Sunday, January 20th, 2013 « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager
By Billy the Dog McGraw
Celebrations of Herbert Chapman day yesterday went on way into the early hours so we are very late with the Chelsea v Arsenal article, but here it is finally.
The allotment at Enfield is under 16 feet of snow, and Dennis B is sitting in the potting shed looking glum, pondering his pint of Ponder Rosa Pink. But I still managed to get a word or two.
Chelsea’s origins in 1905 are well known. A coal tip for the railways was turned into an athletics track, but the idea then came up that it could be a football ground. So work started and it was named Stamford Bridge with the notion that a non-existent team could be invented to play there.
The name “Chelsea” was chosen, and they applied for a place in the Southern League Division 2. Tottenham Hotspur objected to another club in London (even though it was Fulham who would be threatened by the arrival of a new club in a new stadium) and the Southern League dutifully did Tottenham’s bidding and rejected the non-existent (as in no players, no fans, and only a half-built ground).
Chelsea then, noting that Woolwich Arsenal were in the Football League, applied for a spot there, and got in, interestingly with Woolwich Arsenal voting and speaking in favour of the new club.
So Chelsea was formed and elected to the league thanks to the forward thinking vision of one club and the backward looks of another.
So to today. We might expect to see
Szczesny;
Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaeln, Gibbs;
Diaby, Cazorla
Wilshere
Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Podolski
Arteta and Rosicky still have calf problems, Gervinho is in Africa, and Fabianski is ready to start full training on Monday. The ref is Martin Atkinson.
As for the other team, Terry could start, Cole might fire an air rifle, Rafael Benitez wants to manage Real Madrid, John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses are in Africa.
We looked at Chelsea’s home record yesterday, noting how home fans turning against a team can make life very difficult. Since Roberto Di Matteo went, Chelsea have won once at home. As for past results at Stamford B. they are 25 wins for us 25 wins for them and 25 draws. But our current form shows WWWW in the last four games.
Sitting and getting cold we could have any of these:
Mannone, Martínez, Giroud, Jenkinson, Yennaris, Mert, Gnabry, Squillaci, André Santos, Arshavin, Ramsey, Coquelin,
I thought Coquelin did very well mid-week, so we could well see him come on at some stage.
And that’s about that I guess. With the road out of my village just about impassable, I’m stuck at home with Sky. Good luck to those who actually have made it to the ground.
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