Like many other reds, I was absolutely outraged when I found out the FA were letting off William Gallas for intentionally kicking Nani when the teams met in the Cup. The message they are sending out is that it’s acceptable to kick (United) players off the ball if they’ve previously humiliated you with their skill. With several players more than capable of switching on silky skills and tricks, this does not bode well for United.
In the post match interview, Wenger was questioned about the behaviour of his players after Nani’s showboating, who went in hard on the player, with the biggest culprit being Gallas, who kicked out at Nani twice, even when the ball had gone. “We were incensed and most rightly so,” he said. “It is difficult enough to swallow when you are three or four goals down – you do not want to be teased or humiliated.” His comments were classless and cowardice, defending the violent behaviour of his players rather than condemn it. In light of the incident of Saturday and his post match comments, this puts Wenger in an awkward position.
I watched the Birmingham vs Arsenal game on Saturday, in the vague hope that the blues might at least be able to hold our title rivals to a draw. Within the first few minutes when Eduardo went to ground after a seemingly harmless challenge from Martin Taylor I was calling for the Arsenal striker to get up. After the Birmingham player came in to him, Eduardo hit the deck, sat up, then collapsed back on the ground. It is only as the minutes passed by that the severity of the challenge became clear. The look on the Arsenal players faces were sickening and the ominous lack of replay confirmed Eduardo had suffered an incredibly serious injury.
With a few months until the end of the season, United fans will look to anything that gives us an advantage. I dislike Arsenal and the majority of their players, and following the kicking they dealt to our lads in the Cup, it would take an awful lot for me to feel any sympathy for them. However, the eight minutes in which Eduardo lay on the pitch made truly horrible viewing and I have the utmost sympathy for the player. There has been talk he is looking at the end of his career and I sincerely hope this is not the case. No matter how much the title means to us, we wouldn’t wish for an advantage in this way over any team, and I wish Eduardo a speedy recovery.
The waves of sickness that passed over me in February 2006 when Alan Smith lay on the ground at Anfield were no longer a distant memory. United fans have felt first hand what it is like to see your player suffer a horrific injury, with the Smith incident overshadowing what should have been the worst moment of the season, getting knocked out of the FA Cup by Liverpool. That feeling of dread, fear and sickness is not one I’d hope for any set of fans to endure.
It was only after watching United’s 5-1 annihilation of Newcastle that I started to hear the shocking comments coming through from Wenger. “I think this guy should never play football again. What’s he doing on the pitch?” fumed Wenger. “I’ve gone along with the idea for a long time that to stop Arsenal, you have to kick Arsenal. I knew that was coming for a long time now.” The irony these comments bring, just seven days after Arsenal players kicked United all over the field, seems lost on Wenger.
Just seven days before making these comments, Arsenal had seen one of their players sent off for jumping in to one of United’s, studs showing. Eboue made no effort to try and win the ball, he only had one thing in mind, going for the player. Patrice Evra is fortunate he isn’t lying in a hospital ward with broken bones, no thanks to the poor challenge of the Arsenal player. Should he be served a life time ban from the game?
At 4-0, Nani showboated exquisitely, highlighting what talent he has. The Arsenal players took offence to this, as if the scoreline wasn’t a big enough humiliation, with several of their players kicking out at him. Gallas kicked Nani, I suppose that was the only way he could stop him, and again, our Portuguese winger is fortunate he suffered no broken bones. With Alan Smith breaking his bones after falling awkwardly when a ball hit him, Gallas purposefully kicking Nani could have any number of consequences.
There are several differences between the events of United vs Arsenal and Birmingham vs Arsenal though. Firstly, the result of the challenges were very different. Eduardo is possibly looking at the end of his career, whereas Evra and Nani are just looking at a few bruises at worse. Secondly, Taylor didn’t look to be intentionally causing any harm, whereas Gallas and Eboue did. So who deserves the life time ban? The player who accidentally broke someone’s leg or the players who went out with the intention or hurting the opposition?
I reiterate the point that I feel for Eduardo and there’s not any part of me that is happy he’s suffered this injury, but Wenger’s comments have certainly irked me. For some reason, he seems to think it is OK for his players to go around kicking others but it’s an entirely different matter when it’s one of his own on the receiving end.
“We’ve got to stop these kind of tackles because otherwise someone is going to be put out of the game,” Ferguson said back in December. “The other issue is to ask whether a three-match ban is enough for these tackles? I’m wondering whether it should be more for dangerous tackles. For the sake of the game I’ve convinced myself that, even if it’s one of my players, he should get a red card. And if it’s wrong, a red card can be rescinded the next day.” To think Gallas received no punishment is ridiculous.
Eduardo’s injury highlights the problems Ferguson spoke about a couple of months ago, with it seemingly becoming more and more acceptable for players to go in hard when tackling, thanks to the lack of action from the referees. Wenger, however, needs to take a long, hard look at the behaviour of his own players before he can start criticising the behaviour of others.
Man Utd News 24/7
My thoughts precisely, you summed it up very well, Scott.
A Man Utd fan complaining about bad challenges…you couldn’t make it up! All you ever do is foul us when we play you because you know that otherwise we’ll outplay you!
and the headbutt that followed – mme, that would and should have also got a red, maybe thats why gallas hasnt been punished – i think both teams did their fair share of kicking, and have always done so – perhaps it is about time these two top sides starting showing an example of good behaviour in football. The only two teams who play the game that people want to watch, so from the managers down – BEHAVE!!!
oh dear. somehow i’ve stumbled onto this joke of a blog again. i bothered to read it [it's much like the desire to look at the pictures of eduardo's leg - it's awful, it sickens you, but you look anyway].
what gallas did against nani was stupid, not dangerous. eboue is a clown and we sadly expect that kind of idiocy from him. there is no excuse for their behaviour, but to compare those ‘incidents’ with taylor’s injury-causing lunge is ridiculous.
there seems to be no mention of arsene’s retraction of what he said, which was clearly from an emotional standpoint. yes, he shouldn’t have said it, but he had the character to admit he shouldn’t have. no mention? lazy journalism.
as for arsene ‘thinking it’s ok for his players to go around kicking people’ … he is a manager who will not publically admonish his players, that is all. do not be so ignorant as to imagine he doesn’t do it away from the glare of the media.
please tell me you only write these articles as some part of an undergraduate journalism course, or for fun, and aren’t actually being paid for this.
surely journalism is about being objective, presenting balanced views and feeding knowledge to readers, not imparting embarassing subjective tripe. i know it’s a united fan site, but why not challenge your readers – you’re treating them as fools by feeding them what they think they want to hear. the best articles challenge the reader, make them think, not reinforce their bias.
no doubt you’ll delete this – indicative of the lazy, weak journalism…
Superb article and 100% correct
good stuff
Spot on article….it seems they can give it but can’t take it and it is a shame about Eduardo!
You are a very biased fan who forgot about humanity. Not in a zillion year Nani breaks a bone after Gallas kick. And what about your Keano publishing his heroics? ALL violent acts should be dealt with SEVERLY
Listen Wenger is a very poor loser – we were all upset on Saturday but in life like football we can’t take credit for our wins and blame everyone else for our failures. Wenger was understandably upset for Eduardo but that also his team drew against 10 men ( for 88 mins) ..he and the team share the blame. You cannot compare the controlled kicks to Nani with the ” 100% lets get into them” that teams demonstrate against footballing teams… he did not mean to maim him but he wanted Eduardo to feel the challenge. It was appalling and you love United yes but try to be a little objective this is too serious a subject to trivialise and score points…
what gallas did against nani was stupid, not dangerous
err flaminis attemot to cut nani in half was and was eboube attempt to go thigh high on evra and lets recall eboube going “over the top” on terry already thsi year
save the mock moral outrage and do us all a favour 70 plus red cards yet wenger sees nothing now 1 of his own gets it and its life bans everywhere
the guy is a clown and what was gallas upto after the penalty lol what a 1st class plank
Arsenal fan here in peace. Firstly, thank you for your kind comments regarding Eduardo, it truly was an awful injury & nobody likes seeing any player injured that badly.
In the same way you hate Arsenal & our players, I hate Man Utd & yours, that aside I have respect for the club. I would just olike to say though that Wenger made the comments you refer to in the heat of the moment, as any manager would, but he did retract them shortly afterwards so cut the guy some slack. I saw some of the tackles flying in during the FA Cup game & from what I saw both sides were as bad a seach other.
However, I’m not here to fight so here’s to an exciting run-in & may the best team win. All the best.
I appreciate your comments on Eduardo, but to compare Gallas’ kick is simply laughable. Or would be if I didn’t think you were being serious. You also forget that Gallas was simply responding to Nani’s off the ball kick at Hoyte two minutes earlier, not (or not entirely) to his showboating (which, incidentally, I have no problem with). Eboue’s jump was a disgrace, but was never in danger of causing more than bruising. Brown and Ferdinand scything various players down from behind would be more likely to cause serious harm, but you continue to ignore that kind of behaviour from your players, along with things like the Neville sisters assault on Reyes.
Ferguson rightly demands protection for the likes of Ronaldo, but he should remind his own players not to do likewise when other teams come visiting.
Roghteous anger is a dangerous thing if you’re not whiter than white yourself…
asshat, your name is telling enough. you ask for a challenging article, yet when the article challenges the hypocrisy of wenger and your club’s actions – that appears to be lost on you.
because gallas an eboue did not maim our players when they fouled them, you’ve found a way to rationalize the malicious intent. how many times have your supporters publicly written off eboue now? maybe time to call for some response on the part of your own club for continuously putting a player on the pitch who has no business being there.
if a manager is going to come out talking about being kicked around the pitch the week after his own players could do nothing but (because they certainly couldn’t play worth a damn), he can expect to be called out.
my only surprise is that it took as long as it did. scott, however, didn’t disappoint. and your inadequacy to see outside your gunner bubble did not either
Again you’ve got your gooner blinkers on….all i have to say is Martin “caveman” Keown assaulting RVN…..
as for arsene ‘thinking it’s ok for his players to go around kicking people’ … he is a manager who will not publically admonish his players, that is all. do not be so ignorant as to imagine he doesn’t do it away from the glare of the media
if he does , why do you keep getting players sent off,
why do we see your teammates butting each other or in gallas case kicking advertising hoardings
face it wenger thinks his side can do wrong and thats why you act like polit brats
Arsenal fans who bother to comment all avoid the direct issue addressed here. What Arsenal did and said last week against United and what they said this week. Hypocracy simple. But for the grace of god/chance Nani or Erva could be in the position of Eduardo. Taylor showed less intent than either Eboue or Gallas
fair part on the Eboue comments, you wont find many Arsenal fans liking him or his cheating antics,however, if you were to rid your team of the cheats you would struggle without Rooney, Ronaldo and NANNY
Great Topic Scott !! Please keep up the great work !
Well Eduardo injury was dreadful and i wish him a speedy recovery .
Arsenal play good football no doubt about that however
Well one thing is for sure Arsenal cant have the cake and eat it too One day they talk about playing beautiful football and the next day they say juggling the ball with the head is ‘INSULT’.
I guess when they play their so called Brazilian passes the opponents are supposed to watch and when they play the foul game in the form of Adebayor Gallas etc. i guess it is fair according to them…
So far in all competitions :
Arsenal – 55 Yellow Cards 4 Red Cards
Chelsea – 59 Yellow Cards 6 Red Cards
Liverpool – 45 Yellow Cards 1 Red Card
ManchesterUtd -42 Yellow Cards 1 Red Card
Mind you chelsea is the worst , there is no doubt abt that . The absence of culprits like Drogba Mikel in Epl has decreased their score in the fouls table .
One might argue that Arsenal has played more matches in Carling Cup with their youth however if your kids get more cards in carling cup no matter what the reason doesn’t it show that they are being brought about in the wrong way.
Arsenal have 4 different players having a red card each out of which 3 is in the starting 11 .Not to forget Fabregas already having 8 yellow cards beside him.
I rest my point !
So far Arsenal have lost two players in three years with broken limbs to appauling challenges from inferior opposition(Dan Smith’s challenge on Diaby was a disgrace)and Iam sure that no other team can claim to have subjected to such a record so it’s not surprising that Arsene rises to the bait planted by the Sir Alex loving press that “Arsenal don’t like it up them”,which in my view encourages the sort of challenge we saw on Saturday ie if you can’t play them wack ‘em.If that had been a young Englishman lying there fouled by a reckless foreigner the intent of the challenge would not have called into question and your spokesmen Richard Keys would have been inconsolible.
excellent article. I’d like to point those couple of deluded gooners that replied in the direction of this picture, which shows Eduardo putting in an even worse challenege on Nani last week than the one he was on the unfortunate receiving end of.
Luckily Nani managed to get out of the way.
http://www.awooga.org/a/76hypocricy.PNG
I agree with you no one is exceptional, the rules of the game should apply at all levels as for Wenger that was a good lesson for him I do not condon
edwardos injury
Arsenal fan here…
Is Arsene a bad loser? Yes, I’d say he was.
Did Arsenal display a lack of class when you lot creamed us the other day? Yes, we did. It was embarassing, frankly.
Is the whole world and his dog displaying a lack of class this weekend by criticising Wenger and Gallas and running to Taylor’s defence? bet your arse they are.
Thanks for your comments about Eduardo, but next time leave the rest of it out.
Ferguson and Wenger are both equally hypocritical and one-eyed when it comes to their respective teams, to the point of comedy. For a Manc to focus on Wenger’s clearly emotional comments,after a game when a bright, talented footballer may have lost his career, is cheap.
asshat
if he saw the eduardo incident was a predictable joke. he never sees anything. so to come out with the bullshit that he did afterwards was typical of the guy and made me angry with him for a short while.
im a utd fan and i was impressed with some of ur comments, altho i have to agree with scott on a lot of his comments too, but im in total disagreement of ur last bit, saying what journalism is about. what papers do u read?!
being objective and presenting balanced views just doesnt happen very often!
as regards wenger, i really dislike the guy, hes a clown, the speed at which he said yes when asked (with a hint of sarcasm
u say that we shouldnt believe he treats his players the way we percieve him to through his comments in the media, but the behaviour of his players ever since he,s been there suggests otherwise.
spoilt brats spring to mind.
This is Manc blog for a Manc audience so what do you expect (but I wish I could turn this crap off in newsnow).
What a manager says in public and what a manager says to his team behind closed doors are two different things. I think that’s pretty obvious to anyone who understands how football works. But, Ill tell you what, the criticism of some of the Arsenal players by Arsenal fans for the way we tried to kick your team in the cup in news groups and on blogs was everywhere in the days following the defeat at OT. So please, get things in perspective.
Scott, I normally agree with everything you write (well, most of the time), but I do think you should have acknowledged that Wenger retracted his statement. I’m a Red through and through, but I think it’s greatly to Wenger’s credit that he admitted speaking rashly. I know if I’d been playing that day I’d have said some choice words to the lad Taylor and later regretted them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not disagreeing that Wenger needs to take good hard look at his own team. I just think it should be noted that he did later take back his fiercest criticism.
Anto – to be fair, Wenger retracted his comments about Taylor being banned for life. He did not retract anything he said about “to beat Arsenal you have to kick Arsenal”. While his Taylor retraction was a step in the right direction, it was his comments about the kicking that direct the basis for this article, – and the general comments have not been retracted
@ austin reynolds
im going on what journalism REALLY is – ‘direct presentation of facts or occurrences with little attempt at analysis or interpretation’. i understand this is a fan blog, but i stand by what i said that the bias is limiting it’s readers.
@ jsos
yes, the article challenges my views, which is why i posted…. not complicated is it. i have given my opposing views.
this is a *fan* site, so i won’t clog the comments section any further, but much as i avoid arsenal blogs and sites with fanatical ignorant bias. i’d offer the advice to the readers to find a blog with substance, not the apparently standard line being towed by the anti-arsenal segment. i ask why there is a united blog with barely a mention of anything other than arsenal. don’t be rattled by us. we aren’t by you.
Hahahahahaha – the gooners fans – errr we stumbled upon this forum and it isn’t worth our time or attention – you slay me!!!!! Whenever there is an article about the Gunners, the very same gooner fans are on here in their droves, ranting and spouting mostly garbage. You love this site, and spend more time on it that us ManU fans. Mr ‘trouble with my vision’ Wenger actually saw the tackle on Eduardo, and yet saw none of the ones at Old Trafford, or the ones from his team on Birmingham players. His selective vision is THE BUTT OF JOKES ON FAN WEBSITES EVERYWHERE. i HOPE EDUARDO quickly recovers, his leg break was horrendous, but I do not believe Taylor tackled him with intent. As for our lot kicking the likes of Vierra and Bergkamp, Reyes and others of that era, PLEASE – ours were no worse kickers than this lot, well apart from ManU’s roy keene, who was apt to kick those of yours who thought and acted as though they could outdo him at the kicking game. And no I don’t agree with kicking oppenents to death, no matter which team is doing the kicking.
isn’t it a little like a person who drives a motor vehicle while over the limit – if you get away with it or don’t seriously harm anyone in the process, it’s still not acceptable but you escape punishment e.g. gallas, eboue .
but, if you have an accident and even worse, injure or kill someone, then you go to jail regardless of whether there was no malicious intent e.g. taylor.
the fact that there was no malice intended which i still content is a crock of **** given that it was the third minute of the game (what did the manager who incidentally, openly admits to consulting fergie for advice on how to play arsenal, say to them before the game … kick arsenal till they’re beaten?), is not the issue.
someone got seriously hurt and the offender needs to pay a heavy price to discourage future such misdemeanours
How can Man U fans criticise Arsenal when you have a history of dirty players. Roy Keane springs to mind with his pre meditated attack on Haaland. Cantona jumping in the crowd. Pot callng Kettle black I think. You kick lumps out of Arsenal and you say southernersdont like it up them so we kick lumps out of you and you are the poor victims. I can’t condone what Gallas and Eboue did but you can’t have it both ways. Man Utd are just as bad!!!
For a start gooners, Man Utd are top of the fair play league, also we will win the premiership, and you know it! Our squad is FAR superior to yours and can compete in FA cup, Champs League and Premiership, thats the difference, we can last the pace! plus, we are CHAMPIONS!
asshat (yes, the name continues to amuse),
“i ask why there is a united blog with barely a mention of anything other than arsenal.”
surely it will be a bit challenging for some less confident readers to draw the connection as to why there is an article about wenger on a united blog. though the explanation is in the title, and further explanation runs throughout the piece, it might be confusing seeing so many words on a page about arsenal and not having it result with a big pat on the back. this must be the “real journalism” you are looking for.
“don’t be rattled by us. we aren’t by you.”
but this is the best part of your comment. not rattled by us? best get down to the emirates then and tell gallas. he seems to be left in the dark about who should be feeling rattled. while you’re there. see if he has any class left or if its all left in the advertising board he so bravely kicked the sh*t out of during his tantrum.
well said asshat, well said.
So far in all competitions :
Arsenal – 55 Yellow Cards 4 Red Cards
Chelsea – 59 Yellow Cards 6 Red Cards
Liverpool – 45 Yellow Cards 1 Red Card
ManchesterUtd -42 Yellow Cards 1 Red Card
It explains itself. Thats facts right there, not opinion.
United players get away with a lot more then any other players that is not blinkered that is a fact.Better kicking an advertise hoarding then a fan.
danish – you fail to make any comment on the hypocrisy of wenger condoning kicking our players one week and the very next week complaining about being kicked.
you can go on about history all day long, but maybe take a moment to comment on the actual article topic yeh?
and as for keane trying to intimidate vieira… you have a pretty dodgy memory if you don’t remember that is was vieira doing the dirty which started the incident. lol silly gooners
Show me any article where Wenger condones bad tackling !!!!
I dont pretend to tell you that our players are saints if they had been Wenger would never have won anything but to say that Wenger condones bad tackling is ridiciously it goes against every fiber of his being.
Wenger has since retracted his heat of the moment comments. It was directyly after a game in which he lost a key player(his career could well be over) and robbed two crucial points by an unfair referee.
I also dont see how you can compare Eboue and Gallas to Taylors high studs showing challenge which was too brutal to show on tv
Your own manager condemned Nani which I think made the FA mind for them.
Gallas should have been sent off and he wasnt but it was a little kick nothing more it wasnt even enough for Nani to fall to ground.
Your team has more flair nowadays but afew seasons ago all you could do was kick your way to victory against Arsenal and you were happy with it.
Taylor’s challenge on Eduardo was a mile away from the ball. His studs were up, and although the general consensus in the media is that the challenge was unintentional, i not so sure. Only Taylor will know this. Eboue’s challenge on Evra was a mile away from the ball. His studs were up, and although the general consensus in the media was that the challenge was clumsy rather than intentional, again i’m not so sure. As a Arsenal fan has admitted on this blog Eboue is a dick. As for Taylor, i do not him well enough as a player to pass judgment on his character. The difference of course is the outcomes and consequences of each players actions: Evra, fortunately, emerged unscathed from his assault, where sadly Eduardo didn’t. However this doesn’t place Wegner in a position of moral authority when it comes to comdemning Taylor. That he has condemned Taylor, and the rest of the premiership for there supposed violent tatics against his team, makes him look like a first class hypocrite. An analogy would be a driver punished for doing 70 mph in a built up area. He/she would be rightly punished for dangerous driving. However the punishment issued against the driver would be considerable less than the punishment issued against a driver who, whilst commitming the same crime, injured or killed a person. And of course rightly so. – i realise that Taylor will suffer the same sanction as Eboue and i can understand this being a source of frustration for arsenal fans given the differing outcomes of both their actions – However the person who was fortunate to commit the crime and not injure anybody would rightly be treated with ridicule if he/she began to condemn the actions of the driver who killed a person, even if it was a member of his/her family, and any other drivers who broke the speed limit. He/she would rightly be exposed as a hypocrite especially if the person concerned had a long history of offences. This is the position Wegner finds himself in. So the central premise of the above article is entirely correct. He is a hypocrite. And Gallas is a bit radio rental. Finally all the best to Eduardo. A fine player who deserves a speedy comeback.
And the little pad Nani got on his shins by Gallas how many times do you thing those things goes on at every corner or deadball situation if you want that sort og punishment the games will finish with a five aside contest.
Eboue was sent of and rightly so i am missing the point Salford Red ???
Wenger never see’s his own teams bad tackles
Yeah and Ferguson Never defends the indefensible like Cantona and Keane.
This blog is about Wengers hypocracy. If your only answer Danish Gooner is that SAF is also a hypocrite then you are accepting the arguement of this blog. As for the hypocracy of several Arsenal bloggers last week that called for Nani to have his legs broken there is no need to even try to defend that.
Hey you french bastards, better get out of EPL and never come back! Bunch of bad losers. Leave the younger players alone and let them learn the actual meaning of the game. The biggest criminal in the club is unfortunately the one borned with ARSEne in his name. Why is it that he could see the accident so clearly this time where other times he did not take notice? His skipper? what can I say? The entire planet has seen it. It is the shadow of his boss.
A short note to Jules … are you for real? Or are you simply stupid? When, when and when have you ever outplayed us? Ever? Was it when we drubbed you 6-1 at OT in 2001? Or when we stamrolled you at Highbury 4-2? Or maybe last Saturday?
Danish Gooner,
I’d just posted my previous entry, when i stumbled across your entry regarding big sol (ahem) glass houses, and psycho United players. Firstly i can remember that mild-mannered aesthete Keown, along with brothers in monogamy Cole & Parlour, and not forgetting mr invincible Lauren, attacking Rudd at OT. God you Gooners had such a thing about him. And secondly i don’t know what it is like in Denmark, but living in Salford i’ve managed to combine the, according to you, mutually exclusive skills of living in a glass house and being really good at throwing stones. In fact i’m so good at throwing stones i’m currently finding employment as a rent a mob stone thrower. A spurs fan over the weekend employed me to throw stones at Mr Wenger’s house. If you must know, I had an off day: i missed but it didn’t matter because he didn’t see it anyway. Anyway when i returned home, again my glass house was unscathed. Please do not come on this blog uttering blatant falsehoods about things you have no knowledge about.
And by the way ……. I wish and hope for a speedy recovery to Eduardo. As a human being, my heart truly went out for him last Saturday. All the best of luck, buddy!! Hope you recover and play on and on. And this from a genuine and proud Manchester United fan
Sorry Danish gooner,
I’ve just posted my last entry (i’ve pulled a sickie today so i’m living the dream) when i noticed your last entry. The point of my rather convoluted analogy was that intent is intent regardless of the outcome of the action. And if someone, like Eboue is deemed to be guilty of dangerous play and as you point out was punished for this offence, then even if the player on the receiving end of the tackle was lucky enough to remain unscathed, this is down to pure luck and in know way gives Wegner the right to condemn others who are guilty of the same offence; regardless of the consequences of the action. He did so: so therefore he is a hypocrite.
“# Comment by Danish Gooner on February 25, 2008 16:13
Show me any article where Wenger condones bad tackling !!!!
”
this one – or have you the wenger vision as well
Comment by dg on February 25, 2008 15:11
Again you’ve got your gooner blinkers on….all i have to say is Martin “caveman” Keown assaulting RVN…..
Martin caveman Keowns attack on RVN?
So the chuckle brothers didn’t do a hatchett job on Reyes then?
Come on guys we’ve all got selective memories, but we are talking about a career threatening injury here.
I hate your club and players as much as you all hate mine, but that’s not to say that as fans of the beautiful game we can’t all speak with one voice and condemn such acts of violence. Whether Taylor intended to break his leg or not (and I think not), the intent was still there to ‘let him know he was there’.
As for Wengers comment (since retracted), I’m sure you all appreciate that it was a heat of the moment thing, – a bit like the one that sir fergie made about feeling threatened at the Emirates!
Here’s looking forward to an exciting title run in.
One thing you can do for us is beat the chavs eh?
1st things first – I’m an arsenal fan. Secondly, I think Man u are still favourites for the title (particualrly after eduardo’s injury), and with Rooney and ronaldo both fit are the best team in the country, but rely heavilly on these two. I have more respect fo this utd team as for the first time since the late 90s they are happy to try to beat arsenal by actually playing better football rather than relying on a physical element.
Taylor isn’t a malicious player by all accounts, and has never struck me as being overly physical, but the aforementioned car analogy holds some weight – he’s a very big bloke, and much like the driver of a lorry, he should be aware of the damage he can do. But a lot is down to the disciplinary structure where potentially dangerous tackles are often overlooked (evn Fergie and Wenger agree on this!), and are rarely punished as badly as acts of petulence. That Aliadiere will get the same ban for slapping Mascherano after having his throat gently tweaked as Taylor will get for this is outrageous.
Re the Fa cup game – gallas was a tit, but nani reacting could have got in trouble. with it 4-0 I thought the ref was focused on keeping a lid on things, but we’ve seen worse between the teams before – keown, Ot punch up 91, and the ones that got away – RVN being particularly bad – the cover up after his punch on ljungberg was disgusting, and his stamp on cashly cole’s knee too – hey ho – he’s in spain and your lot are better now anyway.
Eboue obviously was just being a prize c**t, but then most gooner’s hope he finds a new club in the summer, but even that was only ever going to hurt rather than maim (and evras no angel off the ball either!).
What’s really pissed me off is the press reaction – poor old martin taylor – fair enough, i guess he’s upset, but he can still walk, so lets not feel too sorry for him. If it had been rooney (damn you for being able to spank £30m on him!) broken by some mid table rent a french african journeyman, the likes of MOTD and the Mail would be demanding anything from a season ban, to hanging, deportation and a nameless grave. its the hyppocracy that gets me.
Should be an exciting race, and thnak god the chavs are laggin behind along with benitez’s waste of money…
And the little pad Nani got on his shins by Gallas how many times do you thing those things goes on at every corner or deadball situation if you want that sort og punishment the games will finish with a five aside contest
whta about the knee high sliding in challenger from flamini?
or like wenger did you not see that?
maybe you didn’t see eboube going over the top on john terry?
or adeybayor head butt his own player
for a side who have had more red cards than anyone over the last 10 years you dont seem to like it when other teams kick your players
people in glasshouses etc
do us all a favour and stop banging on about how much money you haven;t spent over the last 2 years. and start asking why you haven’t spent a few quid and won something
the “we speant the least” cup does not exist
lol jimmybob. best comment yet
“do us all a favour and stop banging on about how much money you haven;t spent over the last 2 years. and start asking why you haven’t spent a few quid and won something
the “we speant the least” cup does not exist”
Danish Gooner,
It’s not about condoning bad tackles with Wenger. No mamger would publically condone that. It’s about Wenger condemning dangerous tackles. Of which his players are all to guilty off.
Salford Red.Are you suggesting that Arsenal players have been simply lucky over the years as I cannot remember too many of our opponents suuffering long lay offs after dirty challenges from our players…..please feel free to do your homework as Diaby on Bolton’s Campo was the only one I can remember where an oponent sustained an injury caused by our player(and to his credit,probably out of embarassment for previous misdemenours committed by Bolton players fat Sam didn’t moan too much).Salford Red I do challenge you to find these tackles by Arsenal players that are so dangerous.
Now please try watching Scholes on Reyes (FA Cup Semi Final)or RVN on Cashley at O.T too see what a maliscious challenge is.There is a huge difference between intention to hurt(Steven Gerrard’s 2 footer on the Everton player is a good example of a disgusting tackle)and a petulant lash out at a player is so feeblle (Gallas on Nanny)that it doesn’t hurt him.
You know as a lifelong supporter of Arsenal I have got to say we have not coevred purselves in glory over the last week or so – from our behaviour at the semi final to the events of Saturday. The semi final was inexcusable but the fact that you are slating Wenger for what was an incredibly emotional moment is a bit sad. Yes he was hyocritical but at least he retreacted and relaised that. And now that I have come clean that Wenger behaved in a hyocritical way at the very least I expect you to do the same about SAF – from the day he sent the Nevilles out to kick Reyes off the park to his unbelieveable comments regarding the abuse he got at the Emirates given that I have heard what you guys have to say about Wenger at OT. Fact is they are bot hyocrites of the higest order because to both Managers the only thing that matters is winning no matter how you achieve it. Fact is both managers are hypocrites of the highest order and for you to write some sanctimonious article as though you are only sinned against is totally laughable. Both teams are as abd as each other and I am saddened as a football fan that the managers of the two teams that play the most attractive footvball in the country are reduced to playing such stupid games with each other. hats off – your critisicm is perfectly right – Dont make the mistake of thinking that your manger is any different because he is tarred with exactly the same brush.
There are lots of bad tackles made every week very rarely does one result in a serious injury, thank god but Eboue’s last week was in my mind equal to Taylor’s in all but consequece. And therefore morally equal. However, no talk from Wenger about the only way to stop United is by kicking them off the pitch.
The comment saying , the ‘WE HAVEN’T SPENT MUCH MONEY CUP DOESN’T EXIST’ is the funniest comment I have read on a website forum in AGES. I can’t stop laughing every time I think of it. Total comic genious IMO. Fergie will love that one for his after dinner conversations. Wenger – just out of interest Arsenal fans, can any of you tell me, DID YOU EVER SEE HIM SMILE, I’m sure he must have sometime, but I can’t recall seeing a smile on his face.
I’m in total agreement that the “We-spent-the-least Cup” comment is fcuking funny, will be whipping it out against all my gooner mates.
It seems to be an Arsenal fan you need to, not see selective incidents, be paranoid, prefer french values to english values, be prepared to see keown play for 10 years, kick the ball twice anbd the opposiot 20 times per game
Eduardo suffered one of the most horrific injuries I’ve seen on a football pitch on Saturday afternoon. Had Martin Taylors studded challange met the Arsenal strikers half an inch above or below where it did, or if it had landed on his leg a split second before or after it did Arsenal would have had a much different afternoon. Arsenal would have won the free-kick that Eduardo was going for and Brum would have been down to 10 men, with Taylor receiving a well deserved red card. It was the type of challange that deserved a red card but lets not forget the point that this was indeed a freak accident. The whole situation has been magnified by the simple fact that my favourite Arsenal player has his career in the balance. All because of a clumsy challange where Martin Taylor went for the ball way too late, maybe because Eduardo was too quick.
Arsene Wenger sat down at a post-match press conference and said MArtin Taylor should never play again, as well as speaking to 4 or 5 other journalists and reinforcing his beliefs that Taylor should be banned for life. I was suprised as well as impressed that Wenger would come out and retract his initial statement as it was said in ‘the heat of the moment’. Well to say something in the heat of the moment 5 times is surely avoidable? Maybe I’m wrong.
Rewind a week and Eboue kung fu kicks Evra just above the groin with the ball nowhere to be won. Now, the point of Scotts artical is very easy to understand and it’s this:
Wenger always shares his belief that ‘to stop Arsenal you must kick Arsenal’ and Wenger never seems to look at his own players who are guilty of the exact same thing Wenger accuses every other team of. So there it is, HYPOCRISY. That is what Wenger is guilty of and that is what this blog looks at.
You can always tell when a blog involves Arsenal by looking at the number of posts, way more than any other topic. It’s a shame it’s the same old Gooners, Always moaning. The same bunch of 4 or 5 ‘fans’ who spend most of their time arguing their invalid bias points which are never based on solid facts, apart from facts irrelivant to the blog in the first place.
Well, one thing is for sure, if Arsenal fans and even Arsene Wenger can see reason for William Gallas acting in the way he did on Saturday, they are obviously capable of conjuring up the unbelievable and the downright obsurd.
Look out for Arsenals trip to Wigan on 8th March. That is a banana skin they are not expecting to be there.
As for not spending much money this pre-season, United didn’t do too badly with only Michael Carrick as our main purchase the previous summer.
Every single Arsenal fan I know makes up the worst excuses. Did the dog eat Arsene’s team sheet at Old Trafford? Because you seemed to come out with many laughable reasons why Arsenal got hammered 4 – 0 but didn’t notice your team didn’t turn up. If they feel under pressure now, god help them come April.
I also really feel for Eduardo because he seems to be a genuinely nice guy and is a very talented player. He’d just earned a move any Brazilian kid in the favelas would kill for and looked certain to succeed in England. The injury is very unfortunate and I hope he gets fit and running soon.
That said, I don’t think Taylor had any malice in him when he lunged in. He was perhaps too excited since the game had barely started and hadn’t gotten into the game yet. He might have intended to get stuck in but he definitely didn’t intend to break Eduardo’s leg like that.
Arsene Wenger shouldn’t have said what he said and he has to an extent retracted his comments but we must understand the situation he was in. His player had just had his leg broken but a nasty challenge and he hadn’t been able to take another look at the incident. I don’t think we should hold too much against him because under those circumstances, few would have kept quiet about the incident. But he must take another look at Eboue’s tackle on Terry and I hope he has a word with his own players as well.
Again, I hope for a speedy recovery for Eduardo
What a colossal waste of electricity, all this is. The bottom line is this: the players — on both teams — play the game, and make the plays, that are condoned, or winked at, or not severely penalized. Horrific tackles are ok if the player gets the ball as well. No ball, not so great, but still only a 3-game slap in the wrist. You’d think ManU and Arsenal fans would be on the same side on this one, since their finest players are more usually the targets. Witness Fergie on protecting Ronaldo. Alan Smith is 27. Did he really recover from his horrible injury? What does it take? Top managers are fanatics, and very competitive– and at the end of the day, they act not like the senior leaders they are, but like petulant, blinkered partisans. The point is: if dangerous play was more seriously punished, then Wenger and Ferguson would be amongst the first to play to those higher standards, and exploit them. And maybe players would have more normal lives, and the Alan Smiths of the future would still be playing at their potential
Wenger is hypocritical to talk THEN of opposition players setting out to kick his team into submissiom when in fact his team players have long since adapted and have been kicking players in return.
This is also an unfourtunate distraction from the Taylor incident which was a LUNGE (with both feet off the ground). Something both Arsenal and yes United players have done, as well as seen in most any EPL game these days it appears. The key difference in United and Arsenal from other teams tends to be that they aim the foot lower, rather than a high challenge. Eboue however has to be excluded from this as he appears to have scant regard for anyone.
This lower challenge (lunge) hower can lead to severe injuries to ankle and lower leg, and thankfully I see lesser of this happening from my team but I do fear for them in returm as it appears less of a priorty in the minds of other managers in the EPL to stamp out.
The case of Alex McLeish and Steve Bruce not admitting that this type of LUNGE (launching oneself) is not acceptable is disheartening. I fully back the words SAF spoke of following Reading (Dave Kitson on Evra) and Portmouth (Ronaldo, from front and back) that this must be dealt with more severely by law. Meaning there must be more than a three match ban (maybe 5-6) for violent/dangerous tackles to accompany the red card.
Taylor’s case will be dealt with existing law which is three match ban. You can’t call for more under existing laws, not unless you can prove malicious intent which no one can. Wenger was foolish to do so and soon realised his losing position in this. There is however something called MALICIOUS DISREGARD and there isn’t enough being done to address this. This is where Wenger should have directed his anger.
I will leave this here with some words SAF spoke of earlier (quoted in this article) that is relevant and forewarned what might happen.
“We’ve got to stop these kind of tackles because otherwise someone is going to be put out of the game,”
“The other issue is to ask whether a three-match ban is enough for these tackles? I’m wondering whether it should be more for dangerous tackles. For the sake of the game I’ve convinced myself that, even if it’s one of my players, he should get a red card. And if it’s wrong, a red card can be rescinded the next day.”
If I recall correctly, SAF said this in post match interview that this was his exchange with referee Rob Styles in the Bolton away game, on the whistle of half time. For getting into the referee’s face, he was sent to the stands for the remainder of the game and received a two match touchline ban soon after. I am sure he will be talking against this type of tackles this week.
You will note that since SAF words, in the holiday fixtures onwards there is more tendency of referees to caution or send off players making these sort of tackles. Now I think there will be even more impetus.
@ asshat- i didnt ask what journalism should be. i asked what it really is and where u read it cos ive not read much journalism that is objective with direct presentation of facts with no attempt at interpretation or analysis!
u must live in utopia. any plots going there?
@matt wade- not a bad piece from a gooner. but y spoil it with the jealous lie about paying 30m for rooney?!
as far as im aware he cost about 22m. didnt u spend around 17 on a spanish fly that couldnt cope?
interesting to see the quality of the rose-tints you Man U fans like to sport. I wonder what the colour of your soul-searching would be if it had been one of your players who’d their leg snapped like our no. 9?
The author of this article has focused on Arsene’s comments in the aftermath of the match, but discreetly chosen to ignore the qualified reaction Arsene made later that weekend. So, AFC is now considered to have kicked your lot off the pitch at Old Trafford? It makes a change doesn’t it? Most Gooners will allow that if we didn’t want to be humiliated in the FA Cup then we should’ve focused on the game and not the CL match with Milan. Yes, Eboue deserved the red, but to try and hypothesise that Evra could have been hospitalised with ‘broken bones’ is pure hyperbole designed to propel your spurious notions. If you want to highlight against the consequences of brutal play, you should’ve highlighted that that City lad’s stamp on your no. 7. Try looking on You Tube for that clip of Reyes nutmegging Neville the Elder and getting chopped from the side for such creative impudence.
I don’t expect anything but bias on a Man U site – I mean, you even set your stall out by stating your dislike of AFC and its players – but perhaps you should have chosen a different title for this article because the final argument seems to focus on the wisdom of your manager in highlighting incompetent tackling.
I also think your central argument is ignorant and ill-thought out; so Arsene shouldn’t criticise the likes of Taylor et al because his players are the same? That’s like suggesting Fergie shouldn’t criticise diving because some of your players like the dying swan routine.
I am not for one moment suggesting Wenger can’t criticise Taylor and the like because his own players do the same.
I am merely highlighting the hypocricy of Wenger within a seven day period. His players kicked at United and fouled us over the park, and Wenger defended them, claiming they were “incensed and most rightly so.” A week later, one of his own players is on the receiving end of brutal play, and he claims the only way to stop Arsenal is to kick them and that player should be banned for life. It is hypocritical to defend your players for intentionally kicking others (as Eboue, Gallas, Flamini etc. did) and then 7 days later get on your high horse claiming everyone kicks Arsenal players. A rather simple argument yet for some reason is lost on most Arsenal fans here.
alright, if that’s your intention, again, I’d question your principal motivation; is it really such a sound basis for criticism to look at what Arsene said eleven days ago? Why don’t you put in to context his qualified retraction, his comments over the years, and the conduct of his players?
The notion you are trying to propoound, that AFC knocked seven bells out of Man U throughout the match isn’t accurate, barring Eboue’s ‘challenge’. I’m not condoning the conduct of our Captain and some of the other players, but the fouls were manifest when the game was foregone conclusion.
I recall Mauro Cameronesi kicking out at van Persie in our q/f with Juventus two years ago, that was a second yellow, and by that time Juevntus had shipped two goals away; a similar situation to Old Trafford two weeks ago.
Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not condoning what our players did, but I and lots of Gooners always find it difficult to accept subjective diatribes masquerading as reasoned argument. You tell me what was ‘fair’ about the Neville brothers’ treatment of Reyes that Sunday afternoon in Salford three and half years ago. I don’t recall your manager having too many complaints about the ‘spirit’ Man U played that game with, but I can tell you that the ‘spirit’ observed then, was pretty similar to ‘spirit’ Taylor observed when he chopped Eduardo, I think intentional, but ignorant of the potential consequences. You can’t label our manager a hypocrite without taking an honest look at what goes on in your yard.
Like all the other Arsenal fans, you’ve just gone on to quote things that have happened in the past. Yes, all teams have players that have done bad things before, on and off the field. So? Write your own article if that’s what you want to talk about.
The article is about the hypocrisy of Arsene Wenger, the clue is in the title. Wenger’s hypocritical comments of the past week have nothing to do with what the Neville’s did to Reyes years ago.
Wenger retracted his comments on Taylor. I didn’t see him take back the thoughts that to beat Arsenal you have to kick them. I suppose it’s a compliment, because even when kicking United, Arsenal got batted 4-0 lol.
Fine. My purpose was to try and see if you would consider other perspectives outside of the ‘facts’ employed in your grand theory. I have my answer.
Like it or not, you have to take Arsene’s comments in the context of how some teams have decided to play against us in the past, Bolton away in ’03 comes to mind as the first example of this style, and in the present. I suppose you can decide to ignore this, because if you did consider any view that was contrary to your own theory, that view would undermine the keystone of your argument.
Anyway, I don’t think the rough-housing started until we were 3-0 down; my own take on it was that it was a manifestation of the players’ petulant frustration at rolling over so easily and the lesson for us was don’t ship three goals in the first half if you don’t want to see players juggling balls (every pun intended).
I hardly think that violence formed part of the strategy to put you off your game – three goals in the first 45 certainly put us off our game in a match where we didn’t even turn up to. We deserved waht we got, just like when you boxed us 6-1 six years ago. You’d won the match even before we started the ‘kicking’. So much for your coup de grace remark.
Good luck for Saturday.