from
the factory floor
Karaiskaki
Stadium
Referee:
Alberto Undiano Mallenco
Olympiakos
3-1 Arsenal 06
December 2011
Rafik
Djebbour [16'] Yossi Benayoun
[57']
David
Fuster [36']
Francois
Modesto [89']
I
threatened down at the bar that my report for this match would just be a
collection of Benny Hill youtube clips, thinking the less said about this the
better. And oddly enough though the result ‘doesn’t matter’ so to speak, it’s
worth having a look at.
Two
pretty big screw ups on our end put the home side up 2-0 in the first half
hour. Ed’s observation that the first wasn’t so much of an indictment on
Fabianski was belied by the shambolic performance the Pole put in for the first
quarter-hour. To be fair, Ed strolled in a bit late and wasn’t privy to the
opening minutes by our number two [that pun is fully intended].
And
quite what was going on in Mannone’s head is far beyond me. If I’m honest I was
a little glad to see Fabianski go off injured because I was sure we’d ship at
least three if he stayed on. Turns out it didn’t matter and Vito conspired to
look even shakier only minutes after his arrival. It was painful watching
really, but as Carissa pointed out, dead funny. If you don’t laugh sometimes
you cry.
Sandwiched
between the poor start and the two bits of keystone cops goalkeeping was a
couple of decent opportunities on goal.
I believe Frimpong owes Jack Wilshere £1500 after Maxwell Smart-ing a
very presentable early chance at an opener that would have made good on Jack’s
proposed twitter flutter. Arshavin really should have done better with the
other early chance that he had as well, but rather than pick a side he tried to
meg the keeper and it was blocked.
I
know that Arshavin has that quality of being able to pull a moment of magic out
of nothing, and there is this defense of his current form that because he often
goes for the clever/creative pass it doesn’t always come off. But when a player of his ability hasn’t
delivered the goods for the span of time he has gone missing, they typically
focus on just doing the simple things well. For me, he just hasn’t been doing
that and I would far rather see Benayoun and Chamberlain get his minutes ongoing.
He just isn’t cutting the mustard.
One
also must wonder just how crap Park is if he can’t get a look when Chamakh is
in such poor form, given the short length of time the he will be available to
us. To be fair to the Moroccan, he set up the two early chances previously
mentioned, but he really fades toward the end of matches. And even early going
his best moments tend to be when he is not in the penalty area. For a so-called
target center forward with good aerial ability that is a real head-scratcher.
Nothing
really seems to come off for this chap at the moment, and were it not for a
rather lumping finish from Benayoun there would be another example to bemoan of
how poor he is in the box, especially under physical pressure from the opponent.
Instead Yossi gave us a glimmer of hope that we might just snatch an undeserved
point from this match and finish the group unbeaten. That would be a short
lived hope however.
Frimpong
had a solid if unspectacular outing, but might have shown his inexperience
coughing up a few late free kicks to concede the third, even if the hosts were
going down all too easily and being rewarded generously by the referee. It was
poor stuff all around. The Ox was clearly having one of his off days, seeming
inclined to take on as many players at one time as possible. Olympiakos didn’t
look keen at all to allow him to add to his tally from the first leg of this
tie, and he failed to produce much all match.
He’s not ready to start any time soon, but perhaps a few appearances
from the bench could be the way forward for him.
Those
moaning in the build-up about the inclusion of Vermaelen and Santos
The
result has no bearing on our group placing, thankfully. As bright sides go,
this performance and result might provide a reality check on a few levels. We
are one injury away to either Van Persie or Szczesny from very possibly being
quite dire. That can’t be much surprise to anyone. Maybe the signs are there
after the Wigan result that we might be able
to muster up some goals should the captain miss games, but if Szczesny gets an
injury or suspension we are proper fucked.
Realizing
the meaninglessness of this match might have done something to the focus of the
team, but for me what was most alarming was that it was just about our settled
back four who conspired to ship those goals early on, with the exception of
Squillaci. The lack of cohesion might also suggest just how much Szcz indeed
does as an organizer, or perhaps just how crucial Song and Arteta are in
protecting our defenders. Probably a bit
of both. What’s clear is that any team worth their attacking salt could have
been up by four at the half and I was very much reminded of the callow posture
and abject defending that we saw, what seems like eons ago, at Old Trafford.
After
the Carling Cup match I might have been persuaded that this side might be the
basis of our FA Cup team, but on evidence of this showing I am not at all sure.
My view in the end is that we take this one on the chin, and hope that we don’t
count the cost too much with injuries to Santos Marseilles
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