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Sunday, August 07, 2011

Clichy does it again

By 1970’s Gooner

I was surprised to see Clichy on the bench for Man City in the Community Shield. I thought that it would look really silly from him having demanded a move from Arsenal to, in the end, forgo the first team choice status he had enjoyed at the Emirates.

And then I realised what we will be missing this season.

His indecisiveness and bad positioning! Did you notice, on the build up for Utd’s winning goal, how he stepped back from the ball beckoning Kompany to deal with it?

He was the nearest to the ball that Rooney had hacked clear from his penalty box. Yet he opted to shy away from it forcing Kompany, who was further away from it, to unsuccessfully come for it.

Bad positioning bad decision making. Two weaknesses which cost Arsenal dearly over and over again during his time with us.

A prime example of this was the needless last minute penalty he gave away during that ill fated match at Birmingham where Eduardo was horribly injured and we tossed away two very valuable points in our challenge for the League title.


Good luck Gael.


55 comments:

Anonymous said...

He is still way better then Gibbs.

Anonymous said...

Gibbs is better than Clichy. Clichy has too many weaknesses and that trait of retreating from the ball at critical situations would not be accepted in a school football team.

shaggie44 said...

dude yo reasoning on this one is silly,the flight of the ball was past Clichy this was purely Kompany's fault he had 2 choices, pass sideways 2 Clichy or back to keeper. He chose wrong option.

People lets not be bitter when players move, best we remember the good things they did 4 us.

I'm an Arsenal fan btw

Anonymous said...

All that time ago against Birmingham it was a good tackle - it was the ref that got it wrong, not Clichy.

Anonymous said...

he is no longer our problem, as he must like keeping the bench warm. same goes for fab and nasri, dont want to play for us,then go . sooner wenger deals with these 2 the better

Anonymous said...

yeah, come on man......let's not slate all our ex players! Clichy was/is ok.....shame he left us but that is our fault and not his! We should be winning things not saying next year next year! C'mon you mighty Arse.....sort it out!!!

Anonymous said...

Yeh ur reasoning sucks! Unsound like the idiot supporters booing the team in a friendly! U quickly turn ur loyaltys! Any money we have LB problems this yr n everyone will b missin clichy! I no gibbs is quality but he's injury prone and screw traore as cover! Wud rather bring bk Nigel winterburn or play silvestre lol a joke of course! There r not many beta LBs in the work trust me! Stop bein a b!tch n jus appreciate wat he dun for us!!

Moses said...

Yes your judgement is spot on. Clichy was CLOSEST TO THE BALL. Edin had a chance to clear it from rooney and kompany should have done better but it was mainly a ."clichy disaster slip" his true colours.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry but Kompany was not the main man at fault, Clichy was.

Ugo said...

Lol. I like it when players leav arsenal under funi circumstances and go someplace else to mess up or lose that touch. Vieira, Hleb, Flamini, Adebayor,etc. Clichy was daft to have made that move to City. He probably thought Arsenal was gonna spiral down performance wise and City wld win d league. I laff cos its just funny. I know that with City'§ defensive tactics and Clichy'§ blunders,I think Mancini wld stick to Kolarov. I also pity Nasri that wants to go there. Some of these players fail to realise that few coaches are as tolerant as Wenger. Let's be watchin as things unfold.r funi circumstances and go someplace else to mess up or lose that touch. Vieira, Hleb, Flamini, Adebayor,etc. Clichy was daft to have made that move to City. He probably thought Arsenal was gonna spiral down performance wise and City wld win d league. I laff cos its just funny. I know that with City'§ defensive tactics and Clichy'§ blunders,I think Mancini wld stick to Kolarov. I also pity Nasri that wants to go there. Some of these players fail to realise that few coaches are as tolerant as Wenger. Let's be watchin as things unfold.

Anonymous said...

How can you say 'it was our fault not his', he was one of the players on the field that keep losing not US.

Anonymous said...

@6:04.. Such high praise for gibbs and soo harsh on traore. In fact YOUR reasoning is shit. Based on what performances gibbs seems quality to you and traore shit?? Cant believe people spouting baseless nonsense. Judging by the pre season traore is a better defender, stronger and taller. I also rate gibbs but cant see him winning the race for the first team spot. Hope the best man wins though.

Anonymous said...

Even if Clichy wasn't going to win the ball he still had to challenge for it and put-up some sort of resistence. He looked like a deer in headlights and it's not the first time I've seen this. As soon as I saw his indecision on the play I knew Company was in trouble. Do I like Clichy absolutely but he keeps making this kind of mistake.

Anonymous said...

Omg my wife doesn't like football but she knows it's Kompany mistake and not Clichy. Why can't u just blame the other 2 goals on him, can't believe I just read that.

Anonymous said...

A bit too harsh on him, but i remember numerous occasions when nani done clichy over the last two years, good luck for him at manc, but i was not upset when he left arsenal and i am sure we wont miss him, gibbs and traore will provide adequate cover

Anonymous said...

When your wife is agreeing with you on football analysis, you know your wrong!

Anonymous said...

As bitter as it may sound n make arsenal fans 2 c him go 2 city,we have to cut him some slack and wait 2 prove if he realy is worth missing..bt for now all the best for him hope history doesnt repeat itself...

Anonymous said...

And traore has what it takes and all respect for gibbs bt traore has th potential and is also not injury pronei hope

kikobrown1 said...

The goal against Birmingham was clichy's fault he gave away the ball for no reason so though the tackle was good he got us in that situation in the first place

Anonymous said...

the birmingham penalty was not a pen but a clean tackle. that was the ref linesman and opposition player cheating that combined against us.

but i agree clichy was at fault today, between him and kompany they should have cleared it. clichy should got there first or covered back in case kompany messed it up.

but who cares anyway, it's all moot isn't it? he don't play for us any more...

Anonymous said...

Why is everyone keep talking up this kid GIBBS, he is not ready to be starting in a premiership side that hasn't win a trophy for six years, he is weak, timid, lack positional sense that why he always get injured. Vermaleen will certainly play left back this term, so stop hiping gibbs because he is english. He is way behind all the other left back starting for their team in the league. Hiping all these mediocre players is the problem why Nasty Wegner dosent want to improve the squad. Lets swallow our pride and try to win at all cost, i forgive adebayor because he is better than the lot we have now, these kids we keep talking about is going nowhere because the english team is SHITTY.

Anonymous said...

I'm a Gooner,and although I don't have a clear opinion on Clichy (a bit of me wanted him to stay), I would say this: NEVER should a person back away from the ball in the manner he did. He just made the decision easier for Nani, who's quicker than Kompany. Even if he thinks he's too far from the ball at least attmept to apply some PRESSURE,

Anyway I look forward to us facing Al-Citeh soon enough

Anonymous said...

That was Kompany's ball to win all day long, I can see where your going with this story, your being fickle, your trying to make out that we're so better of without Clichy, maybe we are maybe we aint but that goal wasnt down to him.

Gael served us for many many years and for whatever reasons he choose to leave be it money, location or to win trophies thats hes choice, he is a man and has the right to make them, us the fans do not decide so just accept it.....

Anonymous said...

Clichy's indecisiveness led to Kompany's mistake.

He went for the ball, then decided against it. Kompany saw Clichy coming across, then saw him leave it, and the uncertainty caused the error. It was classic Arsenal defending that made one of the best centre halves in the division look like Squillaci.

Goes to show you, really.

Oh, and those who would like us to 'remember the good things'. Clichy is a good lad, he didn't slag the club when he left and will get a good reception when he returns, but..

He was (and is) an awful ball-watcher, positionally terrible, and Gibbs played the type of ball across the box last night for RVP, that I can't ever recall Gael having delivered.

Anonymous said...

Why the interest? the guy gave us enough nightmares when he wore the Arsenal shirt. He's a Man City problem now, so door closed lets move on.

Anonymous said...

The reason Clichy gave away pen in Birmingham was that he inexplicably ran in the wrong direction away from an attacking player leading to a scoring opportunity for Brum. If I close my eyes I can still see the whole thing clearly

Regards,

W. Gallas.

legend7733 said...

he should show us the trophy he won won with city today......

Anonymous said...

haha good article!! maybe ppl will stop thinking its a disaster arsenal got rid of one of their (worst) players! im an arsenal fan and loved clichy!! nice guy aswell!! (maybe thats the problem..a nice guy as a defender!! need thugs like chelski have!) but after he exploded on to the scene after cashley went he just went downhill!! i thought he was gonna be better than cashley and gutted he never reached that level!! oh well! good luck gibbs and traore!! hopefully one of you can get near cashley coles standard!!!
clichy enjoy the new arsenal retirement home up in manc land!! i thought west ham was the place arsenal players goto when they not good enough for the mighty gooners anymore!!

Zesta said...

As an Arsenal fan i have never trusted Clichy's defense at all and Mancini will sack him soon

Davi said...

Clichy actually moved intelligently to the side giving Kompany a simple pass that would have allowed City to keep the ball easily. He tried to be too clever for some reason, and it backfired. Clichy actually did the smart thing

TrueGooner said...

Clichy misjudged the ball instead of going straight to the ball to slow the faster nani down, he choose to go side ways when there is no united player around. He was the closest player to the ball and shouldn't have shy away after that first bounce

Anonymous said...

it will take a lot of hard coachign to undo the mess Wenger created in CLichy. Wenger's coaching results is what you see in CLichy...awful, horrible and indecisive. Picture of Wenger and his defensive prowess.
Wenger is the WORST coach in the world

Anonymous said...

Nordtveit, another sell-off, was outstanding when his new team won away against Bayern Munich.

Anonymous said...

Ultimately Kompany is to blame, but i don't think Clichy helped him. I believe Kompany thought Clichy was going to deal with the ball, but he left it to Kompany, who was positioned awkwardly and unable to deal with the bounce by the time Nani got there.

The biggest fault was the lack of communication between the two.

Anonymous said...

I'm more than a little incredulous that you are absolving Mike Dean from the inexplicable refereeing of the Birmingham game in February, 2008. A couple of MINUTES after denying Arsenal a STONE-CLAD penalty, he awarded a penalty to Birmingham on a clean tackle by Clichy in INJURY TIME and thereby STOLE two points from the league-leading Arsenal. This was the same game where Eduardo had his leg shattered. And this was followed by a sequence of games with equally inexplicable refereeing decisions against Arsenal that stole, and I use 'stole' deliberately, the title from Arsenal. I find it interesting that we turn against our own players while we continue to disregard the English referees' blatant bias for Man U against smaller teams combined with the blatant bias against the 'foreign' Arsenal period. Really astonishing.

Anonymous said...

stop d hating please!! players come n go!! make some new important signing n stop beating around d bush @ the end of the season... we could or should have won a game or been awarded a penalty.... arsenal is way bigger than this Captain Wenger make a quality signing if not for ur good name @ least d prestige of the club!!! haba

Anonymous said...

gingertosser

yeah clichy's a nob end but he is mickeymouse oil club's problem now. we should be more worried about wenger failing again to buy the players we need to maintain our top 4 place... yes, with wenger in charge i have no belief that we will ever win the title again.

Anonymous said...

Clichy has been shocking for years! Ive been saying it all along and today he proved it AGAIN, he has cost us many points over the years. Brim away spurs home (4-4) 3rd goal he can't cross and double thinks every thing apart from his interseptions. I wish him all the luck with his new average side!

Anonymous said...

He's not our player anymore, so just give it a rest. And the Birmingham game, it was a clean tackle. So it was not Clichy's fault. It was the ref's fault.

@ 7:13 PM
Putting Vermaelen, whose literally our best CB on the left? Are you insane?

Saiful Nizam said...

im glad clichy is not with us anymore..

Anonymous said...

Why cant u guys leave clichy alone? clichy is not an Arsenal player nmore, u juc have to accept it. wht u have to discuss about now is the insanity of your so called arsne mongol or whoever he is. I hate him with his elusive ideas. com on! cnt we get another coach for christ sake!!!?

Andy said...

clichy was definitely at fault in my opinion and it looks like MK agrees: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2023549/Martin-Keown-Manchester-United-played-like-Barcelona.html?. The ball bounced just a few yards from where he was and he should have taken control of the situation and either cleared it or delayed on the ball so he could lay it off sideways to kompany. it's typical of the regular schoolboy mistakes he has been making the past few years. i'm glad he's gone...

Anonymous said...

Anybody else hear one of the commentators call Clichy one of the best one on one defenders in the game?! Hilarious stuff!!

Anonymous said...

Really appreciate what he has done to us. This is why I have 2 words for ya Gael - SUCK IT!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I saw Clichy as the serious weak link at the back for years before we finally farmed him out. He can run for sure, but he can't defend, he can't distribute. He scored 1 goal for the club in what? 9 years there. He was hopeless and we're stronger without him. Gibbs probably isn't ready to make the place his own just yet but he's on the way up, whereas Clichy had hit his ceiling years ago and it wasn't a very high ceiling. Good luck warming that bench Clichy, he'll be in the 4th tier of French football inside 3 years.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the sentiment, but we mustn't forget that for what Clichy lost in mistakes, he gained with his recovery pace. A new LB might not make the same mistakes, but he'll let fast wingers through where Clichy might have caught them.

Overall, I think Wenger knew what he was doing when he let Clichy go. Notice he's refusing to sell Nasri to City, but he's happy for Clichy to go?

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Anonymous said...

u lot are off your heads who among you wouldn,t swop firms 4 twice the money and not have to work asa hard ie. not play

Anonymous said...

Who's this clown? Clichy's no longer an Arsenal player and for your information, Ʊ were not d only person that watched dat match. Ʊ need a pair of glasses.

Anonymous said...

Take a fit Gibbs over Clichy anyday. Problem is he's a crock. Can't play 5 games without getting injured.
We need a LB but Wenger is too busy having sleepless nights trying to close deals for 'super super' quality players like Campbell & Dann.
At least we found a club stupid enough to waste millions on that joke Clichy. Pity we can't do the same about Vela/Bedtner/Denilson/Eboue/Diaby/Alumnia/Squillaci/Fabianski/Chamakh
No one wants them. The most damning indictment of Wenger's post invincibles reign.

Anonymous said...

erm in Clichy's defence, he always gets slaughtered for conceeding that penalty vs Birmingham... it was not a penalty, Clichy made the tackle and got the ball... the ref pointed to the spot anyway.

In this case was the ref being crap, not him.

Anonymous said...

come on, leave that boy alone. Wish him luck also, we should focus on our own stuff and problem..

Anonymous said...

Gael, you are a truly shithead, fuckface & bloody asshole. Fuck urself n SUCK IT!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Clichy is a shit defender but amazing going forward as a wing back, it was is RUBBISH defending that let David Villa Score at the Emirates, THE DAM FOOL CLICHY! Played him onside! & he has been doing it for years!! His positioning is a the worst i have seen for a Defender from a Champions league side for YEARS!! 7 million for him..... well done WENGER!!.... FROM I LOVE ARSENAL!! XOXOX

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