Limping Towards the Finish Line

By: Tom | May 9th, 2009

The last few games we’ve been playing like a team that’s already on holiday. When it comes to the league, we might as well be, but we still have the little matter of an FA Cup final coming up, so it’s not ideal preparation. I can only hope we buck our ideas up a bit in the last few rounds and get some momentum going.

No comments about how it’s only Middlesbrough in the final – we’ve shown we can lose to anybody when we put our minds to it. See below.

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Arsenal vs. Sunderland– Premier League
9th May 2009
English starters: 6 – Gibbs, Taylor, Jagielka, Walcott, Wilshere, Bullard

Goals – Cisse (66), Taylor (90)

Although both teams had nothing to play for, Sunderland seemed to have a point to prove, and went for the win from the off. Must have something to do with Roy Keane and his undying hatred for all things Arsenal.

We struggled early on in midfield as Sunderland played with five men there. Although we started to come back into the game in the second half, it was Sunderland who took a deserved lead, as Cisse rushed onto a long ball and took advantage of more hesitation from Almunia.

We lacked any kind of urgency and you couldn’t say we deserved to get anything from the game, but we did anyway, as Taylor went up for a free kick in the final minute, the ball dropped to him on the edge of of the box and he prodded home a shot which took two deflections and rolled across the line at about five miles per hour. They all count.

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Elsewhere, Blackburn against Aston Villa was the game of the week, and possibly the season by the sounds of it. Blackburn 4-1 down at half time, come back to make it 5-5, only to concede a cruel sixth deep into stoppage time.
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Stoke vs. Arsenal – Premier League
16th May 2009
English starters: 4 – Taylor, Jagielka, Walcott, Bullard

Goals – Griffin (49)

Stoke are a team long since relegated, finding themselves dead last in the league with a pitiful 12 points before this match, but we still contrived to lose to them.

We looked very jaded and as if we simply couldn’t be bothered. I can’t blame the players too much for having that attitude, except in as much as it’s not much help in the run up to a cup final.

The only goal of the game was a bizarre wonder strike/total fluke, as Griffin, seemingly attempting to whip a cross in from the touchline, 30 yards out from goal, saw his shot swerve this way and that and fool Almunia to end up in the back of the net. He will never score as spectacular a strike as that again in his life if he plays for another twenty years.
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Meanwhile, Liverpool wrapped up their first title in 19 years with a game to spare as they beat Portsmouth. I could do with a Gerrard in my midfield. I’d probably be winning league titles too if I did.

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Arsenal vs. Wigan – Premier League
24th May 2009
English starters: 4 – Gibbs, Taylor, Jagielka, Walcott

Goals – Taylor (16), Adebayor (26)

We end the league fixtures with a home win as Taylor scores a poacher’s goal (again) and Adebayor scores another before missing a penalty that Nasri wins after a box to box mazey run. The young Frenchman should have taken it himself – it deserved a goal.

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In other news, Theo Walcott is the young player of the year, and singles me out for special thanks as he picks up his award. That’s OK young man, just make sure you keep it up next season too.

I’m runner up to Benitez in the manager of the year award, bizarrely enough. I fail to turn up to pick up my non-existent award out of sheer embarrassment.

Almunia is the only one of my players to make it into the team of the season. He then picks up an injury in training and looks set to miss the FA Cup final, but I give him injections to make it through and he doesn’t complain in the slightest. All of which makes me feel incredibly guilty about the fact that from next season he’ll be on the bench with Ben Foster coming in. Why did you have to go and declare for Spain, Manuel? You broke my heart!

Here’s the final league table: