We died. After just 8 minutes. It just shows. It took just 8 minutes. The rest, as they say, was irrelevant. It was largely same ole, same ole, so there really is no point going into any sort of review. Set piece, caught on the counter-attack like a hot knife through butter. Surprise surprise.
The larger question has to be where we go from here. Slide further into oblivion, or pick ourselves up like men and take care of Liverpool on Wednesday?
Judging by this weekend, with Pool taking care of Everton the way they did, I'd say the chances are the men on Wednesday will be Pool, and not us.
Which leads to an ever larger question: where would we go from there? For this, I'd have to say, once and for all, Wenger has to go. In terms of the team he has built up, they may be good enough to struggle for a top 4 place, but we have been tactically buggered by the bigger teams, and from time to time, even by the so-called lesser teams.
He has no doubt brought us some distance from 1995/06, but the time must surely come for anyone to move on. And this would be it. There is no way in hell we will get anywhere in the Champions League, so why not now? Why not this season? I see no change in the way this team plays, and how it should take on a better balance, a stronger tactical nous. We've simply been outplayed tactically, and for that, there is nobody to take any blame that Wenger himself. He might have been able to blame a few individual performances last week, but this time, he has no such luxury. It falls squarely on his shoulders that:
(a) We have no depth in the squad. From goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and strikers.
(b) Our play, while a thing to behold when it goes well, is sadly one-dimensional. Don't mention Ancelotti or Ferguson. Even the likes of Pulis and Bruce have found ways to deal with that one dimension.
(c) The players now seem lost and lost for ideas and inspiration on the pitch.
Almunia seems incredibly, to be getting worse from game to game. And I'm sure he'll start on Wednesday. Theo is going nowhere fast, and he'll continue to get protected. Arshavin will continue to struggle, and there will be nothing we can do about it. We played at full strength today, and we were made to look like piddling 3rd division wannabes. Chelsea didn't even need to come out of 3rd gear after half an hour.
I only pray that we hold on to the top 4. But then again, revolutions only happen when crisis calls, and that would probably be the crisis that Wenger has been flirting with for the last 3 years.
Let's see.
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