Similarly both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal had to win to try and secure third place. In that instance, Arsenal won (thankfully.)
It was a spectacular day with a lot of great football and great moments, however two instants stood out for me. One was good and the other was not so good.
The good was Arsenal winning, obviously since I am an Arsenal supporter. Not just that though, it was the fond farewell to assistant manager Pat Rice who has been with the club for forty-four years. He was a player, starting in 1966 and then captain, and then later a coach. His contributions to the club have been numerous and the amount of years he has given is staggering.
"Rice has been assistant manager throughout Wenger's tenure, having previously been a caretaker manager, a youth coach, and a player from 1966 to 1980. "I would like him to forgive me the bad moments I've given him as well," Wenger continued. "He's been a constant, loyal supporter. I'm just very grateful and privileged to have had him at my side for such a long time."If there was to be another statue placed outside the Emirates Stadium, I truly believe it should be of Pat Rice.
I'm very keen about his replacement though. Steve Bould was one of Arsenals Legendary back four in the 90's. He played for Arsenal for eleven seasons, being part of the double winning side. Altogether he's won the league title/Premier league in 1988-89, 1990-91, and 1997-1998. He's won the FA cup twice, The football league cup, The Community Shield twice, and the Uefa Cup winners cup. Plus he's been part of the Arsenal Youth side for quite a while, gaining success there. A wise choice indeed.
To Mr Pat Rice, I salute you sir!
Now onto The Bad! Who else but Joey Barton? In Queens Park Rangers match against Manchester City (the one Man City needed to win) he stuck out an elbow sending Carlos Tevez to the floor. I don't think the referee saw it but the linesman did and he informed the referee who promptly issued Barton a straight red card. What followed was a disgusting performance by Joey Barton who then lashed out by kicking Sergio Aguero.
It's ironic really. A few months ago I bought a copy of "The Big Issue" which I so often do these days, and in it was an article by none other than Joey Barton. In it he portrayed something different, explaining how he'd grown up and changed and was more responsible now so I decided that perhaps he had and that I should try and look at him in a different light. I guess old habits die hard. Ironic really considering he posts tweets like this:
"Later Barton took to Twitter to claim that he had been told by a team-mate to "take one of theirs with me". "The head was never gone at any stage, once I'd been sent off."
So a teammate told him this and as captain he decided it was a great idea? That's great leadership, not to mention being a great role model. I think it goes without saying that he should be stripped of his captaincy, although I don't think he should be allowed to play for QPR at all. He is a disgrace to QPR and to professional football.
I don't think he even holds any remorse considering one of his tweets read:
"Still not my proudest moment but who gives a f*ck, we are safe and that is all that matters."
Enough said. But if you don't want to take my word for it, read this article:
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/05/14/3101335/sacked-in-the-morning-disgraced-barton-has-no-place-in-qprs
It hits the nail on the head.
Sources:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4314212/Arsene-Wenger-Tight-win-to-clinch-3rd-spot-summed-up-Arsenal.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bould
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/tributes-paid-to-pat-rice-who-quits-arsenal-after-44-years-7734647.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/barton-at-risk-of-ninematch-ban-7743637.html
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