I'm getting a real sense of deja vu

This time last season, we had a nice gap over Arsenal.

This time last season, we were playing reasonably and picking up decent points.

This time last season, Arsenal were playing poorly but just about staying in touch.

This time last season, the NLD was all set up for Spurs to trounce a low confidence Arsenal side and we all remember how that went.

---------------------------

Fast forward a year and it's the same situation pretty much (only this time, instead of a 10 point gap, it could be 1, 2 or 4 based on Monday).

Admittedly this NLD is at home rather than last Feb's away game but even so, I fear the same thing will happen again.

The only way to really get at Arsenal is to put 5 in midfield and stifle their passing. A couple of times we've tried 4-4-2 and it just doesn't work as they pass around you in the middle of the park with their 4-5-1 turning into a 4-3-3 all too quickly.

So this is a plea to AVB and to Spurs - pack the midfield and press them - disrupt their passing and we'll have a better chance of success. Thankfully we may be forced into playing 1 striker due to Defoe but I'm not convinced with Adebayor especially if his attitude follows the last NLD.

 

If they beat us then I'll start worrying because the crowd will get off their backs and the side will have confidence but if they don't I think we have to be favourites to finish the job that should've been finished last year.

 

We simply have to win the derby and do it with style as we owe them one and if we lose, then we're allowing the goons to have the mental advantage over us.

My main worry is that we have been winning by playing badly so if we lose the north london derby, at home, it could send us on a run of defeats.

....we simply have to win!

 

Arsene Wenger on SSN just now:

"Our fans are intelligent"

Give me strength

 

This Arsenal team is worse than last season and has no RvP.

Spurs went into freefall around this time last season, but there's no reason to think that will be repeated

If Arsenal win the NLD, they'll slip up elsewhere. On paper, they don't have the toughest run in, but their last four games are against Utd and then relegation threatened QPR(a), Wigan(h) and Newcastle(a). Those teams won't give them an inch. Remember Wigan's performance at The Emirates last season?

 

1pt behind you now with the NLD next weekend

 

Whose crystal ball have you been borrowing ?

 

Well it ain't yours' that's for sure

 

I don't use one because they don't work.

 

True enough. Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans..

 

For some things, you don't need one.

The sun will rise in the morning, Christmas Day will be on the 25th of December and Arsenal will bottle it at least half a dozen times a season.

 

Luke is cocky again, although i suspect if we where 15 points clear at the top, we would be just as smug!

 

Should be a good game. I don't see a repeat of last year. This year THFC's success seems more robust, based on quality not just good form.

 

Thankfully the game is at WHL and we don't have to worry about piss poor decisions, which is the only way Arsenal can get anything against top sides

 

NLD aside, our failure last year was down to 'Arry's head being turned by England. That won't happen this year, if anyone's going to be distracted by speculation about their manager, it's going to be the Arsenal players.

 

I'm not sure it was mainly Arry having his head turned, more to do with Arry messing around with the line up, 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, asking bale to drift, King suffering, if Arry stuck with the 4-4-1-1 then we would have picked up points even if we played poorly, yet what Arry done was changed things around when the team was out of form.

Although the england speculation never helped and possibly Arry got too big for his boots because of every man and his dog wanting him to be hired!

Also, do you remember when Arry came out that court case, Levy's "sidekicks" where saying how they wanted Arry to stay....anyway, all history now but last seasons failure still seems fresh in the memory.

 

First things first... we need to get a result on Monday against West Ham at Upton Park to even maintain that gap. No easy job with present injuries to Defoe and Sandro. If.... if we manage to pull that off and get our four point gap back, we may even jump ahead of Chelsea into third if Man City beat them.

However, we have some very tough fixtures coming up this next month or so which will test whether AVB is the real deal or merely a pretender:

Liverpool v Tottenham Sun 10 Mar
Tottenham v Fulham Sat 16 Mar
Swansea v Tottenham Sat 30 Mar
Tottenham v Everton Sun 7 Apr
Chelsea v Tottenham Sun 14 Apr
Tottenham v Man City Sun 21 Apr

Sandwiched in between those we have a small matter of a UEFA Cup tie against Inter. If we get through that lot relatively unscathed, I think CL football is a realistic expectation and AVB will have my full and unreserved backing. Still along way to go. I'm cacking myself looking at how tight those fixtures could prove.

 

Massive difference is the league is much weaker this year. Nobody bar United, City and early form Chelsea have put together any kind of long winning sequence. Arsenal's form from Late February to May last year was simply incredible, they lack the belief to put together that kind of run this season.

A lot depends on the next 3 games. If Spurs hold their nerve and beat West Ham and Arsenal I suspect you'll get top 4, if Spurs lose to Arsenal then I think they'll have enough to get it despite their inconsistencies.

Of the 3 involved, Arsenal have definitely played the harder fixtures, followed by Chelsea and then Spurs so were all at the same level.

What would worry me if I were a Spurs fan is the goals have seemingly dried up of late and it's more individual moments of brilliance rather than ability to break teams down.

 

It doesn't matter which way you look at it LDL you'd rather play QPR away than Liverpool away, Newcastle away than Chelsea away etc.

Arsenal's downfall in recent years has been beating the teams in and around them. They've taken 1 point from 15 available against the top 3 (5 from 21 out of the top 6) and were hammered by the two German sides in the CL so something suggests they are flat track bullies and struggle against the better teams. Arsenal will be glad to have those games out the way.

It's in the balance as far as I'm concerned, at least until the NLD anyway.

 

Yesterday, 07:11 PM #1190
PISKIE
Moderator

1pt behind the spuds with the NLD next weekend

Anybody else predicting another 5-2 to the Arsenal ?


Thought you didn't use a crystal ball piskie?
If it is 5-2 I will seriously have to consider crochet!!!!!!!

I am old enough to remember that nightmare 5 - 0 at whl in Dec 1978...I was 11 yrs old and devastated...think it was the weekend before xmas that year and MOTD kept showing that ****ing Brady chip

I was lucky enough to have been at the lane as a 15 yr old when we won 5 nil....now that was a good match!