Farewell Eduardo, we hardly knew thee
Posted by SmartArse
Finally after what seems like months there is something to talk about other than Cesc Fabregas. Shame then, that it has to be this.
This rather excellent article from football365 points out a disgraceful article from today’s Daily Mail. The headline tells you all you need to know, ‘Flop Gunner! Eduardo was a big shot joining Arsenal…now he’s their latest striking failure’. If you want an anger free evening, don’t read it. If you do, please, add yourself to the universal condemnation in the comments section. What a wanker. Perhaps someone should shatter Leo Spall’s leg like Eduardo’s and see if he still considers its after-effects merely ‘an excuse for failure’.
Eddy’s departure should be seen as a sad moment for all Arsenal fans, because we all started to see what he was capable of. When he scored those two goals against Everton just after Christmas in 2007 Arsenal fans and players alike started to really believe that we’d win the league. He looked the complete package, a hard as nails Ruud Van Nistelrooy, in possession of superb quick feet and utterly lethal finishing. Time seemed to almost slow around him when through on goal. He was even good in the air. Just imagine what might have been last season if it was a fit and healthy Eduardo stepping in to replace the injured RVP.
But we all know what really happened. Poor little ‘Tiny’ Taylor, gentle, meek gent that he is, brutally snapped Eduardo’s ankle with an horrendous studs-up tackle. Arsenal’s season collapsed, but the real tragedy is that Eduardo never recovered, returning a mere shadow of his former self. Gone was the grit, the poise, the steely-eyed belief, replaced by a crippling timidity. It takes only a sniff of a tackle, even a shoulder barge, to throw him off his stride; the mere glimpse of a defender in his periphery to spurn the easiest of chances. A damning indictment on those who defend Taylor, Shawcross, or any other over-eager thug who quite simply can’t tackle.
It would be nice to see such action so roundly condemned as the Dutch performance in the World Cup final, but I don’t hold much hope. Apparently, only Englishmen are allowed to behave like knuckle-dragging morons. No wonder we’re so shit.
Such is the goodwill with which Arsenal fans regard our departing Crozilian, and the extent of disappointment at seeing such severed potential, that many I know were prepared to postpone the apparently inevitable and give him another chance.
It wasn’t to be. The parting of ways is the obvious solution for both parties. Perhaps a change of scenery, a run of games and (hopefully) a sackful of Ukranian goals will restore him to his former glory, but sadly I doubt it. The damage done is probably terminal.
On a side note Eddy’s departure signals the end of his much loved chant, especially amongst away fans. For those poor folk who don’t know:
He came to us when Henry left, Eddy, Eddy,
He scored more goals than Darren Bent, Eddy, Eddy,
He broke his leg, but he’ll be back,
and Darren Bent will still be cack,
Ed-uardo Da Silva, Arsenal’s number 9
(cue much jumping around to the whole tune again)
Much was ridiculous about it; Darren Bent doesn’t even play for Tottenham anymore, and to be fair is a pretty solid Premier League striker and really, the whole chant loses its flair when every club has its own version (United indeed pack a brilliant one about Torres starting with the hilarious line, ‘He’s half a boy and half a girl, Torres, Torres’), but it’s continuing appearance right through his injury to his jaded final season show just how much we as Arsenal fans appreciated him.
Farewell and good luck, Eduardo Da Silva, Arsenal’s number 9.
3 comments
Certainly sad to see him go. I think he’ll definitely get back to being a decent player, but whether he’ll ever reach his full potential is of serious doubt. The Daily Mail article is almost too stupid to comment on… Anelka, Henry, Adebayor, Van Persie all fantastic strikers which Arsenal took and made better. United pay silly money for already established strikers and make them worse… Forlan, Berbatov anyone!
One more thing re: Eduardo, I think playing with one striker last season was what really killed him off. It limited his playing time, and when he was on the field he was carrying too much responsibility therefore. It took Van Persie a while to adapt to the role, and it never suited Eduardo. Especially as you have defenders coming through the back of you the whole time, which is not ideal when you’re nervous coming back from injury. In general though it suits a more physical taller striker.
[...] Farewell Eduardo, we hardly knew thee 2010 July 24 tags: Eduardo, farewell, hardly, knew, thee by rich Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.Powered by WP Greet Box WordPress PluginPosted by SmartArse Finally after what seems like months there is something to talk about other than Cesc Fabregas. Shame then, that it has to be this. This rather excellent article from football365 points out a disgraceful article from today’s Daily Mail. The headline tells you all you need to know, ‘Flop Gunner! Eduardo was a [...] Come On The Arsenal! [...]
[...] year we’ve at least kept all our (contracted) major players so far. A doffed cap to Eduardo who sadly leaves us, but his impact on the field last year was negligible and it’s hard to feel that [...]
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