WDF NEWS: Fabrice Muamba — A Get Better Note

A relatively tame FA Cup match between Tottenham and Bolton became a nightmare right before half time. Close to the centre circle, three minutes before the whistle was to be blown, Fabrice Muamba collapsed. No tackle, no awkward step, Muamba just fell. The players immediately rushed to him and seconds later the on-field paramedics were there. Referee Howard Webb, after about eight minutes, called for the game to be abandoned. Muamba was found to have suffered a cardiac arrest (you're heart literally stops), and was officially dead for 78 minutes. He was rushed to a London hospital where the central midfielder miraculously awoke. We wish Muamba a speedy recovery and swift return to football (though doctors have made no indication that he will ever play again). Muamba's first words when he woke: "Did we lose?" Live a footballer, die a footballer. Almost.

WDF NEWS: Chelsea and Abramovich, A Match Made In… Somewhere

And here we go again. The search resumes. Honestly, it’s getting kinda boring! Roman, pick someone and bloody stick with him! He’s like the George Clooney of football, except Russian and ridiculously rich. Wait isn’t George… Never mind.  Where to start, I suppose at the beginning is a good place. J Roman Abramovich took over Chelsea in 2003, immediately funding huge commercial efforts to make The Blues a world-wide brand similar to Manchester United and Real Madrid. With great success in the first season, Abramovich hired the self-proclaimed “Special One” (Jose Mourinho) after he led Porto to a surprise Champions League win. Mourinho had great success and the rest is history. Now this is where it gets interesting... Having one of the best coaches around under his employment, Abramovich decided to hire Avram Grant to his board, as a Director of Football. This, accompanied with the purchase of Andriy Shevchenko (apparently against Mourinho’s discretion), was the beginning of the end for Chelsea. That’s a lie. They’re still a great club with a rich past and slightly promising future, but it was the end of any consistency they’d see for a long time. Abramovich was trying to control the way Mourinho coached his side, and let me tell you, as a coach, there is nothing more restraining than an owner trying to tell you how to do your job. So in September of 2007 Mourinho had enough and left the club. It’s not like he was the most successful manager in Chelsea history or anything, or that he had won six trophies in 3 years. No, that wasn’t enough for Abramovich; he needed more, and he’s yet to find it. So, with hiring and firing seven managers since the Special One left, none of which have come close to achieving what Mourinho did, Abramovich is probably wondering where it all went wrong. Fast track to 2012, Andre Villas Boas has just been sacked, Chelsea are a mess and have no three, two or even one year plan. Where now? Back to Mourinho? I doubt it. My spidey senses tell me that he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. No, the real problem is Ambramovich. He needs to sit down, shut-up and pay the bloody bills! Chelsea will sink to the sad depths of obscurity of he doesn’t. Hire David Moyes (Everton) and let him completely revamp the system there. Imagine what he could do with some actual money! What he has done, and is continuing to do at Everton is amazing. He has an eye for talent that could rival Sir Alex (see Wayne Rooney) and he’s made a team out of almost nothing. GOD! Just do it already! Or somebody just put some bloody faith in them! You cannot build a team at that level, or any other level for that matter, on one year. AVB said at the beginning that it would take three years, and he was right! It takes some time! My excessively opinionated and talented younger brother believes that Abramovich should just hire himself for the job of manager at Chelsea. It’s not a bad idea actually. When you think about it, at least they’d have some consistency.

WDF Team to Watch: Sunderland AFC

Yes. Our Team to Watch for February is Sunderland. Not the Manchester teams or Tottenham, or even Liverpool (shocking inclusion, I know). Sunderland. A sinking ship in December became the Black Pearl of The Premier League (see Pirates of the Caribbean). In the eleven league matches since Steve Bruce was sacked Sunderland have had seven wins, one draw and three losses. This is due, in no small part, to the hiring of Martin O’Neil. Sunderland has won ten out of 15 matches in all competitions under O’Neil. (Oh, a fun fact: those three games they lost were against Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal, all by one goal.) Now, when Sunderland signed Sessegnon from PSG back in 2011, I thought that was a brilliant piece of business. He was great for PSG but never really showed his true ability in the EPL. He is now hitting unstoppable form with the Black Cats (see Norwich game, February 1^st). The team has evolved from the bland, boring football they played under Bruce to a free flowing, counter-attack game. Lining his side up in a formation similar to Bruce’s, O’Neil let Sessegnon play in a traditional number 10 role drifting from flank to flank or driving through the centre. Going forward, they look like a 4-4-1-1. Defending, the shape is that of a 4-5-1. Sessegnon was not the only resurrection that O’Neil brought about; players like James McClean and Fraizer Campbell have been revelations under O’Neil. Players drift in and out of position in a beautiful but simple fashion, leaving such teams as Norwich, Wigan and even Manchester City absolutely perplexed. O’Neil’s task now is to solidify his defense, as I do not see relying on Manchester United rejects Wes Brown and John O’Shea as the answer. Bring someone in like James Tomkins; a young centre-half who’s decent on the ball and is a good tackler. And most of all, he’s young! He has a good bit to learn but working with someone like O’Shea, who has played for one for the Big Boys, could help progress both Sunderland as a team and Tomkins as a player and a future England star. Oh yeah! And some bloody wingbacks! Wow does that ever need improvement! But, one thing at a time; I shouldn’t get too ahead of myself. Regardless of the slight vexations that need to be worked out, O’Neil has transformed a mediocre side into a dangerous threat in the Premier League.

WDF News: Arsenal FC - Guns but no bullets

Arsenal has only won two of their past six league games. This equals to only one league win a month, starting in January. Not even as of late, but since the beginning of this season Arsenal’s form has become something of a question mark. On Wednesday Arsenal loss the first leg of their Champions League game to AC Milan 4 - 0. Arsenal’s woeful luck continued onto Saturday after facing elimination from the FA Cup by Sunderland 2 – 0 on Saturday.  Their loss against Milan and Sunderland has literally taken away any chance of Arsenal winning any type of silverware this year.  The last piece of silverware Arsenal had won was the FA cup in 2005 and the last time they have won the league title was in 2004. Even Tottenham’s current form is better then Arsenal’s and it is Tottenham and not Arsenal who are known for their mediocrity. It is not as if they haven’t had their opportunities. Throughout the years Arsenal has always been known to scout out young talent and turn them into absolute wonder kids; Clichy, Nasri, Cesc Fabregas, Adebayor, Henry, Yaya Toure, Van Persie just to name a few. Where the problem lies for Arsenal is their inability to keep their young star players and their lack of attention towards signing developed star players. Arsenal’s last big signing was Samir Nasri for £11m in the summer of 2008 who was only 20 years old. Nasri is now excelling at Manchester City in his prime. Even at this point Arsenal still has a lot of very good young talent such as Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, but their lack of experience on the field has expressed itself into offensive and defensive breakdowns. Arsenal is a prestigious club with a great history and their dedicated fans deserve a team that will play to their true potential. What it really comes down to is how transparent are the board's decisions and attitudes among their fans. Until this happens the veiled finger will start pointing in different directions at who is at fault for the current mediocre form of the Gooners? Arsene Wegner or the Board? Who ever it is the fans deserve an answer.