28 Responses to “Is Arsene Wenger right – Do teams play harder against Arsenal?”

1. looneygooner
   February 28th, 2010 @ 12:45 pm

   the tackle was reckless and over the top, the idiot was smiling after he done it,only then when he saw what he had done, he started to cry, is it a coincidence that the teams we have suffered at with leg breaks are teams who can’t play football. teams foul more when they play us. certain teams today can not tackle and just go in without any thought, can you imagine if Fat Sam was England’s manager we would have plays banned all the time, it’s to grow up and accept that this myth about English hard football is in fact dangerous and reckless. Shawcross may not have meant to break his leg but he did have every intent on showing Ramsey he was there and that fool Pulis is a disgrace to the game with his anti-football

2. The Crab
   February 28th, 2010 @ 12:48 pm

   He may not be a malicious guy and he may not have set out to injure another player – I don’t think anyone does – but my problem with the tackle is he swings his left leg after Ramsey has released the ball. He didn’t need to make the tackle and he’s seriously injured someone.

3. midoco
   February 28th, 2010 @ 12:49 pm

   The issue isn’t whether he intended to break his leg or if there was malice in the tackle. It’s obvious that he didn’t intend to do what he did, he’d have to be almost psychotic to want to do that.

   The issue is the aggressive and rough treatment used by the Stoke players as a tactic to defeat Arsenal. Fuller was quoted before the game saying this is how they would play because those tactics have worked before. It’s the same tactic used by Birmingham and Sunderland when Arsenal suffered previous serious injuries.

   It is this tactic employed by English managers against Arsenal and promoted by Sky and the media that broke Ramsey’s leg. I’ve heard no one denounce the rough and aggressive treatment, all I’ve heard is ex players who are now pundits denouncing Wenger’s comments.

   When you use these tactics there’s obviously more chance of serious injury. Is it worth it though?

4. charlly
   February 28th, 2010 @ 12:51 pm

   Arsen is 100 percent right, many teams come to hurt our players and we need even FIFA to set some tough rules against poeple who behave like that on the pitch.

   Not acceptable and that stoke player should also be banned for minmum of 8 months which ARON might take to recover.

   This is a joke and there is no way you can convice me this STOKE player needs to play for ENGLAND at this moment.

5. Schneider
   February 28th, 2010 @ 12:51 pm

   I dun think it’s so much of a coincidental.Anyone could remember Fuller said something about roughing Arsenal up which is not much of a difference in terms of content as to what Roy Keane and said about Alf Haagland.

   FA and Association of Referees should be sued for allowing Arsenal to be butchered right under their ‘refereeing’. Watching Arsenal game had become too brutal for children.

   I had a hard time explaining what had happened to my nephew about the crocked legs. He had seen Eduardo’s few years back when he was about 6 years old. And much to his credit,he remembered it better than those in the FA and those referees.

   To have such incidents, are clearly an indication of referee losing control of the game. And those in-charge are ‘morally-challenged’ to allow a fellow human beings to be butchered like pigs.

6. Andrew
   February 28th, 2010 @ 12:52 pm

   Of course he’s right we dont suffer from the longest injury list in europe for no reason

   these kind of injuries will not stop until the referees stop it on the pitch and to make them do that we need to make some noise and blog like yours can help
   Its better to stop these tackles at its source and that by making sure the referee protects the player like he does with the keeper
   Hopefully you can make some noise FA needs to take charge because next time a player might lose his career

7. Mike
   February 28th, 2010 @ 12:54 pm

   I don’t believe Shawcross meant to hurt Ramsey. I do beleive he is upset and regretful.

   The problem is that when teams deliberately go out to “put Arsenal off their game” the approach increases the likelihood of both intentional injuries and unintentional injuries, as in this case.

   It is seen as permissble by the FA and referees. What they ought to realise is that their failure to act actually makes them an accomplice to such injuries (intentional or not) based on the laws of probability.

   The game is called football, people who try to play football should be protected. Those who cannot play football and thus resort to “kickplayer” should be punished severely.

   As an aferthought, if Ramsey had been awarded the stonewall penalty he deserved earlier in the game, this incident would never have happened. But I guess since Eduardo (may have) dived in a game last summer it’s right that Arsenal should be treated forever harshly by referees because it would be so terrible for football if we were seen to get more than a handful of penalties in a season.

8. god
   February 28th, 2010 @ 12:55 pm

   TEAMS STAY HURTING ARSENAL, TEAMS ,REFS, MEDIA, ITS ORGANIZED, USUAL STUFF DEFEND THE ENGLISH PLAYER WHO HAS NO SKILL, NO PACE, NO SOUL, BUT PLENTY OF SPIRIT. ANDY GREY, RICHARD KEYS, DEFEND THE PLAYER BUT THERES 2 SIDES 2 EVERY STORY. THEY SHOW HOW SORRY HE WAS BUT THEY DONT GIVE YOU THE OPTION TO SEE IN MANY ANGELS AT DIFFRENT TEMPOS. WHAT HE DOES HOW BAD THE TACKLE WAS, ROONEYS HARD, SO YOU SAY, HAVE U SEEN ANYBODY TACKLE HIM LIKE THAT , LIKE THEY KICK WALCOTT, VAN PERSIE , ETC . ALL ODDS R AGAINST ARSENAL, SO WHEN WE WIN, IT MEANS MORE, THEY CANT HAVE US GOIING UNBEATEN EVERY SEASON, SO MANY NON ENGLISH PLAYERS, LOW BUDGIT, A MANAGER WHO,S THE GREATIST WHO DOESNT AGREE WITH EVERYBODY OR JUMP ON THE BAND WAGON , LIKE MOST MANAGERS0, THOSE WHO DONT BELIEVE TEAMS KICK US HARDER , R BLIND TO THE TRUTH but whats new

9. Begeegs
   February 28th, 2010 @ 12:58 pm

   So you cede the point that teams go in harder against Arsenal, but it’s coincidental that they suffer severe injuries as a result?

   Sorry mate, poor logic.

10. ros
    February 28th, 2010 @ 1:03 pm

    fatsam,pulis etc have always come out and said Arsenal dont like it upem the media have promotted this for years, its not entertainment thuggery with your feet,i pay hard earned money to watch a sport that is great to watch i would not pay to watch stoke bolton etc and spare me his a nice lad not that sort of player rubbish to break someones leg you have gone in extra hard the intent was there Arsene is right and you are wrong

11. GunnerX
    February 28th, 2010 @ 1:11 pm

    Arsenal don’t like it up emm! When you play Arsenal you have to let know you’re there. Arsenal can’t deal with the aggressive side of the game. Oh wait, it was Ramsey’s fault for being too quick. Shawcross went home with his mum due to being so upset, poor lad! I suggest he was only upset after being sent off, and he has previous, but hey, maybe he was just following Pullis’s instructions. Aaron was ‘only’ left with his leg almost snapped in half. No doubting that the media will turn this incident on its head, and Arsenal will be criticized, once more.

12. GOAB
    February 28th, 2010 @ 1:18 pm

    While i think he is right about the physical treatment dished out to our players i think he is directing it on the wrong incident.This incident was clearly an accident and shawcross can consider himself very unlucky, esp considering how some of the premier leagues hatchet men have been lucky and avoided crippling arsenal players in recent years.The nature of Arsenals play is so fast that this kind of thing can happen, it is unfortunate but we can not blame teams for playing to their strengths, in many ways it is a compliment that it is the only way they can beat us.Im not going to dwell so much on this issue because i don’t see it in the same light as the Taylor/Eduardo incident.Nobody can tell me that hatchet man didn’t enjoy his handy work because i watched him smiling to other players after he looked down and saw the damage he had caused.Now that i have had my say on that i prefer to look at the steel and determination we showed in light of such tragedy.The boys became men and that is what we have been waiting for.I wish Aaron a speedy recovery because he is without doubt a very special talent.

13. deejay
    February 28th, 2010 @ 1:28 pm

    I blame the managers of sides like stoke, blackburn, bolton in the past, hull city and the media, who continualy point out that arsenal can be intimidated. The likes of Pulis are an absolute disgrace. people pay good money to be entertained, he instructs his players to go out to physically intimidate the opposition. Pulis is a serious nasty piece of work and i would personaly love to end his career

14. Timmy,Nigeria
    February 28th, 2010 @ 1:32 pm

    Read this line yrself. “In a sense, I do agree that teams may play a bit harder when they face Arsenal, however unlike Wenger, I feel it is purely coincidence that several of his players have suffered horrific injuries over the past 18 months or so.” It’s no more a coincidence bcos “a bit harder” play will result in a bit bad injuries like this one. Not malicious but it was careless and reckless tackle.

15. Richard Varnham
    February 28th, 2010 @ 1:40 pm

    Some years ago, Sam Allardyce discovered that if you chase, harry, and play the tough guy against Arsenal, you can get a result. This soon came to be interpreted as “Aresanal don’t like it up ‘em!” and now all teams come out to “establish their authority” over Arsenal on the pitch. Obviously players have been instructed by various managers to “close Arsenal down” and to “never give them time on the ball”. I don’t know if they actually instruct their players to “kick the f…. out of them” but this is how it looks to the average Arsenal fan. Referees generally do absolutely nothing to protect skilful players from these attacks (whatever the colour of the player’s shirt) and so it is inevitable that every now and then this sort of horrific accident will happen. The players who commit these tackles are only partially to blame as they are under enormous pressure from their managers and coaches to “be tough”. Most of the blame must therefor lie with these “tough talking” managers but it lies also with “tough talking” referees, who consistently book petty infringements, but turn a blind eye to the dangerous tackle.

16. Ole Gunner
    February 28th, 2010 @ 2:12 pm

    Do teams play harder against Arsenal?

    Yes!

    The question is why….

    Because pundits, managers and media say Arsenal don’t like it up them.

    This story started in 2003 when Arsenal had a formidable team full of big strong bruisers. So it’s not because the present squad is relatively small.

    Let’s ignore the 3 career-threatening injuries on Diaby, Eduardo and Ramsey. Diaby is a big physical lad by the way. He’s not small. Nor for that matter is Ramsey who at 19 is just under 6 ft tall.

    So, ignore the 3 major injuries. How do you account for the fact that 5 Arsenal players have suffered impact injuries this season?

    Gibbs, Walcott, Van Persie, Merida and now Ramsey.

    There is a pattern.

    Arsenal are; season in season out, one of the most fouled teams in the league, and one of the least fouling teams.

    They get more yellows than other teams. For example,

17. Ole Gunner
    February 28th, 2010 @ 2:14 pm

    Yesterday, the one Stoke booking was for Shawcross while Song was booked for what wasn’t even a foul on Delap

18. Stu
    February 28th, 2010 @ 2:27 pm

    I don’t believe for one minute that he intended to break his leg, but I do believe that he intended to go in hard and to ‘clatter’ him so to speak.

    You can see from Shawcross’ approach, he is going to make that tackle regardless, he throws himself into it 110% even though he is always 2nd best.

    On that basis, it is a reckless tackle and to me shows he was going to get either ball and player or just player… So, whilst he didn’t intend to break a leg, I’ve no doubt he meant to ensure that Ramsey knew about it.

19. david
    February 28th, 2010 @ 3:55 pm

    why do even professed gooners strain themselves to make excuses for thuggery on the football pitch. There must be a distinction between the normal football risks and reckless devil may care tackling. The Arsenal hating attitude of English press and ‘pundits’ is why England has not won the world cup since 66 as Arsenal hatred translates to hate of technically sound football.

20. Glazers out
    February 28th, 2010 @ 9:44 pm

    I reckon your all just a bunch of wineing bitchs, teams are intitle to play harder against Arsenal because it is the best way of trying to get a result. Theres a picture on the web which shows ramseys foot is firmly placed beside the ball and in a arkward way before the tackle came in.. Tackles ALOT worse than that go in all the time in every game against every team, its just unlucky that your players come on with bad injurys.. I can see where your coming from but really have to dissagree.. Hope ramseys back asap and the press ease up on ryan.

21. Lou
    February 28th, 2010 @ 10:51 pm

    In my personal opinion, what happened wasn’t even a tackle. It was a collision, and an accidental one at that. Shawcross took a slightly heavy touch on the ball, and chased it at full pelt just as Ramsey was coming in from a different angle, also at full pelt. Sky technicians have worked out that Ramsey got to the ball a mere 0.015 of a second before Shawcross reached the same spot. With things happening that quickly, I doubt Shawcross even realised Ramsey had touched the ball, let alone had time to pull out. Shawcross’ foot (at an acceptable height, and laces up) collided with Ramsey’s leg, which was poorly placed (foot firmly planted on the ground) to absorb the pressure.

    Both players went in hard, fast and fair. Ramsey’s injury is an absolute tragedy, and I hope he makes a full recovery, but it’s a mistake to describe the incident as anything other than an unfortunate collision as a result of two players committing themselves to a 50-50 ball.

    Regardless as to whether you approve of Stoke’s style of play, or you think that Stoke play too aggressively (although you’d be hard-pushed to find evidence that they play any more aggressively against Arsenal than any other team), it’s entirely erroneous to suggest that what happened to Ramsey yesterday was anything other than bad luck.

    In yesterday’s game, Arsenal arguably played harder than Stoke. For the most part, they looked a better team for it, although it’s hypocritical of Wenger to claim that managers tell their teams to be physical against Arsenal when it seems obvious that he told his own team something similar yesterday. Fabregas made some awful tackles, including one on Shawcross, and a terrible one on Collins from behind at the end of the game, after which he taunted the Stoke bench. But, of course, Arsenal play ‘pretty’ football, and have a reputation for being delicate flowers, so Fabregas went unpunished and nobody mentions the bad tackles committed by Arsenal players.

22. wan
    March 1st, 2010 @ 4:59 am

    @Glazer out
    So is playing harder worth putting the career of one of the brightest talents in the uk out for a year atleast? Not to mention eduardo and diaby before him. There may have been worse tackles out there but the result of ryan’s (unlucky) tackle leaves a 19 year old boy on a hospital bed with his shin in 2 pieces. Not to mention Ryan has previously done something like this before to franciss jeffers and last season tackling adebayore outside the pitch injuring his ankle. So i for one can’t feel sorry for him. It’s like feeling sorry for a drunk driver who has accidently knocked someone.

23. Is Arsene Wenger right – Do teams play harder against Arsenal … | All Topics Blog
    March 1st, 2010 @ 5:19 am

    [...] Eric Sondheimer wrote an interesting post today on&nbsp Here’s a quick excerpt &nbspFirst and foremost, it was an horrendous tackle from Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross which now leaves Arsenal midfielder, Aaron Ramsey’s career in the. [...]

24. Is Arsene Wenger right – Do teams play harder against Arsenal … | teste
    March 1st, 2010 @ 5:40 am

    [...] See the original post here: Is Arsene Wenger right – Do teams play harder against Arsenal … [...]

25. Is Arsene Wenger right – Do teams play harder against Arsenal … « Anees Khan
    March 1st, 2010 @ 7:19 am

    [...] Read more: Is Arsene Wenger right – Do teams play harder against Arsenal … [...]

26. Is Arsene Wenger right – Do teams play harder against Arsenal … | NFL Topics Blog
    March 1st, 2010 @ 10:22 am

    [...] Mirror Football wrote a very interesting post today.   Here’s a quick excerpt:First and foremost, it was an horrendous tackle from Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross which now leaves Arsenal midfielder, Aaron Ramsey’s career in the. [...]

27. Cincinnati Bengals Logo Official Football | Cincinnati Bengals NFL Announcer
    March 1st, 2010 @ 3:23 pm

    [...] Is Arsene Wenger right – Do teams play harder against Arsenal … [...]

28. forma
    March 19th, 2010 @ 5:41 pm

    I reckon your all just a bunch of wineing bitchs, teams are intitle to play harder against Arsenal because it is the best way of trying to get a result

Leave a Reply