The Naked Truth




On Saturday me and Nadiya went to see Arsenal v FK Kharkiv on the last day of the season for the Vishe Liha. the game finished 0-0 and there was little excitement. I can't really complain as it was the first 0-0 I'd been to since Arsenal took on Kryvbas in October. FK Kharkiv created the most chances, which is understandable as they were in a position they could have been relegated from. However, they weren't and Naftovik Ukrnafta went down. This was a bit of a shame, as from what I have seen FK Kharkiv are the weaker of the two teams. Arsenal looked like they were on holiday already and only Jose looked like he could be bothered.
The trend of footballers dreaming of a few weeks on the beach seemed to have been nationwide, and as Ewig pointed out we had seen some good games at Arsenal, as up until last week they were still in a position that they could get into the Intertoto Cup from. On the other hand Metalurh Zapporizhya had been on holiday for weeks, as they were firmly rooted in mid-table. Every game apart from shaktar, who as expected beat Metalurh Donetsk (4-1) and Zorya who beat the already relegated Zakarpattiya 2-0 ended in a draw. It seemed like the fans didn't expect anything more either as at Arsenal and from the highlights I saw on TV nearly every stadium was even more empty than usual.
This leads onto the next question, a lot has been said about the new formation of a Premier League in Ukraine, like every other sector of life in Ukraine the people behind it have talked about corruption and money and not convinced anyone that it's not going to be yet another Animal Farm scenario. Also like everything else they want to steamroll it in as soon as possible and sod the consequences. What they really need to do is just make things a bit more exciting. I propose a 3rd relegation place with a play-off against the team finishing 3rd in division 1 and a play-off between 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th for a crack at the Intertoto. They only play 30 regular games after all. If this doesn't work then a split like the Scottish League could be the answer.
Another problem that has raised its head this week is the apparent lack of organisation, which leaves fans demotivated and confused. Up until Thursday evening all matches were scheduled for Sunday evening, then someone realised it was memorial day and all of a sudden the games were switched to Saturday. Arsenal was supposedly at Dynamo stadium and then on Friday evening it was switched to Respublikansky.
Notes on photos:
Top: Pre-match entertainment as some birds get their kits off
Bottom: After natch entertainment, the Arsenal players realise that some of the fans don't have shirts, so rush to give them theirs

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