Sunday 28 February 2010

If Wenger Had Adams And Vieira Now...


...would he see their fouls? Is it me, or did Arsenal mix it with the best of them when Wenger had thugs at his disposal? Wasn't Wenger's complaint then that referees were too quick to go for their cards, that Arsenal were being victimised based on their reputation?

I seem to remember an appalling Vieira tackle in the centre circle at Upton Park - I can't remember the victim, but I remember clearly Wenger saying that he hadn't seen it so could not comment.

Vieira was a true midfield "enforcer" - or a "bully" in any world other than sport. Wenger was perfectly happpy to allow him to rough up opponents and then defend his actions afterwards. I hated Vieira when he spat (which Wenger also did not see!) but admired him as a player apart from this. Arsenal won titles when Vieira was in the team because he drove the side forward and terrified the life out of the opposition with his take no prisoners tackling. Look at that picture above - tackling from behind with studs up!

That was all part of the game when the tactics suited Wenger! What a hypocrite the guy is!

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whose legs did Vieira ever break? You cite one tackle, so abhorrent, apparently, that you can't even remember the victim. This sort of semi-literate equation of past Arsenal players with Martin Taylor and Ryan Shawcross is intended to . . . do what exactly? Justify the fracture of Ramsey's leg as the product of some cosmic justice? The situations are demonstrably incompatible, and one player's or team's penchant for slide tackling does not inhere the sort of recklessness and dearth of ability that marked Shawcross' tackle. Your moral relativism, influenced, I guess, by some deep seated anti-Arsenal animus, produces an argument that doesn't prove anything but your spineless disregard for the death of a player's career, and even without such formalities as structure, conclusion and rhetorical support. I'll be sure to laugh when your club goes into administration.

Anonymous said...

no idea who anonymous is....and I'm a west ham fan...but he could teach the blog owner a thing or two about how to write!

Anonymous said...

i bet its taken you allday to find that picture get a life how many legs or injuries did vieira give none

Hammersfan said...

LOL 1557, it is all about target audience. Our friend uses lots of fancy words but clearly understands that I can read and understand them, otherwise there would be no point. But remember, I am writing not only for the average football fan but for the average West Ham fan...

Hammersfan said...

Graham Poll: "A year earlier I had managed to get Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira laughing together before the game. There was no possibility of that on a cool February evening as Keane and Vieira went head-to-head in the tunnel in an amazing clash that left me wondering what on earth could happen once we got them on to the pitch. The exchange in the tunnel culminated in Vieira threatening to break Keane's legs, to which the United skipper coolly replied: "If you were that good you'd be at Real Madrid."

Wenger was his manager at the time!

Hammersfan said...

"Patrick Vieira has been charged with violent conduct after appearing to kick Stoke's Glenn Whelan between the legs on Wednesday night."

Hammersfan said...

Vieira holds the record for the most red cards received in the Premier League era with eight. He shares the record with Duncan Ferguson and Richard Dunne. He also received over 70 yellow cards during his time at Arsenal.

Anonymous said...

"...I am writing not only for the average football fan but for the average West Ham fan..."
what the fukc's that supposed to mean you demeaning twat?
we don't have a problem comprehending football, it's you that seems to be struggling

liamobrien said...

The argument here is not the outcome of the tackles, but rather the intention of the tackle. Shawcross and Taylor committed fouls yes, however they have unfortunately ended in horrific injuries, but they where not horrific tackles.

Vieira undoubtedly committed similar fouls in his time at at Arsenal, but no one was ever seriously injured due to these tackles, which he could count himself lucky for. It has been an unfortunate situation for Arsenal that these fouls have ended in bad injuries, but that is just bad luck, not victimization.

Wenger would never have been happy if he would have seen Vieira, or even Vermalen yesterday, pulling out of a 50:50 (the type of tackle that Ramsey and Shawcross had yesterday).

No ones likes to see these bad injuries, but on the other hand no one wants to see football turn into a non-contact sport like basketball. It's part and parcel of being a footballer and you are at risk every time you step onto the pitch.

Anonymous said...

Idiot blog by an idiot spammer

What a tithead.

Anonymous said...

Idiot blog by an idiot spammer

What a tithead.

Hammersfan said...

Spot on Liam.

1709, you sort of prove the tongue in cheek point sadly. The issue is not the understanding of the game but the comprehension of the language. I can write in a different way but it would be inappropriate given the medium and the intended target audience. 1554 is demonstrably too far up his own animus!

Straight4ward said...

- - - But remember, I am writing not only for the average football fan but for the average West Ham fan...
Dumbing down so us plebs can comprehend your great insights? Not very flattering to your audience is it?

Anyway, I don't believe a word of it, you write purely for self-gratification, not for an "intended target-audience".

Hammersfan said...

Without looking them up S4W, tell me, what do inhere and animus mean? That's my point.

Me flatter? No chance!

Straight4ward said...

LOL.
Don't underestimate the benefits of a state education.

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with Liam. It is terribly unfortunate that Ramsey suffered such a severe injury but you could not blame either player for challenging for the ball in that manner.

I am disappointed that Wenger has come out to attach the intentions of Shawcross who it was obvious to see was deeply upset. In my opinion it was an honest and none-reckless tackle.

I also seem to remember in recent times when Diaby practically knocked out Terry by kicking him in the face with a wild swing of the boot.

Hammersfan said...

Good on you 2026 if you are an Arsenal fan. I don't know why everybody has to be so partisan and irrational when something like this happens. I was annoyed with Curbishley when he criticised the Bristol Rovers player who broke Dyer's leg - again the challenge was clumsy rather than malicious. But Curbishley was far more restrained than Wenger!

Anonymous said...

Birmingham have had 2 players suffer broken legs in the last year so have villa but they didn't make a fuss about it because they were players going 4 the ball and just miss timed the tackle like martin Taylor and Ryan Shawcross hope Ramsey makes a full and speedy recovery

Hammersfan said...

We have had two in last 3 years - Ashton and Dyer - and Ashton's career was ended.

T.I.S said...

I think HF has very much won this argument through using Vieira as a fine example. Did he break legs? I don't know but his aggression was/is always capable of doing so, Shawcross was in tears and apparently was picked up by his mother, does this sound like a guy who had bad intentions going into the tackle? I wish Arsenal fans would stop being so one dimentional in their arguments, and think about which youngster they can use as a scapegoat for not winning the title this season.