Ally
Active Member
Celtic 1 (Miller 57) Arsenal 1 (Kanu 70)
Well, that was entertaining enough pre-season fare. In the sunshine at Parkhead, we probably deserved more, but got out with the draw thanks to a rather unlikely source off the subs bench.
There was a crackling atmosphere outside the stadium, and a sensational buzz in the Arsenal end, not in the least bit marred by the absence of Dennis Bergkamp up front. We got underway as the Celtic fans provided noise to put to shame that of, say, the Moon, and the two sides settled down into a characteristicly hectic scramble – hey! These games aren't about possession, they're about individuals and flair players, which accounts for Momo Sylla and Stilian Petrov giving Ash Cole more than a bit of trouble down the right wing whilst failing to put in any decent crosses at all. Teamwork ain't the issue – the showboaters enjoy these occasions as they can let their hair down and dust off all the fancy flicks.
Jens Lehmann started off in goal (And would finish there – Wenger didn't follow O'Neill with a change of keeper) and made a thoroughly encouraging start with a reflex block with his legs from Shaun Maloney, clean through after he got the wrong side of Sol in the first few minutes. An inexperienced striker, sure, but Jens stood up to him and got down very, very quickly.
Jeremie Aliadiere had started up front with Franny Jeffers, and was savouring the opportunity – there was simply something wonderful about him imping his way around Bobo Balde and John Mjallby (Who are inconceivably huge defenders with enough presence about them to send kids whimpering back to their mams), taking out the both of them at one point with a sublime flick-and-dart movement. He trailed off before half time, and doesn't seem to have a particularly good understanding with Jeffers (Barring a few promising exchanges early on), but as a positional poacher willing to drop back and run with the ball, we may just have another Jeffers. Which will either make your blood run cold or have you bouncing around, depending on your stance on such matters. Hehe.
Lehmann made another fine save from a reverse drag by Petrov (Later given Man of the Match by the sponsors, which I suppose was fair enough seeing as he was their best player), adjusting well and showing off an outstanding reach to grab the skimmed effort low to his right. His kicking was erratic though, and is obviously in need of a good seeing-to before something Barthezian and probably catastrophic happens. He is also prone to a worrying number of 'headless chicken' moments which sooner or later WILL lead to penalties and red cards being given away. Two, three or maybe even four times, he came charging off his line to try and deal with danger, once making a utterly lovely sliding tackle to win possession, but once become totally stranded and was reliant on a desperate Cygan header to clear the danger.
Seeing as I didn't have that good a view of the goal, I'm not sure if he was to blame or not. There was a flick-on from a centre by Neil Lennon and rookie Liam Miller twisted to hook a fairly weak overhead towards goal. Perhaps it was actually more adroit than I'm making it sound, but to me I thought that Lehmann got a full hand to it before it bounced into the net. I was sure he'd saved it and was up off my seat ready to applaud.
Unnoticed by many and marred for us, Paddy came on for Freddie Ljungberg (All but toally out of the game) – we'd given him a standing ovation when he was warming up but I'd be lying if I said his comeback wasn't a bit spoiled by the Celtic goal. Parlour switched to the right and the match changed straight away.
Franny Jeffers was fairly unremarkable today, without crosses or cut backs to tuck away he slaved in the midfield to try and win posession without hvaing much joy against the likes of Lennon and Lambert – he had a chance to equalise when the ball broke with Hedman off his line, he tried a lob which was without height or power and the keeper gathered easily. It would have been a Bergkamp goal, and it has to be said, not many score from that type of situation. A few minutes later, Kanu slotted an awkward through ball into the danger area, and Balde sold Hedman short with his backpass, which Jeffers was oh-so-close to reaching before the ball was booted out to saftey. The Fox then had his third chance when he took down a cross from the Razor, and with his back to goal, swivelled and hooked his shot just wide.
The major influence on this game though, as I said, was someone who we're apparantly trying to offload to the middle of the desert for being rubbish. All this was a bit ironic when Kanu skinned his man on the near touchline, glided in, and, I think, tried to take on the keeper when a cut back would have given Franny a goal. If he was trying a cross, it was intercepted, there was a bit of a scramble and he dived in to connect and poke the ball in at the near post.
Anyway, all this was instantly forgettable nonsense, but I have to say that I've seen plenty of worse competetive matches (Mostly involving Liverpool). Kanu had us on our feet with an outreageously brilliant 'flick up and header' manoevuere, that sadly just failed to work, and Lehmann made some awkward saves look easy, diving to smother Maloney's pushed effort as the kid swerved his way through, and claiming breezily a whipped free-kick from the same player. Cygan was on at this point for the utterly magnificent Kolo Toure, and to be honest he was good enough.
For once, I don't have to analyse any implications or hypothetical scenarios, which is nice. We got out with no injuries (Although Gilberto did seem to take a knock, but was up and running around before Edu came on), it was a good game, and we all had a great day out. AND, PADDY IS WELL AND TRULY BACK.
Line-up -
Jens Lehmann – By turns superb and breathtakingly dodgy. Is commanding and very good at claiming balls under pressure, and makes potentially uncomfortable saves nonchalently. However, has a heart-stopping tendancy to sprint out of his goal which is going to lead to unsavoury consequences if unchecked.
Ashley Cole – Fast, nimble, agile and routinely impressive.
Sol Campbell – Something else. The Celtic strikeforce never had a chance in the first half. Made an unreal tackle on Lennon, appearing from nowhere to clear the danger.
Kolo Toure – I just love this guy. Played CB sensationally. Made thumping clearances, emphatic headers and his partnership with Sol simply ran like clockwork.
Lauren – Composed and dextral, and is less prone to leaving space behind him. Becoming increasingly aware of his defensive responsibilities.
Freddie Ljungberg – Very disappoitning. Didn't do much, really.
Gilberto – What else do you expect from him? One very, very cool customer.
Ray Parlour – Infinitely more effective as a flying right winger. Really got stuck in early on.
Jermaine Pennant – Electric on the ball and willing to drop back too. Short passing needs a LOT of work, but banged one unbelievable ball straight across the face of the Celtic defence to Ali early on.
Francis Jeffers – Lively, but onto a loser while being marked by Bobo Balde. Low on confidence and wasteful as a result, but having to work with no service with our creative players missing.
Jeremie Aliadiere – First 20 minutes were a breath of fresh air – rest of the first half got less and less so. Very intelligent, but two poachers together doesn't usually work.
SUBS -
Patrick Vieira – You knew he was back when he went on the 'Paddy Burst Forward'. Frightening and on a different footballing level from the opposition.
Gio van Bronckhorst – OK, not spectacular, and dragged a shot wide. There was space on his side and he didn't use it too well.
Edu – Good passing, good possession work and good persistance. I have a lot of time for this man.
Pascal Cygan – Servicable and no nonsense. Did his job well.
Gael Clichy – Talented kid. Very quick, and seems to be well competant defensively. Should be given a contract.
Kanu – Wow. Pretty sensational, to be honest.
Man of the Match
Gotta be Nu. There's no other choice.
Moment of the Match
Paddy's “Louder” gesture as we got on our feet for him as he was warming up.
Moan of the Match
I can say with certainty that the food at Celtic Park is the worst I have ever tasted. Hehe.
Ally Winford
Well, that was entertaining enough pre-season fare. In the sunshine at Parkhead, we probably deserved more, but got out with the draw thanks to a rather unlikely source off the subs bench.
There was a crackling atmosphere outside the stadium, and a sensational buzz in the Arsenal end, not in the least bit marred by the absence of Dennis Bergkamp up front. We got underway as the Celtic fans provided noise to put to shame that of, say, the Moon, and the two sides settled down into a characteristicly hectic scramble – hey! These games aren't about possession, they're about individuals and flair players, which accounts for Momo Sylla and Stilian Petrov giving Ash Cole more than a bit of trouble down the right wing whilst failing to put in any decent crosses at all. Teamwork ain't the issue – the showboaters enjoy these occasions as they can let their hair down and dust off all the fancy flicks.
Jens Lehmann started off in goal (And would finish there – Wenger didn't follow O'Neill with a change of keeper) and made a thoroughly encouraging start with a reflex block with his legs from Shaun Maloney, clean through after he got the wrong side of Sol in the first few minutes. An inexperienced striker, sure, but Jens stood up to him and got down very, very quickly.
Jeremie Aliadiere had started up front with Franny Jeffers, and was savouring the opportunity – there was simply something wonderful about him imping his way around Bobo Balde and John Mjallby (Who are inconceivably huge defenders with enough presence about them to send kids whimpering back to their mams), taking out the both of them at one point with a sublime flick-and-dart movement. He trailed off before half time, and doesn't seem to have a particularly good understanding with Jeffers (Barring a few promising exchanges early on), but as a positional poacher willing to drop back and run with the ball, we may just have another Jeffers. Which will either make your blood run cold or have you bouncing around, depending on your stance on such matters. Hehe.
Lehmann made another fine save from a reverse drag by Petrov (Later given Man of the Match by the sponsors, which I suppose was fair enough seeing as he was their best player), adjusting well and showing off an outstanding reach to grab the skimmed effort low to his right. His kicking was erratic though, and is obviously in need of a good seeing-to before something Barthezian and probably catastrophic happens. He is also prone to a worrying number of 'headless chicken' moments which sooner or later WILL lead to penalties and red cards being given away. Two, three or maybe even four times, he came charging off his line to try and deal with danger, once making a utterly lovely sliding tackle to win possession, but once become totally stranded and was reliant on a desperate Cygan header to clear the danger.
Seeing as I didn't have that good a view of the goal, I'm not sure if he was to blame or not. There was a flick-on from a centre by Neil Lennon and rookie Liam Miller twisted to hook a fairly weak overhead towards goal. Perhaps it was actually more adroit than I'm making it sound, but to me I thought that Lehmann got a full hand to it before it bounced into the net. I was sure he'd saved it and was up off my seat ready to applaud.
Unnoticed by many and marred for us, Paddy came on for Freddie Ljungberg (All but toally out of the game) – we'd given him a standing ovation when he was warming up but I'd be lying if I said his comeback wasn't a bit spoiled by the Celtic goal. Parlour switched to the right and the match changed straight away.
Franny Jeffers was fairly unremarkable today, without crosses or cut backs to tuck away he slaved in the midfield to try and win posession without hvaing much joy against the likes of Lennon and Lambert – he had a chance to equalise when the ball broke with Hedman off his line, he tried a lob which was without height or power and the keeper gathered easily. It would have been a Bergkamp goal, and it has to be said, not many score from that type of situation. A few minutes later, Kanu slotted an awkward through ball into the danger area, and Balde sold Hedman short with his backpass, which Jeffers was oh-so-close to reaching before the ball was booted out to saftey. The Fox then had his third chance when he took down a cross from the Razor, and with his back to goal, swivelled and hooked his shot just wide.
The major influence on this game though, as I said, was someone who we're apparantly trying to offload to the middle of the desert for being rubbish. All this was a bit ironic when Kanu skinned his man on the near touchline, glided in, and, I think, tried to take on the keeper when a cut back would have given Franny a goal. If he was trying a cross, it was intercepted, there was a bit of a scramble and he dived in to connect and poke the ball in at the near post.
Anyway, all this was instantly forgettable nonsense, but I have to say that I've seen plenty of worse competetive matches (Mostly involving Liverpool). Kanu had us on our feet with an outreageously brilliant 'flick up and header' manoevuere, that sadly just failed to work, and Lehmann made some awkward saves look easy, diving to smother Maloney's pushed effort as the kid swerved his way through, and claiming breezily a whipped free-kick from the same player. Cygan was on at this point for the utterly magnificent Kolo Toure, and to be honest he was good enough.
For once, I don't have to analyse any implications or hypothetical scenarios, which is nice. We got out with no injuries (Although Gilberto did seem to take a knock, but was up and running around before Edu came on), it was a good game, and we all had a great day out. AND, PADDY IS WELL AND TRULY BACK.
Line-up -
Jens Lehmann – By turns superb and breathtakingly dodgy. Is commanding and very good at claiming balls under pressure, and makes potentially uncomfortable saves nonchalently. However, has a heart-stopping tendancy to sprint out of his goal which is going to lead to unsavoury consequences if unchecked.
Ashley Cole – Fast, nimble, agile and routinely impressive.
Sol Campbell – Something else. The Celtic strikeforce never had a chance in the first half. Made an unreal tackle on Lennon, appearing from nowhere to clear the danger.
Kolo Toure – I just love this guy. Played CB sensationally. Made thumping clearances, emphatic headers and his partnership with Sol simply ran like clockwork.
Lauren – Composed and dextral, and is less prone to leaving space behind him. Becoming increasingly aware of his defensive responsibilities.
Freddie Ljungberg – Very disappoitning. Didn't do much, really.
Gilberto – What else do you expect from him? One very, very cool customer.
Ray Parlour – Infinitely more effective as a flying right winger. Really got stuck in early on.
Jermaine Pennant – Electric on the ball and willing to drop back too. Short passing needs a LOT of work, but banged one unbelievable ball straight across the face of the Celtic defence to Ali early on.
Francis Jeffers – Lively, but onto a loser while being marked by Bobo Balde. Low on confidence and wasteful as a result, but having to work with no service with our creative players missing.
Jeremie Aliadiere – First 20 minutes were a breath of fresh air – rest of the first half got less and less so. Very intelligent, but two poachers together doesn't usually work.
SUBS -
Patrick Vieira – You knew he was back when he went on the 'Paddy Burst Forward'. Frightening and on a different footballing level from the opposition.
Gio van Bronckhorst – OK, not spectacular, and dragged a shot wide. There was space on his side and he didn't use it too well.
Edu – Good passing, good possession work and good persistance. I have a lot of time for this man.
Pascal Cygan – Servicable and no nonsense. Did his job well.
Gael Clichy – Talented kid. Very quick, and seems to be well competant defensively. Should be given a contract.
Kanu – Wow. Pretty sensational, to be honest.
Man of the Match
Gotta be Nu. There's no other choice.
Moment of the Match
Paddy's “Louder” gesture as we got on our feet for him as he was warming up.
Moan of the Match
I can say with certainty that the food at Celtic Park is the worst I have ever tasted. Hehe.
Ally Winford
