The defeat against Norwich hurts because it was a game we really should have wonâ¦poor opponents in poor form and we barely tested them It's a tough one to come up with reasons "Why?" but here are some thoughts I had.. (1) Out fought Some said on the radio before the game that we have the quality it's whether we fight as much as (if not more than) the opposition and quite clearly Norwich wanted it more than us (2) No Plan B, C, D We've often been accused of only having one style of playâ¦we don't have the route 1 approach to lump it long, we rarely score from long range shots and so to be fair to Norwich they knew that so stopped our tippy-tappy football by putting everyone behind the ball and flooding the central area. They did this from the beginning of the game and neither the players nor the manager had a clue how to change it. If a Man Utd, Chelsea etc. played as badly as we did first half they would have had a changed their system, we seemed to just keep repeating the same thing and expecting a different result (3) New Players Of our offensive line we had 3 new players who are still learning the league and the team plus Gervinho who only played half a season for us last year. My worry is how reliant we are on Cazorla. He seems to control the tempo of our game and when he's not at his best the whole team seem slower and more laboured. Also they're learning how competitive the league is and maybe didn't realise a team in 19th could have been that up for it? (4) Defensive Frailties return It could and should have been more than 1 goal to Norwich! Our defenders seem to slip more than Titus Bramble on Ice!! TV is a very good player but he's not shown he has the ability to be "Rock Solid". There are always mistakes in his game and as a captain and leader we need to have someone in the Campbell/Keown mould who never gives the other team a sniff at goal Wenger said we didn't have the right attitude but who's fault is that? It's his!!! Last season when we dropped points 7 points out of a possible 18 against the 3 relegated teams. On top of that add losses to Sawansea, Wigan, Fulham and a home draw against Norwich Let's face facts in that 4th is the best we can hope for and maybe we can achieve that but that's where our club is now and for the foreseeable futureur club is now and for the foressable future
Why? I think the interviews with Arteta and Wenger after the match tells you why we lost. Wenger Arteta
Going by his pre-match interviews, Wenger certainly didn't underestimate us (Norwich); and I very much doubt if Steve Bould would have done either. Given which, the team would surely have been warned. Arteta was honest, but wrong in one respect. We did not "raise our game". We are not a poor side; we have been adjusting to Chris Hughton's arrival and different approach compared to Paul Lambert. On Saturday, for the first time, we had all the players Hughton wanted to select match fit and free from injury. We still didn't fire on all cylinders, particularly up front where Holt is yet to get fully into his stride, but the players Hughton has brought in -- Garrido, Bassong, Turner, Tettey -- all played and for the first time this season the balance was right. What you saw was something approaching the real Norwich.
One thing I did notice was the high amount of occassions where our players slipped on the surface - especially in the second half. One slip from Vermaelan was very nearly punished by a goal. Surely we have spare boots in the kit bag to change into. Little details like that worry me.....
Yeah i noticed alot of our players falling over - i even commented on the match thread about it! I do wonder in certain games when alot of players are falling over if it is an issue with the pitch? Or if it's an issue with the boots/studs? Or if it just happens to be a very slippery day and there is nothing that can be done to change it?
If you're slipping, put on boots with longer studs on so they penetrate further into the turf. i'm not sure what the FA rules are with regard to studs these days though, i'd imagine there are limits on such things.
I don't recall our players having the same problem, which suggests it wasn't the pitch or the conditions. It would be interesting to know to what extent clubs "manage" player footwear -- after all they lay down the law on diet, life style, etc. Boots are hi-tec now, and I often wonder to what extent they are at fault for foot injuries like broken metatarsals etc. Given that players are often sponsored by the manufacturers, do clubs specify precise requirements that the boots must satisfy to be acceptable, or what?
Hmm, i hoep someone can find some info on this - its quite an interesting topic which no-one seems to talk about! And i'd imagine there are a set of ruels somewhere - but how much room for manouver is there within this? Do the clubs check the boots fit with there own rules, or is each player left to decide this for themselves?
Rules relating to safety as far as injury to other players goes, such as number, length and type of stud, are laid down by the FA I believe. But with all the research that goes into performance nowadays, you would think clubs would look at far, far more than that. Look at the importance of clothing in sports such as cycling and swimming for instance. [Edit] Taking this question a bit further, given the prevalence of grabbing hold of shirts, is there anything to stop a team wearing a lycra-like, body-hugging fabric that would be far more difficult to grip? That would cause consternation in defences when you have a corner!
What they should allow is tear away jerseys. What could be better than a defender holding a handful of shirt while the ball is going into the net?
I've heard from numerous sources that Diego Forlan's exit from United was accelerated by his disagreement with Fergie about his boots. (I'm not implying it's the sole reason, but it certainly seemed to be the tipping point) I can't remember who we were playing against, but Forlan slipped or lost his footing a couple of times in the first half. At halftime Fergie told Forlan that he should change his boots/studs so that he has longer studs for better grip, and Forlan refused to change them. In the second half Forlan missed a really good goalscoring opportunity because he lost his footing, Fergie was furious and that was pretty much that for his United career, he was on his way out of the club after that.
Sir Tennisball. Given that injury to key players is such a major factor, and given also how much research goes into all aspects of the game nowadays, I find it hard to believe that clubs would leave what footwear players use to the players and their sponsors. If Forlan refused to change his boots because of clauses in his sponsorship contract, my sympathies would be with Fergie. But if Forlan knew that research showed that there is a trade off between firmer grip and increased likelihood of certain types of injury, my sympathies would be with Forlan. There are a whole lot of interesting questions here, but I don't recall seeing any real discussion of the issues anywhere.
