Arsenal – Liverpool is anything but run of the Milner as Arsenal finally breach Van Dijk to rescue a draw. Elsewhere, is the Premier League too easy for Manchester City? Does Morata need to get more gritty?
For a good few years, Santi Cazorla and his diminutive stature papered over the giant cracks in Arsenal’s midfield. His magical ball retention and ambidextrous ability lulled fans into forgetting about the lack of cover and depth. Now the memories haunt them more than ever.
This week on the Coshcast, we use the international break to talk about anything other than the internationals. Instead, it’s a manager special, with a special guest. Enjoy.
Yes ladies and gentleman like the plausible but threat of nuclear war, the Coshcast has returned. And what a week to do so!
The Gooners’ pride is on the line. Let’s see if they can regain it or else St. Totteringham’s day may be cancelled for a long time to come.
It can surprise nobody that Alex Oxlade Chamberlain is choosing to leave Arsenal. His playing time has been hampered by injuries, his development stalled by mismanagement, his expectations messed with and his value to the club taken for granted until it was too late.
Arsenal get slammed by Liverpool’s press and then in the press and can’t even release a press statement as they agree sell their media and communications department to Chelsea for 35m.
With the lack of football this summer (with the exception of MLS, the Confederations Cup, U21 and U20 tournaments, legends matches, and some friendlies, I’ve found myself with quite a bit of time to do a lot of thinking, and that generally does not end up being a good thing.
The decisiveness and rapidness with which Arsenal have tried to do their business this transfer window, whether internally or externally, suggests a shift in approach.
It’s the Coshcast! Coming at you like a North Korean missile: some ups, some downs and probable fizzling out out at the end.
You don’t buy Ozil then play him out wide, or play him in front of sub-par defensive players in midfield. You don’t buy Ozil then stop playing possession football. All mismatches between Ozil as a player and Arsenal as a team.
One team that hasn’t adopted the fad is Arsenal, which is hardly a surprise. Arsene was not an early adopter of the transition from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3, and he’s shown no recent signs of increased tactical flexibility. Thus, I preface the following by saying that it is a dream. A hypothetical.
Listen to our latest podcast below. If you enjoy it, subscribe right here on Itunes. Chris Darwen is a sports writer and author living his dream on the Costa Blanca in Spain. Tales From The Top Flight has been featured each week in the largest English speaking newspaper in […]
If anyone felt this could be a Wembley classic in the world’s oldest ever international fixture the fact that both sides were managed by former Middlesbrough managers should have been the first clue.
To suggest that Mourinho needs three or four more transfer windows to produce a decent team is to admit that he cannot coach the best out of the talented players he already has. Which, of course, is the crux of the matter.
Why was Cavani not substituted long time ago and how will PSG solve the Cavani conundrum?
Can Wenger fit Coquelin, Cazorla and Xhaka into the same team?
Welcome to Episode 1 of Season 4! Thank you for listening to the Coshcast. If you enjoy it, subscribe right here on Itunes. Oh my god. It’s back, ladies and gentleman! The Coshcast is back. So is the Premier League, if you hadn’t noticed. Chelsea Conte their blessings as […]
Welcome to Episode 39! Thank you for listening to the Coshcast. If you enjoy it, subscribe right here on Itunes. This week on the Coshcast, its Mohaned and Bernie taking you through Leicester’s unbelievable achievement, the EPL’s fight for champions league spots, and the dreaded relegation battle. It’s […]
Whose Under the cosh?Barcelona for a start, after Real Madrid Zidance around them in the Clasico as Los Blancos put in a performance as shiny as their manager’s head.
Meanwhile in the Premier League Spurs find a surprising similarity with Mesut Ozil as they start looking ahead and behind at the same time, with Leicester winning again – boring – and Arsenal finally playing like a team that actually has a lot of good footballers in it.
No matter what anyone tells you, the mood within Chelsea is just not right at the moment and it’s all Jose’s fault. Players are lacking confidence and it’s in the managers job description to do something about that. The players are no longer running into proverbial brick walls for him. Aside from that, the spat with Eva Carneiro is further proof that the Special One may need to have his head examined.
There are times when watching Gabriel that you’d be forgiven for thinking you were watching Koscielny, save for the Brazilian’s rather Keown-esque features.
In the mid-90s had you told Romario that his primary function was to serve as a snow-blower for Luis Figo, he’d have probably knocked you out or died laughing. These days, the game’s poachers or “fox-in-the-box” types like Chicharito, Defoe and Soldado are staggering around in a daze, wondering what happened to the football they knew, and whether they’ll get a flick on from a target man ever again.
It is the way the club is run that makes me irate. Perez was voted in based on his promises of delivering “La Decima” – the elusive 10th Champions League – to the club as well as building another side full of “Galacticos”, which is just a fancy name for having a fine footballing harem.
To me it was obvious that the team needed another experienced centrback to provide cover and competition. I also wondered why he didn’t get a proper defensive midfielder, seeing that the injury-prone Arteta’s performances had declined in the latter part of the previous season, and the fact that Flamini just isn’t a very good footballer.
So why does Pardew not get the credit he deserves? The man has a reputation problem. The problem is that he has the reputation of being an absolute bell-end.
Welcome to Season 2, Episode 8! It all starts in Italy! Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/under-the-cosh-coshcast/id767743946 We Cosh-cast our net far and wide this week, starting in Italy, and referencing Avril Lavigne in the process. Mohaned also compares Juan Mata to a butler, or something.We review the weekend’s action across Europe. […]
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