Have to give full credit to the Gunners tonight. Bossed the mifield and our cetre backs where torn apart and shown up for pace. Should of been 5-1 or more as the disallowed goal, should of stood. Ayala had a nightmare, Amoo being our best player I thought. When we came back from 2 down with a corker of a reply, thought game on. Started the second half well, but Arsenal cut through our defence far to easily. We are going to have to have a complete rethink if we are to haul ourselves back from 4-1 down in the return leg at Anfield. Well tried lads and good luck for the return leg. Dalla Valle went off with a hamstring injury, not sure he will be available for the return leg. But going on tonights performance he didn't get a sniff.
Too many of our player froze on the night, the occassion got to them. Expect a better showing in the second leg, but we won't pull that deficit back. We badly missed Adam Pepper, Irwin was poor in midfield and should have been RB, the kid that deputised for him, 16 and a debutant was totally lost at times. Had to feel sorry for him in truth, he's 16, about 3ft nothing and he was up against their left winger, who is like 6ft 10, built like a brick shithouse and very skillful...no way is here under-18, lol... That League and Champions League experience the Gooners had told as well, have any of our team played any league football, anywhere whatsoever? I can't think of any. Don't you aggree too, the injury Arsenal got early on worked well for them? The player that got injured wasn't having a good game, Wilshere was having a poor time playing the support striker and we were bossing it. The second Wilshere got in midfield the game changed drastically and that striker that came on then started causing us no-end of troubles.
He started off great, all the Liverpool players did. But once Arsenal settled down, they bossed the midfield. He gave the ball away on numerous occassions too.
Glad that fat lad kennedy is off, Ayala should follow him out the door with that performance, far too slow to make it. Were they mostly first years playing for Liverpool? The gulf between the teams was embarassing. The lad who scored was alright and the blonde German mostly looked decent despite getting skinned. Don't know how to spell either of their silly names. Can't believe the Arse didn't start with the lad who came on he ran lurch and fatty ragged. Doesn't really matter though as long as one or two are good enough that's all you want.
I think you mean Buchtmann, he usually plays midfield but Rafa wants his to practice his defensive side of the game, hence he played full back tonight. He did get skinned out on the wing on one occasion and gave away a foul. He has only recently returned from playing for Germany, played superb against England and got staunch right ups and tipped as a future prospect.
Yeah I saw the highlights of his performance against England, he did well, and UEFA tipped him as a future star which is a big positive. Suppose he was always gonna struggle to influence the game at left back but I mostly watched it so see how good the lad was. Buchtmann, bet you can't spell the other guy without looking him up.
What you've got to think about though Ollie, half of that Arsenal side have first team experience, whether with Arsenal or other clubs (Lansbury was it? at Scunthorpe all season). I don't think one of our lads has a single first team game under their belt and it showed, they seemed to freeze and not hack the occassion, they're much better than that. Plus the Gooners had an overage player in there...there is no way that left winger is under 18 ffs he looked like he's mid 20s at least.
I think the Arsenal lads were maybe a bit older? Yeah we'll see a truer reflection of their abilities when they play at home, quite a hostile environment for a youth match I thought!
Yeah, I forgot about that. I was pretty disappointed the Arsenal fans needed to boo everything the Liverpool kids did, from the outset. I hope our fans show a bit more class. If I were at the game and a grown man started booing the Arsenal kids, I'd slap him around the ear.
Thanks, the job is only half done though. I don't think the tie is over, if they start showboating it could yet cost them. Weak. You moan about us having no atmosphere and then moan about us creating one. Do make up your mind. They're grown adults, not children. 33,000 turned up last night, let's see how many turn up at Anfield. Want to take a bet with me that it'll be less?
So the only way to create a atmosphere is boo your opponent? Grown men? Our right back is barely 16 ffs...they're kids...under 18s. Show some class for once eh? As for 33,000 turning up? I dunno how many will turn up, but it'll be decent crowd. I know we got 27,000 a few years back, despite charging £7 a go and the game being on Sky...how much was it last night? And there was a decent Liverpool following.
It was good support. Heaven forbid you're about generalise and say 33,000 people were pouring scorn on them all game long. What utter tosh. For once, with great backing and 33,000 turning up and getting behind our promising young team, you have little to criticise. I can guarantee you'd have moaned at the silence a la our league games if it had been the case, but instead you've gone after a few boos. Why don't you show some class and just talk about the game or the players involved.
A FEW boo's? give it a miss will you...I bet you were there yourself, screaming at them nasty scousers I can picture you. I've talked about the game, we were outclassed and you were superb, what more do you want? But Ollie mentioned the hostile atmosphere and I mentioned the fact the crowd saw it fit to boo a team of kids. But believe or not, you're not the worst. A couple of seasons ago we had a youth cup final against our friends Man United, they're "fans" saw it fit to sing about murdering and football disasters... Some "fans" don't realise that these are kids, just starting off, some barely out of school, why can't they "the fans" refrain from the crap that's served up for full professionals.
In the quarter final this year we played Tottenham. At that game you had a bunch of young players who've been at each other through the course of about 4 or 5 different age groups. The bad blood is evident and it transcends to the crowd. Proper heckling, taunting, booing of the opposition that puts a first team NLD to shame. Now considering that many of our regular crowd like to boo our own players, I'm more than happy for them to turn the vocals onto the opposition. United showed the intimidating effect in the Champions' League semi. We gave it back to them with interest, at least until the tie was killed stone dead. Football is a tribal game after all. And I maintain that these players are old enough to look after themselves, ours at least go around the Reserve League South to relatively decent, vocal young crowds. Good on those that created a decent atmosphere last night. And how do you know Liverpool won't return the favour at Anfield when they get behind your lads, you'd look a bit silly then wouldn't you
Jack Wilshere was absolutely superb last night. He was by far and away the most outstanding performer on the pitch to be honest. I thought Lansbury seems a good prospect too, as does Emmanuel-Thomas (he was a bit quiet before his goal though) and Gilles Sunu. The future looks damn bright for Arsenal.
I'm talking about the booing, honestly, you're a sad bunch of fans if you find the need to boo at kids to create an atmosphere. There was more booing of our players, than support for your own. Try inventing a few songs to sing, rather than booing...it's good you know and makes for a better atmosphere. Yes, no doubt and hopefully our fans will get behind "our players" but I'll actually be disappointed if they start booing your team. You saying you're happy to see 33,000 cockneys booing 16 year old kids sums you up...classless, totally classless.
I was surprised at the booing but then again it could be benificial as I think it's good for the players to learn to block that from their minds from an early age as they'll be getting that kind of reception if they make it. There's no question that it's great support to get 33,000 fans in for a youth cup game. The booing and the turnout reflects how seriously Arsenal fans take their youth team as a source of future hope. Best generation of Arsenal kids yet?
