I knew this post was coming and that somehow didn’t make it any less difficult to write because the attacks on the USA on 9/11/2001 and the 23-year fall out from those attacks cannot possibly be contained in a single post. It’s also impossible not to mention the attacks because this match had a minute of silence at kickoff.
I remember the morning of 9/11 here on the West Coast of the USA as a regular day. My wife and I had a television at the foot of the bed and as usual I woke up and turned it on to watch the morning news as I prepared for work. But instead of the traffic report or the weather, I got a shot of celebrity reporters talking about something happening in NYC. The World Trade Center was on fire in the background and they were talking about some kind of plane accident. I tried to rationalize what I saw as some kind of massive malfunction until I watched the 2nd plane hit the building live. It was at that point that I think I said to my wife: “hun, wake up, there’s something weird going on.” From there, things moved very quickly but we all sat watching TV news and taking it all in.
In the days that followed I remember two very distinct things that happened which I think illustrate the divide in the USA and the world. Bush had declared that this was the work of Osama bin Laden and that in response, the USA was going to invade Afghanistan to capture him and others. In response, folks at my work held a town hall meeting “to address the current crisis” and it was decided that we would hold a protest against an invasion. These protests would eventually funnel into the national and international protests against the invasion of Afghanistan which begged the USA to have a moderate response or find any solution that wasn’t just decades of killing. Meanwhile, around this time I was getting gas at my local AM-PM one morning when a white Ford work truck pulled up in the stall next to me. The truck had plywood bolted to the sides and painted on that plywood in red and white were the phrases “Mr. President, turn Afghanistan into a glass parking lot, NOW!” and “Nuke Afghanistan”.
The temptation is to think that this was a seminal moment in American history and while in some ways it is, the reality is that these two competing philosophies have been a part of the US’ makeup for a long time. And this divide would only amplify and get worse as the world spent the next 23 years in constant global war, torture, human rights eradication, and environmental destruction in order to enrich a tiny handful of men.
I’m not going to have a go at John Terry and Frank Lampard for their drunken behavior on 9/12/2001. They were both very young and Lampard has apologized and sounded sincere. Terry’s an asshole but that is evidenced by his entire catalog of shitty, selfish, behavior. You can read about their big night out in a lot of other places.
As for the match itself, like I said, it started with a moment of silence. Samuel Eto’o lined up for Mallorca but as more of a midfielder or second striker instead of the forward we all would come to know. In fact, I’m not sure he had even a single shot in this match. Mallorca also started a player named Luque who would later play for Newcastle and whose transfer from Deportivo would later be the subject of a corruption investigation in the Premier League – the “Stevens Inquiry” would name a bunch of players (three from Chelsea, of course) and eventually charge Harry Redknapp who would be acquitted of all charges. Luque looked very lively and you can see why Newcastle paid a record fee for him. Shame his career in the PL fizzled.
From the start the match was played at an odd tempo. And Patrick Vieira, despite starting the game with a huge blob of vaseline on his chest, looked like he wasn’t up for the contest. Overall though, watching these old matches is weird. The complete lack of organization on both sides is shocking. Players diving into tackles all over the place, lumping the ball up the pitch to no one in the 3rd minute of the game, individuals pressing. Watching a player apply pressure by himself while everyone else walks around the pitch is weird.
Mallorca, to their credit, occasionally press with TWO players. They also sometimes play with players in a formation. As far as I can tell, Arsenal have none of that. Arsenal were playing a romantic’s version of total football. Every man for himself on an island, no organization, no method, just fekin run around a bit, and be better than the opponents.
The lack of organization bites Arsenal in the ass. In the 11th minute, Mallorca’s vaguely organized attack cuts open Arsenal’s completely disorganized defense and Ashley Cole makes some kind of, I dunno, lunge? and the referee awards Mallorca a penalty and gives Cole a red card. To be fair, Cole is idiotic in that he has no chance of winning the ball because he’s been beaten but trips Luque with a crazy tackle anyway. It’s also a good reminder that even just a few years ago players used to get a red card for a last man tackle that conceded a penalty. Thankfully, that rule is gone. Right? It’s gone? On his way off the pitch Cole kicks something.
If you watch any match from the 2001-02 season, you’ll be surprised at how much chaos is on display. The sheer number of slide tackles and players trying to win the ball back in desperation is evidence for me. In this match, since neither team bothered to organize their defense, the players are left trying to win the ball on their own. The result is that every single player tries at least one slide tackle and some players have three or four. Both of these teams play like 2024 Manchester United.
Last week I identified two themes I’d like to follow this season: Lauren and Wiltord. Lauren was fine in this game (it was Cole who was sent off) and was one of the few players who routinely won his slide tackles. Wiltord was anonymous but that could be because of the red card for Cole. I also think I’m going to keep an eye on Cole, the weird lack of organization on the pitch, and the way that Arsenals have had a bad start.
Next up, Fulham 1-3 Arsenal. When I feel like it.
