[Archived] Arsenal V Blackburn Rovers 2 April 2011

[USABlue]

Christ, can people on here grow some balls? We managed a decent performance against Chelsea under Kean, and while the odds are against us what's the point in writing ourselves off before the game? We always have a chance.

We played better against Fulham, a lot better against Blackpool and we have nearly a fully fit squad to pick from including the huge addition of Phil Jones, the outstandingly in form Hoilett and a decent looking Jermaine Jones. Strap a pair on! All I want to see is organisation and fight on the pitch even if we lose, both of which are sadly lacking on here....

The time for panicking, moaning, recrimination, and - if you are so inclined - tantrums is after the game.

Great to see by the sell out that the fatalism of the majority of posters on here is not shared by the travelling support. As it stands we are 13th and have a very good chance to stay up no matter who is in charge.

Will you please refrain from all this optimism

[jim mk2]

3-0 Arsenal.

3-0 Arsenal would do me.

Saturday is tin-hat time, a day for hiding in the garden shed and hoping the world is still turning when I came out after the match is over.

Rovers are going down and I fear a right old thumping.

[BangkokRover]

Arsenal’s final push for the Premier League title has been dealt a significant boost with the likely return on Saturday of Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Abou Diaby and Alex Song.

Arsenal handed Premier League title boost as four key players return to full fitness

[patrickvalery]

Talksport claim that Robin Van Persie is now likely to be fit to face us this weekend.

Just as well his son isn't.

http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/oddballs/859521-robin-van-persie-lobbed-by-amazing-volley-from-son-shaqueel-4

[Mattyblue]

Being 13th' means bugger all when you are a a point outside the relegation zone and bottom of the form table.

[Stuart]

Just looked as this thread for the first time. Can someone make sure it's closed by about 7:15pm on Saturday.

Our only hope is an over-confident, complacent Arsenal, who take their eyes of the ball, and we get the rub of the green and the bounce of the ball, and the pity and benefit of odd refereeing decisions. Get that and we've a chance... of keeping the Arsenal score down to 3.

A battling 2-1 defeat might be good for morale. The draw would be fantastic.

I just hope that a goal goes in off Roque's backside just to break his duck. It might open the floodgates. Much as I like Roque, I'd prefer to see Niko given a chance. Can't help the feeling that Kalinic is a Big Sam mam and is being left out in favour of Santa Cruz. Does Roque speak Portuguese?

Prediction: 4-0 Arsenal.

Btw, nice preview, BKR. If only games were 45 minutes long! Does that point to lack of fitness or concentration? Looking forward to the "more to follow"!

[joey_big_nose]

We were terrible against Chelsea. Clearly you did not go to that game. They had 19 or so shots to our one. Our shot went wide anyway. The score remained respectable. The Rovers were pathetic. We could and should have lost by a cricket score. Is that what you are trying to say, but wrote 'decent performance' by mistake?

We conceded 3 away at Fulham and 2 at home to Blackpool. Hardly the best two teams in the league, so leaking 5 goals in those matches does not indicate we did well.

Selling out our allocation for Arsenal, although great, is most likely due to the fact that the travelling fans know the players need their support more than ever, are taking the opportunity to visit decent grounds that may not be ours to visit next season and the fact that the season is nearly over and few away days remain. It will have nothing to do with optimism about the result, as I do not know any Rovers fans that believe we will win this game easily.

My suggestion is Venky's grow some balls and admit their mistake and remove Kean. Or Kean grows some balls and admits he is not up to the task and leaves. And the players grow some balls and get us out of this mess that they have helped create. Telling worried fans on here, stating the obvious, many that have supported longer than the Venky's have been trading.....to grow some balls seems to me like you are totally missing the point.

Of course I don't believe we are likely to win the game, you would have to be nuts to do so. A draw would be a fantastic and still unlikely result even if we had Mark Hughes, Sam Allardyce or Owen Coyle in charge.

What I resent is fans not giving their own team that slim chance of an upset. Nothing to do with Venkys or anything else, we're up against it but a ball hasn't been kicked and it is XI against XI. Stranger things have happened.

As for Chelsea I watched the match and until the goal went in on 55 minutes we were defending well if not threatening much. Fair enough we were well beaten, but it was a distinct improvement over the previous visit to Stamford Bridge.

[Mattyblue]

To be fair joey, this message board was the same under Sam before an away game at Arsenal.

Positive, it ain't.

[BangkokRover]

Just looked as this thread for the first time. Can someone make sure it's closed by about 7:15pm on Saturday.

Our only hope is an over-confident, complacent Arsenal, who take their eyes of the ball, and we get the rub of the green and the bounce of the ball, and the pity and benefit of odd refereeing decisions. Get that and we've a chance... of keeping the Arsenal score down to 3.

A battling 2-1 defeat might be good for morale. The draw would be fantastic.

I just hope that a goal goes in off Roque's backside just to break his duck. It might open the floodgates. Much as I like Roque, I'd prefer to see Niko given a chance. Can't help the feeling that Kalinic is a Big Sam mam and is being left out in favour of Santa Cruz. Does Roque speak Portuguese?

Prediction: 4-0 Arsenal.

Btw, nice preview, BKR. If only games were 45 minutes long! Does that point to lack of fitness or concentration? Looking forward to the "more to follow"!

I do have more to put up but I am waiting for Saturday morning as then I should be able to guess the line ups. Although if Arsenal have all those players back I am not sure I want to.

[Ferrit]

Christ, can people on here grow some balls? We managed a decent performance against Chelsea under Kean, and while the odds are against us what's the point in writing ourselves off before the game? We always have a chance.

We played better against Fulham, a lot better against Blackpool and we have nearly a fully fit squad to pick from including the huge addition of Phil Jones, the outstandingly in form Hoilett and a decent looking Jermaine Jones. Strap a pair on! All I want to see is organisation and fight on the pitch even if we lose, both of which are sadly lacking on here....

The time for panicking, moaning, recrimination, and - if you are so inclined - tantrums is after the game.

Great to see by the sell out that the fatalism of the majority of posters on here is not shared by the travelling support. As it stands we are 13th and have a very good chance to stay up no matter who is in charge.

Did we play that much better against Blackpool? The game I went too we were absolutely appauling for 45 minutes. As the form tables show, 45 minutes isn't enough.

It's nothing to do with "selling out" ... it's called being realistic. Your optimism is admirable, but really, it's time to wake up and smell the coffee. I'll happily return and eat my words if we pickup a point, or even keep it respectable, sadly I don't see it.

[cloggyjimmybrfc]

9/10 times we will get shafted at the emirates by a few goals,but i always did like the underdogs.......C.O.Y.B.

[roversmum]

Anyone got a game plan? Don't suppose the Manager will have ...

[Tom]

Anyone got a game plan? Don't suppose the Manager will have ...

I think his plan is more centered around giving a good interview about things to work on after the game.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Anyone got a game plan? Don't suppose the Manager will have ...

Think we are all waiting on you for this mum

Simple really = WIN!!!

[den]

Anyone got a game plan? Don't suppose the Manager will have ...

Defend well, get stuck in 'em and try/hope to get something on the break - just as we should approach every game.

I can't agree with the posters who seem to think all out attack is the way to go, because that will play into Arsenals hands. They would murder us on the break. Wenger always attacks sides verbally, who come and get stuck in. It doesn't take much to figure out why he does that.

So, unless we defend well, we've got absolutely no chance. This has to be the first priority.

[Ozz]

Steve Kean talking about the Arsenal game-"“I would just like to get a comfortable clean sheet and three points, and that is what we will be working towards."

LET

[gumboots]

Defend well, get stuck in 'em and try/hope to get something on the break - just as we should approach every game.

I can't agree with the posters who seem to think all out attack is the way to go, because that will play into Arsenals hands. They would murder us on the break. Wenger always attacks sides verbally, who come and get stuck in. It doesn't take much to figure out why he does that.

So, unless we defend well, we've got absolutely no chance. This has to be the first priority.

Need a bit of Souness type mentality here - didn't he say to the troops before the Worthington Cup final - just win at all costs. Nobody gave us a prayer against Spurs that day but we managed it with a patched up side and Mark hughes playing in midfield. Strange things can happen in any football match. I'm not expecting anything but you never know. 99 times out of 100 they'll batter us so we just have to hope that Saturday is the 1 in 100 chance. Mind you, knowing us we'd then go and screw it up against Birmingham!

[LeChuck]

Steve Kean talking about the Arsenal game-"“I would just like to get a comfortable clean sheet and three points"

Well, you can see what Venky's mean by "he's positive".

Utterly mental and deluded, but positive.

[roverwhelmed]

Could be wrong, but I didn't get the impression he meant at Arsenal - he can't exactly come out and say he's expecting us to get tonked. I got the impression Kean meant in our last few fixtures, not any in particular.

[John]

Steve Kean talking about the Arsenal game-"“I would just like to get a comfortable clean sheet and three points, and that is what we will be working towards."

LET

That's different to an interview in February when Kean said the way we play now we will concede more goals however with the aim of outscoring the opposition.

[Nafe_rovers]

My plan to to drink excessive amounts of beer to numb the pain... but in the rare chance we have, it will make me incredibly jolly COYB

[roversmum]

Steve Kean talking about the Arsenal game- “I would just like to get a comfortable clean sheet and three points, and that is what we will be working towards."

LET

'A little less conversation' comes to mind. Stop talking about it, Stevie, and get yourself in front of a set of DVDs of Arse's recent matches.

Then read Den's post

Defend well, get stuck in 'em and try/hope to get something on the break - just as we should approach every game.

I can't agree with the posters who seem to think all out attack is the way to go, because that will play into Arsenals hands. They would murder us on the break. Wenger always attacks sides verbally, who come and get stuck in. It doesn't take much to figure out why he does that.

So, unless we defend well, we've got absolutely no chance. This has to be the first priority.

and gumboots' post

Need a bit of Souness type mentality here - didn't he say to the troops before the Worthington Cup final - just win at all costs. Nobody gave us a prayer against Spurs that day but we managed it with a patched up side and Mark hughes playing in midfield. Strange things can happen in any football match.

and

GERRINTOEM

[duffbear]

Can you imagine if we managed to win.....

People after the game would be saying we could qualify for Europe!

What a made league it is this season

[DE.]

I think we'll get crushed. Will probably lose heavily, rumours will fly about Kean, his odds will be slashed to be the next manager to go for the hundredth time, then Venky's will come out and say they have complete faith in him.

Repeat ad infinitum until the end of the season.

I do genuinely want us to win, because I still hold the faintest hope that we'll employ a real manager in the summer should we stay up, but I just don't see it.

[John]

Kean's comments were a bit odd saying good time to play Arsenal as they had their players away on international duty.

Presume he is referring to the rest of the team apart from Fabregas, Walcott, Song, and Diaby who are all are back in contention to play (and were not involved in the internationals I don't think).

Think I know what he was getting at though...