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September 2014 Football Thread


cubbymark

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I'm not watching that game (I'm watching the Swansea/Southampton game), but they probably aren't going to change their tune based on the evidence of one game.

Also, why do you get angry at things that the media say?

I don't get particularly angry, but the sensationalism that is ever-present even from non-Red Top outlets like Guardian gets a bit tiresome.  Following the defeat to Dortmund on Tuesday, they had no less than four articles over the span of three days that were either questioning Özil's ability or discussing whether Wenger's faith in him is misplaced.

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First of all I´m pretty sure the same thing - certain media tearing this guy to shreds - was going on when Mesut was in Madrid. The problem with Özil is that he is a great great playmaker in a very classical sense. When he is playing in the center and he has normal form, his moments of brilliance happen through distributing the ball to the guy who is best positioned while his team are on attack. It sounds easy, but there aren´t many players like him today. And for him to do it, you need other guys working for him. With the way money is spent in the BPL, a normal form Özil is worth the 50 million Euros they paid for him.

The problem Mesut still has after years as a professional is a mental one: He is guaranteed to have his droughts at every clube he plays. And if he has a bad / weak phase, he has some real trouble getting out of it. Here, his playing style is troubling him a lot. He isn´t particularly fast, he isn´t a good poacher, he is not a very physical player and will loose many one-on-ones. There is nothing to make up for him if he has a day where his passing is off or he doesn´t have the confidence to create something bigger. The Premiere League probably has the biggest emphasis on physicality in European football, so Özil´s droughts seem even more shocking since they are periods of time where is just not cutting it, even against the weaker squads of the league.

On the other hand his workrate also gets underestimated a lot. During the 2014 World Cup, I was frustrated and angry with him and so were many others. He seemed out of it for the most games, he was playing on the wing and he seemed so off-form and I thought "we are winning, but this guy is contributing nothing." Then I saw match stats. The kid was running ridiculous distances during the match. The way he looks on the pitch makes it hard to believe, as does the fact that you expect him to be more of an artist than a handyman, but he was running a lot and doing lots of dirty work helping the team out.

While I think he is at his best being a playmaker, he doesn´t deserve all the shit he gets. It is understandable that he gets said shit, though, especially in media, who are out to create heroes and villains in football on a daily basis. Özil is still quite a young player, 25 I think, so there is still a chance he gets over this, but as of now it seems this stuff is getting to him quite a lot.

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The zaniness of last season continues with upset after upset after upset. If this morning's game isn't the game of the season we're in for a heck of a ride. The race for fourth is going to be decided by who can fuck up the least.

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At the hour point it looked like it was going to be 4-1, 5-1 etc Superb ball from Falcao to Van Persie for the opener, a contender for goal of the season from Di Maria for the second, nearly another from Falcao and a back heel goal from Hererra then 2 absolute joke decisions turned the game. Bad marking for the Leicester 3rd and then panic set in we committed too many men forward and got caught twice again.

 

Until we can have a settled back four (both CB's out for next week again) or more likely until we sign a centre back or 2 in January this is going to be it for the next couple of months, we'll win a few and lose a few, lots of goals, celebrating and swearing at the telly.

 

We play Everton first week of October which looked like it would be the first big test, looking at their defence and ours that could end 6-6.

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