Hangeland 21 – Divers: Adebyor

Extremely disappointing. What was it I said recently about underestimating an opponent in this league? Yeah, well… there you go.

First and foremost, hats off to Jimmy Bullard and Company. Fulham played a pretty tough match, and they came up with the goods when it was most important. That can’t be denied. We were outplayed. And when Arsenal finally woke from their stupor (somewhat) for the last few minutes of the match, Fulham withstood the assault and sent us packing with not a point to show for our paltry efforts. So, congratulations Fulham. Well played, and I’m pretty sure if they keep on playing like that, they won’t be fighting for survival at the end of this season like they were last.

I don’t have a lot to say about the Arsenal effort. There were some players who played their typical great game, Bacary Sagna comes to mind, and some others who did alright… but that’s certainly not enough. We are suffering in the midfield. Hemorrhaging, if you will. Why this situation hasn’t been addressed this summer is a complete and utter mystery to me. And if you needed further proof that Adebayor’s 30 goals were served to him on a fucking plate by the likes of last years midfield, you got it yesterday. Without Fabregas, Flamini and Hleb to gingerly place the ball on a tee for him, I don’t think we should expect a lot from The Togonator. Sorry, but I’m bitter. Particularly when he threw himself down on the pitch inside the area in the waning minutes of the match looking for a penalty.

I really do think we will pull it together eventually, and I’m not particularly concerned with this result. But dropped points are a bad thing this early in the year. We’re already digging ourselves a hole from which to climb out of. That can be fun to watch in itself, though. So I remain optimistic.