England’s big four

There is no doubt that in the fiercely contested London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea, the goal with which Arsenal equalised in the second-half was palpably offside. When Robin van Persie received the ball, he was a couple of yards into what should have been forbidden territory.

Recently, Milan’s outstanding Brazilian attacker, Ronaldinho, paid the English Premiership the generous compliment of calling it the best in the world. Shortly after that, at Portsmouth in a UEFA Cup, he himself scored a goal from a wonderfully insidious free-kick which few indeed in the Premiership would be capable of achieving. Yet, how good really is the Premiership, dominated as it is by just four teams, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool, to the exclusion of any genuine competition?

How good, in particular, are Chelsea who have been setting the pace at the top this season, and how good, if we dare ask, is their hugely paid new Brazilian manager, Big Phil Scolari? Having recently seen them succumb to their London rivals Arsenal at Stanford Bridge and heard the extraordinary virtual confession of failure afterwards by Scolari, having noted their pathetic surrender in Rome and their plodding subsequent European display in Bordeaux, these seem all too relevant questions to ask.

There is no doubt that in this fiercely contested London derby, the goal with which Arsenal equalised in the second-half was palpably offside. When Robin van Persie received the ball, he was a couple of yards into what should have been forbidden territory. At that stage Chelsea were 1-0 ahead, thanks to the own goal conceded by the Swiss international, Arsenal centre-back, Djourou. In fact, the Gunners even in the first-half, when Chelsea had most of the play but little penetration, had forced a couple of excellent, one-handed, saves from the home ’keeper, Petr Cech. But, according to a plaintive Scolari, the referee should have said “sorry” for the offside blunder, which allegedly “killed” his team. No, he answered ill-judged questioning, he was not alleging any kind of conspiracy. He also, with reason, impugned the officials for calling Kalou offside in the first-half when he was clear through on the Arsenal goal and in fact was surely in a legitimate position. But what an admission to make, especially by one who is supposed to be the “hard man” of international football! An offside goal — and how often are they given? — was supposedly enough to knock Chelsea’s hugely expensive team of stars, including such supposedly resilient England internationals as John Terry — who could have been red carded for a shocking foul on the right-back Sagna — and Frank Lampard off their stride.

If this were true, then how does it reflect on Scolari himself as the manager? A manager already under fire for the pathetic display by Chelsea at the Olympic Stadium, where appalling blunders in defence gave away three disgracefully soft goals against a team which had recently been struggling to score? Followed in Europe by another wretched display in Bordeaux, beaten out of sight previously at The Bridge, when a 1-1 draw greatly flattered the Londoners. Whose defence gave away a deeply embarrassing equaliser when Diarra’s head — no marking to be seen — connected at the near post.

Chelsea and their billionaire oligarch owner plainly thought they had a coup when they prised Scolari away from Portugal; but what pray had he achieved there? With a home team which lost twice to Greece in the European finals of 2004? And one must reiterate that his World Cup 2002 victory with Brazil in Japan had much to do with the fact that his star players rebelled against his negative tactics.

Worth perhaps recalling, too, that when he was in charge of the Gremio Club in Brazil, he was notorious for encouraging his players to commit minor fouls in midfield in order to break up the rhythm of the opposition. But till now one had never identified him as a whinger, a maker of such lame excuses.

Arsenal’s that victory gave them at least a notional chance of eventually catching up with Chelsea, but their own recent record had been abysmally uneven, for which even the absence of several key players — and Theo Walcott, dislocating his shoulder in England’s training in Berlin, is out for months — is hardly sufficient excuse. Not least for the spineless display at Manchester City where they went down 3-0.

William Gallas, that talented but disruptive figure in central defence, had put the cat among the pigeons by publicly criticising his colleagues in print for their supposed failings, their youthful arrogance. But back at Chelsea whom he had left, in bitter discard, he had a masterly game, to the fury of abusive Chelsea fans. And Petr Cech, who alleged, before the game, that Arsenal lacked backbone, had to eat his words. You might say that the boot had been on the other foot.

Yet, what of Liverpool, with their two wretched Anfield displays in the European Cup against Atletico Madrid, a lucky draw, and Marseille, relying pathetically on doughty Steven Gerrard to get them out of trouble? Plus 0-0 home draws with Fulham and West Ham. While Manchester United, for all their stars, even lost at Arsenal and laboured to a draw away to Villarreal, in the European Cup. How is it, meanwhile, that Liverpool’s Spanish manager Rafa Benitez, so often — as in Liverpool’s European Cup win in Istanbul — tactically adrift, still seems unassailable?