Tragedies Bring Us Closer Together

In the wake of the horrific scenes at White Hart Lane on Saturday, the old phrase that football is more important than life and death became more irrelevant than possibly it ever has been. Fabrice Muamba's shocking collapse due to a cardiac arrest stunned the entire football community, yet while there was great upset and emotion not only on the pitch but throughout the footballing world, it has shown the true togetherness that football does bring in its time of need.

Everywhere you looked there were tributes to the stricken Bolton midfielder, straight away '#Pray4Muamba' began trending on social networking site Twitter, and fans from all over the globe were sending there well wishes. However for me the greatest example of togetherness came at the Santiago Bernabeau on Sunday night. Despite being in a completely different country the Real Madrid stars came out of the tunnel with shirts supporting Muamba and also Barcelona's Eric Abidal, who is awaiting a liver transplant.

Juventus star man Andrea Pirlo even dedicated his team's 5-0 demolishing of Fiorentina to Muamba, a true sign of class and professionalism from one of Europe's star performers. Bolton's horrible scenario is one that reminds us that football is only a game, and in no way shape or form is the life of a young 23 year old family man ever more important than a simple game of football. It's a strange feeling that sometimes the greatest of tragedies can often bring the best out of us, but that's just human nature I guess. Looking back at tragedies like Hillsborough and the death of Hungarian international Miklos Feher we always notice a similar trend, at time of need everyone comes together in football, and let's hope this never changes













Gary Cahill's moving tribute, and the sheer emotion of Tottenham players, shine light on one of modern football's darkest days to date.

Chelsea vs Arsenal, The Battle For Fourth

With Arsenal racking up 6 points against tough opposition, and Chelsea seemingly being plunged into a season-destroying crisis, the battle for that illusive fourth Champions League spot is becoming more heated and tense with every game that passes.

But just who at the end of this topsy-turby season will be entering Europe's elite competition? The sacking of Juan Mata lookalike Andre Villas-Boas, may have plunged Chelsea into almost a season destroying crisis, and with seasoned players Lampard, Drogba and Terry struggling to have any impact these days, it seems a pretty big hill to climb for the boys in blue.

However crossing over to the red side of North London, things for once are starting to look up for Arsenal. With back to back victories over Liverpool and Tottenham, and talisman Robin Van Persie scoring goals for fun, it would seem that after a season of 8-2 thrashings that Arsenal could be in the driving seat to achieve fourth place; not many of us would have said that 6 months ago.

The big worry for Chelsea fans though has to be there lack of goals. For me without the £23.5 million signing of Juan Mata, Chelsea would be struggling for even the Europa League places, as the little Spanish wizard has fitted into a blue shirt like a hand fits into a glove. Apart from that and maybe a handful of fine performances from Daniel Sturridge where is the rest of Chelsea's threat going forward? Fernando Torres? Clearly not.

For me with Arsenal's Dutch goal-scoring machine up front this could secure them that fourth Champions League place, because Chelsea no longer have their tight defence with David Luiz and Gary Cahill not looking up to scratch in any shape or form. Even though Arsenal's defence may at times have more gaps than most, there threat going forward and there ever improving form, could be the deciders on what is going to be one hell of a battle.

The Key Game: Arsenal vs Chelsea 21 April 2012: This game could be the decider, and Chelsea will find it mighty hard to scrape much at the Emirates.

Who would you rather have in the battle for fourth place? Goalscoring could be the key factor.

Disagree with anything, or have your own thoughts? Feel free to comment.

Should Thierry Henry start against Swansea

A moment of pure joy flooded the stands at the Emirates on Monday night as a living legend of Arsenal football club slotted home the winner in an otherwise quite depressing and drawn out FA cup third round tie in London.

Now the question beckons, does Wenger start Henry against a very talented Swansea side? For me and this is coming from an Arsenal fan and a great admirer of Henry, he should not start the game in Wales today. His fitness for me clearly wasn't there against Leeds, and while his sheer presence and experience would perhaps shake the Premier League new comers, it has been very clear this season that Swansea are not a team that will simply lie down and accept defeat, and Thierry's lack of full-pace Premiership football could catch up on him.

I will make a bold statement and suggest that Andrey Arshavin should start against the Swans and who knows this could be his lucky break. The Russian showed signs of work-rate against Leeds, and perhaps a patch of form is all he needs. However a substitute appearance in Wales wouldn't go a miss for Henry and i'm almost certain he will feature at some point in the game today.

Who will Wenger choose?

Any other opinions? Comments always welcome.

 

The Three Players who have to be on England's Euro 2012 plane

With the new year only a matter of weeks away, the new Premier League season has begun to produce some of England's brightest young talents. With the 'golden generation' of England players now fading away into memory, we must now look to the new breed of England stars, and a few of them are making a name for themselves. The three players I have chosen to look at, are slowly becoming the star players at their clubs, and only a fairly idiotic manager would leave them out of their squad, but then again Capello has proved us wrong before, the name Heskey rings a bell in that respect.

1. Daniel Sturridge:

The Loan spell at Bolton last year seems to have done absolute wonders to Chelsea's new star man, and his new found ability on wing and a good left foot is something England have been needing, and his goalscoring abilities far outweigh that of Theo Walcott or Stewart Downing, who constantly struggle to find the net for England. Sturridge at the moment for me is Chelsea's best player and his pace and finishing abilities could be key for England to succeed in the summer, and if it were me Sturridge would be on the plane way before Walcott, Young or Downing, but unfortunately its not my decision.

2. Phil Jones:

The 19 year old probably was not expecting all the first team football he is getting, but at his tender age he has adapted to first team football at Manchester United better than anyone I have ever seen. His versatility is unquestionably impressive, while his prescence on the ball and determination are something England need whether it's in defence or midfield. His performance in midfield against Spain showed he is easily capable to perform against the best even when out of position, and with the great Sir Alex Ferguson nurturing him, combined with the decline of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, for me Jones has to be on that plane and in time we could be looking at the future England captain.

3. Kyle Walker:

People have been crying out to add Micah Richards to the England squad, but for me it's Tottenham's new found star Kyle Walker that should be the first choice right-back. The sheer attacking flair of Walker is combined with his sheer quality in his defensive duties is something England have been searching for on the right side of their defence. While Johnson and Richards are both decent right-backs, for me they don't have the all round package that Walker offers, and to leave him out of the Euro 2012 squad, would be a huge mistake on behalf of Fabio Capello.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Champions League Draw: Who Chelsea and Arsenal want to avoid

With the London giants the only English opposition left in Europe's elite competition they both look towards the second draw tomorrow, anxious to which opposition they will both be facing. With both teams topping their selected groups they may think they will be getting some easier opposition, but there are still some dangerous teams they could be pitted against, because truthfully there are virtually no team left in the competition that couldn't give Chelsea or Arsenal a scare.

3 reasons why Manchester United are currently struggling

With the Red Devils eliminated from Europe's elite competition to Swiss minnows FC Basel, problems look like there finally emerging at Old Trafford, and Ferguson needs to fix holes in his side, but just what are the these issues causing this slump on the red side of Manchester?

1. Lack of a creative midfielder:

With Tom Cleverley's continuous injury lay off's and several others in the midfield area, the Red Devils lack that spark of creativity that can win you games. It was clear against Basel and in a few Premier League games recently that none of the United midfielders have the vision or the skill to pick out that defence-splitting pass and open the lock so to speak and for a team of the calibre and high expectancy of Manchester United this creativeness is without a doubt a necessity. Wesley Sneijder would be an ideal candidate, but if Fergie can't find a suitable creative spark to add to his midfield, United will find it more and more difficult to break teams down as the season wears on.

2. Rooney's form deteriorating, once again:

At the start of the season everything Rooney touched turned to gold, as he was scoring hattricks and playing like a truly world-class player. However recently United's star man has entered a goal drought, and his performance in Switzerland was shamefully below par. Without Rooney playing to his best United lack goals, and it shows as they have not scored more than once in the Premier League in the last 8 games. With a one month lay off to Javier Hernandez a bigger goal-scoring burden has been placed on the shoulders of the England man, but at the moment the burden is getting the most of him and costing his team.

3: Rio Ferdinand is not the player he was:

Nemanja Vidic's horrific looking knee injury in Switzerland is yet another injury for the Serb this season, and for United this is a hammer blow. More emphasis is now placed on Rio Ferdinand to lead the back line, and with Rio's age starting to show he has and will find it hard to try and lead a very young United defence on his own. A few years ago it would not have been such a big issue to Alex Ferguson, but with Rio slowly succumbing to his age and without his fantastic Serbian partner, the Red Devils defence will struggle in the bigger matches, and may struggle to keep up with defending the Premier League crown.

'With United's current situation, it will be a hard task for them to get out of the rut they find themselves in, Thursday nights certainly aren't going to help.'

Old Trafford stunned by Ambrose

It may only be the League cup but Darren Ambrose showed some true class to score what must surely be one of the best goals at Old Trafford by a visiting team, could even be better than Rooney's.