The Misguided Musings on Mesut Ozil
We all know what the cognoscente thought of Ozil during last season. I think I know why the negative ratings were consistent for Mesut however. He cost £42.5m. He was our record buy. He had rave reviews from the elite in the game and the stats to boot. The problem is though, that the press, for that huge amount of readies, expected trees pulled from the root, huge ploughs furrowed in the Premiership, defenders stricken on the pitch with twisted blood and an anguished expression. They wanted Ronaldo, they wanted Messi. Ozil was so lauded in Spain that surely the goals and showboating would follow?
I genuinely think that MOTD and most wireless shows are dated and offer no valid opinions. I listen to podcasts and read blogs to get unbiased, truthful and often brutal opinions. Twitter is my morning paper.
In the words of my good friend James 'Raul' Stokes, I'm going to hit you with some science. Hold tight now, do not put your hands out of the carriage whilst riding.
Paul 'Poznan In My Pants' wrote a blog a wee while back regarding Ozil. It was my favourite single piece I've read in my whole time on twitter, if you can find it, I implore you to read it. After finishing this though, of course. Paul used an expression in the piece which has stayed with me. It was ' An assist of an assist', a Pre-Assist if you will. Because Pre-Assists, or PA's aren't recorded as stats, then it is impossible to illustrate how vital a cog Ozil is. How often that when a goal is scored, if it isn't Mesut assisting it directly, you can bet your arsehole that it was Mesut who started the move or provided the pass which opened up the opposition like Oscar Pistorius going through a bathroom door. It was such a succinct point and it is so genuine.
Ozil finished with figures of 6 goals and 11 assists last season. In his first season in a League which is a vast contrast in styles to La Liga. A far more physical, fast, close control competition. Not bad at all. Of course, if we are all honest, when he first arrived, when the buzzword of 'assist' was bandied around, we had visions of Our God Dennis, slide-rule passes with Theo gleefully gobbling them up. Injuries curtailed that dream of course, but what could've been was looming in every Gooners vision.
The pundits, relying heavily on the fact that Arsene shelled out a small fortune on Ozil, set about lambasting Wengers decision, Wengers judgement and also Ozil himself. He looked disinterested, he looked forlorn, like he had made a mistake joining us.
On more than one occasion, he covered distances during the match that were up there with Rambo, the Human Duracell Bunny. A player who is here for the money does not run himself into the ground.
My main gripe is that, if you actually watch a player you want to focus on, let's continue to use Mesut as the example, then these people who are earning a shedload more than us should easily be able to highlight the actual facts and not rely heavily on popular opinion. I swear sometimes when half-time analysis takes place that a work-experience boy was made to compile the clips and they just talk through them. I genuinely don't think the people paid to offer their expert opinion watch the game in full. Maybe they're busy. Perhaps the demands of the job take their toll somewhat. Either way, if you watch Mesut in action, he rarely misplaces a pass, he has an unerring ability to know where his colleagues are on the pitch without looking up, he has great spacial awareness and his eye for an assist is rarely shadowed.
The same applies to when commentators mention that BFG is a liability due to his pedestrian pace. Bitch, he can read a game better than you can read a book. He doesn't require pace when he can preempt what the attacker is going to do.
Another reason why these pundits, this 'cadre of c*ntery' couldn't be more wrong is that Arsene Wenger and Yogi Low both insist on Ozil being one of the first on the teamsheet. Surely these men deserve an iota more respect than to doubt whether Mesut should even be on the pitch, let alone one of the best? If AW and JL both think Mesut, and most certainly BFG, more than merit their place and count themselves lucky to be able to call upon them, then surely these experts must have to think twice before putting their offal out to all and sundry?
Mesut Ozil will almost certainly be starting in the WC Semi-Final Vs Brazil barring injury. The 2nd biggest match you can take part in as a player of the beautiful game. I do so hope that Mesut rips open the net with a thunderf*cker of a shot from 30yds, but more than likely he will provide an opportunity to slice open the soft underbelly of the Selecao with a simple pass. He is a surgeon. Why wave around the gory entrails with abandon, screaming "I JUST TOOK THIS OUT OF THE BODY!!!", when he can just do the surgery with the minimum of fuss, leaving his brain to problem solve, to concentrate on unlocking? Why go past four players, using valuable bodily resources as you go, when you can let the ball do the work?
Mind you, I bet if he does provide a Pre-Assist, or an assist, then the pundits won't mention it. They probably won't even notice and just give him a 6/10. It doesn't matter though, as we know what he's worth to us.
@jokmanafcTell us what you think! If you agree, or have a different view, please leave a comment in the comments section or why not write a response or your own article on YouWrite?
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