UNTOLD ARSENAL: The stories no one else covers
09/06/2008 by Tony Attwood.
Carlos Vela scored his second goal for Mexico’s first team in the 4-0 win over Peru, in a match played in Chicago (for reasons that will not become clear in this article). Sven (who is about to take over the team from Jesus is said to have been “impressed”.
The goal came after 21 minutes – there was a load of confusion in the defence, Carlos got the ball, worked out where the net was, and rolled the ball in.
Sven starts properly with Mexico later in the month. Meanwhile, with all the news about the miracle cure for Eduardo, it really does look like we have got one hell of a load of choice on the forward line. With
Adebayour, Nic, Vela, Eduardo, van Persie, and Theo all willing and able I suspect that Eduardo will be given plenty of time to get things together before being given a run out, while Vela might have to wait his turn in the diddly-widdly cup – unless of course the Netherlands manage to hand back Robin with yet another injury. Although I have to say, they do seem to be taking a very responsible attitude thus far, as far as one can see from media reports.
08/06/2008 by Tony Attwood.
With the tournament just two days old there have been a string of injuries to players whose bodies are reacting to the mental and physical strain of international matches a few weeks after a long domestic season.
Alexander Frei damaged cruciate ligaments in his first match, while Portugal’s goalkeeper Quim is out of the whole tournament after breaking a wrist in training. Arjen Robben has got a groin injury in training and is out for at least one match – perhaps more. Ryan Babel is already out for Holland. Italy’s Christian Panucci has suffered a knee injury, and of course Fabio Cannavaro has been ruled out of the whole tournament through injury.
Pavel Pogrebnyak the Russian striker is out of the whole competition with a knee injury picked up in a pre-tournament friendly against Serbia.
While we might not care too much as none of these are Arsenal players, the list of injuries shows just how insane this type of tournament is.
However we can at least be grateful that the first two games have not seen any attacks by players on medical staff – as happened in the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year. (Incidentally I had a load of emails after that incident claiming I was racist for commenting negatively on the Africa Cup. No – I dislike all internationals.
07/06/2008 by Tony Attwood.
The terror show that is international football raised its head inSwitzerland this afternoon as the Swiss captain was seriously injured. Fans of club football across Europe were reminded once again of Arsene Wenger’s comment that international managers were like car thieves: they take what you own, wreck it, return it to you and expect you to repair it for next time.
On a parochial level Arsenal supporters can breath a sigh of relief – one match is over and no one yet is injured. We have been lucky not to have players such as Sagna and Clichy playing. And on this occasion of the first match only one of the two Arsenal players in the Swiss squad (Senderos) was required to perform.
Let’s hope we remain as lucky for the rest of the terror show.
07/06/2008 by Tony Attwood.
Europe’s most illegal sporting competition – Euro 2008 – kicks off this afternoon. For most players and most countries the competition represents a complete denial of a law that is at the heart of their constitutions.
While Switzerland and Turkey are not affected, being outside the EU, everyone else is covered by EU law which relates to discrimination of employment opportunity across the Union.
In short if you are French and you turn up in Spain looking for a job you can’t be refused simply because you are French.
Each of the EU countries in the Finals pays the players who take part – or at the very least insures them (which is a payment in kind, if nothing else). So the football associations and the players come under EU law. But each association does in effect impose strict criteria about nationality. To play for France you have to be born in France. Or have a mother or father who has a French passport. Or one of your four grandparents. Or have any one of those six people born in France even if they were not French.
Now of course no one ever challenges this ruling – we’ve accepted this for so long that it seems natural. But the fact is that if someone did challenge it, that would help FIFA push through its 6+5 rule.
Under EU rules the law can only be challenged by someone who has been discriminated against. So, for example, an English player could claim that he is better at his position than a French player, and so apply for the job. (Unlikely I know, but this is just an example).
Then the French turn him down, and he applies to the EU for a hearing against the French FA on the grounds of unlawful discrimination. At this point UEFA (which gets loads of dosh out of these events would go to the EU and ask for exemptions on the grounds that an adverse ruling would affect all sport in Europe. The EU would agree, and Blatter would come in with his 6+5.
So it is the fact that the illegal Euro 2008 games go ahead without any challenge that saves us from the insanity of Blatter.
07/06/2008 by Tony Attwood.
In May “Untold Arsenal” received over 40,000 different visitors. Two points about this:
First, we have a strict definition of a unique visitor. Obviously we only include each person once during the month – so if you come along and kindly read our pages two or three times in the month you only get counted once.
Second, if you only look at one page (for example you find us on Goonernews and click to Untold Arsenal and read that one page) then sorry but we don’t count you at all. You have to visit two pages to get on our files.
So, we think it is rather a good development. Not least because of the task we set ourselves – only to cover stories that don’t appear anywhere else. (Of course one or two stories do turn up in other places, but we try and stick to our guns. As it were.)
06/06/2008 by Tony Attwood.
An article in the Birmingham Express and Star today has come closer than any previous statement to admitting the effect of the Curse of Arsenal, that was placed on Birmingham City FC in February.
After the Eduardo Event, police raided the Birmingham City offices and removed paperwork, two top figures in the club were arrested by police, and ultimately Birmingham were relegated out of the EPL.
Taylor, the man who gave Eduardo his broken left fibula and an open dislocation of his left ankle got a three match ban – the same that Hleb got for a dainty tickle on the cheek of an opposition player near the end of the season.
Now, the Birmingham City manager has said that the when Taylor returned to play (Birmingham rushed him straight into a reserve game after taking the derisory 3 match ban), “I didn’t think Taylor was quite himself. He played against Wigan and it wasn’t the Martin who had been playing before the Eduardo incident.”
It’s not much of an admittance but it is a start. The Curse of Arsenal placed on Birmingham City is still in place and further problems could be on the horizon for the club as they face an uncertain future with the fans having called for the board to be sacked, and owners saying that they had had enough and wanted to leave.
The Curse of Arsenal was also placed on Flamini after he decided to walk out. Two weeks later he discovered that his new-found team would not be playing in the Champions League, and he was dropped by France. France have now brought him back in, but Flamini is left quite clear that he is just a fringe player in the team.
Contrary to reports no Curse was placed on Diarra – the general feeling was that we made 2 million pounds in the space of four months, and there were doubts about his ability to settle anywhere. He is reportedly going to Tottenham.