Champions League week? Don't be predictable...

Quick one, just before I go to bed.
It's the Monday night of the week of the 1st group stage matches of the Champions League, and it's been pretty quiet so far, but no doubt my gooner protagonists on twitter (I'm @GAV_GWA peeps!) will try some weak banter, by helpfully reminding themselves, their followers and/or the world that Arsenal are in the Champions League, and Spurs not.

A message though.  It's not new news.  Up your game - I saw you coming ages ago...

Furthermore, remember that a few children obtained a golden ticket to enter Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, but only one child was worthy of taking it over, and Charlie you are not.

Till next time.

Bandwagon Jack?

Starting this blog thing again, as I find myself writing multiple tweets (@GAV_GWA peeps!) to make my point. Maybe I tweet too much, but some people need to be educated!

Anyway, seems like I've got a sparring partner on twitter - a diehard gooner - and getting him to see any inkling of negative in his club is like flogging a dead horse...so to speak.

I'm in daily contact with my fellow benchers, two of which are gooners, so I know the mood. I know the fears. I know the disappointment. I know the frustrations...

Anyway the subject of the day is Jack Wilshere aka Average Jack aka Bandwagon Jack aka Bowlegged Jack.

Gooners love him - make out he's world class. Make out he could walk into any team in England.

I'm to be convinced.  Don't get me wrong, he's a decent enough player. But as good as gooners make out? I don't think so.

First of all, world class, is Xavi, Iniesta, Scholes in his day, as to show I'm not completely biased, Arsenal men like Cesc, Ozil, Viera in his day, Petit - they're world class.  Jacky boy is nowhere near that level.  In this respect, those players have beaten the boss, Jack hasn't even started the game...

As I said, Jack is decent - the club he is at dictates this to a certain extent. The hype of an Englishman able to pass and move, is borne from the media, and the country craving such a player to save the national team from the doldrums. As his exertions against Ukraine show, there's a bit of work for Young Jack in that respect.  We better get used to waiting...

So, some facts and opinions:
If Jack was a young Spanish player nobody would blink an eyelid - certainly there would be no hype
He's played the equivalent of 2 full seasons out of 4
He is injury prone (how many times has his defence been "he's not fully fit"?)
He's got decent technique, but nowhere near world class
He's not a goalscoring midfielder
He's not a defensive midfielder
He's not even in the top 3 midfielders at his club.
He's been unfairly hyped as being something special, so I feel for the lad.

Anyway time to go. Maybe I'll blog again soon.

The 4MOAB Predictions League

Which Bencher is trying to play it safe...?!

As usual, our weekend starts with another set of predictions. This weekend comes with very tricky fixtures throughout with very evenly matched games. The gambling pro would be best to avoid this one and Mike proves just that with 6 draws predicted. This Super Sunday is really worth waiting for and is truly the first big weekend of football to get excited about. After the summer of some super sport, football has struggled to live up to the same excitement. The Liverpool/Man Utd and Man Citeh/Arsenal games have me tantalisingly expecting the real start to the Premier League season. Roll on Sunday, I can’t wait…!

I guess it comes with the disclaimer that if you’re foolish enough to use our assumptions in any form of gambling, please keep your losses to yourself! On the flipside, any successes feel free to buy us a pint or two!

James Freestone

The 4MOAB Predictions League

Which Bencher is playing their cards right....?!

After a boring international lull it’s back to the Premier League. We continue with our predictions for this weekend’s fixtures. As the international break seems to always screw up the preseason preparation and the momentum from the opening few games, we could see some shock results. Potentially the Stoke/Citeh game is one of those. But game most likely to feature heavily on all accumulators as a win appears to be the Arsenal/Southampton game. A bet of any value would surely be a Sunderland win over Liverpool, not that I’ve looked at any odds or even advocating any gambling, just a thought! Here are the Bencher’s predictions for this weekend.

I guess it comes with the disclaimer that if you’re foolish enough to use our assumptions in any form of gambling, please keep your losses to yourself! On the flipside, any successes feel free to buy us a pint or two!

The 4MOAB Prediction League table looks a bit like this...

 

James Freestone

Four Men Says... FACXTS or FICXTION?

Another edition of my hopefully regular feature called "Four Men Says..." where I ask my fellow Benchers their views about a current event or two.

Now, the football season is well underway, leaving the great Olympic Games of London 2012 a distant memory.  The togetherness of "Team GB" is long gone, as football rivalries come to the fore and football supporters scan Twitter, the Internet, the Papers and all points in between for information on a prospective signing or three which will make the different for their team this season.

One of the teams who have been busy in the transfer market this summer have been Chelsea.  Now, I don't have much time for Chelsea.  They hate us, and we hate them, but having looked quite impressive in their first two matches and sitting on top of the league, with new signings making an impact, I thought I'd ask my colleagues what they thought of Chelsea's signings and their title chances, what with players like Eden Hazard impressing... The question was asked Thursday 23rd August, the day after Chelsea's 4-2 win against Reading.  So here goes

FACXTS OR FICXTION? You are impressed by Chelsea’s signings so far, and Chelsea will mount a serious title challenge this season.

Paul Edmund-Charles (PEC) 

FACXTS(ish) It’s hard to surmise the game last night due to the fact they were edited highlights. Although extended there will ultimately be aspects of the game that would be normally be considered if watched live. Of what I did see, Chelsea stood firm during the period when Reading were in the ascendancy. After half time they played well with Hazard playing the perfect playmaker. I was surprised how much he defends too. I think from what I’ve seen so far this season that Hazard’s influence spreads beyond just him. Other teams will have to watch him and that will free up the space for Ramires, Oscar and Mata. They looked a very decent team going forward, not much long, mainly on the deck but at a pace unusual for Chelsea……

If they gel, and stay free of injury to key players they could hurt the Manchester clubs.

Michael Jhagroo (MJ) @___M_J____

FICXTION Yes, im impressed by Chelski's signings. Having won the Champions League, Roman now wants to produce at team that is more pleasing on the eye. The players they have bought will provide a better standard of football, but may not be as successful in the short term. Personally, I don’t see Chelski winning much this season, So NO, not contenders this season, but will be serious contenders for all major honours next season, once they purge the old boys.

James Freestone (JF) @4menonabench_JF

FICXTION I’m impressed with Hazard, without doubt a quality acquisition to go along side Mata. However the depth to the attacking talent should be a concern. How do they replace Torres, Mata and Hazard when poor form or injuries hit? It’s not like they have a Drogba or Anelka sitting on the bench ready to make an impact. They’ll give the Manchester clubs a stern test, but any sustained title challenge won’t happen. Chelsea feel like the pacesetters you get for a 10k run that slowly fade away in the final 2 laps!

Gavin Woolery-Allen (GWA) @GAV_4MOAB

FACXTS I'm very impressed with Chelsea's signings. Hazard looks like he could take the Prem by storm. Marin is a player I rate, and Oscar has the potential to be a very very good player.  The signings will make Chelsea an attractive team to watch, and have clearly resulted in a change to the way Chelsea play.  I think Chelsea will be up there along with a number of teams this season - with Lampard and Mikel holding, and attacking midfielders playing for Fernando Torres, they have the right mix of solidity and goals.  The only downside I can see to any title challenge is Terry - his legs have gone, and if Torres gets injured.

So there it is - 2.5 to 1.5 in favour of FICXTION.  What do you reckon? Have Chelsea got enough in them to challenge? Let us know below!

The 4MOAB Predictions League

Which Bencher do you believe in....?!

After a great opening weekend to the League that is Premier, we continue with our predictions for this weekend’s fixtures. You would think there would be some logic carried over from last weekend’s performances, however some benchers don’t learn! I’ll point you the avid West Ham fan, Paul, who thinks his beloved Iron’s will get something against Swansea! Obviously signing Matt Jarvis has gone to his head!

 

I guess it comes with the disclaimer that if you’re foolish enough to use our assumptions in any form of gambling, please keep your losses to yourself! On the flipside, any successes feel free to buy us a pint or two!

The prediction league results from last weekend looks a bit like this...

James Freestone

The 4MOAB Predictions League

Which Bencher is getting lucky with his betting slip?

My fellow benchers and I will provide our insight (guesses or in some cases systems[?!]) into the weekends Premier League fixtures. These will be scored throughout the year and we’ll determine the ‘Bencher’ with the most bragging rights or those whose feeling a little deflated!

Premier League
Rules
1) 3 points for the correct score, 1 point for the result and a walk of shame for getting utterly wrong!
2) Each player gets one 'banker', which can earn you double points, highlighted bold.
FIXTURE	RESULT	PREDICTIONS
		JAMES	GAVIN	MIKE	PAUL
Saturday 18th August 2012
Arsenal V Sunderland		3-1	3-0	1-0	3-1
Fulham V Norwich		2-1	2-0	1-0	2-1
QPR V Swansea		0-0	4-1	1-0	1-1
Reading V Stoke		0-1	2-1	1-0	4-0
West Brom V Liverpool		1-1	0-2	1-0	2-2
West Ham V Aston Villa		0-0	1-1	1-0	1-2
Newcastle V Tottenham		2-1	0-1	1-0	1-1
Sunday 19th August 2012
Wigan V Chelsea		0-2	1-1	1-0	0-2
Man City V Southampton		3-1	2-0	1-0	2-0
Monday 20th August 2012
Everton V Man Utd		1-3	1-1	1-0	0-2
Wednesday 22nd August 2012
Chelsea V Reading		3-0	2-1	1-0	1-0
TOTALS		0	0	0	0

I guess it comes with disclaimers that if you’re foolish enough to use our assumptions in any form of gambling, please keep your losses to yourself! On the flipside, any successes feel free to buy us a pint or two!

Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?

Robin’s Dilemma & the Strength of Manchester Utd

The RVP situation draws similarities to the Vieria saga of 2001. PV4 questioned the clubs ambitions after the signings of Richard Wright, Francis Jeffers and Gio Van Bronkhurst. However once Sol Campbell was signed up Vieria quickly retracked on his previous statement. So it’s much the same with RVP. He released his statement knowing Poldoski was signed and Giroud almost confirmed. Has the signing of Santi Carzola changed his mind? Who knows.

If he goes to Utd, all Arsenal have done is strengthen their rivals and questions will be asked of the clubs ambitions. On the other hand if we get £25million for a 29 year old in the last year of his contract with a history of serious long-term injuries, that must represent great business?

That follows on to Utds ambitions. Are Utd still a desirable club considering the power of Man Citeh and their Premier League Title? Current transfers and the inability to secure Modric, Moura or RVP (to date) would suggest the lure of Man Utd has diminished somewhat. However, with Financial Fair Play coming in to effect are both clubs just trying to cut their cloth accordingly? Both clubs have a significant amount of players they would likely move on if they could find suitors. But with an inflated wage bill started by Chelsea and increased by Man Citeh there are still players like Berbatov and Averagebyour that struggle to move on. I expect The Boards of each club have issued ultimatums to trim their squads before new signings. This will likely make the 19 point difference between top and 3^rd much reduced and Utd, in particular, will face increasing pressure this season from Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool to stay in the Champions League.

James Freestone