Auld Lang Syne & All That

Next article that should be up by the 3rd of January will be examining the chances of the clubs threatened by relegation at the mid-point stage of the season and offer some solutions that could keep them afloat.

Till then, have an excellent New Year's Eve and a fabolous 2008. Cheers!

Wake up and Smell the Ashes, Arsene.

Top of the league by one point, through to the knockout stages of the Champions League and with the FA and Carling Cup yet to come, Arsenal are sure looking good for success this season. Spearheaded by the dynamism and creativity of Cesc Fabregas, who is only 20 years of age and already in his 5^th season for the Gunners, it would seem foolish to not back Wenger’s Gunlets for at least one trophy this season. Yet, that is exactly what I am going to do – Arsenal will end up without the League, Champions League and FA Cup this season. Call me daft, but here’s why.

Probably the most obvious weakness in the squad is the lack of depth and general quality beyond the first-eleven. They have a decent keeper that is yet to see action at high levels in Alumnia. Their defense is prone to error and has backup in the form of Sanderos and Hoyte, this department is particularly weak. Other than Hleb and Fabregas, the midfield either has vastly inexperienced players, or those who are not good enough to be challenging for top honours. They do have a talented forward line, many of which can double up as wingers. But they only have two out-and-out forwards in Adebayor and Bendtner and neither is good enough to lead the line. Van Persie and Walcott are too light-weight to be employed as target-men and are better off coming in from wide.

The youthfulness of this Arsenal side smacks of effervescence, but the inexperience and the condition of young bodies could undo their prospects, and this is especially compounded by the lack of depth in the squad. The stress of fixtures in a top club like Arsenal mean that the core players in the team have to turn out for 60 odd games in one full season. This is highly stressful especially for players who are still in the early years of physical development. This will ultimately contribute to the theory that Arsenal will fade out after the second half of the season as fatigue and injuries set in.

Arsenal has performed pretty well so far this season, but I would like to remind readers that the only real opponents they faced so far are at home to Manchester United (2-2, lucky to have got away with a point), away to Liverpool (1-1) and Sevilla home and away (3-0 and 1-3 respectively). The real test comes when they face a resurgent Chelsea this weekend, while not forgetting the tougher challenges in the Champions League knockout stage. If a Fabregas-less Arsenal does that badly against a less-than mediocre Middlesbrough side (who happened to perform brilliantly that particular day) is any sort of indicator, your guess is as good as mine on how they will fair against the bubbling Blues.

I meant to write this article before the game against Middlesbrough and talk about how Arsenal will fade after the Christmas fixture congestion, but I guess it has begun earlier than I expected. Arsene has to wake up and smell the ashes real soon. Make 1 or 2 purchases in the January transfer window to fill that lack of depth especially in defense, or risk ruining a bright start to the season.

Manchester United's Chances in Europe

Five games, five victories, and United are through to the knockout stages of the Champions League. Only two other teams have remained unbeaten in the group stages, Chelsea and Barcelona. Although the teams that were in Group F were not exactly what you would call serious contenders for the Champions League, coming away from Kiev and Lisbon 4-2 and 1-0 winners is quite a feat. Coupled together with dominating performances at home, the Red Devils look the best bet for a strong showing in Europe this season.

As a United fan myself, I would love to see that happen. But this is dependent on two factors. Firstly, the Cristiano Ronaldo factor. He has netted 14 goals in 18 games this season, 5 of which have come in the 5 European games he appeared in. He sure is peaking, but is it too early? If he burns out prematurely, this could cause serious problems to United in all competitions. You could say there are still the likes of Tevez, Rooney and Saha to lead the front line. Tevez and Rooney are doing relatively ok while Saha is perpetually unfit yet somehow is able to contribute when called upon. The situation looks real bright. At least one of the three has to step up when (or if) Ronaldo wanes at the latter part of the season if United were to see success in any competition.

The second factor is the shaky defense that has been on display all season. They have conceded 13 goals so far this season, which doesn’t seem that bad a number initially. However conceding 5 in the last 7 is a statistic to worry about. The most consistent defensive performer this season has been Wes Brown, who is now in the middle of a distracting contract wrangle. The problem actually lies in the latent instability of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. They look solid on the whole and started off very hard and strong early in the season, but they are beginning to show a propensity to lose concentration, which was precisely why those goals were leaked. Such cracks will be gaping holes when they move deeper into the competition where the likes of Kaka, Ronaldinho and Ibrahimovic will prove to be much more of a problem. Reestablishing the once sound Ferdinand-Vidic partnership and holding on to Brown could be vital to their quest for silverware this season.

My humble opinion is that whether United do well in the Champions League this season is entirely dependent on their performance in the domestic league. The better they do in the league, the less likely they would do well in the Europe. They arguably have enough depth in the squad to challenge a minimum of two fronts, but the new batch of players lack the experience to compete at such a high level so often and perform consistently. However if there was one player that could bring back the 2^nd European title that Sir Alex so obviously wants and needs to surpass Sir Matt Busby and cement himself in United folklore, it will be that Portuguese Prodigy.

Precursor to Revival

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=488545&cc=4716
(Article posted on 7/12/2007)

http://www.bleacherreport.com/articles/2724-European_Football-
Portsmouth-Tottenham_Hotspur-Foreign_Ownership_in_the_EPL_
A_Double-Edged_Sword-081007
(Written on 08/10/2007)

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Hey Melvin,

The Champions League Group F has proven to be a simple challenge for Fergie's men. No other club in Europe has matched their dominance in the Group Stage, and many spectators would deem them the favorite heading into the knockout rounds.

Wondering if in the next week, you'd be able to write a 250-500 word editorial piece regarding Man U's Champions League prospects heading into the new year?

If you're feeling ambitious, we're also looking for analysis on other top Champions League contenders.

Thanks Melvin—looking forward to hearing from you.

Best,
Zan

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Zander Freund
Content and Community Director
Bleacher Report Team
www.BleacherReport.com

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Back with a vengeance! Look out for my next article which will probably come in beginning of next week. Sorry for the wait folks...will update soon.