Were Man United Fans Justified When Booing Tevez?

Carlos Tevez’ Manchester City team-mate Pablo Zabaleta has claimed that Manchester United fans haven’t been genuine towards Tevez.

Tevez left Man United during the summer transfer window after a two-year loan spell. Man United did offer Tevez a new contract but Tevez chose City.
Whilst at Old Trafford, Tevez was adored by the fans but after leaving and joining city rivals Tevez was booed throughout Man United’s 4-3 win over City last weekend.

Zabaleta has said that the fans reaction shows that it was the right move and that United fans shouldn’t blame Tevez.

Zabaleta told mirror football:
“Carlos wasn’t surprised the United fans were unhappy with him at Old Trafford – but he feels it proves he made the right decision.”
“The United fans blame Carlos but they should not because he was happy there. He wanted to stay and it was difficult for him to leave. But United missed their chance. And when it became clear City wanted him more than United did, his decision was made.
“Carlos has always been a player who gives his team 100 per cent.”
“He helped West Ham to stay in the Premier League and the fans still love him there and he respects them.
“He gave United everything as well. He won the Premier League for them and the Champions’ League.
“He helped them be successful. To be treated as he was at Old Trafford made him understand he made the right choice when he came to City.
“Now, Carlos knows the fans weren’t genuine. He felt it was not his fault he left the club.”

As a Man United fan, I can tell you exactly why he was booed.

Ever since leaving United, Tevez has said spiteful and nasty things about United’s manager Sir Alex Ferguson and chief executive David Gill.
Sir Alex Ferguson has made Man United the club we are now, fans aren’t going to sit back and listen to the spiteful stuff Tevez has said about Fergie. They will let their feeling be known to Tevez and that is exactly what the fans did.

Since leaving Old Trafford, Tevez has said that Ferguson never bothered to contact him (even though they spent most days together on the training field) and that it was Ferguson’s fault that he left.

The other reason why he was booed was because he joined one of our biggest rivals. City may not be a top four team (yet) but they are our city rivals and Tevez must have known the reaction he would get.

What Zabaleta says about Tevez winning the Premier League title and Champion’s League title for United is rubbish. Tevez was the main reason why West Ham stayed up but he wasn’t the main reason for United winning those titles. He helped and we are thankful for that but he didn’t do it singly handily, the whole team did.

What do you think; did Man United fans have every right to boo Tevez?

Sir Alex Has the Last Laugh

It was a great game especially if you were a Manchester United supporter. Despite his claims to the contrary, Sir Alex Ferguson would have been nervous ahead of the recent Manchester Derby. A point would have given Manchester City something to brag about, but the ending was pure United. Although saying that the winner came very deep into injury time.

Still it sets up the season nicely.

This week there are no really big games. First up Portsmouth host Everton. The Toffees have had their traditional slow start to the year and following their win against Blackburn would be breathing a bit easier. They are in 13^th place and a win against the rabble which is Portsmouth will see them climb inside the top 10.

Arsenal are away to Fulham and should have no trouble with dispatching their London rivals. They are the big favorites as far as the soccer betting goes.

Manchester United is away to Stoke in a match which could be a danger one if United underestimate Stoke. Undefeated Chelsea are away to Wigan while Liverpool host Hull. Aston Villa is at Blackburn while Birmingham hosts Bolton in a battle of the Bs. Tottenham are sliding down the ladder after two straight losses and will want to stop the rot against Burnley.

On Sunday, Sunderland hosts Wolves in the only match of the day and Manchester City doesn’t play until Monday night when West Ham comes to town. This will be the last match of the Emmanuel Adebayor three match suspension and they will be keen to get him back. He has been in great form and City will be ruing the fact that he wasn’t available for the derby. They will be hoping that on his return he is in the same goal-scoring form he was before being rubbed out.

At this stage, you would still have to say that Chelsea are the favourites for the title. They haven’t put a step wrong and have been playing faultless football. Carlo Ancelotti has taken them up a notch and they are clicking.

Following Wigan, its next league match is against Liverpool which should be a great litmus test as to where they are. If they win, it will send out the message to all that they are the real deal and are going to have be reeled in.

At the other end of the table, Portsmouth are without a point after six games and would be in serious danger of being relegated. It is hard to believe that this team was playing in Europe last year.

David Wiseman writes about football for the site. He is also a keen Melbourne Cup follower.

Are Man City hated like Chelsea?

When Roman Abramovich joined Chelsea in 2003 and started spending ridiculous amounts on players, Chelsea became the football club to hate. Now Manchester City are spending stupid amounts of money on players, will they become the new Chelsea and be the club to hate?

As a Man United fan it hasn’t changed, I never liked City and that was because of the rivalry between the two teams. I have spoken to fans of other clubs and it now looks like Man City are the team to hate.

Most fans didn’t care when Man City were taken over, they wanted a team to break into the top four and why not Man City? Some fans loved it when Man City beat Chelsea to the signing of Robinho.

Now after their pursuit of Lescott from Everton fans are starting to turn on Man City. Lescott was at Everton, Man City made a very public bid and Everton said no. That lead to Lescott getting into a strop and there was nothing that Everton could really have done.

Now slightly more recently former Man City captain Richard Dunne was promised a testimonial but that now isn’t going to happen. Dunne is not very happy at all with Man City.

That made me think about why would people hate Man City?

As a Man United fan you grow up hating Man City so I hate to think about why would other fans hate Man City. I started thinking about the reasons why people hate Man United.

The success- Man United have been incredibly successful. Since being taken over, Man City haven’t won anything but once they do (I am sure they will win something but not sure when) will they be hated? Fans of rival teams seem to hate teams that are successful and win things especially if it is only because they have bought really expensive players from other clubs. I don’t think it would be so bad if over a few years they bought players who aren’t already top players and helped them to grow.

The manager- quite a few fans hate Man United because of Sir Alex. They think he is arrogant, rants at the referees and basically always gets his own way. As a Man United fan, he doesn’t always get his own way but I can see why other fans think he does. It is always highlighted by the press when he does but it isn’t really when he doesn’t. Fergie has been known to hound the referee but quite a few managers do that, I am not saying it is right though.

The fans- how many times have I heard that Man United fans don’t come from Manchester? That is boring!
I believe that any person has a right to support any team they want, whether they come from Australia and support Reading, it doesn’t matter.
Man United fans are called arrogant, if Man City start winning trophies and the City fans start gloating. Could this be reason to hate Man City?

The players- when Ronaldo was at Old Trafford, he dived. I hated it but there was nothing I could do about that. Fans will also hate a club because of the players; some fans hate Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Craig Bellamy and so many more. Could Man City be hated for the fans?

Will Man City be hated? Do you already hate Man City and what are the reasons? Man City have spent a lot of money, would you love it if they fell flat on their faces?
Please let me know your thoughts below.

Stoppage Time, A Coin Thrower and Craig Bellamy

After watching a spectacular game of football yesterday between the two Manchester clubs- Manchester United and Manchester City, all we are talking about is stoppage time, Craig Bellamy and a coin thrower.

Man United and Man City played out a thrilling 4-3 game (which United won), as a Man United fan I went through a whole range of feelings but I am saddened by some negative points.

The first happened when the Man City players were walking down the tunnel, one Man United fan threw a coin at Man City substitute Javier Garrido. Garrido was stood next to former Man United striker Carlos Tevez- who we all think was the real target.

No matter who was the target, it was totally out of order. I won’t condone that at all, someone could have been seriously hurt or even blinded. Fair enough, boo Tevez but don’t start throwing things at opposition players. I hope that the police and Man United find the fan responsible and ban him.

One of the main talking points was the second half stoppage time. The fourth official put up the board showing that there would be a minimum of four minutes added on. Just after that, Man City scored and during that time Michael Carrick came on for Anderson.

Michael Owen scored in 5 minutes and 27 seconds of stoppage time, so where does the extra time come from?

It depends on what you read but Craig Bellamy’s goal celebration whilst in stoppage time lasted around 45-46 seconds (which the ref wouldn’t have been counting exactly) so it is fair to say that the ref added on a minute for that.

The referee will also added on around 30 seconds when Man United brought Carrick on for Anderson. Overall, the right amount of time was added.

I can understand why Man City fans were upset, if it were the other way round then I would be incredibly annoyed and upset. The referee did add on the right amount of time.

The final talking point came after Man United scored their fourth goal. When City were getting ready to re-start the game a Man United fan ran onto the pitch. A few officials did have hold of the fan but Bellamy decided to go upto the fan (who he was nowhere near to) and he slapped the fan.

The fan shouldn’t have been on the pitch but the stewards were in control of it, I no that Bellamy was upset but so where the other City players, you didn’t see them going upto the fan and slapping him. Bellamy shouldn’t have done that and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was given a match or two suspension.

Do you think the right amount of time was added on? What should happen to the coin thrower and finally what should happen to Bellamy?

Close the border to Old Firm talk

The almost annual discussion on whether inviting Old Firm duo Rangers and Celtic into the English Premier League is about to get underway again this week as it seems the tag of being ‘the greatest league in the world’ is not good enough for some meddlers!

Once again Bolton chairman Phil Gartside has thrust his oar into the argument for the Glasgow sides to be thrown into a two-tier Premier League system possibly without thinking it could have serious ramifications on his own club who would no doubt be in the 2^nd of the two proposed divisions amongst England’s (and Scotland’s) elite.

The top league would just help the richest clubs prosper further and open the massive gulf up even more. Any clubs daring to jump into the top league would not last five minutes and the EPL2 sides would be stuck in a glorified version of the current Championship!

Where it would leave current Championship clubs remains to be seen, except being two steps from guaranteed pay days against the likes of United, Chelsea, Liverpool et al, instead of just the one now!

In addition to harming clubs lower down the chain in England, many of whom would be rightly miffed at seeing two clubs handed a place in a league many have been striving for years to get into, where it would leave clubs north of the border?

True people could argue that the Welsh sides Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham have been allowed to prosper in the English leagues. However the fact they had been granted permission to shift into England has not done football in the Principality much good over the years so why inflict the same on Scotland?

Rangers and Celtic attract the majority of the revenue into Scottish football and for them to jump ship could reduce the Scottish Premier League and the lower leagues north of the border into a wilderness of debt-ridden semi-professional clubs with very little clout on the European front.

Rangers Walter Smith seems to think his side and Celtic would help extend the top-four in England’s top league. However looking at their projected football betting odds and the fact they have just been held to successive draws against Motherwell and Kilmarnock in the SPL suggests he may have had a wee dram before making that statement!

I’m sure Spurs, Everton and Aston Villa would tell him differently, while the likes of West Brom, Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United would probably tell Smith to try getting out of the Championship before spouting about how well they would do in England!

The suggestion is a farce and the sooner it is filed away into the ‘silly ideas drawer’ for good, the better it will be for us all!

Written by Craig Smithson, a professional sports writer who blogs about football betting.

FIFA needs to be Prepared

Recent on-field controversies only mean one thing – that FIFA has to introduce more technology into the game. One referee and two linesmen isn’t enough to sufficiently cover the whole field. The speed of the game is now breakneck and it is impossiAble for one official to cover the whole field.

Eduardo has been singled out for his dive against Celtic in the Champions League. Why do this? Why not penalise every player who has ever dived to win a penalty? What about Jurgen Klinsmann and his crazy dive and somersault in the 1990 World Cup Final? Will every player from now on who takes a dive receive the same fate as Eduardo? If yes, that’s fine but if not, what was the point of it all?

Diving is just one part of the problem. What about offside? It is difficult to know if the man is level when the ball is played especially if the linesman isn’t in line with the players. How many incorrect on and offside calls are there going to be? There are huge ramifications to this especially when the offside trap has been beaten only to be called back.

What about handball? This is a part of the game which often isn’t policed that well. Officials could well be assisted by some form of video assistance. A 60 metre pass could be controlled with the arm and it could be too difficult for the officials to see what actually happened.

The same is the case for assessing if the ball crossed the line. Who can tell if the ball has fully crossed the line? FIFA doesn’t need for there to be an incident such as this is a big World Cup match. Why shouldn’t FIFA be proactive and implement measures to prevent incidents such as this from occurring in the first place? Wouldn’t prevention be better than a cure? The last thing they would want is for the soccer betting consortiums to be angry with FIFA due to poor officiating affecting the outcome of a match.

The game has been improved by certain rule modifications such as the back-pass rule and the rule where the officials display how much injury time there is. What is wrong with trying to nip these types of problems in the bud?

When the whole world is watching isn’t the time or place for there to be a big snafu and no matter how prepared the referees are, things of this nature are always going to happen. You never know what to expect next. That is why we love the game so much.

David Wiseman writes for this blog. When not doing so he is finalizing his Melbourne Cup betting.

World waits on Fifa follow up action

Chelsea FC felt the full force of world governing body Fifa’s wrath this past week when they were hit with a transfer ban until 2011 after being found guilty of ‘tapping up’ former Lens winger Gael Kakuta in 2007.

It is a harsh punishment and one which I feel is a good move to protect the small-fry clubs from the dominant forces of the game, but it will only prove to be fair if Fifa now root out similar offences committed by all clubs and mete out the same measures!

In a similar scenario to Eduardo’s two-match ban dished out by Uefa as a result of ‘diving’ in Arsenal’s UEFA Champions League qualifier against Celtic, Fifa have now opened a can of worms and potentially made a rod for their backs!

In the same way Uefa will almost certainly be inundated with clubs complaining about players trying to cheat them during games and demanding action is taken, how many clubs will come out of the woodwork and accuse big clubs of poaching their young talent?

Manchester United will fear the same fate as their Premier League rivals after claims they have ’stolen’ teenage midfielder Paul Pogba from French club Le Havre, while there are suggestions that many Premier League clubs have been guilty of tapping up offences and not just the Big Four!

Fifa must also ensure they issue the same punishment against every club in every country found guilty otherwise the old ‘English-bashing’ argument will rear its head as some fans have already expressed reservations that the governing bodies of football make things up to hurt the powerful English clubs!

In the meantime a ban on transferring players under 18 years of age is possibly the best route to take. It would rule out the poaching avenue and allow clubs that have invested time and money into a youngster to reap the benefits as opposed to doing all the hard work only to get the finished article snaffled away.

After all why should the biggest, richest clubs be able to ride roughshod over smaller clubs to ensure they not only have the best players now, but will continue to do so for years to come?

Professional Footballers’ Association chief Gordon Taylor’s call for a satisfactory compensation system to be introduced should younger players leave for other clubs is also a decent shout given that any club that loses a potential star gets fully reimbursed for their loss.

In the meantime it will be very interesting to see just how many clubs are hit by Fifa’s transfer ban punishment in the coming weeks and months!

It could be said that poaching is so rife in the game that the January football transfer window might not even be opened if every club that has committed this offence is punished!

Written by Craig Smithson, a professional sports writer who blogs about football betting.

Eduardo Invested Diving But Wayne Rooney Does It Better

The diving controversy continues to rear its ugly head. But the controversy is not involving an Arsenal player this time but instead almight Wayne Rooney.

Everyone ( at least football lovers) Know that Eduardo was banned by Uefa for two champions league matches for the ugly incident that happened in the champions league qualifiers between Arsenal and Celtic.

I am one of those who supports UEFA’s decision but I am not one to support witch hunting and if UEFA ( I actually mean Platini) is sincerely then they should take a look at Rooney.

I really like what West Brom’s Slovenia player Robert Koren had to say about the incident :

“There has been a lot of criticism about diving this week. In my opinion Rooney went down too easily,” said Koren, according to The Times. “Let’s see if he gets criticised.”

Sincerely, let’s see if this will get criticised. I am sure it will if it was an Arsenal player that was involved. Hopefully Platini and his colleagues are watching.

5 Things I hate About Arsenal Fans

Before I proceed with my article, I want to make something crystal clear. I am a Gooner. Then why am I still writing this article? That’s because as an Arsenal fan, I tend to read articles about Arsenal on the web and I’ve seen many fans comment. Trust me when I say this, some of the comments are stupid, makes no sense, and contradicts what they want all along. Of course, I’m not referring to all Gooners, please get that straight. All the rant in this article is directed at the minority few narrow-minded Arsenal fans, who changes their opinions like how a girl changes clothes. So please do not be offended by this article. Like always it’s only my opinions and you can choose whether to like it or not. I’m proud to be a Gooner and will die a Gooner. Peace out.

5 Things I hate about Arsenal Fans

I hate Arsenal fans because…

1. They complain a lot
2. They think Wenger has “lost it”
3. They change their opinions too quickly
4. “Arsenal is the only club in the world. Whoever left Arsenal left for the money. I must hate them.”
5. They think they’re playing FM

They complain a lot

The very first reason: They complain too much and are very narrow-minded.

‘Platini_Saved_Football’ says, “Oh, Diaby’s scored an own-goal? Screw him, Arsene Wenger should sell him.”

Dariano says, “Give him a chance, just because he’s scored an own goal doesn’t mean we should totally kill off this player’s career. Everybody makes mistakes.”

‘ILuvBlatter’ says, “Almunia conceded a penalty? Sell him too, no wonder we keep conceding goals.”

Dariano says, “Listen, Almunia made a bad decision but there was suspicions that Rooney dived. It’s not his fault. Furthermore, he’s been rather consistent last season.”

‘Man_City_for_Premiership’ says, “Eboue is a horrible player and is Arsene Wenger’s worst signing!’

Dariano says, “My friend, if that’s his worst signing, you haven’t seen a lot.”

Although I’ve put it in a rather comical way above, I really mean what I say. Just because Diaby and Almunia had a bad game they complained that we should sell them and sign replacements. Like I said, everybody makes mistakes. It doesn’t matter if they played badly for 3, 4 matches. If they can play superbly for the other 34 matches I doubt any of you would mind. And Eboue’s case is one that has been raging for very long, and since last season I’ve felt that he’s a good utility player. He can play as a defensive midfielder, a right winger or a right back. Not only that, on a good day, he’s pretty good. He’s just not the “first-team” type of player.

Don't speculate to break the one you hate.

They think Wenger has “lost it”

Man, this is 1 issue I’ve dreaded for years. They always feel that age has gotten the better of Wenger, even though he’s only 59. Mind you, there’s a reason why so many managers respect him and he’s being regarded as one of the world’s best managers. Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles” are the best evidence to show that his strategy of running the club is tried and tested which can work brilliantly.

Arsene Wenger IS Arsenal, whether you like it or not. When he leaves, that’s when you’re going to regret chasing him out in the first place. Not only has he established a legacy at Arsenal Football Club, but he’s also inculcated this desire to play attractive football in his players that has entertained us for so many years. It’ll be interesting to hear what those “Arsenal fans” have to say after chasing Wenger out. Don’t worry, at this rate, it won’t be long. Cherish it while you still can because I’m predicting Wenger will retire quite soon. Soon.

And by the way, Wenger has a degree in Electrical Engineering and a master’s degree in Economics. Do YOU have it? That’s why he’s kept the club in such good financial conditions, and we do not need to rely on foreign owners to provide us with gallons of oil in exchange for players. Do not take this financial advantage Arsene has built for us for granted; you got to understand that the club’s atmosphere won’t be the same under a foreign owner. Arsene Wenger’s genius in Mathematics has not only brought us financial-stability but also a long-lasting football tradition.

He has an OBE. Do you?

They Change their opinions too quickly

Hehe, this is 1 ironic one. Before the season began, I see fans saying how Arsenal are going to lose their top 4 spot to Man City, and how Arsenal will be going another trophy-less season, again. Well after the 6-1 thrashing of Everton at Goodison Park and the 4-1 drubbing of Portsmouth at the Emirates Stadium, I see the same fans (and more fans, probably) changing their minds, saying how Arsenal will finally get a trophy this season. Then, after our eventful 1-2 defeat at the hand of Manchester United, yes, you got it, the same fans once again claim that Arsenal will be on a trophy-drought and we will struggle to get a top 4 spot and we need to absoulutely sign Blaise Matuidi or we’ll be doomed. Not only that, some fans just listen to what the majority says. They think it is cool going with the flow. Sorry, you’re only proving that you’re not smart enough to have an opinion. I mean, seriously??? If you’re one of those fans I’m going to wonder how you are ever going to find a wife. Even Britney Spears has her ups and downs so watch out.

"All hail the Messiah!!!"

“Arsenal is the only club in the world. Whoever left Arsenal left for the money. I must hate them.”

Again, this has got to do with some Gooners being too narrow-minded and thinking only in their own world. Just because Kolo Toure and Adebayor left Arsenal for Man City, it doesn’t necessarily mean they left for the money. Yes, maybe they did, but I see fans automatically assuming they left for the money without doing more research. And the funniest shit is, I’ve actually saw a fan saying Gilberto Silva left for Panathinaikos because he wasn’t earning enough at Arsenal! Man oh man.

As if going to a Greek club will make him Richie Rich.

Furthermore, I don’t get why the automatic hate towards players that left for Arsenal. Okay, maybe hating Ashley Cole is normal, but hating players like Gilberto Silva and Kolo Toure just because they left Arsenal is really silly. Instead of honoring them and saying your thanks, you flame them with silly comments. Please, they did a lot for the club and it’s clear to everybody that players have to move on with their career. Wherever they go, I just wish them luck. To those Arsenal fans:  Arsenal isn’t the only club in the world, my goodness. It certainly is one of the best (if not THE best), but football is a worldwide sport, my friend.

They think they’re playing FM

Now this point is my favourite. Yes, I know Football Manager is an awesome game which is highly addictive (which even I myself has fallen for), but if you think real-life football management is the same as what Sports Interactive imagine FM to be, you’re utterly wrong. Football management in the English Premier League is one of the most stressful jobs in the world, and when even I myself have the feeling of throwing my computer downstairs just because I lost the title to Man City on goal difference, I cannot imagine how tough it must be for Arsene Wenger (and David Moyes). Please, football management isn’t a game, in fact it “isn’t about life and death, it’s much more than that”. I see comments like, “Arsenal should sign Saivet, Sakho and Miguel Veloso because they’re great players in FM09!” The thing is, SI really makes it look too easy. Don’t think football managers have the privilege of seeing each player’s attributes arranged for you nicely with numbers to represent their strength. Heck, they even let you view a player’s stats in graph mode. So don’t aspire to be manager of Arsenal just because you’ve won 5 Premiership titles, 4 FA Cups and 3 Champions League trophies. I’ve won more.

If football management was a game I would have been "the greatest". And mind you, this isn't my best save game.

Scouting players in real life isn’t as simple as clicking on “Get Scout Report” and “Report Card Only”. You really got to send a scout, track him for weeks if not months, really analyze his strengths and weaknesses, and see if he suits your team. It has been proven that some scouts are so serious about it that they pass the ball to the player through the air, on the ground and through defenders, then check and observe how he controls the balls in those situations. Obviously a player with a bad first-touch and dreadful passing wouldn’t be considered at Arsenal, so just because a player who has scored 100 over goals in a Brazilian league doesn’t mean he will score at least 10 in England. Arsene Wenger makes sure the player he signs fit in to Arsenal’s sleek football, that’s why most of Wenger’s signings are good signings.

That’s all I have. Let me stress this one last time, what I’ve said above in my article does not apply to all Arsenal fans. I know there are indeed passionate Gooners out there and I salute you. In my opinion, passionate Gooners are those who will stick with the club when they’re out of the top 4, when they win the title, or heck, when they get relegated. You can read more about how I feel being a Gooner here, in what is possibly the article I’m most proud to have wrote. Arsenal for life is the correct saying. I apologise if my article has offended anyone.

So what do you think? Are YOU one of the fans I’ve mentioned in my article? Do you agree with my above points? Like I always say you’re free to air your thoughts but always play nice. I know it’s a long article but I go for quality, not quantity. Thanks for your time.

Dariano

Song vs Diaby = Flamini vs Baptista

Please take note, do not get confused over the article title. I am NOT comparing Song with Diaby, because if you continue reading my article, you’ll realised that I feel these 2 players are 2 different types of players and they should play in different positions. So do not get yourself confused.

Why Song = Flamini

The reason why I compare Song and Flamini is not because of the way they play or anything. It’s got nothing much to do with that. It’s because when I think of Song this season, I’m thinking of Mathieu Flamini in the 2007/08 season; an underrated young chap who finally fulfilled his potential and solved Arsenal’s midfield’s problems. Flamini in the 2007/08 season was playing at his best, and he played so well that he managed to knock Gilberto Silva out of the first team. Not only that, Arsenal has been criticised for a lack of physical players. The end result being us dropping points against teams who use their physical prowess and not technique to win, teams like Bolton and Blackburn come to mind. And Flamini was the solution to the problem. He provided the strength to ensure Arsenal’s footballers don’t get bullied by the Premiership’s “athletes”. That season, we nearly won the tile (so near yet so far).

So, is Song going to do a “Flamini’? I’m starting to think so. After watching him play in the first few matches, I think he’s proved that not only can he play well against the weaker teams, he can stand up strong against the big teams like Man Utd. When I saw him play against Everton, I felt that he would struggle to cope with better players like Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard etc. So far so good though. It seems that Song is finally fulfilling his potential and playing well. But I’ve seen 1 weakness in him, and that is he’s not a really good passer. If that’s the case, then why pass? Give it to Fabregas or Denilson and let them to your job. Song’s duty is simple, down and dirty. Just get the ball when he see it.

All I hope is that he doesn’t follow Flamini in everything he does, like for example leaving Arsenal to join AC Milan for a huge sum of money.

However my main concern is the time during January. A lot of people tend to forget this, but it’s the African Cup of Nations. That means Song will be leaving for a month to play for Cameroon in the tournament (I’ve always felt it should be held once every 4 years, not 2). That’s when our trouble comes. Who to take his place? Diaby? My next point will explain why not.

Why Diaby = Baptista

Unlike Song and Flamini, Diaby and Baptista do have a similar style of play that I notice when Diaby plays. Now let’s talk about Diaby. He is:

1. A bad defender (from what I’ve seen)

2. A bad header (the own goal says it all)

3. Strong (He managed to out-muscle Rooney and can go past defenders not with skill but strength)

4. A bad shooter

So after analyzing the points, that’s when I realised, “Hey, this guy plays a little like Baptista…”

Before I continue with Diaby, let’s talk about Baptista. He’s nicknamed “The Beast” for his superior physique, and he’s known to make full use of that ability by going past 3 or 4 defenders (back at Sevilla), not with skill but strength. Believe it or not, that has earned him a career in football. That’s when I think Diaby can actually be groomed into a Baptista kind of player, the strong, attacking-midfielder who dribbles more than he creates. I’ve seen him beat defenders and I have to admit, he does have a few tricks up his sleeves. And when he’s in a bad mood to do tricks, he has that strength to just go past defenders without much fancy footwork. So instead of wasting his time and skill by playing in a central-midfield role, in which he’s expected to go back to defend, why not just push him forward, make him an attacking midfielder and tell him not to bother about defending? In fact if he shows that he can make it in an attacking-midfielder role, I’m willing to try deploying him as a second striker. Big gamble but if you never try, you’ll never know.

When Diaby first came to Arsenal, Arsene Wenger labeled him “the next Patrick Vieira”. But after seeing him for 4 seasons at the club, I would say he’s more like “the next Julio Baptista”. Re-training players to play in new positions are normally risky (take Alan Smith for example), but since Diaby isn’t shining as a central-midfielder, the best bet would to try to play him as an attacking-midfielder. If he still can’t make it in that position, then my suggestion would be for Diaby to move clubs. Arsenal just isn’t right for him.

Do you agree with me about my comparisons? Do you think Diaby should be re-trained as an attacking midfielder? Who should play in Song’s role when he leave for the African Cup of Nations? I want to hear your views (but please play nice). Thanks for reading.

Dariano