Chalkboards

A couple of weeks ago we detailed how Jose Mourinho’s Inter side played brilliantly after going down to ten men against Milan’s 4-3-3 system, keeping two players upfront but asking them to work the channels, thereby occupying the whole of a four-man defence, matching a three-man midfield, and having a spare man at the...
Read more »

John Obi Mikel always starts against Arsenal – despite not always being a fixture in the first team, he has started home and away against Arsene Wenger’s side both this season and last. He’s a tremendous physical presence in front of the back four, he reads the game well, he keeps possession and passes calmly,...
Read more »

Gael Clichy’s form over the past 18 months has been a real cause for concern for Arsenal fans. When Ashley Cole left for Chelsea in 2006, the consensus amongst Gooners was that Arsenal hadn’t done too badly, because Clichy stepped into the first team and was playing consistently well. And indeed, better than Cole...
Read more »

After the whole John Terry / Wayne Bridge / Vanessa Perroncel storm of last week, this was exactly what the current England captain needed. Chelsea didn’t play well at Turf Moor, and it was a poor game overall, but Terry turned in a terrific performance. In a way, it was precisely the kind of game Terry...
Read more »

After Arsenal’s 1-2 defeat at Old Trafford earlier in the season, Arsene Wenger made a point of singling out Darren Fletcher for criticism: “There are other points that, for me, are more urgent – players who play only to make fouls, who make repeated fouls and are never punished. They get out of the game without...
Read more »