty shouts rejected too. Robin van Persie appeared to be brought down inside the Sunderland area, and Per Mertesacker handled the ball inside ours too, although it was more of a case of ball to hand than anything deliberate. Neither really had much substance, and the correct decisions were made to not give them.

Sunderland offered very little going forward in the first half, and seemed happier to sit back, defend and try and counter attack where possible.

The second half started much more upbeat, with Arsenal having a good spell of early pressure, mainly down the right hand side. We kept possession well, and although Sunderland were again on the back foot, they looked comfortable enough with what we had to throw at them.

Sunderland then had a good spell of pressure themselves, which resulted in two very good stops from Wojciech Szczesny in the Arsenal goal. Both were strikes from Craig Gardner from outside the area; the first a low one to the keeper’s left, which was pushed away well considering how late Szczesny must have seen it. And the second, a few minutes later, was a similar chance but this time to the other side of the goal. Although Szczesny fumbled this one initially, he managed to get the ball away.

The game then fell flat again, and Thierry Henry was introduced for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who failed to make the impact he had in recent weeks. But in the 70^th minute, Sunderland scored.

Per Mertesacker had looked rather shaky for most the game, and under no pressure at all on the ball he fell to the floor in pain, allowing James McLean through who drilled the ball home past a helpless Szczesny.

It was undeserved for Arsenal, who had looked very comfortable at the back. Mertesacker consequently was substituted off for Aaron Ramsey, with Alex Song dropping back into defence. And it didn’t take long for the Welshman to make his mark, and draw us level.

When Mikel Arteta had a shot blocked on the edge of the area, the ball fell to Ramsey, who’s shot hit the left post, the right, then bounced in. It was an excellent finish, especially as the ball bobbled up when he hit it. Arsenal deservedly level, and had 15 minutes to go and grab a winner.

With four minutes to go, and the game heading for a draw, Andrei Arshavin came on for Walcott, as Arsenal looked to push for a winner. RVP met an Arshavin cross from the left, but the Dutchman’s header went straight into keeper Simon Mignolet’s hands.

There was still time for one final chance, with four minutes of added time to play. And one chance was all we needed.

Arshavin impressed after coming on, and crossed again from the left, for Thierry Henry to prod home from 6 yards out, in his final ever Premier League game for the club. 2-1 Arsenal, and goal number 229 for the club’s greatest ever player.

We held on for the final couple of minutes of injury time without scare, and it was three very deserved points to add to the tally.

ANALYSIS

If truth be told, I was expecting us to draw today. Before kick off, at half time, even once we conceded, I had a feeling the spoils would be shared.

As I said earlier, Sunderland are very well organised under Martin O’Neill, and they seemed to have an answer for everything we offered. And despite dominating possession, it was another one of those games of fearing that our lack of end product would be what cost us. Sunderland were very defensive, happy to sit back in numbers, and rely on their counter attack.

But we have to credit our players, and manager, for their strength of mind and getting the job done in the end.

We didn’t deserve to go behind. Mertesacker went down injured, and Sunderland took advantage. It’s in the rules, it’s fair, and it was unfortunate. The pitch was terrible, so whether that had an impact on Per going down I don’t know. But I hope his injury isn’t too serious, and I’m sure those in Germany will share our angst too, as they will obviously want him fit ahead of Euro 2012 this summer.

After getting it wrong against Manchester United a few weeks ago, Arsene Wenger must be congratulated for getting his substitutions spot on today. All three of them had a huge impact on the result, with Ramsey scoring our equaliser, and Arshavin and Henry combining for the winner.

Some things are just meant to be, and given this was Henry’s last ever Premier League appearance, it was the icing on the cake that he would score. It’s a shame we won’t see him play at the Emirates again (competitively), but he has one final chance to leave his mark at Arsenal Football Club, and I’m sure he will give everything on Wednesday when we face AC Milan in the Champions League.

Other notable mentions today must go to Tomas Rosicky, who again led by example in midfield, and Laurent Koscielny, who just goes from strength to strength at the back. Arteta’s passing game was also top notch, and it was great to see Bacary Sagna start at right back after his spell out.

Today we showed real fighting spirit, and a never say die attitude that will be required greatly in the next three months. We’re still chasing two pieces of silverware, and we play in both the Champions League and FA Cup in the next week.

I have no doubt that all the squad will be buzzing after the win today, and it’s important we don’t get caught up in celebrating the win, but carry on the momentum and focus into Wednesday’s trip to Milan.

We say our second (and final) goodbye to our Prodigal Son in that match, and it’s impossible to think that Henry might exit for good on a defeat. It’s sure to be a fantastic tie, and with Kieran Gibbs back to fitness and on the bench today, we might even see the Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen partnership at centre back we’ve all been craving for.

Then it’s back to the Stadium of Light next weekend for the FA Cup. We can probably expect a slightly weaker side to be fielded then, before two big League games against Sp*rs and Liverpool, and the home Champions League tie against Milan.

It’s more likely that the next four fixtures will have a bigger impact on our season than today. But if in three and a half weeks time we’re sitting here talking about a run of unbeaten games, a Champions League and FA Cup quarterfinal, then a look back to today, and the last minute winner from King Henry might just be identified as the moment that kick started that run. But football is all about results, and it could turn sour and this will all count for nothing should we lose to Milan, get beaten by Sunderland next weekend, and drop points against Sp*rs and Liverpool. But I know that Wenger and the players will do everything to ensure that this just doesn’t come close to happening.

Here’s hoping. Here’s believing. There’s only one way for Arsenal Football Club, and that’s Forward.

England's Unpredictable Position

It’s been hard to follow any kind of sporting news in the media over the past few days, and not come across a story about the vacant England Head Coach role. There are various different angles that have been explored; should Fabio Capello have resigned? Did he jump, or was he pushed? Who will be the next manager to take charge? Will they be English? Should they be English? Etc, etc, etc.

Of course, the whole scenario has been made a whole lot more interesting by the fact that Harry Redknapp was cleared of all charges relating to his tax evasion trial, only a few hours before The FA and Capello decided to part ways. Redknapp, the "darling of the British media", is seen as the over riding favourite for the post, and already has been given odds of 1/4 with Sky Bet to be named as Capello’s successor.

A lot of things have annoyed me about the immediate backlash to Capello’s departure. I’m going to start with the assumption that Redknapp is the only real choice as a replacement. Which is total bollocks.

OK, he’s the favourite. But it’s not because of his success. Because let’s face it, he’s had very, very little success for the majority of his career. Only the FA Cup with Portsmouth in 2008, and Champions League qualification with Sp*rs a couple of years ago. I’m not slamming him. As Capello showed, being a successful club manager doesn’t automatically make you a successful International manager, and that can work in the opposite way too.

I think Redknapp’s edge comes from his regard within the English game. Let’s forget he’s bankrupted/relegated every club he’s worked at prior to Sp*rs. That’s not important right now, or ever again (Ollie Holt is trying to destroy all living memories that this ever happened as we speak). He has shown at Sp*rs that he’s able to get the best out of a set of very ordinary players (when he took over, admittedly they are a slightly better bunch now). He commands respect. He instructs discipline.

The problem with England on the International level, is that they are all a set of egos who think they are all better than each other. Time and time again, people say ‘we just aren’t good enough’. Bollocks. We have the best League in the world, and the best clubs in the world. So we’re more than capable of producing the best players in the world too.

You can probably argue against the last part, but they are certainly good enough to reach the semi final at the World Cups and European Championships we appear in. So why don’t we? It’s because of the attitude of the players. It has to be. Like him or not (and I don’t particularly, being the Sp*rs manager and all), but Redknapp would come in, stamp his authority, make bold decisions (like axing John Terry and Rio Ferdinand for good possibly), and get our best set of lads playing for the badge on their shirt. That’s what England are missing. Passion. Heart. Desire. Redknapp would be the best man to get that out of them, in my opinion.

But does that mean we write off everyone else? Absolutely not. Which is why it has annoyed me to no end that players like Wayne Rooney, and stable boy Michael Owen have both expressed their extreme desire for Redknapp to take over. Like there’s no other option?

What about Roy Hodgson? Much travelled. Vast experience, especially internationally. Also respected. Only won one major trophy less than Redknapp. And also has a fantastic ability to bring out the best in players, as he most famously showed two years ago, by taking Fulham to the Europa League final.

And why does the manager have to be English? What about Guus Hiddink? More successful than most English managers put together, and also has exceptional experience on the International scene, having managed South Korea, Australia, Russia and Turkey in the past decade.

I think it’s hugely disrespectful for players to comment on who they’d like to take over as manager. This was a hot topic of debate on twitter last night amongst some journalists. Henry Winter believed that they had every right to. Ollie Holt agreed, but mainly because his head was lodged halfway up Winter’s behind. They both said it was acceptable because it had an impact on said player’s careers. Matt Dickinson was leading the sensible revolt saying otherwise, and it was genuinely an interesting discussion to follow, to see who was talking sense, and who…. wasn’t.

If I talked at work about who I wanted my manager to be, as it had an impact on my career, what would happen? I’d get sacked. Why’s it acceptable for footballers to do it, at an International level? It isn’t. It’s disrespectful, disruptive, and arrogant. And unfortunately, the epitome of our International side.

That covers Redknapp, Hodgson, Hiddink, and players. What next? Ah yes, Capello himself.

I think David Bernstein was pretty accurate when he described Capello as ‘expensive, but not a mistake’. It’s arguable though, for sure. On paper, Capello had a better win ratio than any of his predecessors, at 66.7%. But it’s hard to ignore that most of these wins came during meaningless friendlies, or during qualifying campaigns in which the top teams are never really tested.

When it really mattered, in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, in no uncertain terms Capello and England failed. Really, he should have been sacked after that. He underperformed, and it seemed he lost the confidence and support of the dressing room as well. But The FA were unwilling to take the hit on compensation, and Capello eventually announced he’d see out his contract and then leave after the Euros this summer, with his £6m a year contract intact.

As for the incident itself that led to Capello’s resignation, I can see the logic in the stance of both The FA, and the Italian.

On one hand, you could argue very convincingly that John Terry should not be the Captain of the England national side, whilst he is subject to a trial over racial abuse of a fellow professional. Captaining your country is the greatest honour available in modern day sport, and an honour that puts you at the forefront of the Nation, and become a role model to a very high percentage of young aspiring sportsmen. It is not something to be taken lightly, in my opinion, and as a result is not a memento worthy of someone being investigated in a court of law.

The other side of the coin, and Capello’s view, state that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. And Terry seriously denies the charge he is up against. I’m not going to wade into whether or not I think he’s guilty. But I can understand Capello’s point of view, that why should Terry be stripped of the captaincy while he is still lawfully innocent?

Ultimately, it’s a disagreement that cost Capello his job. And England their manager heading into Euro 2012 this summer in Poland and Ukraine.

Where does this leave our National side now? In truth, with a fantastic opportunity, but really for the wrong reasons.

We are now manager less heading into the final few months before a major International tournament, which on paper puts us at a huge disadvantage. But with an aging side and recent history of failure during such tournaments, it offers a great chance for something fresh. Something new. Even something risky, should the new man in charge dare to do so.

Because whoever takes charge of England at Euro 2012, be it Stuart Pearce on an interim basis, or Redknapp having the job permanently, could argue that this isn’t their side. It hasn’t had their full tuition, and as such they aren’t fully accountable for the performance of the side at Euro 2012.

So if we went out at the group stages, the man in charge would probably get some slack seeing as though they’ve only come in at the last minute, to pick up on two years of Capello preparation for this tournament. They’d be spared the annihilation that Capello would have inevitably received, and be able to plan towards the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, almost as if they are starting afresh.

Whatever happens, I’d love to see the old guard changed for the new, some risks taken, and some new young blood given a chance to shine. Much like we’ve seen recently in the English Rugby side (and no, I’m not talking about Stoke City). Maybe it’s just because I’m use to an Arsenal side apparently permanent in a transition period. Or maybe it’s because I’m not as passionate about my country as I am my club, so the consequences don’t matter as much to me.

But despite the disappointing circumstances surrounding Capello’s resignation, there is a big opportunity for someone to come in and give English International football the shake up it needs. Who knows where it could lead us.

The important thing now is for The FA to take their time in appointing Capello’s successor. Pick the best man based on his credentials, not his passport. And give them the freedom and backing to change the face of English football for the better.

And maybe, just maybe, the Jules Rimet won’t be the only thing gleaming for much longer…