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Quote:

 

Ireland will most likely face one of Europe’s top sides in the World Cup playoffs after it was revealed that the draw will be on a seeded basis.

The news is a blow to the boys in green chances of reaching the World Cup in South Africa next year as they look set to snatch second place in the group behind the Italians.

Next month’s qualifiers against Italy and Montenegro will decide Ireland’s fate and even though topping the group is a possibility, it is a long shot.

If Ireland does manage to take second place then they could face the likes of Germany, France, Portugal, Serbia or Croatia, none of which would be an easy task.

Not confirmed yet...Could be a blow for Ireland if this turns out to be true.

Tuesday
Debrecen v Lyon
Rubin Kazzam v Inter
Barcelona v Chicken Kiev
Rangers v Sevilla
Urine v Stuttgart
Alkmaar v Liege
Fiorentina v Liverpool
Arsenal v Olympiacos

Wednesday
Bayern v Juventus
Bordeaux v Maccabi Fiver
CSKA v Besiktas
Milan v Zurich
Madrid v Marseille
Porto v Atletico
Man Utd v Wolfsburg
APOEL v Chelsea

I can't wait for this.

Carlos Vela and Jack Wilshere will be the two I am most looking forward to seeing, both are so gifted!!

Not sure of the Arsenal team or formation.

Mannone
?? Senderos Silvestre Gibbs
Wilshere Ramsey Randall Traore
Bendtner Vela

That would be my guess. RB I have no clue. Could be Coquelin though.

Thierry Henry was my idol. I know a huge suprise. The guy was the complete striker, people say about his lack of goals with his head but Shearer summed it up perfectly: “People say he doesn't score a lot of goals with his head, but does he really have to with the ability he has in his feet? He makes spectacular goals look easy. His technique is fantastic.” Still he scored 11 with his head I think. I don't think you can name an attribute in a foward player that you would want that Henry didn't have, other than heading ability.



My favourite memeory of Henry. Ok this might take a while. There are so many, his hattrick vs Liverpool, kissing the turf at Highbury after scoring the penalty aggainst Wigan or the goal aggainst Spurs where he ran the ball for the most of the length of the pitch. I think another great memory though would have to be how he outshone Bergkamp, Pires ect.... becuase they are regarded as some of the best to play in the P/L and yet Henry was on another level to both.


I practically had to stop myself from crying when I watched his goodbye message.

England v Slovenia
Cyprus v Republic of Ireland
Georgia v Italy
Spain v Belgium
France v Romania


Amongst other fixtures this weekend. Hopefully Ireland can pick up a result in Cyprus but I predict a draw in that one.

Hmm.

Well looks like USA will get in for sure.

Discuss!

From players currently playing

1 GK
1 Defender
2 Midfielders
1 Striker

There is NO ONE better to start us off than Thierry Henry.

I started praising Denilson long before his stats came out for 08/09. Rarely does a player force me to completely reverse my opinion of them, but Denilson did just that around Dec 08 as his performances got better and better. I went from slating him to rating him.

So if this article uses stats to back up its claims, believe me when I say that such claims are balanced against an opinion formed while watching Denilson in real time in every match last season.

Here are phrases about Denilson that we read every day on these boards:

1. DENILSON IS NOT A DM.
As captain of the Brazil U21 team, he played the deep-lying central midfield role. Wenger called him a mix of Rosicky and Gilberto. Admittedly, this only confuses things, but the proof is in the pudding. Whether we think he is or not, Denilson is played as a DM, and that's the job Wenger wants him to do.

2. DENILSON IS TOO SMALL TO PLAY DM.
Denilson is 5'11". If that's too small to play DM, then Makelele (5'7") must have been useless there, Flamini (5'10") was average, and thank goodness we shipped Lassana Diarra (5'7"). DM is about positional sense and reading the game well. At 21, Denilson reads the game better than Flamini did at the same age.

3. DENILSON CAN ONLY PASS SIDEWAYS OR BACKWARDS.
Even if true, such a statement certainly doesn't tell you Denilson is ineffective. In fact, passes like this usually are an indication that the player gets or retains possession and makes sure we keep it while defence turns into attack. All DMs make a higher proportion of such passes than forward or attacking ones. But if you still think Denilson can't make an incisive pass, consider that he had more assists (7) last season than Flamini did (2) in 07/08.

4. DENILSON IS RUBBISH.
Wenger doesn't think so www.arsenal.com/news/news-ar... Vieira doesn't think so www.skysports.com/story/0,19... Actim doesn't think so. OPTA doesn't think so. Many Gooners don't think so. He was our highest rated player in 08/09 www.premierleague.com/page/A... and completed the most passes of any other player in the league www.skysports.com/story/0,19...

5. DENILSON CAN'T TACKLE.
Wrong. Denilson has a better tackle and interception rate than Flamini did in 07/08. Source arsenalcolumn.wordpress.com/... interpreting OPTA:

2008/9 Denilson (3,074 minutes)
Tackles won (includes aerial): 148 (average 4 per game)
Tackles lost: 81 (average 2 per game)
Pass interceptions: 146 (average 4 per game)
Accurate passes: 2,009 (average 59 per game)
Bad passes: 238 (average 7 per game)
Assists: 7
Goals: 3

2008/9 Song (1,741 minutes in midfield)
Tackles won: 104 (average 5 per game)
Tackles lost: 50 (average 2.5 per game)
Pass interceptions: 51 (average 2.5 per game)
Accurate passes: 742 (average 38.4 per game)
Bad passes: 90 (average 5 per game)
Assists: 0
Goals: 1

2007/8 Flamini (2,665 minutes)
Tackles won: 102 (average 3.4 per game)
Tackles lost: 56 (average 1.9 per game)
Pass interceptions: 57 (average 1.9 per game)
Accurate passes: 1,321 (average 44.6 per game)
Bad passes: 100 (average 3.4 per game)
Assists 2
Goals 1

6. DENILSON IS TOO SLOW.
I have no idea whether anyone has actually clocked the Brazilian, so I guess this is entirely subjective. But anyone who has watched Gilberto will know that speed was not his best asset. And Song is certainly the slowest player I've seen in that position for quite some time. People who wanted Melo this summer should have noted how slow he moves.

7. SONG IS BETTER.
I believe Wenger wanted to try Song more at DM in the latter half of last season, but I don't think he's convinced. In fact, the game which seemed to highlight our desire for a new DM was the one in which our midfield was completely, utterly outclassed by United (CL semi-final). Denilson was on the bench the entire game. Song started at DM. Significantly, about the opening goal which killed off the second leg, Wenger later told reporters, 'Why blame Gibbs? Where was the defensive midfielder tracking Park's run?' Song will be a back-up CB / DM.

8. HE CAN'T DOMINATE MIDFIELDS.
Denilson's endeavour was a big reason why we beat both Chelsea and United earlier last season. His performance against Roma's De Rossi in the CL should put to bed any idea that Arsenal need the Italian rather than the Brazilian for our midfield. He was also a key member of the defensive unit which conceded only 14 goals in all competitions between November 2008 and March 2009.

9. WE'LL WIN NOTHING IF HE PLAYS THIS SEASON.
I remember how shortsighted we were with a certain squad player named Flamini in 2007. His proposed move to Birmingham that summer was met with indifference. To imagine Denilson--whose stats are comparable to Flamini's--cannot emerge similarly is to trust your own opinion before Wenger's. I know who I trust.

The article