Hello everyone,
A lot going on, little of it good, so I'll start with the good tidbits.
Yesterday all friendlies and qualifiers were played, meaninig the players have all returned by now and will start prepping themselves for the opening game against Villa. Quite a few of them were involved too, with Cazorla and Walcott scoring some very nice goals, while Whilshere's appearance was restricted to 45 minutes only, which is a good thing. It's refreshing to see the national manager (Hodgson, that is) making good on his promise, understand the delicacy of the player's situation and listen to Wenger all at once. And just a few more words about Walcott. His goal encapsulated everything good about his game in recent months (a year, maybe). Firstly, it was an equalizer. A crucial goal, that needed scoring in a match so hotly contested for obvious reasons. He stepped up, took the responsibility and delivered. Secondly, the goal was all about timing the run from behind the defender, and Theo nailed it. We all can recall, how often he was caught offside, when failing to time one of these runs even last season. Now, however, he seems to have got the hang of it, and even when caught offside, isn't miles away from being onside. And thirdly, the finishing. The english winger waited for the defender to run past and slotted the ball into the bottom corner, while making it all look ridiculously easy, when it was anything but. A true masterpiece of a goal.
A lot going on, little of it good, so I'll start with the good tidbits.
Yesterday all friendlies and qualifiers were played, meaninig the players have all returned by now and will start prepping themselves for the opening game against Villa. Quite a few of them were involved too, with Cazorla and Walcott scoring some very nice goals, while Whilshere's appearance was restricted to 45 minutes only, which is a good thing. It's refreshing to see the national manager (Hodgson, that is) making good on his promise, understand the delicacy of the player's situation and listen to Wenger all at once. And just a few more words about Walcott. His goal encapsulated everything good about his game in recent months (a year, maybe). Firstly, it was an equalizer. A crucial goal, that needed scoring in a match so hotly contested for obvious reasons. He stepped up, took the responsibility and delivered. Secondly, the goal was all about timing the run from behind the defender, and Theo nailed it. We all can recall, how often he was caught offside, when failing to time one of these runs even last season. Now, however, he seems to have got the hang of it, and even when caught offside, isn't miles away from being onside. And thirdly, the finishing. The english winger waited for the defender to run past and slotted the ball into the bottom corner, while making it all look ridiculously easy, when it was anything but. A true masterpiece of a goal.