I shure miss this Mourinho fella and his blissful banter. Check out the article below, courtesy of Yahoo Eurosport:
Jose Mourinho has taken an almighty pop at Arsene Wenger, claiming the Frenchman has it easy at Arsenal.
“Arsenal is a unique team,” Mourinho told Gazzetta Dello Sport.
“Their coach hasn’t won anything for years and is still an idol. There is no pressure at Arsenal.
“But do not say he is growing young players into talents. What he does is take young players who are jewels and polishes them. It’s different. He has time to work in a serene atmosphere and get results.”
While the accusation is not new, the previous diatribes occurred when the two mangers were in direct competition and thus interpreted as a ‘mindgame’ ploy by the Special One to ratchet up pressure on Wenger.
That Mourinho felt compelled to put Wenger back in his sights even at a time when he is out of the game indicates that the antipathy between the pair – who fell out spectacularly three years ago when the then Chelsea boss branded Wenger a “voyeur” – still lingers.
Either that or Mourinho genuinely believes the Arsenal manager lives in a comfort zone at the Emirates Stadium.
Did Arsene Wenger accidently ran over a black cat? The humiliation of losing to arch-rival Man Utd (and booted out of the FA Cup in the process), the unnecessary bookings, Adebayor’s miss in the Champions League … and that … that … (cue the often cliched Psycho shower scene theme) THAT horrific injury, plus the points lost in their last EPL encounter.
Yup, things aren’t going the Gunner’s way. And now they have to mentally prepare themselves for a mouth-watering encounter with Martin O’Neill’s men – which could somehow end up as THE turning point to their EPL season should they lose.
Villa could not have picked a better time to meet Arsenal and I believe key players like Gabriel Agblonlahor, Ashley Young, Marlon Harewood, Gareth Barry, and John Carew are in a good run of form – physically and mentally – which could probably see them unsettle the Arsenal defense, often seen as their weakest link.
But who am I kidding? An Arsenal team waiting to bounce back from their current misery, plus having their supporters behind them as they are playing at home – taking this to account I have to simply rate it an uphill task for Villa to come out of the wounded lion’s den with any points at all.
While we sympathize with Eduardo and the Gunners over that horrific injury, I was inspired to find videos of some of the previous worst injuries in telecasted football history. I found this video to be highly disturbing due to Mr. Oh My God’s reaction:
I can’t seem to find a good quality video for David Busst’s compound fracture against Manchester United in 1996. Anyone?
Red Devils fans rejoice. For your majestic team played majestically, and the Gooners had no answer to the excellence of the Nani-Anderson two punch.
Really, the Man-of-the-match was a toss-up between Rooney and Nani, even though I personally felt that the center midfield trio of Carrick, Fletcher and Anderson deserved a mention. Eventually Rooney was to win it, largely due to him being the lesser of the two sportsmanship evils.
What am I talking about? Nani would have won it (1 goal and 2 assists) if it wasn’t for the below.
While the video is loading, what is this GoFloyd thingy that everybody is talking about? Gotta check it out at Google…
Man Utd will be licking their wounds following their 1-2 EPL loss to Man City over the weekend – but don’t expect a loss of confidence. With the memories of Munich behind them and the return of my untouchable YFF-er Wayne Rooney, Man Utd will most likely turn the Gunners into Goners in the FA Cup.
Arsenal, on the other hand, will be missing some key players due to injury like Rosicky, Hleb, Senderos, Clichy, and possibly Adebayor and Flamini. This will not look good in such a crucial game for both teams, but I expect their manager Arsene Wenger has an ace up his sleeve. We’ll see …
Expect these key players to shine:
Rooney. The man from Croxteth usually shines on big games. I am expecting him to juggernaut his way through the Arsenal defense.
Fabregas. As expected, he will supply the ammunition needed to blast Man Utd to Loserville.
Anderson. He has been looking good and getting better all the time. Just needs a goal which he might just get.
Ferdinand. Though part of the shambolic defense that contributed to the Man City loss, one does forget that his partnership with Vidic is one of the reasons why Man Utd are competing for honours this season.
Toure. His return may be the key to Arsenal winning the midfield battle.
Astro Starsports CH 813 will be giving us an assist for this weekend’s fixtures:
FA Cup 2007/08 (LIVE)
05 Jan 2008 2255 Round 3 06 Jan 2008 0110 Aston Villa vs Manchester United
06 Jan 2008 2155 Burnley vs Arsenal
07 Jan 2008 0000 Luton Town vs Liverpool
07 Jan 2008 0200 Stoke City vs Newcastle United
Astro’s vague schedule leaves me to wonder what game they will be showing for the 5th Jan 11pm slot on ESPN (CH 812) and Starsports (CH 813).
Answer: Tottenham Hotspurs vs. Reading (there’s a 99% chance that this will be the game )
Here’s a shoutout to John. Hleb is OUT. Injury woes for Arsenal (news as reported on the Arsenal website):
December 4, 2007
Mathieu Flamini
Mathieu Flamini has been ruled out of the trip to Newcastle on Wednesday. Flamini fell victim to a recurrence of his thigh injury against Aston Villa. “We have lost Mathieu Flamini from Saturday at Villa,” Wenger told Arsenal TV Online. There is optimism over the chances of Flamini playing against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.
December 4, 2007
Alex Hleb
Alex Hleb has been ruled out of the trip to Newcastle on Wednesday. During the morale-boosting victory over Aston Villa, Hleb collected a hamstring problem. “We have lost Alex Hleb from Saturday at Villa,” Wenger told Arsenal TV Online on Tuesday afternoon. Hleb is unlikely to be back for Arsenal’s return to the North-East on Sunday at Middlesbrough.
Good news for Denilson and Eduardo? I have these young ‘uns for Wednesday’s games…
‘We were brilliant and resilient. In the first half we played some absolutely amazing football. We moved the ball quickly, were accurate with our passing in short spaces and made it difficult for Villa.
‘In the second half, the physical contribution from Villa and the fact some of our players dropped off a little bit, allowed them back in. ‘I felt at the end of the first half we seemed as if we weren’t right on top of things and that made it difficult. ‘But this is a big result. Because of the belief in the Villa side after their recent good run, we needed something special.
‘Maybe in the past, games like that have been our Achilles heel. But we have improved, have more experience and resilience and we panic less.’
![[Official ShenaniganZ EPL Fantasy Football League]](http://l.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/i/uk/sp/euro78.jpg "PENTAGRAM")
Did Arsene Wenger accidently ran over a black cat? The humiliation of losing to arch-rival Man Utd (and booted out of the FA Cup in the process), the unnecessary bookings, Adebayor’s miss in the Champions League … and that … that … (cue the often cliched 
Villa could not have picked a better time to meet Arsenal and I believe key players like Gabriel Agblonlahor, Ashley Young, Marlon Harewood, Gareth Barry, and John Carew are in a good run of form – physically and mentally – which could probably see them unsettle the Arsenal defense, often seen as their weakest link.
Man Utd will be licking their wounds following their 1-2 EPL loss to Man City over the weekend – but don’t expect a loss of confidence. With the memories of Munich behind them and the return of my untouchable YFF-er Wayne Rooney, Man Utd will most likely turn the Gunners into Goners in the FA Cup.
Arsenal, on the other hand, will be missing some key players due to injury like Rosicky, Hleb, Senderos, Clichy, and possibly Adebayor and Flamini. This will not look good in such a crucial game for both teams, but I expect their manager Arsene Wenger has an ace up his sleeve. We’ll see …
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