Sucker Punched In Sunderland

Arsenal travelled to Sunderland today in a late kick-off and the result was a disappointing 1-1 draw. I feel sick. Sick and pissed off. Phil Dowd managed to ruin what could have been a good game, with his terrible and inconsistent refereeing. An absolute joke.

First of all I should make it known that Sunderland deserved to grab a point. They played extremely well against us in the first half, keeping possession for most of the 45 minutes, a feat that few teams can perform against us with such ease. We did look a bit slow to start the game, never really getting into our flow and the slick passing we loyal Gooners are accustomed to failed to materialise as the Black Cats dominated possession.

Despite Arsenal's failure to launch, we took an early lead in the 13th minute against the run of play. And it was some goal, which will undoubtedly be one of the oddest you'll see all season. Anton Ferdinand failed to play the ball, as his clearance struck Fabregas's right foot and the ball ricocheted about 40 yards into the back of the Sunderland net. 1-0 to the Arsenal just like that, a complete fluke but gladly accepted (you could see the Arsenal players having a bit of a laugh about it during the celebrations). We managed to keep Sunderland at bay until half time, and we started the second half brightly as our passing began to come together.

Although today's game cannot exactly be called a classic (not by any means) there were still a lot of positives to take from the match. For starters, our defence were on top of their game this afternoon. Squillaci and Koscielny were outstanding; they were dominant in the air and on the ground, and look to have slotted into this Arsenal side with ease. Two fantastic performances from our new boys. In fact, the majority of the team played pretty well today and I can't really think of any particular individual who should be singled out for criticism. Wilshere was quality, as was Nasri who was at his dazzling best. Chamakh did well to lead the attack, and Rosicky also played pretty well (apart from his penalty miss... wow did that cost us in the end) when he replaced Fabregas in the first half (here's hoping Cesc's injury isn't a nasty one).

And now for the negatives. Hold on a sec, there is only one. And it starts and ends with Phil Dowd. The 47 year old Premier League official had a terrible game. Alex Song should never have been sent off. His first booking he received was laughable at best, as Song barely made contact with Steed Malbranque at all. His second yellow card was controversial yet again, as Malbranque decided to try and collect the ball by running through our midfield monster. Well that didn't work, and so the former Tottenham man decided to just fall over instead. Out came Dowd's little black book and Song was dismissed with over half an hour left to go in the game. Phil Dowd, you are officially a moron.

And the rest is history. Rosicky wasted a chance to secure all 3 points by blazing his penalty over the bar and despite resilient defending from 10-man Arsenal, it was not enough, as Darren Bent equalised in the 95th minute when there was only supposed to be 4 minutes of injury time. Thanks again Mr Dowd! Like I said earlier, Sunderland's efforts this afternoon warranted a deserved point so I'm sure their fans are over the moon with this result. But I am not. We had a chance to go top of the league this evening, and I fear that dropping 2 points today will cost us in the long run. Put it this way, I am going to be one angry Arsenal fan if we lose the title in May by 1 or 2 points.

Alas, this is football and these things happen. We've got to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off ahead of Tuesday's Carling Cup game at White Hart Lane. Ol' Twitchy himself will no doubt put out a strong team, probably his first 11, so our kids will have to be at their best if we are to progress in this competition. I hope Wenger mixes in some of our starters so the kids have some experienced guys to lead them out there, as this is a cup we have a great chance to win this year, like we do every year, so I want Sir Arsene to take it seriously. Hopefully I will be able to catch the game in the pub as I'm moving back to Bath tomorrow for uni again. If I have the internet I'll try and write something about it, but you'll just have to wait and see!

Thanks for reading.

Something To Braga About

At last I have returned from my Spanish adventure, and have had a lot of catching up to do in the world of the internet. My Browns lost the season opener (not much of a surprise), my Indians have already decided where they're going on holiday as they are just going through the motions now, and the Buckeyes are 2-0 with wins over Marshall and Miami. Ohio State football is my new passion this year, as I have yet to really get into the college game, so I will just refer to them as THE Buckeyes, as they are not yet MY Buckeyes (give it some more time and devotion though).

However, my Arsenal were kind enough to wait for me to get home before they started their Champions League campaign, against Portuguese side S.C. Braga. I did miss the weekend game against Bolton, but I caught the highlights on Match of the Day and that was satisfactory enough for me considering I was on holiday. But I was lucky enough to get home just in time for last night's game, and I'm extremely glad I was able to see it. I was pretty confident ahead of the match, we usually seem to do well in the group stage of the CL, especially at home. My confidence was rewarded in the end thanks to a dominating performance and a thumping 6-0 victory. I won't bother giving a match review as you can everything you need to know right here. But I will share a few thoughts and feelings on what I saw; I'll try to be brief!

Fabregas was magnificent as always. His penalty was very well taken, and his header was a nice finish also (it's always nice to see a midfielder like him score a goal with his head - it just doesn't look like it should happen). His passing was exemplary and yet again he proved how valuable he really is to us. From what I saw against Bolton, Cesc was at his play-making best as it looked like he had a big part to play in all four goals that day. Against Braga last night, he carried on his brilliance from the weekend and he completely ran the show. Arshavin continued his good start to the season as well; he looked dangerous on the ball, took his goal well, and apart from a few wayward passes the little Russian put in a fine display. I was glad to see Chamakh get another goal for himself at the Emirates, after a some nifty but very odd work from Jack Wilshere (like a back-heel pass, but with his standing foot... it was really weird). Carlos Vela, the "king of the chip shot", also played well when he came on for Chamakh. His first goal, which of course was a chip over the keeper, was beautiful and his second goal was finished nicely from a pretty tight angle. I am still unsure if young Carlos will fulfil his potential - the hype surrounding him a couple of years ago was pretty high, with many fans (high expectations attached) itching to see him in the red and white. Vela has struggled so far in his still-early Arsenal career, but I don't think this can be entirely blamed on his performances alone. I believe that Wenger has yet to give him a real chance to show off his stuff, and I don't really know why. When we had a few strikers out with injury a season or two ago, Wenger seemed reluctant to hand Vela a place in the starting eleven on a regular basis, and when he did Vela was stuck up front alone against teams like Stoke and Hull, who would kick the crap out of the young Mexican. However, so far Vela has started this new season impressively and if he keeps scoring goals in the minutes he's given, I hope Wenger will provide Carlos with more opportunities, not just 10 minute cameos in games with lost causes or blowouts. Keep on trucking Vela, I'd like nothing more than to see you become an Arsenal great.

All in all, last night's win was the beautiful game at it's best, and an Arsenal win with plenty of goals never fails to put a smile on my face. Now that the Indians' season is practically over, the posts here on Escape To Forest City will start to take on a dominant Arsenal theme (didn't they already?). If I can get down to Twerton Park a few times this year I will also write some stuff about Bath City, so this blog will end up being pretty football filled. I will still be writing about the Browns, but if they are too hideous to watch, I may end up avoiding them like the plague, and we'll see how the Cavs get on too in the post-LBJ era. So apologies to any of my readers who are not interested in the Arsenal stuff... maybe you'll learn to love it, with time... right?

Thanks for reading.

Escaping To Espana

I'm off to Spain for a week, beginning tomorrow so there will be no new posts until the 14th at the earliest.

Thanks y'all.

Walking (Off) In a Cabrera Wonderland

As I didn't have the chance to watch the Arsenal game live yesterday (a 2-1 away win for the mighty Gunners) I am going to forgo writing a match report about the match. Instead, today I am going to write a little piece about one of my favourite athletes in recent memory, the one and only Asdrubal Cabrera. And it seems an appropriate time to do so, considering his momentous feat last night; but we'll get to that in a bit.

Cabrera hails from Puerto la Cruz in Venezuela, and is quite possibly the only athlete I really know to hail from the country. The young shortstop was acquired by the Tribe in 2006 from the Seattle Mariners, and eventually made his Indians debut on the 8th of August 2007 against the Chicago White Sox. Despite being a natural shortstop, he made his big league splash at second base in the 2007 season and performed admirably, helping the Indians to a 96-66 record, the best in baseball that year (joint with the Red Sox). He became particularly adept at hitting in the later innings, batting .375 after the 7th inning and beyond. He started the 2008 season at second base again, as Jhonny Peralta still held onto the position at short.

It was on May 12th that Cabrera grabbed the attention of the national media. Facing the Blue Jays at Progressive Field, Asdrubal turned the 14th unassisted triple play in MLB history. The unassisted triple play is probably the rarest defensive play in all of baseball, so it was quite an achievement for our boy. This guy went to visit Asdrubal a few weeks after the event, and you can see the details of what occurred in the video.

Despite his historic play, unfortunately our hero struggled to maintain his 2007 form and was sent down to Triple-A Buffalo mid-way through the season, as his performances at the plate were not up to scratch, batting just .184 with 14 RBIs after 52 games. However he didn't let the demotion get him down and battled back to the majors in July and went on to play in 114 games for the Indians that year, batting a respectable .259 after his early struggles. Cabrera maintained his consistency throughout the 2009 season as well, managing to play in 131 games as well as leading the club with a .308 batting average that year. Not only did Cabrera find his swing at the plate, but he also established himself as one of the top defensive players in the league. After Casey Blake was traded in 2008, Peralta vacated his position at shortstop to fill in at third base, enabling Asdrubal to finally play in his natural position every day, where he's quickly become one of the best shortstops in the majors.

For 2010, new Indians skipper Manny Acta promoted Cabrera to the leadoff position in an attempt to make the most of Asdrubal's ability to get on base and set the table for Sizemore, Choo and Hafner to knock him in. In typical Tribe fashion, injuries have hindered Acta's plans to become reality, and Cabrera became one of the many casualties as well. In a series against the Rays, Asdrubal collided with Peralta when both men attempted to field a groundball by Hank Blalock. Cabrera was forced to leave the game with a fractured left forearm, and was immediately placed on the disabled list, and has missed a big chunk of this rather miserable season as a result.

However, my favourite player has returned from injury and is slowly finding his form again, as he regains the strength in that left arm. And there is no better example to highlight Cabrera's return than last night. Asdrubal hit his first career walk-off home run against the Royals yesterday, capping a 4-3 win for the Indians through 10 innings. It was a beautiful shot over the right field wall, and you could see Cabrera knew it was gone the moment he hit it. He's not known for his home runs, in fact they are a pretty rare sight for the 24 year old, but you have to love it when your guy hits a beauty like he did last night.

I've been a fan of Cabrera for a couple of years now (or "As-Cab" as I like to call him sometimes - lame, I know). His slick defensive skills are exceptional, he comes up with some real gems, regularly robbing batters of singles through the infield with his diving stops and quick reflexes to get the ball to first. Cabrera is my kind of player, a grinder, and I'm all about the defense so it's natural he's become my favourite Indian in such a short time. Here's hoping he enjoys more individual success in what's become another lost season for the Tribe. Asdrubal is undoubtedly one of the centre-pieces of this Cleveland team, along with Choo and Grady et al, and I'm hoping he can remain a member of the Tribe for a long, long time. I'll be rooting for him anyway, whatever happens.

Thanks for reading.

That Time Of Year Again

On the eve of the NFL season (well, not eve, but we are close now) it's that time of year again. Fantasy Football is underway, and my team is ready to battle it out for another year. Now readers who think I am referring to that terrible excuse that is the Barclays Premier League Fantasy Football are mistaken; I am not talking about that, and anyway that is not really the same thing - for a start any participant can select any player they like, so most teams in a single league always have the Rooneys, Drogbas, Fabregas' etc. I don't really see the point in it to be fair, when its structured like that. It's not really a game at all.

I'm talking about the real Fantasy Football, the NFL, where I draft my own players and manage them over an entire season. I hand-pick my guys, and it's tough luck if I don't get someone I had my eye on. Them's the breaks kid. With my NFL chums over at PESfan.com, we are entering another season, each striving towards the ultimate goal... The w00tbowl. This year I was given the 6th overall pick, out of 14 players, so every other round I had the 9th pick (we reverse the order every other round, geddit?). In light of this, here are the results of my draft for the 2010 season:

1) Frank Gore, RB (SF)

2) Larry Fitzgerald, WR (ARI)

3) Ryan Grant, RB (GB)

4) Joe Flacco, QB (BAL)

5) Brent Celek, TE (PHI)

6) Pierre Garcon, WR (IND)

7) Mohamed Massaquoi, WR (CLE)

8) San Fransisco 49ers DEF

9) Matthew Stafford, QB (DET)

10) Montario Hardesty, RB (CLE)

11) Greg Olsen, TE (CHI)

12) Ryan Longwell, K (MIN)

13) Denver Broncos DEF

So let's review:

Quarterbacks

Joe Flacco will be my starter, a 4th round selection. I wanted one of the more elite QBs but by the time my turn came round they were all pretty much gone and I had to settle for Flacco, who's not known as being a fantasy stud. However, Flacco has another year of experience under his belt and has a new weapon to target this season named Anquan Boldin. I'm hoping for good things from Flacco, a solid QB at least. Stafford is a great backup, who should be better this year under an improved Lions offense.

Running Backs

Probably the strongest part of my team, I should be solid at running back this season at the very least. I had trouble deciding whether to take Gore or Steven Jackson with my first pick, but I went with Gore because A) The Rams aren't very good and rely on Jackson A LOT and B) Gore has been consistent for years now and should be a safe pick. I'm not overconfident about Grant, I know he struggles at times in Green Bay but he's a starter at least and will get a lot of carries this year as long as he stays healthy; he'll be my starter in my RB/WR flex position. Hardesty is my homer pick here. I expect Jerome Harrison to start the season as number 1 in Browns town, but if Hardesty explodes onto the scene with some spectacular performances, then I have him on my team, ready and raring to go. My "sleeper" pick if you will.

Wide Receivers

Certainly the riskiest department of my squad. We all know Fitzgerald is one of the best receivers in the league but the problem is "Hollywood" Matt Leinart throwing to him. Can he put the ball in Fitz's hands often enough to make my selection worth it? He better do, that's all I'm saying. Garcon is a safe pick but I worry that Manning, who has so many options in Indianapolis, will overlook Garcon on certain days and I won't get the production out of him I'd like. Massaquoi had a mixed rookie campaign in Cleveland, but he's undoubtedly our top receiver for 2010 and if Delhomme connects with MoMass early on in the year, he may become my number 2 receiver sooner rather than later. Overall I reckon I might need to swing a trade or two around the league; this position could do with some strengthening.

Tight Ends

I'm pretty pleased with my selections for this position. Celek is one of the top tight ends around these days and Olsen is one of Cutler's primary targets in Chicago too. I like what I've got here and doubt I'll be chopping and changing much here.

Defense

I was away when it came around to selecting my defense, but I can't argue at all being given the 49ers. A top defensive unit they've got by the Bay, and Denver are a solid choice as my backup. However I don't expect to use the Broncos much at all, only on San Francisco's bye week I reckon.

Kicker

Who really cares about the kicker position? Not a big deal when it comes to fantasy, but point are points and Ryan Longwell should get me enough.

So that's my team this year. Not great, but solid, hopefully a playoff contender. This site here has ranked my team and some "experts" have weighed in on what they think. Check it out, an interesting read for sure.

Thanks for reading.

Hats Off To Theo!

Well what a difference a Walcott makes. Today's performance from young Theo was certainly some "F-you" to Mr Capello. Arsenal demolished Premier League newbies Blackpool this afternoon at the Emirates in a 6-0 romp, and Walcott was at his ruthless best.

Blackpool came into the game still high off their brilliant win over Wigan last weekend, but it was unlikely a repeat result would occur today. And the Gunners made sure there'd be no upset, as they took the lead in the 12th minute. Some beautiful Arsenal passing from Rosicky, Chamakh and Arshavin resulted in Walcott slotting the ball into the corner for a 1-0 lead. Blackpool were unlucky not be level soon after they conceded, when Gary Taylor-Fletcher wasted a great chance, his powerful header going way wide of Almunia's post. Twenty minutes later Chamakh was through on goal but was brought down and a penalty awarded. It looked like the tackle may have just been outside the box, but Blackpool defender Ian Evatt still received a red card for being the last man, and there's no real argument against his dismissal. He was nowhere near the ball and Chamakh had a clear goal opportunity so Evatt had to go; Blackpool were dead and buried when Arshavin (who actually ran today - A LOT!) converted from the spot to make it 2-0. The Tangerines still had 60 minutes to go with 10 men, and they stood no chance against Arsenal from that point on. Theo scored again five minutes before half time, with his back to goal, rifling in a neat shot to give us a three goal advantage. He was unstoppable, a danger every time he touched the ball and was rampant down the right flank - Stephen Crainey will be having nightmares tonight.

After the break, there was no mercy from Arsene Wenger's side, as Abou Diaby finished nicely from a good run by Sagna. 4-0 and the bleeding didn't stop there. Walcott continued to exude confidence and got his deserved hat trick after 58 minutes. His beautiful left footed effort found the corner of the net to make it 5-0, a lovely goal indeed. He came off a few minutes later to a standing ovation from the home fans, well deserved appreciation for a sublime performance from the Englishman. His first hat trick for the club, and I just hope this is the start of something special for Theo this year. Keep the goals coming and you'll become an Arsenal hero. Fabregas and Van Persie came on and there was no respite at all for poor Blackpool. With seven minutes left in normal time, Van Persie floated in a corner and Chamakh (who deserved a goal for a great effort today) rose high above everybody else to head home to make it 6-0 and grab his first Arsenal goal in the Premier League (but don't forget that I WAS THERE for his first ever Gunners goal at home...).

All in all a brilliant result for Arsenal, and exactly what we as fans wanted to see from the lads. Walcott will take the man of the match award of course, but credit must go to Tomas Rosicky who had a fantastic game in the centre of midfield. He was pulling the strings and making smart passes all over the pitch and we must pray he stays healthy this season, as I feel he could have a large impact on any success we achieve this campaign. I do feel a bit sorry for Blackpool; being reduced to 10 men ended any chances they had but that's football unfortunately, it doesn't always go your way. Ultimately their lack of quality showed and I think they have a long road ahead of them to ensure Premier League survival, despite their magnificent win away at Wigan (but it was Wigan after all). I'm especially happy for Theo, who hopefully silenced some of his critics this afternoon after a fine display, his best in the red and white to date. Long may this form continue!

Thanks for reading.

Quietly Confident

Finally it has hit me. The NFL season is getting closer and closer and I am getting excited and ready for the new campaign. It's been months since I've paid much attention to my beloved Browns but its too hard to resist now. Pre-season is in full flow and the Browns impressed last week in Green Bay, so I'm looking for more of the same this Saturday against the Rams.

I was very uneasy about the signing of Jake Delhomme earlier this year and I know its early, but he looked very good against the Packers. I realise its just pre-season, but Jake did well to put some of the worries to rest that we Browns fans have about him. His first drive was fantastic, flashes of the Jake of old in evidence. Delhomme spread the ball well to his receivers, with Massaquoi making a couple of nice grabs and a wide open Evan Moore (who seems to catch everything) getting a quick 17 yard gain. To top off the drive, Jerome Harrison punched in from 4 yards for our first touchdown of the game. But like I said it is far too early to tell how Jake is going to pan out in a Cleveland uniform. Let's wait and see what happens when he throws his first interception - I'm hoping we don't see a return of the 2009 Delhomme, who never recovered from his mistakes and became a massive liability to Carolina's offense. However, he has another opportunity to impress against the lowly Rams on Saturday and I'm optimistic about his chances.

Another QB who impressed last weekend was Seneca Wallace, our backup QB acquired from Seattle. The playmaker was exciting to watch, and looks a dangerous tool in our offensive plans for this season. I'm excited to see what Wallace and Cribbs can do when they are on the field at the same time. Seneca left the game with 72 yards and 2 touchdowns, one a laser to Brian Robiskie in the back of the endzone, and the other a pass down the middle for new tight end Ben Watson. Exciting stuff for the Brownies.

Anyway this wasn't meant to be a game analysis of last week, just a quick piece on my Browns and the expectations we have this year. Confidence is increasing, but realistically the Browns are still a major work in progress, especially on defense, where Aaron Rodgers had his way with our secondary (although this might be a sign of how immense Rodgers is rather than how good our defense happens to be). I'm hoping I'll be able to watch some of the Rams game on Saturday night, at least staying up to watch the starters.

Thanks for reading.