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Food For Thought: Postponement Of Matches In England & India; Another Ex-Gunner Set To Become A Citizen
Goal.com' Amoy Ghoshal gives his take on the postponement of matches and the imminent move of an Arsenal legend to Man City...
07-Jan-2010 6:12:22 PM
Postponement Of Matches
Matches have been postponed for different reasons in both England and India. The first legs of both the Carling Cup semi-finals and Arsenal’s Premier League game in hand against Bolton were called off due to bad weather. Most grounds in England have under soil heating facility so the problem is not with the playing pitch but for the safety of supporters matches got postponed because traveling during heavy snowfall can be dangerous. The semi-final between Blackburn and Aston Villa was called off on the morning of the match while the other semi-final between the two Manchester clubs was postponed a day before.
However Arsenal’s game against Bolton was called off only on the evening of matchday, making for a swift turn-about journey home for the Wanderers fans. A Bolton spokesperson has defended Arsenal’s decision and personally I don’t think the Gunners did anything wrong. Cynics will say Arsenal have been greedy as a win in this fixture would have taken them to second place and only one behind leaders Chelsea. But you cannot blame the Gunners because surely Man United or Chelsea would have done the same thing, had they been in the same position.
In India the reason for postponing two I-League matches were different. Firstly the game between Chirag and East Bengal was shifted to Friday instead of Thursday originally because the West Bengal police would be engaged in a religious fair. But later IFA General Secretary confirmed that they wanted to avoid two matches on the same day at Salt Lake as Mohun Bagan were scheduled to play Churchill in the afternoon. The Chirag – East Bengal match had to be played under floodlights which the IFA didn’t want because they are still waiting to have new and improved lights. If that wasn’t enough on Thursday morning, the Bagan – Churchill game was also called off because the police informed IFA that they will be busy as the Prime Minister is expected to arrive to visit ailing Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, Jyoti Basu. We understand the concerns of the police but the IFA should have taken more care about the situation and informed the clubs beforehand.
Another Ex-Gunner Set To Become A Citizen
Former Arsenal captain and legend Patrick Vieira is set to play in the Premier League again. The French international is reportedly going to join Manchester City from Inter Milan on a free transfer. According to a report from Sky Sports News, he is going to have a medical on Thursday afternoon and will commit to an 18 month contract at Eastlands.
Vieira certainly isn’t the same player that he was, when he left North London for Juventus in 2005. He is still the captain of the French national team but has not appeared in an official game for Raymond Domenech's team since September 2007.So in order to be in the starting eleven for Les Blues squad in South Africa 2010 he needed regular football, which he wasn’t getting at Inter. He was linked to City soon after former Inter coach Roberto Mancini took over as manager and the Italian’s presence probably convinced him to come back to England. Whether Vieira finds his feet again in the Premier League remains to be seen but he has the backing of his former manager Arsene Wenger, who feels the ex-Gunners skipper can still be effective.
The Arsenal manager is probably right because Vieira’s game is suited to the pace of the Premier League which he definitely missed at Serie A. He might be 33 years old now but there is a saying that 'form is temporary and class is permanent' and Vieira certainly has class. But having said that, it may not be easy for him to get a starting place at City also as he will face stiff competition from other midfielders. So it will also be interesting to see how Mancini uses him. However Vieira will find some familiar faces in the City dressing room. Former Arsenal defenders Sylvinho and Kolo Toure have played with him before which might make it more easier for Vieira to settle at the blue half of Manchester. With Adebayor also at City, Vieria will become the fourth former Arsenal player in the current City squad. Having won seven major trophies with the North London club in nine years, he will surely not get the same reaction as Adebayor, when Man City visit the Emirates in April.
Amoy Ghoshal
Matches have been postponed for different reasons in both England and India. The first legs of both the Carling Cup semi-finals and Arsenal’s Premier League game in hand against Bolton were called off due to bad weather. Most grounds in England have under soil heating facility so the problem is not with the playing pitch but for the safety of supporters matches got postponed because traveling during heavy snowfall can be dangerous. The semi-final between Blackburn and Aston Villa was called off on the morning of the match while the other semi-final between the two Manchester clubs was postponed a day before.
However Arsenal’s game against Bolton was called off only on the evening of matchday, making for a swift turn-about journey home for the Wanderers fans. A Bolton spokesperson has defended Arsenal’s decision and personally I don’t think the Gunners did anything wrong. Cynics will say Arsenal have been greedy as a win in this fixture would have taken them to second place and only one behind leaders Chelsea. But you cannot blame the Gunners because surely Man United or Chelsea would have done the same thing, had they been in the same position.
In India the reason for postponing two I-League matches were different. Firstly the game between Chirag and East Bengal was shifted to Friday instead of Thursday originally because the West Bengal police would be engaged in a religious fair. But later IFA General Secretary confirmed that they wanted to avoid two matches on the same day at Salt Lake as Mohun Bagan were scheduled to play Churchill in the afternoon. The Chirag – East Bengal match had to be played under floodlights which the IFA didn’t want because they are still waiting to have new and improved lights. If that wasn’t enough on Thursday morning, the Bagan – Churchill game was also called off because the police informed IFA that they will be busy as the Prime Minister is expected to arrive to visit ailing Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, Jyoti Basu. We understand the concerns of the police but the IFA should have taken more care about the situation and informed the clubs beforehand.
Another Ex-Gunner Set To Become A Citizen
Former Arsenal captain and legend Patrick Vieira is set to play in the Premier League again. The French international is reportedly going to join Manchester City from Inter Milan on a free transfer. According to a report from Sky Sports News, he is going to have a medical on Thursday afternoon and will commit to an 18 month contract at Eastlands.
Vieira certainly isn’t the same player that he was, when he left North London for Juventus in 2005. He is still the captain of the French national team but has not appeared in an official game for Raymond Domenech's team since September 2007.So in order to be in the starting eleven for Les Blues squad in South Africa 2010 he needed regular football, which he wasn’t getting at Inter. He was linked to City soon after former Inter coach Roberto Mancini took over as manager and the Italian’s presence probably convinced him to come back to England. Whether Vieira finds his feet again in the Premier League remains to be seen but he has the backing of his former manager Arsene Wenger, who feels the ex-Gunners skipper can still be effective.
The Arsenal manager is probably right because Vieira’s game is suited to the pace of the Premier League which he definitely missed at Serie A. He might be 33 years old now but there is a saying that 'form is temporary and class is permanent' and Vieira certainly has class. But having said that, it may not be easy for him to get a starting place at City also as he will face stiff competition from other midfielders. So it will also be interesting to see how Mancini uses him. However Vieira will find some familiar faces in the City dressing room. Former Arsenal defenders Sylvinho and Kolo Toure have played with him before which might make it more easier for Vieira to settle at the blue half of Manchester. With Adebayor also at City, Vieria will become the fourth former Arsenal player in the current City squad. Having won seven major trophies with the North London club in nine years, he will surely not get the same reaction as Adebayor, when Man City visit the Emirates in April.
Amoy Ghoshal
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