So we're out of the FA Cup, probably our only realistic chance of winning a trophy this season.
A few thoughts about today's game, I was surprised to see Fabregas start as I expected Wenger to give him a rest before our up coming league fixtures. It appeared to be a stronger line up than I had previously expected. What was more intriguing was the fact that Ramsey was on the bench, I was under the impression that he was out for another few weeks so for once it's nice to see someone return earlier than expected from injury. To lose a goal so early on set the tone for the rest of the game, once again our inability to defend high balls into the area was exposed and Fabianski failed to cut out the ball and we faced an uphill battle from there. It seemed that the players just weren't up for the battle and our lack of inexperience was telling, especially in the first half. Fabregas was isolated and the young players just couldn't impose their authority on the game, we were very lucky to go in level at the break. Francis Coquelin was awful in the first 20 minutes and from what I understand he definitely is not a right back by trade and that was fully evident.
Ironically enough I felt that as the second half went on I actually thought we would win it but the three substitutions actually had a negative effect on the team - the fact is that we created barely anything in the whole match and that just isn't good enough regardless of the team we put out. In all honesty it's not surprising that we lost, Stoke clearly wanted it more than us and they deserved their victory. I just fail to see the point of Denilson, he is such a weak link in our team and we will not win anything with him in midfield. Traore is a complete liability, his defending for the third goal was just a disgrace - he just stopped and let the player get away, it's a real shame that Gibbs is out for the season and we have to rely on him as a back up to Clichy.
On a positive note I thought Sol Campbell had a very good game, for someone that hadn't played a competitive game for 7 months he was one of the bright spots of a poor performance. Jay Emmanuel Thomas put in a good shift especially considering the lack of support given to him, he's tall but has good technique. We also need to remember that we had a reserve defence out there and ultimately this defeat might be a blessing in disguise. If we do not win anything this season then we might just look back at this day as where it all went wrong.
Next up is Villa and the run of matches that will define our season, let's hope the defeat today will spur us on to take crucial points off our opponents and take those all important steps towards the title.
A few thoughts about today's game, I was surprised to see Fabregas start as I expected Wenger to give him a rest before our up coming league fixtures. It appeared to be a stronger line up than I had previously expected. What was more intriguing was the fact that Ramsey was on the bench, I was under the impression that he was out for another few weeks so for once it's nice to see someone return earlier than expected from injury. To lose a goal so early on set the tone for the rest of the game, once again our inability to defend high balls into the area was exposed and Fabianski failed to cut out the ball and we faced an uphill battle from there. It seemed that the players just weren't up for the battle and our lack of inexperience was telling, especially in the first half. Fabregas was isolated and the young players just couldn't impose their authority on the game, we were very lucky to go in level at the break. Francis Coquelin was awful in the first 20 minutes and from what I understand he definitely is not a right back by trade and that was fully evident.
Ironically enough I felt that as the second half went on I actually thought we would win it but the three substitutions actually had a negative effect on the team - the fact is that we created barely anything in the whole match and that just isn't good enough regardless of the team we put out. In all honesty it's not surprising that we lost, Stoke clearly wanted it more than us and they deserved their victory. I just fail to see the point of Denilson, he is such a weak link in our team and we will not win anything with him in midfield. Traore is a complete liability, his defending for the third goal was just a disgrace - he just stopped and let the player get away, it's a real shame that Gibbs is out for the season and we have to rely on him as a back up to Clichy.
On a positive note I thought Sol Campbell had a very good game, for someone that hadn't played a competitive game for 7 months he was one of the bright spots of a poor performance. Jay Emmanuel Thomas put in a good shift especially considering the lack of support given to him, he's tall but has good technique. We also need to remember that we had a reserve defence out there and ultimately this defeat might be a blessing in disguise. If we do not win anything this season then we might just look back at this day as where it all went wrong.
Next up is Villa and the run of matches that will define our season, let's hope the defeat today will spur us on to take crucial points off our opponents and take those all important steps towards the title.
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