Pardew my boy is that the relegation choo choo?

Captain
By Boris Mellor
January 3 2007

Pardew my boy Is that the relegation choo choo? Yah I think it is time I should start to resign. Apologies to Glen Miller

Pardew could break a record – how many managers have taken two teams down in one season?

 

How the crowd laughed, “you’re going down with the ammers” was my favourite, it was also suggested he might want to manage Tottenham, the others are too rude to print on a family website, and “Pardew Pardew tell us the score” was not that original.

 

I thought Tottenham were the worst team I had seen play at Arsenal at home this season, but I was wrong it is Charlton. Football is a funny old game, Charlton beat Villa, Villa hold Chelsea to a draw, and Charlton collapse. Sheffield United beat Arsenal and then go to Boro and get stuffed. What it all shows is that analysis is best done cold and not on the basis of one match. That’s why Wenger doesn’t rant against his own team in press conferences.

 

One match isn’t the story of a whole season, neither the defeat against Sheffield, nor the victory against Charlton tells us much about how good or bad this Arsenal team will be. However Arsenal got 9 points out of 12 over Xmas holidays and Chelsea only six. Manchester Utd got 10 out of 12 and the Totts  5 out of  12 (let me know which ones are wrong) so after all that grieving and over reaction to Sheffield defeat – who had the best Xmas?

 

At the end of the Sheffield report I wrote “Always look on the bright side. But don’t cut your throat yet, after all Chelsea have dropped four points in three games, compared to the Gunners dropping three. Like Chelsea we need our key defenders back. All teams will lose points in such a gruelling period.” Well it got even better, with the Russians and Yanks dropping points.

The Charlton game doesn’t merit much of a report, it was a walkover. Pardew complained that van Persie was off side for the penalty decision. It reminds me of a goal we conceded at Spurs, the explanation was that the Spurs attacker was not interfering with play at the time of the shot, got onside for the rebound and scored. I assume it was the same for RVP, he wasn’t interfering with play at time of Fabregas shot, anyway play to the whistle Pardew, you can’t deny your man brought him down.

 Anyhow once Charlton were down to ten men and a goal down, by thirty minutes, it was hardly a contest. Arsenal could have won 10 – nil, but for great Carson goal keeping, and a few near misses.

Mr Moany next to me was unhappy with Henry, didn’t feel he was trying. Charlton found him very trying – he won a penalty, scored a penalty, and two assists. Most sane pundits made him man of the match. So watch out for when he is really trying. I suppose Mr Moany likes the English game best, all that effort and clogging, continental skill can’t compare with that.

From thirty minutes on Arsenal dominated without too much exertion, the only chances Charlton got (four in total) were when Arsenal kindly passed to them. Though it was a comprehensive victory too many defensive clearances and midfield passes, went astray for my liking. A better team than Charlton will punish such errors.

Mr Pardew must have been well pleased with the Gunners second goal as it was scored by an Englishman, but Arsene kept cool in the face of this momentous achievement. A great goal it was too, an overlapping Hoyte got into the area for Henry’s pass, and passed the ball into the far bottom corner of the net from a very tight angle.

The match was over, the second half was a formality, Arsenal took it easy – they have a hard game on Saturday, but they still did enough for another two goals. Henry let RvP take the penalty for his own bringing down; he explained later that he felt Robin needed a chance to get on the score sheet and to give Drogba a good run for his money (I made the very last bit up).

Then van Persie decided he didn’t need handouts by cheekily chipping Carson (alliteration and verse all in one report, we do spoil you. Get on with it. The Editor) for another of his late late goals on 89 minutes. That is five goals in four games over Xmas for Robin (thanks Eduardo for correction). Arsenal are catching up with Manchester United in the goal scoring stakes, and that has been done in the middle of a striker crisis.

For a large selection of Arsenal Books, DVDs, Computer, Playstation and X-Box games then visit the Arsenal Times Store here