In the spirit of originality which I was harping on about yesterday, I’d like to say how much I am looking forward to next year’s UEFA Cup Campaign.
Five points ahead of Everton at this stage, we look well on course to secure a coveted 5th place finish, a not inconsiderable achievement when you consider how comprehensively outspent we have been this season by the likes of Manchester City and Tottenham, (the tabloid logic being that money spent translates into goals scored and points gained).
And not playing in the Champions’ League will have its advantages. We always play in the Champions’ League and it will be nice to have a bit of a mid-week change of scene. We can to go to exciting new places, such as Latvia and Northern Ireland, rather than sticking to the usual Spain-France-Italy-Holland-Germany rigmarole, which is frankly becoming a bit dull.
It will also be ludicrously easy to win. The main problem with the Champions’ League is that it’s much too difficult to win due to the preponderance of top sides.
The UEFA Cup is like the Carling Cup but with even more disappointed looking chief-executives of major sponsors and half-hearted celebrations from the winners – except when Tottenham won it, when celebrations got comically cataclysmic, proving that
- there is such a thing as overcelebration
- that any pride temporarily restored to minor football clubs by the winning of minor competitions can be quickly lost by the spectacle of said minor football club’s fans celebrating as though they’d won the World Cup and Champions League double
- that some people, (see “Keane, Robert”,) have absolutely no dignity.
So yeah, the more you think about it, the more playing for 5th makes sense. Last year we could have faced Rangers in the final. Which I would certainly have enjoyed. We could also have enjoyed the expert analysis of Channel Five’s Stan Collymore [That's enough originality - Ed.]
Phew.
If our players want motivating, which on yesterday’s performance, they clearly do, Arsene could do worse than forcing them to spend their Thursdays watching the cringingly pointless sporting charade which is the UEFA Cup, a competition which seems to generate an unseemly variety of poor-quality introductory title sequences and which has attracted television presenters of the calibre of John Barnes. Normally the issue with ambitious ex-pros is whether they can make the jump from TV to the dugout, with TV perenially perceived as the easier job by far. Barnes regularly makes a nonsense of this, turning in televisual performances so ugly that they make Celtic’s 3-0 defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle under Barnes look like a great result. Arsenal FC must never be associated with such broadcasting ineptitude.
Villa are ailing. It’s time to start showing our class, and fast. It is also very important that while showing our class we remember to do certain things, such as the scoring of goals and the winning of games and the accruing of points.
If anyone has any suggestions about how to go about ’showing our class’ please stick them in the comments. The best will be sagwaroffed to Arsene Wenger using the very latest technology.
Tags: John Barnes, Uefa Cup
February 22nd, 2009 at 7:54 pm
are 12 games left to play,time is not up yet,plenty points to grab ,for sure will be in first 4
February 22nd, 2009 at 9:26 pm
we will qualify 4 de champions league next year by winning it dis year i have a really good feeling dat dis is our year
February 22nd, 2009 at 9:40 pm
I like the look of your optimism, Alan. I do.
February 22nd, 2009 at 11:20 pm
i think i ll agree with you on uefa cup next year. i am not giving up on our boys and i ll love to be optimistic. but lets face the reality. i ve a strong feeling we can be there and win something. i do ve faith in our boys .
February 22nd, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Remember lads it’s being rebranded…it’s the Europa League lol
February 22nd, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Unless some of these guys pull their fingers out we can forget a top four finish. 6th position could not be ruled out with another half dozen goaless draws between now and the end of the season.
Arsene: Get the shit out of your eyes mate and sideline the shirkers.
February 23rd, 2009 at 12:04 am
We’re suffering badly through the middle.
Nasri needs to play central until Cesc comes back.
We can still make the top 4 but we need to show some balls NOW.
Cmon you Gunners!
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:50 am
we don’t deserve champions league if we play the pile of toss that we did against sunderland. Emirates should be our fortress that opposition (particularly crap ones) should be bricking themselves to play in as it stands I will have a Mackem in my ear all week about how they showed us up with the likes of Jones et al.
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:56 am
I don’t like the look of Alan’s optimism at all, to be frank. Its the ‘dat’s and the ‘de’s that put me off.
I do, however, like the optimism itself very much indeed.
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:38 am
this season arsenal will walk away with two titles. the fa cup and the big one the champions league. lets look at the big picture man won’t get passed inter coz they always manage to rise their game when it comes to big games.jst go look at their record against the big clubs in Italy. juv will hurt Chelsea really bad coz the juv coach has unfinished business with Chelsea management/owner. Liverpool on the other hand against real come on. if Liverpool don’t win the English title is a FACT rafa is gonna be gone. and us lets face it we wont win the title from where we are sitting in the table.fa cup is our only option. As for the uefa cup next season give it to villa coz when the season ends its not only gonna be Barry being linked to the top four clubs.but a host of the villa squad, i can see the villa manager going mad. so get the uefa cup out of your minds now
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:45 pm
I am full of pessimism. There is just no way we will win the remainder of our games which is what we really need to do – Man U/Liverpool Away, not to mention some other tough fictures that we will probably end up drawing. Im now accepting and adjusting to the fact that we will definitely finish 5th. Sad times for the Arsenal.
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Good God! Just heard on Radio 5 Live that AW beieves the title race is certainly not over and that ManU are not convincing!
I’m sure he accepts that the title is beyond us, but if Utd aren’t convincing – where the hell does that leave the Arse?
February 25th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Where are you guys when I need you?
February 25th, 2009 at 9:26 am
see above for our match analysis jim (”A Good Performance from Arsenal But This Tie Should Be Over”) – interested to hear your thoughts on the game.