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Match Report 2000-01 - Arsenal (a)
 |
Date:
Saturday 9th December 2000 3pm.
Venue: Highbury. Conditions: Grim. Crowd: 38,052. Referee: Mike Dean (The Wirral). |
Teams:
AFC
(normal home kit): Manninger, Dixon, Keown, Adams, Vivas, Ljungberg
(Luzhny 82 mins), Pires, Parlour, Grimandi (Lauren 58 mins), Henry, Kanu (Bergkamp
67 mins).
Subs Not Used: Wiltord, Lukic.
Booked: None.
Sent off: None.
NUFC
(normal home kit): Given, Barton, Acuna, S.
Caldwell, Hughes, Speed, Griffin (Domi 66 mins), Lee (Glass 66 mins), Dyer
(Cordone 79 mins), Lua-Lua, Solano.
Subs Not Used: Bassedas, Harper.
Booked:
S.Caldwell (27 mins)
Speed (77 mins).
Fourth game in a row for Speed who
has now got five bookings and he should be suspended for the game at
Derby, losing his ever-present record for the season.
Sent off: None.
The Arsenal Jumbotron scoreboard apparently thought one of our sub's was
called Domo - that's only one letter away from being Dodo...how
apt.
Goals:
13 mins. Grimandi's through ball found Henry with only Hughes
to beat, and he swerved past him at speed before burying the ball past
Given with a swerving effort, right in front of the Newcastle fans. 0-1
16 mins. Griffin was caught in a congested midfield by Ljungberg, who
had Kanu in support on the left side of the United area. He simply hoisted
the ball over to where the incoming Parlour
smashed the ball home. Class. 0-2
Half time: AFC 2 NUFC 0
52 mins.
Kanu was next to join the party, running onto Ljungberg's chip
over the defence and finishing with a low shot. 0-3.
86 mins. A cross from Pires found Parlour in at the near
post, and he had the simple task of nodding home. 0-4.
90 mins. Parlour completed his hat trick in the last move of the game,
Pires again supplying the perfectly-weighted through ball that the England
midfielder ran on to, controlled with his knee and dispatched clinically. 0-5.
Full time: AFC 5 NUFC 0
Match facts:
It was easily the worst defeat under Bobby's reign, the previous being a 4-1 defeat at Coventry over a year ago. The last time we conceded five was when Steve Clarke took charge at Old Trafford just before Bobby's arrival when we crashed 5-1.
It is our worst top-flight stuffing since April 21st 1986, when we lost 8-1 at West Ham. Other modern-day hammerings to rival this Highbury mauling include:
08.09.1984
0-5 Man United (a) Div.1
25.10.1980 0-6 Chelsea (a) Div.2
27.10.1976 2-7 Man United (a) L.Cup
We said:
Uncle Bobby said:
""We were just smashed. Simple as that. "After Arsenal's first goal went in it was just a matter of damage limitation. I felt like taking a dose of Night Nurse and looking for a taxi.
"We were without at least five top players and I can't criticise my lads too much, but I told them to look at Arsenal and see not only the world-class quality they have, but also the hunger and desire.
"We had two young kids up against top players like Henry and Kanu and they had no chance. But as well as ability, the Arsenal players have incredible hunger. Arsenal can take United all the way playing like this.
"I can't remember a heavier beating than this - not even when I was at Ipswich before my England days. But what can you do? We have players out and we just have to get on with what we've got.
"Five-nil? We just have to go away and forget it and gear ourselves up for Bradford next week - a match we've got to win or we could start sliding into trouble. It can happen very quickly. It's a topsy-turny league - apart from Man United and Arsenal."
They said:
Arsene Wenger talking about Ray Parlour said:
"It looks like central midfield could be his best position now. We've played him mainly on the right side but his timing for late runs seems to be better from the middle. He has great vision there and with his work-rate as well, I've always known he can do that job well. That's why I didn't replace Emmanuel Petit when he left for Barcelona in the summer.
"Gilles Grimandi is still a very needed player for us in central midfield because of his holding ability but maybe when Vieira is fit again we can play three in there.
"I've never had any doubts about our quality both collectively and individually. It may have been a case of our confidence dropping a little.
"We've needed to score goals early in games and we did that against Bayern Munich on Tuesday only to let them back in the game. But you have to recognize when a performance is good even when you don't win and I knew we were nearly back to our best."
The hat-trick man himself said:
"We'll never give up the chase. Their lead is only six points now and that's just two games which is nothing.
"This was a massive game for us after losing a few last month but there are two even bigger ones coming up against Tottenham and Liverpool away from home before Christmas.
"Newcastle were without a few players, but we were also without Patrick Vieira and played some great stuff.
"The goals were a bonus because they don't come along very often for me but I really enjoyed it in central midfield.
"Thierry Henry's goal was probably the most important, though, as it came so early. It gave everyone a lift and our confidence really grew."
Waffle:
In a weekend of cup shocks and plucky
minnows overcoming supposedly better opposition, there was no suggestion
here of anything other than a Highbury home win and a hiding for Bobby's beleaguered
boys.
Perhaps mindful of last season's scoreless slog here, Bobby again looked
to tie up what resources he had in a solid midfield, and try and stonewall
the Gunners for ninety minutes. Unfortunately, this ploy lasted only 13
minutes and then the game was as good as lost. There wasn't a plan B,
obviously.
The underachieving Arsenal of recent weeks was banished, as their constant
movement and incisive passing simply left Newcastle gasping in their wake.
However, the Gunners triumphed with something akin to a rare-ified long
ball game rather than a classic footballing exposition. Whatever it was,
they certainly found precious little opposition from those wearing striped
shirts....
The Newcastle midfield once again neither starred as an attacking force
nor provided a first line of defence, and Acuna in particular looked as if
he'd decided to give up tackling for the afternoon. With nothing getting
through to Lua Lua or Dyer, the home side simply stepped up the field and
the defence became involved in orchestrating attacks. As if they didn't
have enough players threatening us.
Not much more to say really, our apprentice defenders were ruthlessly
exposed by the talent and movement of the strikers that started and were
brought on, most of the Arsenal shots went in (which is another way of
saying Given didn't have much to do and the home side could have had ten,
had they been bothered.) Precisely what difference a fit Alan Shearer would
have made to proceedings is open to question - not a jot, in my opinion.
Our problems with players and finance are well-documented, and our support
to the team is the stuff of legend. Our rotten record in the Capital is
also a well-established fact, and the manner in which we meekly
surrendered and bowed to the inevitable was similar to the Kenny-inspired
disgrace that handed the FA Cup to the Gunners a couple of years ago. To
see Bobby's side suffering from the same failings in the heart and guts
department as Dalglish's deadbeats is the most depressing thing of all,
apart from the bloody GNER train trip home.....
In conclusion, our geordie-less XI sent a
message out to the Premiership in this game - come and get us, we're wide
open. With less in the forward line than Bob Cratchett's cupboard a long,
cold Xmas looks increasingly likely.
As it stands, our upcoming opponents would have to do something
extraordinarily stupid not to beat us. The points we gathered in the early
weeks of the season are starting to look more precious with every passing
day.
Biffa