Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool & Tottenham lack motivation
Once the title is out of your hands, it’s a long, long road to the end of the season.
And for these four sides (Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool, Tottenham), they’ve got very little to play for except in Europe, and it shows in their league performances.
Arsenal have been awful all season, but their best performance (Old Trafford) came when their backs were against the wall - so many points behind, players not performing, etc etc. Arsenal played the same way last season in the Champions League - fighting hard through the knock-out stages but struggling to reach 4th spot in the Premiership.
So what next for Arsenal? On their form, they will probably lose to Tottenham at home, then blow Porto away (away), and beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. But being Arsenal, they’ll contrive to lose the next two games after that.
Newcastle are in the same boat, although their backs-to-the-walls stuff is out of necessity rather than stupidity - 7 first-team players are injured, they’ve got a thin squad and they still are close to the relegation scrap. They fought their way through at the Emirates, and it looks like they’ll go throughout the season fighting for scraps - the UEFA Cup seems to bring out a different Newcastle, but we’ll see tonight if they can come away from Frankfurt with points or not.
Last season Newcastle stormed to 7th place, but the league is much tougher this year, and they’re not as strong as last year. Top 10 would be a big acheivement for them. With their luck though, Newcastle could beat Chelsea in the Carling Cup quarter final.
Liverpool are the same - they pulled through the Champions League two seasons ago on guts and grit but despite the false-positive of last season’s form, Liverpool are more comfortable beating equally cautious shit teams in Europe than they are with facing up to Premiership opponents. Injuries have hurt them, yes, but Liverpool have hurt themselves by playing crap.
Liverpool are through to the knock-out rounds in the CL, and play Arsenal in the Carling Cup - with both teams playing poorly, you wouldn’t bet on either of them winning. Liverpool are a team that folds in the Premiership but bluffs and battles its way through in cups.
Tottenham aren’t a cup-mentality team like the rest, but they are so bad on the motivation stakes that you wonder what Tottenham fans were smoking when they thought their team could improve upon 5th spot from last season. The Spurs are doing well in UEFA but have shown a disturbing tendency this season to throw away needless points. You can understand if Tottenham lose to United, but when Tottenham beat Chelsea but lose the next, you’ve got to wonder what Martin Jol is doing and whether he’s the right man for Tottenham.
On the motivational stakes, these teams don’t have the right managers. Maybe that’s the problem? Good managers can make average squads (United) or misfit squads (Chelsea) play amazingly well. The rest can’t even make the good squads work.
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Discussion - 11 Responses
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Ahmed, please, forget this “United-have-an-average-squad”-nonsense. United’s squad is much, much better than Liverpool’s and Arsenal’s. Liverpool have necessary cover - they can replace average players with average players. Arsenal have players who can pass the ball around everyone but they’re terrified at the sight of a flying stud.
What a complete load of drivel! Take spurs for example, through to the next phase of the UEFA cup already, quarter finals of the carling cup, with a draw against a side which they will comforatbly win to put them into the semi’s. Only lost one game in 14, beaten the champions for the first time in 2 decades and 2 wins away from top four and champions league footy. Yeah your right, nothing to look forward to really!
what a pile of crap.
the poor performances of the four teams you mention have nothing to do with motivational issues.
What a load of rubbish, even though Spurs had a shaky start to the season (first 3 away games - Reebok, Old Trafford, Anfield) we have now lost one in our last 14 games. To say Martin Jol is not the right man for Spurs is pathetic, he led us to our first ever top 6 finish in the Prem and with the run of games we have coming up, we could be there are thereabouts by the end of December. Lazy journalism at it’s worst I’m afraid.
Rubbish! Motivation - Spurs have won 10, drawn 3 and lost 1 in the last 14 games. Not a bad record for a manager you say ‘can’t even make good squads work’. 5 points off 3rd place, playing in the UEFA cup, last 8 of the carling cup and hopefully going to do well in the FA cup and you say we haven’t got much to play for??! Jol is a legend, and you are talking out of your backside when you say he is not the ‘right manager’ for Spurs.
Spurs have lost just one game in their last fourteen in all competitions.
Granted that was a listless game away to Reading. But it hardly suggests their motivation has been poor. Indeed having already played all of the existing top ten barring Arsenal, Spurs have started to look like the side they were last season.
that doesn’t make their rise inevitable. But it suggests that the perception of demise is premature.
they’ve got very little to play for except in Europe
Erm, don’t you think they might, just possibly, be playing for a place in Europe next year?
You don’t watch much football do you?
Ahmed you are way off mate. I think you’ve been watchin somethin that no one else has been watchin. Chelsea’s misfit squad? Are you kiddin. There’s more world class talent there than anywhere in Europe not to mention back to back title winners, how are they misfit exactly? Yes United have an average squad but they are settled. They only bought 1 player in the summer and they weren’t a bad side last year so basically they are a side who knows how each other plays. Also, they are yet to suffer an injury crisis. They have a small squad. Once that is decreased by injury, it may be a different story. Newcastle added Martins and Duff to there ranks so how is that not stronger. Injuries have blighted a good set of players. If any thing THEY are the misfit squad. Their manager is far from adequate, the only thing you got right.
Arsenal unmotivted? What gave you that impression? These are a team of winners on a losing streak. Quite a bit of motivation there mate. They dont have the money that Chels and Manu have so they have to build from smart aquistions and youth. They have a great young set of players. Wenger wouldnt have tried to slap Pardew if he wasnt motivated to win. They also have a small squad but an excellent first team. They’ll finish top 5 no problem. Teams have just sussed them out. It’s taken a few years but they are simply not as good as they were and when comparing the current squad to the unbeatables of 2004 its no contest. As for Spurs. They have lost once in 14 games, unbeaten in Europe, 5 points and a game in hand behind 3rd place, missed out by 2 points on Champions League last season and theyre not motivated??? Mate, how wrong can you be. And all this was made possible by the big guy Martin Jol, the ONLY man for the job right now. Sort it out and watch the games. This isnt the egg shaped football that you probably follow, this is the real thing.
With regards spurs you could not be any further from the truth. I would suggest actually watching some football and to indicate that Martin Jol may not be the man for the job is absolutely comical
Manutd gets larsson