The Diary

21 November 2004: Arsenal's Guns Spiked - More Thoughts

Wow. Suddenly, it feels mighty good to be a Baggie once more. Interesting, though, when perusing our Sundays, both tabloid and broadsheet, to note that most of them reported our performance with not a little respect for what we achieved yesterday. Sure, we did get a little of the old ?haute monde? ?Arsenal were way off form? type of thing, and in retrospect, you might argue convincingly that Lady Luck played a pretty important part in our success ? but, hey, let?s not knock it by selling ourselves short, here. We all worked bloody hard for that result, we knew it, and so did our players, who quite rightly applauded our efforts after the final whistle. As we did them. Incidentally, it wasn?t just at Highbury where pleasing things happened yesterday. Si?s second love, Tucka Trewick?s Hereford, thumped Canvey Island 4-0 away, and SuperBob scored for Tamworth. A great big sloppy ?well done? to both.

There won?t be all that many sides during the remainder of this season to come away from North London with a point to show for their labours. And while Houlty?s boo-boo was of the first magnitude, let?s put it into perspective a little by remembering that before the incident concerned, he managed to pull off a series of top-notch saves. Despite that, a little voice of caution does suggest that it?s not the first time the lad?s let in clangers of similar ilk this season. Russell might well note there is in the reserves a very able Polish replacement. As good as Houlty at his sublime best can be, no-one is truly indispensable, least of all in footballing circles, where you?re only as good as your last game. As for Gera and Clem, it was good to see them being used in the positions God gave the pair of ?em, and not struggling in one totally alien to their natural playing skills. In fact, such was the favourable impression our lot made on the Beeb, both Big Dave and Clem were included in their sport website?s Premiership Team Of The Week today. That?s quite an achievement, that ? and I don?t ever remember it happening before. Unless you know different, of course.

What we did was doubly massive when you consider what happened the time we visited two seasons ago. Come the interval then, we were three goals down, not to mention definitely out. The dispassionate, clinical, almost, way that Arse side carved us up during that opening 30 minutes was truly frightening. I still have flashbacks even now. This time round, to leave the field come the interval with our goal-netting still intact and unsullied by spherical objects was a tremendous achievement. Oh ? and one other thing. The more I think about the inclusion of Sakiri in yesterday?s side, and the relegation of Earnie to the bench, the more I realise how crafty that move was. At the time our manager selected the side, it seemed that whichever way we looked it, we were on a hiding to nothing, pretty much. What better opportunity, then, to give Our Tim a chance to shine? And what better opportunity to keep Earnie in reserve, as our ?secret weapon? if needed.

As for Jason Koumas, he?s in the reserves because of his indifferent form of late, purely and simply. When raring to go, he has a talent better clubs than ours would pay a king?s ransom to acquire. Remember Forest, away, last season? If ever there was a one-man demolition squad on the pitch that day, Koumas was it. As our new gaffer said recently, everyone at the club starts with a clean slate as far as he?s concerned; if JK can?t shine in training, or go about his job with sufficient enthusiasm when playing for the second-string, no wonder Robbo?s left him out of the reckoning. From what I?ve gleaned from my ?spy? he isn?t in the business of bearing grudges. Jase can?t hang his various troubles, whatever they may be, around Megson?s neck any longer, and the sooner he takes that simple fact on board, and tries to do something positive about it, the better.

I?ve said it before, and I?ll say it again; in our present highly-talented but vastly underused squad we have already the means of our salvation, without needing to dip our mucky little fingers too heavily into the market come the advent of the transfer window in a couple of months time. As Robbo said, apropos of Dindane, and our previous interest in the guy, if Earnie, and the other strikers continue getting goals on a regular basis for us, we may not need to bring in another. Having said that, though, I notice Leeds are sniffing after The Horse ? well, according to one Sunday paper, they are.

If we are guaranteed getting our sticky mitts into Dindane come the opening of the window, then our favourite football club might well be tempted to offload. Our old nag also got property in that area, I?m led to believe, so a possible move there might well suit him. And, if he does get the nod from our club, I reckon Leeds would acquire an asset; just the job, is The Horse, for getting you goals in the rough-house of Division One football, now known as the Championship. On the other hand, what he does best is coming off the bench and embarking on a last-ditch poaching expedition. That?s how Blues used him in the Prem, with some degree of success, and it looks very much as though our new gaffer intends to do the same. If that?s the case, then it could well be the Yorkshire club will be told to ?Foxtrot Oscar? instead.

Yesterday, I could see a faint ray of hope shining forth and beginning, at long last, to dispel the darkness, pierce the lowering dark clouds, even though the perceived difference is but minute to the naked eye at the present moment. We CAN do this, pull off a feat of Premiership escapology which even the great Houdini would be moved to applaud wildly, but it ain?t going to be easy. Already, we?ve dropped vital points at games we really should have won or drawn ? Blackburn, Villa, Southampton, Fulham, Boro, which is, when you think about it, effectively at least ten points right down the suff. Enough to have us sitting comfortably above the war-zone by now, which makes the situation all the more annoying. Mind you, Blues and Blackburn helped us along a little today by drawing three apiece this afternoon; had Blackburn won, that would have sent us crashing to bottom position, with all the negative psychology such a predicament entails descending upon us in heaps. I might be humping further coals of fire upon my head by suggesting such heresy, but you do have to wonder, now, as to whether it might have panned out better changing our manager far sooner than we actually did?

The sole saving grace we have going for us as the present moment is the bottom of the table; a mere five points currently separates ?bottom bumpers? like us from relative mid-table safety, so should we manage to push on from that wonderful Highbury result by stringing a few more successes together, we can buy ourselves something infinitely more precious than costly players ? time. That, and among our lads, a ?siege mentality? in the most positive sense of the phrase. After our forthcoming ?close encounter of the third kind? with Fergie?s United ? and, on the basis of yesterday?s performance, I now believe we genuinely do have a chance of getting something from that one - we then travel to Pompey, who, if press reports today and yesterday are accurate, could be in absolute turmoil by then following the likely resignation next week of Harry Redknapp, a gaffer popular with both players and supporters, who is vociferously opposed to suddenly having to report to a newly-appointed (possibly interfering?) Director Of Football. And following that, we?re at home again, to Charlton. Not an easy call, that one, but if our recent renaissance proves not to be a false dawn of the worst kind, there may be something in it for us after all.

And, on a weekend where just about everything Albion-related has come up smelling of roses, here?s another heart-warming tale about our favourite football club. Earlier this week, I ventured up to the ground to pick up some away tickets, and while I was there, asked about when the Blues ones would be on sale; as you may have already gathered from my diary of that day, I was given to understand then that pricing negotiations were still ongoing between Blues and ourselves. What I didn?t say, though ? and purely because I?d thought I?d misheard the guy behind the counter; my hearing is not of the best most of the time ? was the likely price to punters quoted to me by him. ?28 to ?30 was what he said; so dumbstruck was I by that figure, I asked him to repeat it again, just before departing, which he did, gladly.

Being the profound sceptic I am, and not wishing to give you lot duff gen, I didn?t repeat the conversation that evening ? but it now appears I?ve done the guy (and our club) a massive disservice. Yep, I was wrong, but only by a factor of two quid. ?28 is going to be the asking price, apparently, and they go on sale to away season ticket holders at the end of the month. Is this a case of both clubs suddenly waking up and smelling the financial coffee, I wonder? Prices in the ?35 and over bracket may be affordable to those who live in the sort of area in which Highbury is located, but much less so in the poverty-stricken environs of the West Midlands. And there?s also one explanation much more pragmatic in origin ? the day we play ?em is the last Saturday before Christmas. And I?d like to think that the strong objections this column raised over the past few weeks had some bearing on what was finally decided upon. Well done Albion; well done Blues, for finally realising football isn?t solely about determining how much money can be extracted from supporters without them screaming financial blue murder. Other, more mercenary sides in this league, please take note.

And finally?. One. Any one else noticed the distinct resemblance between the bloke that looks after the reception area in ?Casualty? - ?Sam? - and our very own Robert Earnshaw?

Two? Just to let you all know there won?t be a column on Friday night ? there being no other significant Albion business taking place over the forthcoming week, that would have been my next scheduled posting. How come? The hospital have now sent me another op date, which means I?m admitted this Thursday, have the op on Friday ? then, touch wood, get discharged on Saturday morning, nicely in time for the United home game! After yesterday?s uplifting Highbury performance, if I don?t get released from ?durance vile? on the appointed day, to say I?d be ?spitting bricks? afterwards would be a gross underestimate of my true demeanour!

Remember me saying last night that Steve The Miser still had to send us an email, despite having had such facilities for several weeks, now? Well, just to call me a liar, since penning that piece, we've now received no less than FOUR of the things from him, a state of affairs that's led me to send one back enquiring whether or not he's running a high temperature, or something! Steve, spend money? Can't be right.

 - Glynis Wright

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