Let's get a very swift review of the game itself out of the way. 9 man defence (as the British media, Reuters, The New York Times and every man and his dog have reported on today), awful game, relentless Arsenal pressure paid off in the end.
Now, let's discuss the deeper issues of the day. Due to injuries to Nicky Hunt (???), Gary Cahill and Ebi Smolarek, plus suspensions for Gretar Steinsson and Kevin Nolan, Megson only named four subs. Of those four, three were relatively untried youngsters (Bogdan, Fojut and Obadeyi) whilst the other was Riga, who hasn't figured much this season anyway. Youngster Chris Basham made his first start for the first team after just a couple of minutes of previous Premier League experience. Is there a club in the Premier League who needs signings more desperately than us this month? What an appalling situation, especially when so many players left the club in 2008. I'm not saying those players would be first-team regulars now but this is ridiculous. And now Elmander is injured too - hopefully nothing serious.
As a footnote, what the hell was Megson doing subbing a sub? Apparently Riga didn't look injured so what a perfect way to crush a player's confidence. Any positives to take from this weekend - absolutely none. What a shambolic state of affairs. I'm off to drink myself into a stupor and ponder how quickly it will take Prince Harry to fully morph into his grandfather...