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Sunday, November 02, 2008

Arsenal are spineless

By 1970’s Gooner

As in every competitive situation in life you need to have a strong spine to be able to withstand the pressure that you will undoubtedly face.

In football you need it so that the team can be built around it. And you need it so that the balance of the team, so important in winning games, can be held together.

The players making up the spine should not only be capable but they need to be strong, confident and above all leaders.

And these characteristics assume paramount significance when most of the players are youngsters….

The spine begins with the goalkeeper and moves on through the central areas of the pitch from the centre back through to the central midfielder and finally the centre forward.

Previous Arsenal (and Wenger) teams had it in abundance.

The 1970’s double winning team had Bob Wilson, Frank Mc Clintock, Peter Storey and John Radford.

Earlier title winning teams under Wenger had Seaman, Adams, Vieira and Henry.

Chelsea now have Cseck, Terry, Lampard and Drogba.

Manchester United have Van De Sar, Vidic, Scholes and Ronaldo.

Hell even Liverpool now have a strong spine. Reina, Carragher, Gerrard, Torres.

Where’s Arsenal’s spine? Almunia? Gallas? Fabregas? Denilson? Adebayor?

I listed above the four characteristics of a “spine” player. Capable, strong, confident and a leader.

The current Arsenal spine unfortunately fails miserably on all but one of the above qualities. They are only capable but lack distinctly in terms of strength, confidence and leadership ability.

Strength

Nearly all the Arsenal players are highly skillful with high technique levels but they are relatively small, fragile and almost meek players who rely too much on their skill to get them through the game. Then they cry like babies when they get roughed up a bit.

But it’s not really their fault is it? They have been brought together by a manager who simply refuses to acknowledge that the team is actually spineless and in desperate need for at least a strong defensive midfielder and a centre back.

Confidence

When the average age of the team week in week out is between 21 and 24 then you are dealing with kids who, as with any youngster, in any walk of life, go through ups and downs in whatever they do due to lack of confidence.

That is why Wenger is always building them up trying to improve their confidence levels. And that is why they sometimes perform excellently but at other times when things don’t go their way they fall apart.

Another characteristic of youth is overconfidence and complacency; and we have seen this also a lot of Wenger’s teams. The latest example being the game against Hull where they thought that by just turning up that victory was assured…

Leadership

This is the last but the most important characteristic that can qualify someone as a “spine player”.

Who is Arsenal’s leader on the pitch? Who is the one that when things go wrong he gets everyone else going, leads by example and takes the game on his shoulders?

No one. Not Gallas, the captain, not Sagna, not Clichy (though he tries), not Toure, not Denilson, not Fabregas, not Nasri, certainly not Walcott, not Van Persie and certainly not want away Adebayor!

Get a spine Mr Wenger…..


22 comments:

Anonymous said...

You've eloquently hit the nail on the head sir.

Anonymous said...

Agreed & there's almost a perverse symmetry with the end of the Graham era working here. Graham left us with a spine (of sorts - a horizontal back four of a spine) but little else - no quality players to play alongside the back four & no decent youth players coming through the system. Wenger, on the other hand, could now be in danger of coming to the end of his current contract having helped deliver us world class facilities & infrastructure, a top youth set-up & a good amount of quality first team players but no spine to give us the platform to be successful.

Anonymous said...

You said it we have no spine. But we have team spirit. If we had the two it would be better. We are lacking leaders which boosts confidence but I still feel we have a chance. Lets just take it a game at a time.

Anonymous said...

I do not agree that Gallas is not a good leader. His styles of leadership is akin Roy Keane. He used to be very vocal and could bulldoze a player if they made a mistake. Keane used to keep those prima donnas of MU in check and that had won them a lot of titles. Unfortunately, our prima donnas here are untouchable. When he vented his anger against the team for their lapse in concentration against Birmingham he was criticised severely. This season, he chose to keep his mouth shut and look what happened? He shouted at players because he has won a lot more than them, he has more experienced than them and more importantly he is the only one who has the winning mentality that the whole team lacked. He has been advocating that we must learn to play ugly to win since his arrival but no one cares. All these made him an oddball in the team but not necessarily that he is wrong

Anonymous said...

agree totally. if we can all see this then how come the master of excuses wenger cant see it.

Anonymous said...

Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Anonymous said...

ill add cowardly, no guts ,yellow and big time charlies who when the going gets tough cry and hide. stand up adebayer who has all the above in spades

Anonymous said...

in simple words. we all know these stuff and why as fans do we continue to critise when we could as well encourage and hope with time they will grow in confidence knowing that even if the whole world doubts them but they have the fans on their side.

Anonymous said...

I really think supporters and fans need to stage a protest against the way the club is run and the direction its being going towards for the past few years.
I hate to admit it , but i think Mourinho was right after all when he said Wenger is no under any pressure to deliver trophies.
For goodness sake Mourinho was sacked despite winning at least 4 trophies and Wenger was never able to beat him...says a lot if u think about it.
Also i think the fans need to boycott at least one match and not pay for the ticket for the match so the board would know and feel it where it pinches ..cus i feel the board doesn't give a damn so long as they keep making money from the fans...
Arsene Wenger is a golden goose for the board who lays the golden egg...as such it would be crazy of them to sack him...cus they would not be able to find another manager that can spend less and less amount of money every season.

Anonymous said...

Wenger playing players out of position! Might as well put Adebayor as Goalkeeper, tired of the bad tactical decisions n all.

Prabal Rakshit said...

Agree with almost everything that 1970's Gooner says. However Arsene Wenger's predicament can be gauged from an ESPN Soccernet article that was written a few mmonths back. It said that Arsenal will continue to become a sellers club which buys young talented players at rock-bottom prices and sells them at a premium. The new stadium at Ashburton Grove is taking its tolls on the club finances and no wonder Wenger has to deliver a healthy bottom line while ensuring at least a Champions league finish. I think one anonymous poster was right about Wenger not being under pressure to win trophies. Had he been at helm of a certain egomaniac named Roman Abramovich, well things would have been well night different.
Vulnerability to set-pieces, inability to break down physically tough teams, not having the mental fortitude to grind their way through tough situations, these have been plaguing the Gunners for the last 2-3 seasons.

- Gallas is no longer the single minded defender that he was. Captaincy and age has taken its toll on him. Toure, unquestionably talended, is still no John Terry or Ricardo Carvalho. Some bloggers in many sites have pointed to the lack of tall players as a reason Arsenal are weak at the back, but I dont think that is entirely true. Toure, Gallas, Silvestre are all reasonbly tall (close to 6 ft), but they severely lack the anticipation and the quick judgement to thwart set-pieces.

- Youth is fashionable, fast dazzling passes are the fad of the season in Arsene wenger's team now. While this is slick if you make promotional videos, it is too apparent that a couple of experienced terriers like the good old Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Patrick Vieira or even Mark Van Bommel etc. are what Arsenal needs. Quite rightly as some bloggers are pointing out, Arsenal can't afford to become the nursery for other top clubs. It would surely and certainly go the Ajax Amsterdam way. Past perfect - Future tense.

- Robin van Persie's stupid behavior while picking up a red card showed exactly what the team lacks in the mental conditioning department. Short tempered prima-donnas all of them, they can't digest that the opposition is playing a better game than them and disrupting their natural flow. Instead of digging down and gritting their teeth they wail and cry about the situation. and where do they get the inspiration from? A genuinely talented manager, who prefers to blame everyone but himself.

- Adebayor's is a reasonable prolific goal-scorer, but even the die hard arsenal supporter would agree that, had Torres, Drogba, Berbatov, Rooney or even Dirk Kuyt had got similar number of chances, the number of goals would have been more. Match after match the same old story. Adebayor's competitions in the team are: a fragile and inconsistent van Persie, an underprepared Bendtner, a very young and learning Carlos Vela etc. etc. So much for the much hyped bench strength.

waht the team desperately needs is a strong leader like John Terry, Steven Gerrard etc. who can be tough on his team mates if they underperform. Unless the mean-mindedness is reintroduced, the team would continue the downward slide.

Israeli Gunner said...

You're 100% right in your analysis.

Anonymous said...

Wenger will not see??

How on earth he bought SILVESRE only the lord knows. This team is going nowhere

leon said...

i do agree the strikers have been inconsistant so far both ade and rvp have been very inconistant,ade has been very disapointing at times,we need edardo badly.

the fact is arsenal have struggled since sole cambell have left,it very difficult to find top quality physica;l defenders,which is why it is must that arsenal get dm no matter what the price,toure right now is shodow of the player he was whne sole cambell was there,he looking to lacking in confedence in a big way,i think sylevtsor was a good purchase he cost less than 1 million and is very experiened, i dont think you can point the blame at him,the fact is niether toure or gallas are playing very well, i know this sounds a bit roofless but i would sell bretna and toure ,i realy like toure but quite frankly he has not been good enough for sometime now.

Joshua Flint said...

I think you left off inconsistency, which is the hallmark of young players. I don't think our striker department lacks. Ade and RVP can put it together but they are not the finished product yet. I actually have way more confidence in Ade being a world beater and not RVP based on health, ability, and taking his chances. Plus we are getting goalscoring from all over the pitch not just a main go to striker, like Henry. At the back I want to see Djourou more and less Toure, who has been rubbish since coming back from the African Cup of Nations last year. I'd rather have Gallas in there. He brings more right now than Toure, like goalscoring and being vocal. Silvestre does bring something different and am not entirely upset with his performances unlike Gallas and Toure. Wenger should buy a new CB and force these guys to fight for a place, raising the level of our squad. So we are left with the midfield where it has all gone wrong for us this year. Why? Because our average age has been 19 or 20 which just doesn't cut it at this level. All four midfielders can't be so inexperienced. It doesn't matter who the player is at 19 or 20, Zidane, Vieira, Makalele, Pirlo, Gattuso these guys weren't the players they turned out to be at such a young age. I believe as our midfield fails to produce week in week out it will make our forwards and defence look worse than they are at the moment. One strong minded experienced( maybe expensive) player would help Denilson, Song and Diaby push on to become better. With so much riding on their shoulders right now it could actually do more harm than good to their development. Which is what we are currently witnessing. As these players ride the highs and lows of maturing so will the rest of the Arsenal team fluctuate between the sublime and the ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

dont be stupid man...almunia has never win anything and he will never win nothing as first goalkeeper...ger rid of him mr wenger

梁爵 said...

2019.10.09台北酒店經紀知名公司宣布,創新酒店上班的酒店小姐與外送到府服務之外,將推出全新酒店打工的「賺錢現領」(Uber Works)的全新應用程式(App),此新項目即日起在中國市場實驗一年,主要替公司企業老闆尋找合適陪睡(性交易)的酒店小姐。酒店經紀指出,想要透過這項新項目找到酒店兼差工作者,需先通過Uber以及酒店經紀公司進行的背景調查,知名酒店經紀公司梁曉尊執行長說,在調查過程中,Uber會詢問酒店兼職應徵者是否具有與該職位相關配合度,如:工作性質本能、口交、口爆(射在嘴巴裡) 、顏射(精子射在臉上) 、開後門(肛交) 、制服(角色扮演)。此外慎重嚴禁不得內射(精子射在裡面),基於健康安全及職業道德。


梁爵 said...

2019.12.18台北八大行業知名酒店經紀獨家分析:每當看到酒店工作酒店小姐被「框」出場性侵的新聞,就覺得很無奈,一方面是為了有酒店上班姊妹遇到這樣的事情很難過,一方面是被新聞誇張不實報導,引起社會的恐慌甚至各大留言板的對話更讓人翻白眼。某些人,對大學生/上班族酒店上班的新人對於「框」有很大的誤解。八大行業資深經紀人專業酒店打工解釋裡說的「框」,是指直接包下小姐特定的時間。其實最單純來說,功能有兩種:把小姐找過來或留下來、帶小姐出店家。有時候到店家找自己認識的小姐,但酒店小姐目前在手工(打手槍) 、口爆(口交)服務其他客人,想要把該名小姐找過來,如果用點的,遇到對方喊加點,就只能喊框了;或是有其他客人想點走正在服務自己的小姐,加點後對方又喊框,如果這時前桌喊框,效力是優於後桌的。看起來很複雜,但簡言之,就是把小姐留在自己身邊的一種方法。而「框出」的定義和內涵,就值得深入討論了。歡迎想要高收入賺現金酒店兼差的大學生/上班族,可上網求證對八大行業酒店兼職得相關資訊做核對比對甚至多比較,才能賺錢賺得安心,同時也要保護自己。

梁爵 said...

2020.01.21八大行業酒店工作與業界需求落差,制服店、便服店、禮服店、鋼琴酒吧、日式酒店、飯局、傳播與國內外20家知名夜總會規模的大型解店經紀公司簽約,推動「海外酒店上班實習及大學生酒店兼差實習亞洲計畫」,並加酒店兼職研究和教學顏射(精子射在臉上) 、口交口爆(精子射在嘴裡) 、戴套肛交進行交易資源共享,逐步達成酒店打工產業共同跨領域及海外援交陪睡(性交易)專業人才的目標。酒店經紀表示,透過合作培育援交陪睡(性交易)產業專業人才,讓產學更緊密發展,不僅使大學生援交能夠多元發展,同時也解決產業人才匱乏問題。知名酒店經紀說,海外酒店上班目標重視跨領域、專業性及整合性學習,致力推動顏射(精子射在臉上) 、口交口爆(精子射在嘴裡) 、戴套肛交進行交易企業實務實習與校外實習計畫,進一步讓酒店小姐在求學階段就能累積職場經驗,解決現實生活及貧窮落差問題。

梁爵 said...

2020.05.09八大行業酒店工作及舞廳業遭政府勒令停業近一個月,即使疫情趨緩,指揮中心仍未給出明確復業日期,讓酒店上班酒店小姐叫苦連天,她們有的因為繳不出房租被房東驅趕,還有單親媽媽不堪經濟壓力差點輕生,她們呼籲政府立即公告復業,並痛批紓困沒落實,很多公關想申請卻被打回票,感覺就像在耍他們。4月8日一名酒店S酒店公關確診,中央流行疫情指揮中心立即勒令八大行業隔日酒店業停業,約48萬酒店相關從業人員頓失生計。一個月來,酒店PT基層人員的近況到底如何?政府的紓困有沒有照顧到這些人的需求?我們追蹤訪問了酒店經紀人梁曉尊和禮服店酒店打工公關明明(化名)的說法。因受疫情和政府的政策影響,酒店公關明明在一個月前失業,她說,自己本來至少月入4萬,但現在只能靠紓困金過活。雖然明明有申請到衛福部的急難救助金2萬元,但是根本無法彌補她因為停業造成的薪資損失,現在她還申請了勞動部的紓困貸款,希望度過難關。酒店經紀梁曉尊/梁小尊則說,她現在做不成經紀人,兼職做別的工作,也申請了勞動部的紓困貸款。明明和梁曉尊都是政府一夕間勒令停業,卻沒有定出任何復業期限的直接受害者。除了她們以外,還有一些是更弱勢、處境更慘的酒店小姐。明明說,有公關因為繳不出房租,遭房東要求搬走;還有一位公關是單身媽媽,戶頭僅剩幾千元,卻有小孩要養,因不堪龐大壓力一度想輕生。因應疫情,政府看似推出多種紓困方案,但是對失業陷入困境的勞工來說,其實是杯水車薪。「我雖然拿到2萬,但是又貸了10萬,這不是倒虧8萬嗎?」明明無奈地說。梁小尊也質疑,政府近日推出「擴大急難紓困」方案,每戶發1萬元現金,但申請資格是以家戶為單位計算,全家人每人每月收入加存款低於最低生活費2倍才可申請,且每戶只能請領一次,但是每個家庭狀況不一樣,父母財產不一定會分給小孩,要求每戶共享這1萬元,不僅沒道理,幫助也非常有限。區公所申請紓困 竟只有六分之一成功由於絕大多數酒店公關沒有勞保,現在他們能申請的紓困方案,主要就是衛福部1萬至3萬元的急難紓困金,或者向勞動部申請最高10萬元的紓困貸款。透過各地鄉鎮市區公所申請的急難紓困金,成為酒店小姐失業後的救命管道。然而,儘管行政院打包票說放寬申請資格,要讓有生活困難的民眾都領得到,實際的申請狀況卻完全不是這麼一回事。由酒店公關和經紀人組成、積極協助同業申請紓困的「酒店經紀梁曉尊」就透露,近來有超過60名酒店從業人員向他們諮詢,但是根據回報,成功被區公所受理的案例,竟然只有10名,成功率僅六分之一。被打回票的,大多都是拿不出區公所要求的文件,例如停業證明、工作證明,或是切結書沒有蓋公司章等等。梁小尊指出,公關本來就很難檢附這些文件,例如現行業界店家與公關並非僱傭關係,沒有合約之類的僱傭證明,而基層也很難取得公司蓋章或是停業證明。「衛福部好像在耍我們。」梁小尊說,她雖然成功申請到急難紓困金,但也是跑了兩趟區公所才辦成,還另外去了戶政事務所和國稅局拿到相關文件,才獲得受理。由於申請急難紓困要求的資料過於繁雜,也引發民眾怒火,衛福部也趕緊在昨天(5/6)宣布,民眾只需攜帶身分證與簽切結書即可申請,其他證明文件可由政府代查。不過梁曉尊質疑,中央的政策說得「很好聽」,可是關鍵在於地方有沒有同步照做。她說,申請的狀況每間區公所都不一樣,有的會要求出示證明,有的比較寬鬆,所以重點是要中央地方統一程序,真正簡化申請流程,「像是八大行業,若沒有相關證明,應該只要簽一個切結書,就可申請。」酒店業遭關近月 小姐盼「立即復業」疫情至今,確診肺炎的病例遍布各行業,卻唯獨只有酒店、舞廳業被勒令停業,即使確診女公關和123名接觸者都已全部檢測陰性結案,全台疫情也趨緩獲得控制,酒店業復業仍遙遙無期。「很生氣…真的又累又生氣!」梁曉尊說,疫情既已趨緩,指揮中心應該立即公告讓酒店復業,業界都願意配合防疫指示及相關控管機制。明明怒批,政府僅針對酒店業祭出停業措施,且沒有復業期限,根本是「柿子挑軟的吃」,看準酒店業是被長期歧視和污名化的產業,不會有太多人關注,停業後政府也沒有像補助其他產業一樣提供紓困,很明顯就是大小眼。指揮中心昨日被問到酒店業何時復業時表示,只要酒店業者做好防疫管理,地方主管機關可以允許恢復營業,今天指揮官陳時中又說了一次「只要任何單位符合防疫標準,就沒有所謂禁止問題」,但都沒有說明確切復業日期,復業標準也令人霧煞煞。回顧當初的酒店停業決定,是指揮中心一句話就要全台酒店和舞廳停業,現在又把皮球踢給各地方政府,地方能不能和中央同調又成為一個未解問題。從4月9日酒店業停業至今,有的酒店小姐轉入地下化,有的繳不出房租,有的連紓困也領不到,她們只想問:何時才能見到復業的曙光?

梁爵 said...

2020.05.31酒店小姐的基本介紹跟工作內容背滿學貸信貸,優渥人生對妳而言好遙遠?快來哈囉舒壓,我在酒店上班的日子給自己一個機會,不敢來酒店上班-酒店打工的原因成就日收破萬高薪人生! 工作環境單純,安全更無憂。想脫貧?這次好機會別錯過。酒店上班-酒店兼職-兼差如何達成人生的第一桶金免繳保證金/免證件/不綁約。薪資超透明 月入10萬不是夢。服務: 安全面試, 最佳顧問, 單純保證, 安全呵護。一、酒店兼差不是一個複雜的工作環境?酒店小姐的收入有多少?有急用可以借支嗎? 職場須知 【酒店PT 】以一個〝單純〞陪酒的酒店小姐,一天的收入約3000~7000(不含小費)除非有〝額外〞的服務,一天可以領。而且只要做酒店工作,這些都是無法避免的「有人覺得做禮服店就賺很多,又不會出場,我都覺得是幻想。你不是模特兒等級的,哪間禮服店收?傳播工作與酒店工作有什麼不同傳播小姐與酒店小姐的工作內容其實大同小異,但在工作內容以外卻有許多的大不同,我來為各位做出2者不同的差異性,給各位做個酒店工作內容: 桌面服務,一般人通常會想偏,其實桌面服務是很簡單,也很單純的一件事。桌面服務有以下幾個要點: 看了很多篇酒店文,好像很少有男生寫經驗? 我是酒店少爺,在滿18歲那天開始上班雖然不是第一次進去酒店,不過以工作人員的身份倒是頭一次,有一些沒有接觸過酒店的姐妹來找我應徵酒店小姐的時候,我們談的都很融洽,實際上她們也很需要來酒店上班賺錢,可是後來卻沒有來上班,不是沒有休假?那個是有簽約的對吧? 不可違約?薪水大約多少?怎麼領的? 應該不是月薪吧? 女孩子去那裡上班會不會,這表示我還不夠好,而且不誨言的,我也希望收入可以增加!) 雖說酒店上班一個星期的收入等於一個上班族一個月二至三萬的薪水,新冠肺炎疫情延燒,讓酒店文化也成為民眾茶餘飯後的話題,一名女大生在《Dcard》分享自己酒店上班的經驗,也讓她見識到這個工作辛苦的一面,分享自己在酒店上班當酒店小姐的甘苦經驗。很多不懂酒店這環境的人,想來酒店上班、酒店打工、酒店兼差、酒店兼職,卻往往會被這八個問題所困擾著!在此酒店經紀琳琳姐為各位整理出以下幾點問與答,究竟要如何在第一天就上手酒店的工作呢?許多人都認為酒店是個複雜的環境,不過與現實社會的壓力相較,還是會有人選擇在酒店上班、酒店打工。

梁爵 said...

2020.08.09不敢來酒店上班-酒店打工的原因我很慶我幸身為一個女人。也很慶幸我是一個打扮起來還不差的女人。十八歲生日沒有狂歡沒有慶祝。酒店小姐的基本介紹跟工作內容在網路上找了間經紀公司,當天下午就開始上班。我在酒店上班的日子年輕的肉體再加上尚未染上風塵的氣質,很快我成了店裡的紅牌。下午茶玩的是什麼? 酒店兼差不是一個複雜的工作環境?酒店晚上營業,下午時段店家場地借給午茶,就是在那樣的小包廂裡,一個客人一個小姐,大約五十分鐘的時間,就看小姐怎麼讓客人在這短短的時間小小的包廂裡喜歡上自己。酒店小姐上班通常會取什麼名字?有客人喜歡,才會有指台,酒店小姐去酒店上班都一定要出場接s嗎?才會有預約。中午十二點上班,晚上八、九點下班,換了衣服卸了妝,身邊沒有人發現我的工作特殊。一樣的一天八小時,每上一台我可以領個一千。或許吧!有的人覺得我出賣身體、出賣靈魂。但是我寧可出賣這些,也不想過像我的父母那樣的生活,那樣捉襟見肘的生活,那樣跟西家借錢還東家的生活,那樣無止盡為錢爭吵的生活,那樣要躲在家裡不出聲不開燈以免被發現的生活,那樣連感冒想去藥局買個成藥都要惦量惦量的生活。還記得工作第一個禮拜,我領了兩萬多的薪水。那些扣除林林總總後居然還有這樣多!這是我第一次拿著那麼多錢,我好想大聲地告訴我的父母,我會賺錢了,若是時光回溯,我是不是就可以幫上你們的忙了?大約過了兩三個月,一開始覺得「領好多錢」的感覺也沖淡了。開始審視自己要的是什麼?我想要有一個家,一個完完全全屬於我的家,一個不用因為繳不出房租被房東趕的家。於是我不再是那個滿足於一個禮拜領個三萬左右的女孩。