Guess Whoz Back!? It's Our SOUL!! Ole..

Circa 2006. Arsenal 2-0 down at the break. One certain Sol Campbell was to blame for the looming defeat at the hands of West Ham. As a result, Wenger took him off and with it came supposed curtains on one of the more decorated central defenders in recent time.

Cut to 2010. Arsenal 2-0 up at the break. Against who? You guessed it, West Ham! And guess who was taken off at HT this time around? You got it, the good’ol Sol Campbell. Only this time it marked his second homecoming.

11Gunners celebrates his journey back into the Arsenal dressing room..

Controversy and Campbell don’t just have ‘C’ in common, they go hand-in-hand if I may. Although rough and brawny by looks, Sol happens to be one of the most soft-cored guys on the football circuit, but his habits poked otherwise. Most notably his move from Tottenham to Arsenal in ‘01, which made him the ire of many a brunt. His spell at Highbury was a throughly successful one, coupled with 2 League triumph’s and three FA Cup’s. An ‘Invincible‘ that he was, his contribution to the national side was no less immense. He pulled the ‘Three Lions’ jersey in no less than 6 consecutive Fifa tourneys, and was named in the ‘All-Star XI’ 2 times. And ofcourse his goal in the Champion’s League final against Barcelona can not be forgotten by any Gooner, ever. But why are we looking back at Sol’s career? After all 2006 was not when it culminated, right!?

Departure from Arsenal led him to Portsmouth, and against all odds, the winner that he is, he ended up winning the FA Cup yet again. Now that puts him ahead of almost every member of the current Arsenal line-up, as far as tasting success last, is concerned! And if you thought he was done with the ‘I-shall-surprise-you-again‘ bit, you were rightly wrong. Under the disabled tutelage of Sven G Eriksson, he made a move to Notts County, way down in League 2. Money could be the prime motive behind a move as audacious as this, and for most parts it was. £40,000 a week was what he raked down there, a steep £10,000 less than what he made at Pompey, yet more than the combined worth of his team-mates at Nott’s, not bad for a disgrunted 35 year old! But money is not what drives winners, and Sol proved this by backing out from the ambitious project in hand, and instead knocking on Wenger’s door to help his cause. And thus began another journey, only this time he had nothing to lose, and all to prove. And boy, does he love being challanged or what!?

Wenger, like he did with Beckham last season, took him over and helped him get back to shape with his team of unbridled physios et al. 2-3 months of ‘do-it-all kinda’ grinds and voila, Sol was back to his could-be best. And then came the moment no one could possibly foresee. For the first time ever, Arsene offered one of his ex-recruits, a fresh contract, and also for the very first time, he went for a over-35 year old. Rumours were doing rounds that it would be Vieira, if anyone, who shall be brought in to provide some experience right through the spine of the team, but it was not to be. Whilst ‘the Citizens’ procured the services of Patrick, ‘the Gunners’ prized back one of their finest for £20,000 a week, performance-based contract. Skeptics are out and firing all cylinders with their views on this ‘Transfer-of-the-Mid-Season-so-far‘, but take word, its worth the penny.

Wenger bought him for free from the Spuds, sold him for the same to the Pompey, and re-bought him for again nothing from Notts County. How shrewd is that!? Apart from his disastrous eye-opener in League 2, way back in September, he has been a success elsewhere, and no point he won’t be now. Not only did Wenger save on his war-chest by getting him for free, in him, he also got someone who knows how to finish seasons off (on the winning side i.e.). Gallas & Vermaelen apart, our backline is as slim as slime is not. Senderos, being the sulk that he is, wants to move out of N5 with the first suitor that comes along. Silvestre, even in his prime with United, was a liability. And Djourou, well, let’s just say, he is still injured. Also Song is away for the Africal Nation’s Cup. So not only were our options bleak, but also blunt. Rubbish, to keep it short. Agreed, Sol can’t fill in for every League game at peril, but what he will provide is, cover during the Cup games, and if the need be, otherwise as well. Let’s not be fooled here thinking Wenger has signed him for emotional reasons, because that he simply can’t. When it comes to transfers, Arsene is as ruthless as you get. We saw that with likes of Vieira, Pires, Ljungberg, etc. But at the same time, he has an uncanny knack of picking out players and extending their careers by several notches. Ask Keown, Seaman, Dixon, Bergkamp. Having seen him day-in & day-out, for over 3 months now, I am sure Wenger was assured that Sol’s presence will indeed be a helpful one in our case and cause. And we don’t doubt our Professor, do we!? We trust him, right!?

And if the above was not testimony enough, just hold your guns for a few. Sol shall surprise us all over again. Keep the faith Gooners..

Second Homecoming..

'That' Goal Against Brazil In WC '06

Today I felt like contributing to the hundreds of thousands of articles doing the rounds on the so-called ‘Greatest Controversy‘ since Maradona’s epic and infamous ‘Hand of God‘. I feel sorrowed as a Gooner and a worshipper of King Henry not because of the error in judgment made by the Supremo, but on the subsequent treatment dished out to him. Simply put, Thierry Henry is being made a scapegoat in the larger scheme of things and we at 11Gunners are dismayed by the turn of events, specially the disturbing piece of news which calls for a ban on the master from South Arfica’2010.When people in general and certain critics (including some self-proclaimed ones) lose their sanity and go gaga over an incident, it can be still understood to be their naivety. But when the law enforcers are on the brink of making a hasty decision, it makes you wonder doesn’t it?

Lets for once put things straight. A player handles the ball deliberately in the game. Was it the first time? No. Was it the last time, Definitely No. Within the finite limits of my footballing knowledge, I know handballs to be of two types- Hand To Ball an Ball to Hand. The latter is not even an offence and is deemed to be legitimate more often than not. And till few days ago, I honestly didn’t know that the former deserved capital punishment. Yes, it was a foul, an illegal on-field conduct that the official must have spotted and awarded a free kick to the Republic Of Ireland. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. Hard Luck to the Boys! But then Referees are humans and so are the Players and so are we, I daresay! End of Story! ..Hardly!

Thierry Henry was declared ‘Cheat‘ by his own men and others because the TV replays aired again and again and with the help of today’s ultra slow motion replays Henry’s offence was amplified, reiterated and hence proved. Do we really think Henry had that kind of time before he made this error, was it really ‘pre-meditated‘ or an inadvertent instinct, more like a reflex action, remember in real time the whole thing was wrapped up in seconds, maybe even lesser. The Rooney’s, Ronaldo’s, Messi’s, Gerrard’s and Drogba’s have gotten away with directing shit at the referee, blatant pre-planned diving and Henry was taken to the butcher’s shop for a handball, one for which he duly apologized and even went to the extent of agreeing in favour of a re-match.

I am sick of the most oft heard argument people give me, ‘The stakes were so high‘, yes they f***king were, but should that matter in the eyes of law, should a similar incident in the Coca Cola Championships be treated any differently by the law, I believe not, hope not. And since when did unsporting or immoral behavior become legally punishable, analogously, the next time you don’t help out a poor fellow on the streets with money, you ought to be thrown behind bars, Well that’s immoral, is it not?

I am most appalled by the reaction of the French public to this whole thing. They very well knew they didn’t have the balls to make it to the WC and now that they have, they talk of pride and dignity and the expense of their most celebrated player, f***d up diplomacy, all of it is.

On a personal note we the torchbearers of 11Gunners who have seen Henry do magic on the field and off it not only with his adroitness but with his humility and selflessness, feel saddened by this universal outburst against him. We love him, today more than we ever did!

Hail The GOD, The God We Have Known As KING HENRY..

Hand of God

Hand of Messiah

Stevie Gee..

Drag-Baa..

Knows Wayne to Fall..

CR07: Two's Company..

The Hands of God: Part II

With barely 15 minutes remaining on the clock, with a place in the WC Final’s at stake, an incident took place. An incident which apart from deciding the eventual outcome of the game, became instrumental in tainting one of the most decorated sportsperson of our times.

An 11Gunners Exclusive on the ‘Hand of Henry‘ and Why he still is the GOD for Us Gooners..

If there were a player born, who could lay claims to have ‘Been There, Done That‘, many would raise hands. Henry, instead has, ‘Been There, WON That‘. Be it France, or Arsenal or Barcelona, this guy has surmounted every major honour, both personal and team-wise, there is. You name it, and Titi has won it. He did the rare ‘Double‘ of World Cup ‘98 and Euro ‘00, with the Les Blues, he became an ‘Invincible‘ with the Gunners in ‘04, and most recently he did a ‘Treble‘ with the Catalans. Even the great Zizou, who arguably is the best player of our generation, has not received the sheer range of accolades that Henry has. But despite the above, one moment of madness, is seemingly about to tarnish all of the above. 15 years of pure magic going down the drain and Henry being labeled a ‘Cheat‘ in tribute to his legacy? Well I won’t let that happen till the time I’m given time down here! Never..

When Henry handed the ball at the goal-mouth and passed it to Gallas en route to goal and WC ‘10, he must have immediately known what he just did. Its his celebrating the goal, which is supposedly irking most neutrals and almost certainly all the Irish. C’mon people get a life. Henry, despite his brilliance, ever since Zizou’s retirement, has had to play with a team with almost no flair, a coach who has no clue of the game and all this when his Club Barca, have played galactic football around the same time. He could almost sense the rails coming off the Les Blues after the Irish took attack to the opposition all through the game. One could argue, that his handling the ball and making sure his team won the game, come what may, shows his being a Winner all through. And it is this winning mentality of his, which allowed him to get away with the apparent mischief. But no arguments can conceal the fact that Henry came out in the open and accepted his blunder. This is what the Greatest Gunner of all time had to say after the game:

“To be honest, it was handball. The next thing I know the ball hit my hand, my arm even, and the ball was right in front of me and I played it. There was a hand, but I’m not the referee. “‘Toto’ [Sebastien Squillaci] went up for the header. I was behind two Irishmen. The ball bounced and touched my hand, the referee didn’t whistle and I played on, but of course it touched my hand.”

Before I put my point across, let me sight some examples here. Diego Maradona, Rivaldo, Luis Figo, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Sergio Aguero, Cristiano Ronaldo and even Lionel Messi, all of them have something in common. Yes! You guessed it right. They are all proven so-called ‘Cheats’ who have dived, scuffled and handed stuff despite their brilliance. Likes of Maradona, Messi and Ageuro have literally added another dimension to the game by handling the ball into the net. Even Anelka for that matter, dived horrendously in the same game i.e. France vs Ireland, but it largely went unnoticed. Primarily because no penalty was given, and more importantly because Anelka ain’t fraction of the player Henry has been over the last decade. He is good, but no match for TH14. And as they say:

“If you Shoot, Shoot for the Star”

Only here, they seem to have shot the ‘Star’ himself! Its a pity. A disgrace on the ‘Beautiful Game‘, that one its most prolific and dedicated exponents is having to face all this. If Fifa can’t make certain amends to the game, if they can’t introduce Video aids or even scope of Challenges (2-3 per game/ per side) ala Tennis, in this Pro-Tech age of ours, such mistakes are bound to happen in the spur-of-the-moment. I bet 90% of the strikers would have done the same as Henry did. I also bet that none from that 90% would have had the audacity to come out and accept their mistakes. Henry didn’t just say sorry in interviews after the game, he actually went up to the Ref right then and told him that he handed the ball. What else could he have done?

“The Ref’s got it all wrong. The Fourth Official got it all wrong. Fifa got it all wrong.”

Henry is being made a scapegoat for all their non-challance and him being immensely popular with fans across the globe, only makes it logical to add fuel to fire.

“Henry accepted his mistake and that makes him Great. He helped France get hrough to South Africa ‘10, that makes him Legend. We worship him, that makes him GOD.”

GOD never cheats, and so didn’t Henry. Forget what the world says, we love you Titi and shall always do the same. Hail King Henry..

Hand of God: Part I

Hand of God: Part II