An Unwarranted Arrogance

I think it's pretty safe to say that Saturday was up there with some of the worst, if indeed the worst Arsenal performance under Wenger's leadership. We lost to side that hadn't won a league game this season. A side that had conceded seventeen goals, yet they ran out deserved winners on Saturday but they played against a side with little imagination, laughable moments in the final third and most importantly a lack of shots on target.

Our arrogance on Saturday was that befitting of the invincible side but the difference being, the invincible's worked extremely hard and once they'd matched the efforts of the opposition that's when talent and skill comes into play, this side doesn't have that. We have a magical Spaniard who will do his utmost to create but if he has an off day, like on Saturday, who steps up to the plate? Imagine if Cazorla were to pick up a knock? It's say to assume we'd struggle. The preparation for games like this is key Wenger admitted pre-game that there are no easy games and yet post-Norwich he admitted that we might have underestimated the opponent. So either Arsene is just rolling out the old cliches or his side doesn't listen to him. I have a feeling it was the former but he included Wilshere on the bench despite earmarking Reading in the Capital One Cup as his return date. The truth is Wilshere wasn't brought on because the match was intense, he wasn't brought on because we weren't cruising to victory against one of the worst sides in the league. Arrogance, even over the selection of subs. There are a lot of players who were in that side on Saturday who deserve a place on the bench for a few games Mannone, Santos, Vermaelen, Ramsey, Gervinho and Giroud to name but a select few. Yet sadly, they'll probably all start against Schalke but then accountability for poor performance isn't Wenger's thing, unless it's Arshavin.

Anyway, enough of that and time to focus point in this blog, shots on goal. I believed prior to the kick off of this Premier League campaign that we would see the return of a free flowing and scoring Arsenal. However, the Premier League hasn't gone to plan and I couldn't have been further from the truth. We aren't winning games because we aren't clinical and our shots on target makes grim reading.

Team	Goals	Shots on Goal	On Target	Off Target	Blocked	Shot/Goal Ratio	Shot/Target ratio
SAFC	0	23	3	10	10	0%	13%
SCFC	0	17	2	11	4	0%	11%
LFC	2	11	5	4	2	18%	45%
SFC	4	23	9	8	5	18%	40%
MCFC	1	11	4	5	2	9%	36%
CFC	1	17	4	10	3	5%	23%
WHUFC	3	21	7	6	8	14%	33%
NCFC	0	14	5	6	3	0%	35%
Average Per Game	1.375	17.125	4.875	7.5	4.625	8%	29.5%

We average under five shots on goal per game, that's a shot on target every eighteen minutes. Just under 30% of our attempts at goal actually hit the target and only 8% of our attempts on goal actually find the back of the net. You'd have thought we were Norwich or QPR if you forget for one second that this is about Arsenal. If you factor in our inability to keep clean sheets it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out why were are well below par. We can't go into every game needing to score two goals to win every game. We won three games against Chelsea, Sp*rs, Man Utd and Man City last season. Only once did we win and keep a clean sheet and on the other two occasions we had to score five goals to the games. That is not the way top sides operate and it shows the lengths this side has to go to in order to secure three points. We opened the season at home to Sunderland and we could only muster three attempts on goal, three! We tied our season high twenty three attempts against Southampton but managed to score on four occasions and thankfully they also put through their own goal twice. Another standout stat is that we've only managed to test the opposition keeper over five times on two occasions, against Southampton and West Ham, both of whom were promoted last season. It smacks of a flat track bully attitude and even then we've have a come a cropper with that mentality on Saturday.

So we have all of these stats but what does it equate to? Well, lets have a look at our players minutes to goal ratio

Team	Gervinho	Podolski	Walcott	Cazorla	Koscielny	Giroud
SAFC	90	64	77	90	0	26
SCFC	72	72	18	81	0	90
LFC	0	82	0	90	1	90
SFC	75	75	15	90	0	15
MCFC	90	72	18	90	90	18
CFC	90	67	23	90	90	23
WHUFC	61	85	29	90	5	90
NCFC	90	65	0	90	0	90
Total Minutes	568	582	180	711	186	442
Minutes/Goal Ratio	189	291	90	355	186	442

If Theo is reading, he might want to take this to his contract negotiations because it makes horrible reading for the side. We've only had six scorers this season and whilst four are attackers, one is from centre midfield, when we play three and the other is a centre half who now finds himself on the bench. So let's break this down

Gervinho - Our current Premier League top scorer with three goals. This is a man opposition fans laugh at and he has played central striker on. He's scored in two games out of seven starts and he comes in as our third most efficient goal scorer.

Podolski - Lukas has an ankle knock and to be honest it's affecting his ability to contribute to the side. He's not completed a full ninety minutes in an Arsenal shirt. If he has a knock, why not take the opportunity to let him recover? Well that window of opportunity has passed as we have the likes of United and Sp*rs on the horizon, games where we need our best players on top form. I feel we don't do enough to get Podolski involved on games and he only has one goal from open play as a result.

Walcott - We he comes out of this with some praise but he's only started one game. Clearly there are things going on behind the scenes because when he has been fit there isn't anyway Chamberlain or Gervinho should start ahead of him. His finishing has also been impressive, he slotted home well against West Ham to give us the lead and he showed composure that has been lacking on occasions.

Cazorla - The magnificent Spaniard but a player who has never managed over ten league goals in a season. That said it isn't his main attribute but the trouble is those who he is supplying just aren't putting the ball in the net.

Koscielny - A centre half and one struggling to find his feet this season. He's current third in the pecking order at centre half despite the poor form of Vermaelen.

Giroud -  Then there's Olivier who has that one goal at West Ham. I like Giroud and like all players I want him to succeed but if he doesn't have the confidence to shoot then how can he ever succeed. One goal in over seven hours of play as Arsenal's centre forward simply isn't good enough. We can't afford to carry players at the moment and he is our main goal threat and he needs to turn the corner fast.

Overall, I think this smacks of a lack of quality in current squad. We know they are capable of better but yet last Saturday doesn't surprise anyone because we've seen it many times before. We have two huge games upcoming in our next four matches and this could well determine how this squad evolves because it would be nice to see it brimming with confidence but at present that seems a long way away. It's amazing how many good things can come from a shot at goal. If you don't believe me ask Grant Holt...


 

Mertesacker v Koscielny v Vermaelen

This has been a debate that has seen many an Arsenal fan spend a vast amount of time talking about it. The fact is we are discussing this because it is still an area of improvement for us as it has been demonstrated in our last two fixtures. It's a formula that Wenger has been unable to crack as three doesn't go into two but I've decided to focus on each player and the resulting partnership.

Per Mertesacker

Seven interceptions at City

LFC Away.

The big German had his doubters from the get-go. Fans don't like different and Mertesacker's lack of pace was always going to be his achilles heal, the trouble is that when he was signed we wanted instant results and one false step can see 30,000 snap judgements formed and make it impossible to recover as far as The Emirates faithful are concerned. The truth regarding Per is he is a brilliant centre half. He's not world class due to the aforementioned lack of pace but his reading of the game is a joy to behold. He treats every attack like a puzzle and he often comes up with the answer. He made seven interceptions away  at City in the 1-1 draw (pictured left) and sometimes I think the interception stats can be misleading, as it can come as a result of risky defending but Per does it in a controlled manner. It's been a long while since we saw a centre half read play as well as him, probably the best since Adams retired in fairness. Per also realises this shortcomings in terms of pace as he accommodates for this with his superb positional play, as illustrated away to Liverpool. He may play deeper but we have a very pacey back line that can be called upon to assist if needed. I have always rated him and felt he gets a raw deal but his absence towards the end of last season and his form at the beginning of this term cannot be ignored, players deserved to be picked on merit not reputations or armbands.

Laurent Koscielny

If I'm a big fan of Mertesackers, then I'm a huge fan of Koscielny. He was easily our best defender last season. He has everything required to compete, he is quick, his strength has improved, he's disciplined and prepared to throw this body on the line to stop shots on goal. Sadly for Koscielny, he missed the beginning of the season due to an injury but he was thrust back into the limelight away to City. He looked like he'd never been away as he slotted in without problems at all. He should have defended better after he had equalised and he was lucky that Ageuro shot wide as he should have made it 2-1. The issue for LK6 is that he has been dreadful in our last two games. For the first time against Torres he was second best and by some distance too. He got nowhere near him for the first goal on Sunday and it took a while to fathom out how he had got in such an awkward position. He then survived a risky attempt to cut out a through ball to Torres. This led to Torres going clear through on goal and thankfully we got away with a desperate penalty appeal as the Spaniard fluffed his lines. Koscielny also had a part to play in the second goal, as he was one of the players that had a chance to cut out the ball but a desperate slide saw him unable to stop a weak free kick from nestling in the net. His performance on Wednesday was better but then in truth, it couldn't get any worse. He avoided what looked like a red card for a reckless challenge in the centre circle, admittedly I've only seen that incident live, so I could be wrong. He was also caught ball watching when the Machado fired over when it was easier to score. He never sensed the danger after both Chamberlain and Coquelin had allowed Machado to stroll past them and it we should have fallen behind. He didn't cover himself in much glory with their goal either, although Jenkinson and Vermaelen had stronger cases to answer. This means he leaves himself open to a place on the bench due to Mertesacker and Vermaelen having more factors in their favour.

Thomas Vermaelen

Just not tight enough as the Greeks level.

Well, where do we start with the skipper? He started the season well, appeared disciplined in his game, as he avoided countless forays forward and then Chelsea happened. He gave away each foul that led to the goals, desperate defending that momentarly allowed us to regroup only to concede as a result of his actions. The first was a desperate and unnecessary lunge on Hazard, who hardly needs an invitation to roll around on the ground. The second was due to another ramble forward, he wasn't set correctly upon trying to recover and he ended up bundling Torres to the deck. He seems to have channelled his inner Alex Song and it affects our shape and we lack a fluency when he crosses through other players areas and it all becomes rather disjointed. I hoped the armband would have curbed his play going forward but it hasn't made a difference. He doesn't seem to realise how this costs us and it's happened time and time again. I genuinely believe as a defender he is overrated and any deficiencies that he has is masked by his goalscoring abilities. Look at Wednesday night, we are 2-1 up in a game that we played poorly in throughout and Walcott gets to the byline, fizzes in a ball and the keeper claims it well. Who was flying in behind him? Vermaelen. Why? Who knows. It wasn't a calculated risk of any kind and we should be looking to see out a game not lose our heads in a moment of madness. We can't continue with him playing this recklessly, as we've seen our usual shambolic defending rear it's ugly head after what was a promising start.

The Partnership

So who is it going to be? Well surprisingly, for now at least, I'm going with Mertesacker and Vermaelen. The latter is saved by the fact that the early season form of this duo shows it can work. It will continue to do so if Vermaelen is responsible. I'm not sure if he knows he can't attack as freely when he's back in defence with Per around but he seems less inclined to maraud forward. Per is there because he's played well, there was no reason to drop him last week and if we are basing our pairings off the opposition striker then the manager lacks belief in his players. Bizarre that in enforced circumstances Per handled Ageuro and Tevez the week before and he was even given Man of the Match. Koscielny misses out because he's been the poorest centre back so far and of the three games he's played he's had one good game but for the future I'd rather have Koscielny and Mertesacker. I've always believed it's Mertesacker + 1 and that remains but whilst Vermaelen has the armband it's hard to see Wenger losing faith in his captain.

We'll All Follow The Arsenal...

Last season brought with it many twists and turns none more so than that dramatic comeback in the North London Derby. That day brought about a belief in the team and it was helped by a very supportive stadium, a stadium full of fans that went through a purple patch of positivity against the likes of Milan and Newcastle. It was quite clear it had an impact on the side and yet we choose to ignore the fact we could make it a hostile envioirnment for opposition sides but sadly we choose to not be a factor.

Home or Away

Crazy scenes at Anfield

Over the last few seasons our away fans have really become a force to be reckoned with and we are easily up there with the most vocal sets of supporters in the country. Then we play at The Emirates and suddenly support turns into a poisonous envoirnment in which it hinders our players belief in their own ability. Why is there a difference? Is it the price? I don't think it is, we have sold out against Norwich at the price of £50 per person. I think the truth is there shouldn't be a difference because those that don't travel away will marvel at the support our away fans bring and should be encouraged to support their side in the same fashion when they are next at home. However, this is rarely the case. The Emirates has become more of a pantomime/circus enviornment. The rumbles of discontent have been around for too long. We've booed players off and on the field, we have sung more songs about referee's than the ones we sing to encourage and inspire a side in need of support.When a player is need of a boost we compound their misery. I sit in the North Bank Lower and on Saturday some fans were that annoyed with the lack of support, they even launched into a Chelsea song to spring a reaction. They were quickly shot down but they had a point. Supporters were too busy booing John Terry & Ashley Cole than focusing on our own. Even the goal celebration was more applause than a moment of madness in the stands. Yet you look at the comparison with the scenes of an equaliser at Eastlands, it was mental yet it still meant we were level.

Our Responsibility

Whilst I know The Emirates is a friendly enviorment for all fans, it doesn't mean we can't go and help our side on their way to victory. I know exactly what sort of crowd atmosphere there will be tomorrow and it's the one that wants to be entertained and see an easy victory. A crowd that will get on the sides back if it's 0-0 and we miss a couple of chances. Do some fans realise that outside of the game itself, you have the rest of the week to dissect the performance? Also, it's worth noting that the transfer window is shut (observant I know) so why not just support those in front of us? The negativity towards some players affects our chances to win. Many have suffered and not many have recovered.

Mentality

The fact is those that go away from home are prepared and ready to give everything they have in order to help their side achieve a win, sometimes they don't get the result their efforts deserve but yet they continue to give their all, you need look no further than the humiliation we suffered at Old Trafford. The away fans always make themselves heard for the right reasons and the home support tends to undo all of the good work. As a supporter who wants to be vocal I find it difficult to comprehend why their is a difference and maybe that's why I can't get my head around it but The Emirates can be an embarrassing place at times and we are there as supporters of a side that we all love and sitting there and saying nothing can be just as bad as being negative.

I'd love to know your thoughts on the matter, so feel free to leave a comment of tweet me @mj_afc

 

The Bould Effect

We went in to Sunday's clash with the fear of the unknown in terms of what sort of performance could we expect. In truth, not outcome from the game would have surprised me. This was a Liverpool side that looked lively against City and they probably deserved to win the game and they welcomed back Daniel Agger from suspension for our match up, so we thought we were in for a game.

Starting with our defensive approach, Wenger was quick to play down Bould's role in the three consecutive clean sheets but the the difference in this side defensively is unbelievable and I noticed a couple of things that have changed tactically from last season. The main factor was the defensive work of wingers Podolski and Chamberlain. The desire to defend reminded me of the days of Vieira & Petit. It's always been a weakness of our style of 4-3-3 as it was illustrated in the memorable 4-4 game at Anfield, great going forward but no support for the full backs, which invariably in big games away from home you'll often see us getting punished.



Then there's the play of our wingers, they defend wide as shown in the illustrations but we seem to bottle neck our attacks. Neither Podolski nor Chamberlain tried to hit the byline, something Gervinho tries at every opportunity and Theo tries more often than not. This offers much more support for the front man and this poses questions for the defenders. Look at Cazorla's goal, Liverpool players don't know whether to stick or twist. Do they close him down or stay with their man, either way there's a good chance it ends up in the back of the net.





For the first time this season our play also had much more of a purpose to it. We haven't really attacked with any real conviction in our opening two games but the sharpness was there with the players on Sunday, notably in the form of Abou Diaby. He slowed attacks down at Stoke, he sucked  the momentum out our play in order to keep possession. On Sunday he was like a dog with a bone and didn't we benefit from it. The pressure's on Diaby to deliver these performances on a regular basis as I believe he's far too inconsistent and his games to performances ratio is around the 1/7 mark, harsh you may think but he should dominate games and all to often he's a passenger but hopefully this is the start of things to come.

Then there's Mikel Arteta's role in all of this, our new converted defensive midfielder. Here's a caption of all of his work on Sunday.

 

Now the thing that stands out like a sore thumb is he doesn't contribute anything in the final third. I'm not sure why that pleases me but it's nice to see such disciplined play in our team. He is sacrificing his attacking ability in order to help the side and this for me is the biggest plus of our new demeanour. Hear that Mr Song? Arteta has protected the defence and it has allowed Vermaelen the odd foray forward but in truth the new captain has also calmed down his style of play somewhat. It's all very much positive coming from a game where we couldn't really predict what was going to happen.

I like this new style of play a lot, for too long we've be vulnerable and I've always expected us to concede and teams that win trophies don't have that in their makeup. Whether this is a flash in the pan remains to be seen but the start to our defensive improvement is well under way. It just remains to be seen when we'll score a trademark corner because it's coming sooner rather than later. 

Hey Giroud, Don't Be Afraid

So he's played 117 minutes of Premier League football or 162 minutes in an Arsenal shirt and questions are already being asked "Is Giroud good enough and/or can he fill RVP's boots?". Frankly I find it ridiculous that he's felt the need to come out and explain himself two weeks in a row and ultimately I don't see why some fans and especially the media feel the need to criticise his performance/s.

So why the need for the negativity? Simple, we should be scoring and that is purely down to our centre forward and him alone. The amount of people that reckon he should have squared it to Ramsey is unreal. That option was still a difficult ball and passing it to Aaron didn't guarantee a goal. What I saw was a player who has an eye for goal, he spotted Begovic of his line and came within inches of scoring one of the goals of season. Now the cynics out there will say he didn't score and it doesn't matter if it missed by inches or metres(which is nonsense) but the fact is the vision, awareness and let's not forget confidence to take that shot on shows that we have a player on our hands. I'm no expert when it comes to Giroud but what I have seen of him is he isn't scared to have a pop at goal and that for me is a positive. Look at what the crisis of confidence did to Chamakh, he would have rather run a mile than have a pop at goal. We need players who are prepared to have a dig and we can't be selective when it suits.

The comparison to van Persie which unfortunately will linger until our strikers begin to fire is pointless. He's gone and they are far from similar but that doesn't mean Giroud isn't any good, who's to say he can't be better than him after Wenger has taught him a thing or two. In Giroud we have a great, yes great, target man. He makes it stick, brings others into play and helps us advance/catch up with ball. I think both Huth & Shawcross were taken by surprise by him yesterday as he fought hard with them. He contested every header and proved solid when called upon to defend. In April van Persie didn't contest one ball in the air Giroud contested twelve (and winning five), that shows a shift in our tactics and mentality going forward. These things though take time and I refer back to our lack of friendlies but we are growing with each game, admittedly it's quite easy to improve on the performance v Sunderland but there were respectable chances for Diaby, Podolski, Giroud (corner) & Arteta and that sharpness will come and it will more than likely need to be there against Liverpool on Sunday if they play as they did against City yesterday. Look at Arteta's reaction after the game, it was one born of of frustration because they know they are nearly there, they just need to relax a bit more in front of goal. Lots of opportunities are getting snatched at in our attempts to get off the mark.

 

I know I am in a minority when I say we don't need another striker just yet. We have options with Giroud and Podolski and if it doesn't work (which is a possibility) then there's always January to put it right but for now I'm quite happy for both to find their feet in this side and I'd pretty certain we'll be seeing lots of goal sometime soon. So Giroud, don't make it bad, just take a good team and make it better.

Fail to Prepare

So a week has proven to be a long time once again The Arsenal. We've gone from the pre-match over excitement to realistation in the space of ninety minutes last Saturday. We've had an exciting new striker feel the need to explain himself and ask for patience because he dared to miss a vey respectable opportunity, then there was the sale of Alex Song and the saga that was Nuri Sahin.

Cazorla pulling the strings

Having allowed some time to digest what was a frustrating afternoon last Saturda against a side that would have made George Graham proud. Was it actually that much of a surprise when you look at the sides preperation in pre-seasont? There was quality in abundance but this side lack sharpness and a purpose. We saw the introduction of two new signings, Arteta playing the deeper role, Diaby returning, Walcott lacking fitness & Jenkinson at full back. Whilst we expected to win it hardly comes as a shock but I think the club could have averted this. Due to postponing of The Emiates Cup we played one fixture between 29th July to 18th August. That really is pathetic, everyone knows sharpness comes from playing games not training camps. That meant Cazorla & Giroud managed a half each and Podolski managed seventy minutes and that's all they have to show for their pre-seasons with us and I know some went off to play for their countries but that doesn't really benefit us does it? Then you look back at our opening fixtures of recent times and in the last three season we've drawn our opener on each occasion, admittedly trips to Newcastle and Liverpool are difficult but we were poor by our own standards in each fixture. We can't be naive and think we can just turn up, flick the switch and go into overdrive. Our game is built on relationships and understanding, so were we going to achieve a satisfactory level of performance without serious match practice. Arteta & Diaby have never started a Premier League game together but thanks to Cazorla's guile we looked easier on the eye than we actually were.











Olivier meet Robert and Ryan

Now we embark on another adventure to Stoke, where I fully expect their wind turnbines to be pumping out a force ten gale but I think it's an ideal time to play them. Whilst they may point to our lack of fluency (which is a valid point) they have to deal with a lack of competitive action.That of course is their main strength (exc throw ins), they like to pressurise us, force mistakes and feed off the scraps (a bit like their fans). If we can retain possession our football should do the talking but we will still have to contend with the numerous physcial elements. Can Cazorla get a look in? He did get pushed off the ball quite easily at times last weekend and you can only begin to imagine the sort of plans Stoke have for him. Will Wenger go for a front three of Podolski, Giroud & Walcott? I'd like to see this at some point and Stoke's defence is vulnerable but I feel Shawcross & Huth realish the opoortunity of playing against a lone man. Moving Podolski to left wing means back up isn't far behind as he works within the width of the box, something Gervinho doesn't offer as much of. A point wouldn't be the end of the world but it would be nice to get a win under our belt and provide a much needed shot in the arm ahead of our trip to Anfield. However, if you thought this week was long just wait for next week. Stoke on Sunday, transfer deadline day on Friday & Liverpool next Sunday. It could shape our season.

No More Doom & Gloom

So the new season is fast approaching and for once I feel rather positive about the situation at the club. Despite the best efforts of the media to insist that our club is dead or in crisis that certainly isn't transmitting through the most important people - the players. Despite having to deal with a want away captain the players have knuckled down to the task at hand and they seem to be enjoying themselves but does this mean anything in terms of how they'll perform on the pitch?

Well last August was very much doom and gloom due to the uncertainty and the inevitably surrounding the imminent sales of Fabregas & Nasri, without any adequate replacements linedup. We started with a bore draw at Newcastle and there was an edge to the support, Wenger and the team. This supplied countless amounts of ammunition to those with agendas and our club wasn't a very nice place to be. Thankfully Wenger manged to restore the belief piece by piece with some frantic panic buying.

This year one of those panic buys Mikel Arteta will go into this season as our Vice-Captain. That leads nicely onto Vermaelen, who has been officially appointed Arsenal skipper. Now I'll admit I'd have had Arteta and maybe Sagna ahead of him but that said Vermaelen has shown commitment to the club and he has learnt the ropes, so I am very encouraged by the choice and he has said he will "lead the team through the way I play", that's a pretty gungho philosophy we will be adopting, although I am hoping he is a touch more responsible. I think that is what I'm looking forward to this season, our ability to blow the opposition away.

There's no reason why we can't do that now that we have a play maker in the form of Cazorla. Last season we had to make do with Rosicky or Ramsey in that position and whilst both are still crucial to our squad this is a significant upgrade. Whilst Cazorla becomes the much needed link between midfield and attack, it is the latter that excites me the most. Yes, we've lost our best player but I don't think anyone is in a position to dwell on the matter but we have two international strikers joining the club, one of which is of the highest calibre. Lukasz Podolski will soon become a crowd favourite, as will deputy Olivier Giroud. Stewart Robson said on 5Live today that there's no way these two could fill the void left by RVP. I think that is incredibly harsh as we are a side that creates a lot of chances and now we have Cazorla too. Where's the logic? Of course, it's Robson speaking, there isn't any.

The big question is can we win a trophy? The title is probably still too much of a task for this side unless we strengthen defensively but we can surely have a good punt at the FA Cup and Champions League. Wenger appears ruthless this year and he seems to have grown tired of our failures and the departures of the likes of constant figures such as Alex Song can only demonstrate that the lack of success means he's taking a closer look of personnel and so he should.

The fact is this year we are probably going to attack like we haven't done for a couple of seasons. I even expect the likes of Gervinho to step up to the plate. That does bring with it the obvious pitfalls of being unable to defend but for now I'm just going to allow the excitement carry me through the beginning of the season and if we win comprehensibly tomorrow I will believe we can win the league, until Sunday that is.

Enjoy tomorrow/today and if you are going, get behind the team likes we did in crucial games last season. There's enough nonsense written about our club but when we are at home it's our opportunity to let outside influences disappear for at least 90 minutes.

Say we are top the league, say we are top the league...