Gooners Gossip

Interview with FMR

Q: How do you think the season has gone so far?
A: We are well placed and had a much better start than anticipated, usually we are slow starters and I was extremly pleased with the pace we set off at! The away win at Bayern is probably the one i was most happy with as i feel many of the promotion chasing pack my fail to emulate this. On the other hand the loss at Kings has undone everything we did well up to that point, if im honest i thought there might be a bad result from somewhere... i feel that it is where it happened and the manner in which it came that i have a problem with. The players obviously became complacent and i needed to remind them that neither myself or the fans are impressed by sitting on the top of division 2 and we expect alot more than that if we find ourselves in the same poisition again. The parties will begin when were plying our trade in the top flight and not before.

Q: Do you feel you recovered well from that game?
A: The next fixture at Futsal was obviously not the best result, we set out to take no risks and i feel the lads played very well. We created many chances and looked extremly comfortable throughout but as everyone knows if you dont take your chances in this game it will come back to haunt you. Seaman has also been recovering from a small knock picked up in pre-season and i think a mixture of that and the new faces we have in the team has played its part in defensive errors in every game so far bar Juventus.

Q: In a recent statement you talked about raising the level of your game versus Juventus, do you feel you did that successfully?
A: With a big game just around the corner, yes i did want to see something that would help us gain the momentum needed for such a high profile fixture! In short the answer is. No. The game was far from exciting and Juventus threw it away, we did score three but none were in open play and in fairness we didnt play well. The result certainly didnt give us the boost in morale we needed, it instead seems to have had the opposite effect on the players. The only positive i can take from that games is the first clean sheet and the fact Seaman is back at his best, which is something every fan will be very happy to see.

Q: There are rumours that some players are not happy at Gooners, can you confirm or deny any of these rumours?
A: Im not going to lie, yes Henry has been a cause for concern recently. He did not make the squad for the Kings game and refused to turn up and recieved a substantial fine. He was then picked for the Futsal game but obviously the whole thing had affected him and he looked all out of sorts. We feel it is best to rest him against Bullies and see what kind of form he has for the Crimea game. It is not only Henry Campbell also threw his dummy out after missing the Futsal game! and he will also be fined and will not play against Bullies. We have a very large squad here and the players must accept my decisions and they cannot be swayed by tantrums. The situation does seem to have effected the whole dressing room at this crtical stage of our season its is totally unacceptable and both players need to get their focus back asap,

Q: Which players have impressed you the most so far?
A: There are so many i think first and foremost is Adams soon as he walked through the door he became a first team player and has performed consistently in every game. He settled in very quickly and I have already informed him i wont allow him to retire next season. I think the next on my list has to be Captain invincible Dennis Bergkamp, he has continued where he left off last season and this season has already certainly played some of the best games of his career! I have also been very impressed by Keown and feel he still has much more to come. Lang is also looking more of the all rounder this season and i think heis stats may make interesting reading come the end of the season. Last by no means least is Cesc his enthusiasm is very refreshing and he has played some fantastic games this season. In the short time he has been at the club i would say i have found no faults in either his play or attitude and he seems a complete proffesional something very rare in a player so young.

Q: How do you see the Bullies game shaping up?
A: Firstly, i hope their manager will learn to be gracious in both victory and defeat, so far in the short space of time he has led the table his comments seem only to be aimed at other teams and when losing only at me. For ourselves of course we try to win but division three, two or one is only a path to where we want to be, I dont see it as an "achievement" beating teams that are still works in progress. As for the game itself with a much depleted and under strengthed squad it gives me many headaches. If we win it will be because the tactics were spot on and the desire was there, certainly not because we were the stronger team on the day. We certainly wont go away without a fight and win or lose its along way to the finish line