The Good, The Bad & The Downright Ugly: The Mix of Champions-elect
ByYears ago, I learnt a truly painful lesson about the folly of being naive and expecting that other folks will be reasonable. It was back in my high school days when rugby was the fashionable game, and our school team was the dogs chuffers when it came to playing beautiful rugby.
Naturally, league and cup runs were really tight and there was one fixture that was unforgiving. Think of it like an Arsenal v Spuds fixture – and our team being Arsenal of course.
My naivety was brought to the fore when I unexpectedly had to cover for an injured colleague as an open side flanker. When an attack broke down, I was the closest and quickest to respond – and if I had picked up that loose ball as I had envisaged, ghosted the ball past our fly-half and aimed for the second centre, we had a clear overlap with our fullback joining in on a 3 on 1 attack.
I was expecting to be tackled, but what I least expected was that one of the opponents would cunningly grab and squeeze my testicles to knock the wind off my sails.
As I screamed ”referee”, the culprit – one of their props, retorted with a snarl – “What! you’re calling your mother?”
All the ref saw was my knock-on and he awarded the enemy the scrummage. I had to go off for a few minutes to crouch into a foetal position as my ’family jewels’ had been violated and they needed some delicate attention.
The lesson was brutal. The beautiful game meant absolutely zilch in the business end of the season and the enemy was willing to do what it takes to get the points.
When the time came for the rewards to be divvied up at the end of the campaign, the assault on my testicles, or any other injustice we had suffered for that matter were not going to be mitigating circumstances for grabbing the losers plate.
Experience taught us that mixing the good, the bad and the downright ugly was the only way to guarantee that you’re collecting a prize come the end of the season. At that point in the season, the entire school who were the best supporters I’ve ever come across demanded that you employed unsavoury tactics as and when required. It was no longer gamesmanship, it was a necessity for the enemy was equally ruthless.
I now find myself thinking about the virtues of embracing the dark arts at the business end of this EPL season. This Arsenal team is widely considered inexperienced, not least because they haven’t successfully completed the 38 game marathon.
I disagree with the notion that because we haven’t done it, then we won’t be able to do it this year. There’s always a first time for everything, and the fact that this team will do it when they are younger than others who have been cited as specimens of the grafters and grinders, makes any impending victory a sweet one, whenever it comes.
Through the season, we have shown that we are the masters of the beautiful game, and we have entertained football lovers up and down the land. We have shown that we have the perseverance and the mental strength to overcome the adversity thrown at us.
We have won games emphatically with imperious performances delivered with panache. We have succumbed to the worst defeats to our arch enemies that have left a bitter taste in our mouth.
Perhaps it’s now time to show our ugly side and complete the jigsaw of a total team that has beauty, substance, and well, balls.
I kid you not, there are enemies out there who have proven time and time again that they will use any means match officials let them get away with in a bid to stop Arsenal. Alex McLeish has already vowed that Arsenal are travelling back from the second city empty handed this weekend.
In the real world, I could argue a case of pre-meditation and conspiracy to commit several crimes even before we try and exorcise our demons at St. Andrews. Talk about giving your bunch of insalubrious thugs a coded message to stop Arsenal by any means necessary.
My sense is that if we continue to argue a case for justice while others resort to the ugly, then it’s tantamount to arguing our right of way on the roads yet you can clearly see the menacing driver aiming his vehicle at you as a weapon.
There’s never a better time for pragmatism and for the team to knuckle down and do what they have to do to get to the end of this race before any others. On May 9th, no one will care if we complained about being treated unfairly on the pitch, especially since they’ll see it as an excuse. They’ll sure remember that come next season, if they want ugly, they’ll know that we can do ugly.
Save the beautiful football for Barcelona I say.
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Tue 13th September 2011; 19:45, Dortmund
Completely agree with that Darius.
I think Allardyce away will be the real tough one in that regard, he is a cunt extraordinaire.
Still, if we do it, there a few things sweeter than watching and then winning a game with a real bit of niggle to it, put the gits in their place.
I love this article, i have recently started reading this blog (Is it the same author as Stone Cold Friday on ACLF?) But yes fantastic article, and we need to get nasty- i know we can, i have seen Nasri, Song, Clichy give out retribution tackles and kicks but we need to be more consistent in retaliation (just so the bullies or those that try, get the message we will fight fire with fire!)
Nephew of Rocky.
Glad you like the site. To answer your question – yes, I do write the Stone Cold Friday column on ACLF.
Nasri does have a nasty streak to him that I like. It’s refreshing.
Guys..Sly is another one. I have liked the way he is quick to defend our younger players against bullies..it is so refreshing for a change to see us respond in kind to these football hooligans.
We just need to be wiser, not descend into mindless mad dogs just to show we can be tough. Skillful, tactical and technical ability will beat brute force any day. The Chinese used to say – “To become a true master, you must learn to master controlled aggression, and the art of using/directing your opponent’s/enemy’s power/force against him.” That, for me, is the key. You cannot become mad just so you can show a mad man that you can be madder; That’s folly.
LRV.
For the rest of that particular match, we employed a ruthless approach on and off the ball.
While we had the ball, it was a blizzard of pace and technnique that we knew the cretins couldn’t cope with. Off the ball,it was a doubled up hard core tackling strategy designed to leave no room for the punks to get funny ideas about what they could get away with.
Those who thought they could avoid the first hard tackle were even hit harder the second time round – and the damn thing worked too….LOL! It’s almost like they didn’t want the ball for they knew a hard tackle was to follow.
And it was legal too….
As for our Arsenal, Alex Song is most definitely a sophisticated master of the dark arts. Just take a look at how many professional fouls he indulges in to slow the opponent down before they even start thinking of a counter attack.
I agree that there’s a difference between outright brute force, and dishing out a masterclass to the opponent in a sophisticated way ala Sol Campbell teaching Shawcross how to tackle.
But as the last few games become more important, I still feel the team needs the pragmatism to put the result in our favour way beyond the reach of any match official.
What was it an American president once said – “Walk softly and carry a big stick”.
Firstlady, you’re right about Sly. Song and Eboue also aren’t shy to put themselves in the lien of fire if an incident occurs.
I also like the way Theo has on several occasions stood up for himself and squared it out with those seeking to slow him down with unsavoury means.
Yes Darius. Sol Campbell taught Shawcross how to tackle in an aesthetically macho way. And I indeed agree with the “Walk softly and carry a big stick” line; in as much as we do not become the stick.
@Darius, i think u gave a very good post and a good read. i concur with your view on the way the team should go especially now that we are on the last stretch with only a few games remaining.
where a need arises, and in this case teams coming outright to try using unorthodox ways to square us out, i think that we should also give as much as we receive.
i think this is the only thing that will show our opponents that we have also come of age and will think twice before trying to make that twisted, dangerous tackle.