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Capello Should Get Even Tougher
If the likes of Ferguson, Benitez and Scolari insist on withdrawing England's big players from friendlies due to phantom injuries that miraculously clear up in time for their next club game then Capello has got to fight fire with fire. So far he has earnt far more respect from the players than any England manager since Venables but he is still being mugged off by club managers more concerned with their teams than the national team.
If he and the FA want to reverse this trend then I put forward the following idea. If a player is pulled out of the England squad for a friendly due to injury within three days of the game in question (ie after his team's previous league game) then he should be automatically banned from playing in his club's next league game. If he is genuinely injured then he would be unlikely be able to play in said game anyway, if not then the club are hurting their own chances. It would also give the England medical staff to assess the players fitness if he met up with the squad. Again, if he were genuinely not fit then that would be fair enough and the ban wouldn't apply.
It's getting beyond a joke when the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard can play 90 minutes on a Saturday, pick up an 'injury' that will keep them out for '7-10 days' only to be in the starting line-up the weekend after. Injured, my arse.
Tony, London
Why Pull-Outs Are Positive
Has anyone thought of the advantages for almost everyone of 1st XI players pulling out of international friendlies? So Gerrard, Rooney and Rio are out for England. They all probably need a rest after long hard seasons last year and a frantic start this year. Their performances for England as of late are much improved. Capello knows what they can do. Why should they play?
Capello gets to look at new players in a non-competitive international (well as non-competitive as England Germany can be) and try new things which he can afford to do seeing as England have been going so well recently. If the result is bad then he can point to the senior players missing.
For Ireland we need to look at what we have behind the starting 11. We don't seem to have the squad we had in 2002 or 1998. Or maybe there are good young players who need a shot. Trap's reluctance to use subs means that these guys don't get much of a chance to show what they can do so they need games like this. I don't care what the Ireland result against Poland is. I only care about getting to the World Cup.
I said at the start there is advantages to almost everyone. The people who lose out as always are the fans. International football in Ireland especially is very expensive and playing these sums to see your team play only for them to be declared injured and then be back 100% for their clubs four days later is a kick in the teeth.
Gordon Clark, Ireland
Fulham: Not A Dirty Word
Arsenal, Liverpool, ManYoo blah blah. A thousand letters to F365 the same.
Fulham, we're ninth; while not yet mid-season and still pre-Xmas, if we stay here then it will be equal-highest finish for a Premiership season. People can go on and on about Gomes but we deserved that win.
A team of honest non-cheating, non-diving, non-ref bad mouthing hard workers with an English manager who never moans, never plays stupid games or abuses officials, who admits when his team played well or when they played badly. Joe Jordan, you're a disgrace.
It is going to be a tight season by the looks of it and the points between mid-table glory and relegation are not going to add to more than a handful so we may yet wind up in a relegation scrap but this is fantastic to watch. A group of average players willing to work and do what they are told for the good of the team making a top ten team.
How can it not warm everyone's hearts to see graft paying off? To see a sane sensible emotionally mature manager lead a good team, how is this not good?
Harry this, Joe K that, Arsene whatever, Rafa blah blah, Sir red nose will you people shut up - okay Gene Hackman has less manicness than Jose and more life than that guy who was the monster in MiB but still he is just telling millionaires what to do (and for their money it is a given they should).
Yeah and to you Sunderland supporters on the coach who gave us the finger after the 0-0 at the Cottage - I've got you lot, Hammers (cheating contract dodging scumbags) and Newcastle (so I can watch fat men cry, just like when Portugal knocked England out, twice, and so the Geordies will stop going on about being a big team) on my wish list for the drop.
And that is REALLY all.
Mark 'Cottagers is not a rude word' Fawkner
Best Business Of The Summer
John Terry recently mentioned that Jose Bosingwa could be the signing of the season. That may be true but it is not the best bit of business Chelsea did over the summer.
Chelsea's best bit of business was getting rid of that sack of cowdung Tal Ben Haim.
Nikhil N, CFC
Why Shearer Won't Work...
If they let Shearer manage Newcastle, wouldn't that be like letting the nutters run the nut farm??? If the guy's TV appearances are anything to go by he has a staggeringly low level of knowledge and insight into the game for someone who played it at the top level.
Tim (It would be well funny to watch though) Collins
Sing For Arsenal
Since I'm a girl and therefore clearly know nothing about football, I'm going to be bold enough to make the suggestion that Arsenal's fans and morale could both be boosted by a better choice of songs and chants to belt out at matches. If we had something as stirring and iconic as You'll Never Walk Alone, I'm sure it would be a lot easier to get the crowd going. As it is, we have a pretty predictable catalogue of chants using the same tunes as every other team (which further allows them to drown us out by inserting their own lyrics when we try to get into voice). Any suggestions?
On a separate but related note (geddit?), I was at the match on Saturday, and as I was attempting to shield the seven-year-old boy next to me from the obscene gestures and swearing from the wonderful away support below us, it didn't occur to me to feel particularly ashamed for being less vocal than them in demonstrating the love and support I have for my team.
Gemma, North London Gooner
Why Watch Without Supporting?
Just to touch on a subject which I have already read on your site, but one that is very close to my heart. After going to watch Arsenal three times at the Emirates in the last two weeks, this subject is hugely close to my heart.
Why go to watch Arsenal if not to support your team? 60,000 Arsenal Fans, and last Saturday 3,000 villa fans - yes, atmosphere is always better at away games if you are a fan, but those 3,000 put us all at the Emirates to shame, even chanting songs about how bad we were. I felt ashamed.
I and a few others tried my best but promptly got told to sit down by someone close by. I think this is disgraceful and got quite angry about this. Why go to watch your team if not to support?
Arsene Wenger stated a few weeks ago that fans are too quick to get on the team's back, and except for a few 'real fans', that mainly sit in one corner of the Emirates, this was plain to be seen. Arsenal played badly, no one really chanted support at all, but Villa were having a party. Then Arsenal went 1-0 down and everyone gave up. People started to leave, how can you motivate a team without letting them down, it seemed home advantage had gone. I felt angry, upset and let down by the fans of the team I love. Not all, but I do expect more then two or three people per 3,000 to stand up and sing and when I do not to get criticised for it.
Arsenal fans need to support their team through hard times, sing when we are winning, and sing when we are losing. Not just give up, yes the team played poor and Nicolas Bendtner maybe the biggest waste of space in the Premier League, but cheering my team winning or losing is a given. No one can say we can't do it, at Emirates in the carling Cup we were doing fine and everyone sang and had fun, after we went 1-0 up the atmosphere was great, by 3-0 it was Wembley waves, chanting that we love Arsene Wenger etc etc, then suddenly everyone is against him again, why change your tune so fast? Arsene Wenger is a great manager who has done amazing things, but yes, losing the players we lost and not replacing them was a bad move, but until the end of the season keep the faith, and maybe then if we finish 5th, then it's time for change and money to be spent. Bottom line I support Arsenal through and through and hope next time I go we get some SUPPORT from the SUPPORTERS! Two key words for me.
Up the Arsenal!
Robin Thatcher, Coventry
Not Renewing Emirates Season Ticket
Okay, apologies in advance for yet ANOTHER tedious E-Mail about Arsenal. To be honest, the entire situation has become boring now, seeing as it's been blatantly obvious that all would eventually succumb to this...
I'm a season ticket holder (GOLD Membership - oooo the hierarchy), and have been so for the past 10 years. At present I pay £1250 a year (As far as I'm aware NO other Premier League club has an 'average' season ticket price of this amount) for the pleasure of sitting in a comfortable chair, sandwich in hand, and £3 programme in the other. Being there at the Villa game this weekend I finally realised that the game I once adored has all but completely changed in that period of time.
I will NOT renew my season ticket next year, nor will I again all the while I have to pay such over-inflated prices for complete drivvel. To David, London, Gooner, yes mate... Actually the atmosphere IS that bad. The 'matchday' experience is no longer that of bustling through turnstiles, the hostile tension between fans in the air prior to every game, and as morbid a thought as it is to accept...Unfortunately, it never will be again.
Scott (AFC)
Should Have Been Captain Gilberto
Wenger's biggest fault was not making Gilberto captain as John Matrix pointed out in his email. Gilberto was the man to lead the Gunners once Henry left but instead Gallas was made the captain. Even when we were leading the league last year the thought of Gallas lifting the trophy put a bad taste in my mouth.
How can a player who was at Chelsea for so long be made the captain? Why did he deserve to be made the captain of Arsenal?
We lost to Fulham and Hull because of his mistakes this season and what does Wenger do? He retains gallas and drops Toure who should have been given the armband.
I'm writing this specifically because after reading a lot of guuners emails I've finally come across an email which states the truth. The decadence started after Gilberto 'fit enough to wear the armband following Adams and Viera' was surpassed and the armband given to William 'the rotten thug' Gallas.
Dr M Fazlur Rahman, Karachi, Pakistan
...In response to John 'utterly disillusioned' Matrix, I would like to comment on the Gilberto debacle. I support AC Milan and saw similarities between Gattuso and Gilberto last season. Both long-term loyalists, great players having awful seasons. Similar criticism was thrown against both (their legs have gone etc).. there was even talk of Gattuso going to Bayern. However things took opposite turns at the beginning of this season. Ancelotti chose to trust Gattuso and keep him while Wenger sold Gilberto. Right now, Gattuso is in the form of his life and seems like a new player. He's even learned to make a defence splitting pass!
Just drawing contrasts, nothing much.
Harsh, New Delhi
Stop Talking About The Rot
I know the Arsenal debate is getting boring, but just to add:
Fans that consider this rocky period a 'crisis' or other such bull***t media term really get on my nerves. We were never going to win the league because nobody can compete with the game-ruining behemoths of Chelsea and the increase in expenditure of United. Until something changes at the top, Arsenal and Liverpool will continue to end third at best. Paul Little put it best when he said that Arsenal amassed over 80 points last season and still finished third. We only lost three times! The margin of error has become too small, and from my admittedly bitter perspective it is slightly ruining the Premier League for everybody except United and Chelsea glory supporters.
As for the bloke in yesterday's mailbox who claimed Wenger has 'lost the plot', I actually found that personally offensive. It is so idiotic a view that reading it pains me. With the resources he has at his disposal (even if he did spend what he is supposedly allowed, his teams would cost a fraction of those of United and the Blue Scum) to finish within four points of the top is as good an achievement as going unbeaten in 2003/4.
Onto the fans. I was at the Villa match and it was not good - but for those claiming that Arsenal fans are any worse than other fans, utter rubbish. All of the big clubs (i.e. the Big 4 and Newcastle) have fans who are true fans and fans who are supporters. The atmosphere against United was incredible and would rival any stadium in any sport. Our fans are as good and as bad as any other team's. It is also rubbish to say that most of the people in the stadium are not true fans. The corporate lot obviously deserve this accusation but everyone else has paid their money to get in, and in the vast majority they support Arsenal. I have never in my life been told to 'shut up and sit down' whilst singing at an Arsenal match.
I'm not old enough to remember the days in the 80s when we were s**t (so I'm told) but if I had been alive I would have supported Arsenal throughout it. These days can barely be compared to those, we are in the Champions' League (for now), we play beautiful football (except when we don't) and we have the most secure financial ground of any of the Big 4, ignoring Roman's stolen billions. I urge all true Arsenal fans to stop talking about 'the rot' and other such bollocks, and carry on doing your job, which is supporting the Arsenal.
Joe, Oxford
Class Mails
I'd just like to point something out to all these people claiming that footballers can't be as well behaved as rugby players due to some sort of 'class divide'. For them I have two words: Rugby League. Arguably even more of a working-class game than football and yet the players are still expected to not address the referee unless spoken to, and even then they have to address him as 'sir'. Most of these players grew up on council estates in Wigan, St Helens, Bradford or Leeds which are hardly centres of etiquette and breeding. So all this 'Rugby players are posh so they are more polite' is utter rubbish, Rugby doesn't begin and end at 'Twickers' you know...
Joe (Leigh Centurions RLFC) BWFC
...Andrew Fairclough may have a point about the class divide between rugby and football in England, but how does he explain the rest of the world's rugby teams?
Andrew may not have noticed, but the All Blacks aren't packed full of private schoolboys, used to saying 'yes sir'. But yet regardless of which international sides play rugby, they all have the same level of respect for the referee.
Rugby league is definitely not a private school sport, and when was the last time you saw a team chase and surround a referee screaming and swearing when they didn't like a decision?
Football simply needs to grow a pair at the top administrative level, and start dishing out yellow cards when players cross the line. Some games may end up five-a-side, but it wouldn't take long for the message to get through.
Paul
Not A Load Of Cobblers
This isn't a Big Four e-mail and is not addressing the current popular whinges so I fear it may go unnoticed.
However I will still try. In an age where we have Premiership footballers/managers complaining of fatigue after ten games of the season can we please spare a thought for my local club Northampton who played their 22nd game of the season last night, little more than 48 hours after their 21st.
Northampton were quite rightly thumped last night by a Leeds squad big enough to make six changes (compared to a Cobblers squad who can barely find six players to sit in the bench) but it got me thinking how sad and ridiculously top heavy the football world is right now.
In an effort to coin an extra few quid from the game being shown on Setanta, Northampton have by playing twice in 48 hours effectively had to sacrifice their place in the FA Cup. This mail doesn't really have a point (that would take far more than three paragraphs) but does lead way to a question...How can the riches of the Premier League be fairly filtered down the chain to our smaller clubs? Who knows how many smaller clubs could be saved should the mailbox come up with an answer.
Matt (hoping someone has a light bulb moment), Northampton
Who Wants To Sign It?
Who has the card going around the office for everyone to sign? You know the thank you card for Lee Cattermole.
Paul Hammack
Dear Mailbox Chooser Type Person...
I'm disgusted with your 'The Famous Mailbox' feature featured this afternoon. Not one person featured in said Mailbox feature had the moniker '[name], Dublin' displayed after their well-constructed inarticulate rant.
After 423 consecutive days with at least one person with the moniker, '[name], Dublin' featured in your feature is there some new anti-Dublinesque bias rearing its ugly racist head alongside the anti-Spurs, anti-ManYoo, anti-Chelsea, anti-Liverpool etc views normally featured by your editorial staff?
I like Monster Munch.
Jon Ryan, Dublin
(Well alright, Winchester, but my Grandad was born there and I have been at least five times, so that's as close as being Irish and as supporting Liverpool I reckon)
The Ultimate Rubbish Trophy
I might be wrong, but I don't think anyone has mentioned the Sherpa Van Trophy yet. This was my favourite of the crap tournament because it sounded like a Dutch footballer, albeit one that might have been naturalised after emigrating from Nepal.
Adonis (can he make it 2 in 2 days?) Stevenson, London
No, It's This One...
Can I just say that I am correct in saying that truly the worst competition/cup EVER was something called the Football League Division 1 which was scrapped in 1992 before me and Andy came along. I mean, what competition allowed rubbish teams such as Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Liverpool and Tottenham to win it? And provided such close-run exciting competition where the title was decided by the last kick of the game in final game between the top two teams. And allowed teams like Manchester United to get relegated!!
Anyway I'm glad to say that due to my boss Rupert we did away with this Mickey Mouse Competition and created the Premier League where all this uncertainty and excitement mullarkey was got rid of.
Richard Keys
