07 Apr 2026 07:04:05
Morning All.
Thought I would calm down before I posted. :)
So back in January I was called negative / pessimist / defeatist or whatever when I had a dig at Mal because Mal had posted what an excellent season we were having.
We had won nothing so how could we be having an excellent season.
The fact is I was being realistic, and this will upset 99% of you on here with this statement BUT, to me Man City have all the momentum now, I am not saying they will but do not be surprised if they win the Treble and we have nothing.
It just wasn't sustainable for us to keep winning matches from set pieces, we struggle to score from open play.
I have said it before and say it again VG isn't then man under the leadership of Arteta, he can score at International level but not through Arleta's style of play.
Look at Saturday, Martinelli had the ball on the corner of Southampton's box, instead of crossing it, 5 passes later it ends up with Kepa. Wtf
So we go again tonight, we still have a chance for glory and I maintain the CL (everyone being fit) is our best chance of glory as it's a trophy we don't have on our CV, Rice and Co will be back, we are good enough but for me the question is. Is Arteta good enough?
We shall see.
07 Apr 2026 08:46:47
Good morning Banbury mate, hope you are well and you have had a good Easter.
Like you, I was so disappointed about the Carabao final, but the Southampton performance made my blood boil. We have put unnecessary pressure on ourselves. The injuries, that's down to the rub of the green. VAR is down to whether you got competent people or idiots running it. But your performances are down to players and managers.
We have to lose sometime, but there's a way to lose, and the way we have lost our last 2 games is unbelievably arrogant to the fans who spend their hard earned wages watching them last 2 performances. After the Carabao, I posted a very positive post defending the team, believing that we would bounce right back against Southampton, which didn't happen.
The team we put out against Southampton was on paper good enough to win the game, and that is no disrespect to Southampton, who deserved to win the game on their resilience and attitude alone. A lot of people were saying that the quadruple was never really on. Yes it was.
9pts clear
Final of Carabao
A relatively easy draw against Southampton apart from Port Vale and qf of the CL so the quadruple was definitely on.
So why in the last 2 performances have we played like that, why did Mike play Arrizabalaga twice, play Havertz in midfield, which doesn't work, why drop Vic when he must have been buzzing coming back from international duty, and why did the fringe players, when getting a chance to shine, play crap.
I just cannot get my head round it.
07 Apr 2026 09:07:45
I'm with you. Is Arteta an over-thinker? Probably. Should Kepa have in either game? No, not a chance, play to win and stop being so bloody nice.
Havertz isn't a midfielder and if it was me, I would have had some bug boys on the bench, but you are correct that starting XI was more than good enough to win at Southampton.
Fingers crossed for tonight, eh.
07 Apr 2026 11:39:48
It's the Premier League that matters for me. Win 5 out of 7 and the season is an absolute success. Fail, and it's farewell, Mikel. Fine margins.