No I’m not sure it’s a good bloody Idea. Sorry for using a Caught offside headline, but I think Gooners around the world are being sucked in by ‘Agent Speak’. This ‘Appiah for the middle’ thing must stop now because it shows you that Arsenal fans are getting desperate and prepared to accept averageness!
THAT IS NOT WHAT ARSENAL ARE ABOUT!
Appiah is a solid player… he can shoot, he can tackle and he has a bit of experience under his belt.
So what?
How many players in the premiership fit into that category? Diop, Barton, Carsley, Reo Coker… the list goes on.
To play at Arsenal you need to be better than average, you need to be amazing! My feeling on the situation is that if he is that good, surely a club bigger than West Ham would be interested? If Arsene was interested… surely he would have snapped him up 2 years ago before he went to Fener? If he was so good, would he have left Juve to play for a Turkish team? Would Juve have signed Paddy if he was so good?
So my argument is… if he is good enough, why have we not signed him already, and why is this dragging on so publicly?
Website after website is pulling out old quotes and claiming he is talking to Arsenal… but I don’t believe it.
Wenger is rolling with Denilson for the minute, and long term you can’t help but think Song will be rocking defensive midfield. I have never been a fan of him, but I have been forced into liking him… and at the end of the day, the guy has shown improvement, made his mark at the ACN and held his own when he has come on as a sub this season.
Why would you sign someone in place of Song and stifle his upward progress curve? Wenger has invested too much time in his centre Midfielders and taken too much flak to sign a new one who probably doesn’t have the same ability…
In my opinion, Appiah is a no go.. so I would say to all Arsenal fans, don’t get your hopes up and start thinking about how Wenger can use the current crop to the best of his abilities… no matter how much you dislike that idea.
Oh, well played Theo.
Have a great Sunday and many thanks for the Birthday wishes yesterday!
morning lads, well said its just appiahs agent using our name.
1st by the way!
wow, i fluked an early post
Hi Pedro. Can’t agree with you more! Many Gunners seem to have moved into the country of the blind, where the ONE EYED MAN is king. Song IS better than Appiah! He doesn’t even need a “bedding in” period as he already has imbibed the Arsenal way and has more experience where it really matters – the EPL!
!
My first post on Le Grove – been an anonymous grover for almost a year now (feels like I know all you regulars) My 2 sons (and soon my wife) have been conscripted by me into ardent Grovers too
By the way, am I 1sssst?
What a way to start. A debut first!!!!
I dont even think it’s agent talk. There are all the usual words like hints, linked, a known admirer, keeping an eye on, ready to offer a deal to, monitoring the situation, in talks. What will we see next, the ‘close source’ come out and say Arsenal are interested.
It’s all talk and speculation atm, BUT i think it wood be great if we signed him. If Bitchslap is worth the risk, i think Appiah is too.
Stupid iPhone! Crashed as I pressed the “submit” button! Oh well, will have to wake up early tomorrow to nick Rico to the line….
3rd
3rd yes
This site has cried out for midfield experience for so long and now, when there is an albeit slim possibility of it happening, you throw a bucket of cold water over the story. I’m confused.
Nice post Geoff but I have to disagree. By the way I can’t believe you mentioned the name Barton in the same sentance as Arsenal!! Of course Appaih is not the future answer but considering the fact we were “unable” to sign a suitable midfielder then Appiah is not a bad deal and no I am not saying this out of desperation. The man has experience and this is something we are crying out for and as I have said before it can only add to strength in depth. I think you are of key by saying if he was good why are only WHU interested. I dont think it has anything to do with questioning if he is good or not I think it is a case of no one else being prepared to take the risk on him. Here in Germany Bayern Munich are also interested in him. If and it’s a big if, that we should get him, what can be so wrong with it? He comes on a free so we only pay his wages. He is no more of a risk than Silvestre or Bischoff. Cheers.
Yeah. I agree with hounddog. And Juventus are a big club and they are interested. Btw has anyone installe GOOGLE CHROME. This browser is really nice.
i got a different point to this idea. Henry was a flop when he was in Juve and even Wenger didn’t know Flamini would be an amazing player last season. so, i don’t think we can write Appiah off so early. he might really fit in our playing style and could offer what our midfield lack of. let’s see.
Point made well – if it were going to happen, it would have happened before now.
I wouldn’t sign him. AW obviously feels we are lacking in this dept. otherwise he would not have gone for Alonso etc.
However, is this guy any better than Song? Recent International performances from Song have been outstanding, and it must be time to give him an extended run in the team.
The risk factor is neglible (as others have written), but that is no reason to sign Appiah.
I think we should get him, but only to bolster to the squad. He shouldn’t be seen as a messiah, but only, as Pedro points out, a decent, solid player that may be able to do a job when called on. He’s no Paddy
I assure you he was one of the best CDM’s when he played for the old lady.
Hear hear, Appiah may be a good player, but to claim that Wenger will replace Denilson when he’s shown that he is capable of playing well with a player who is available on a free transfer who hasn’t yet been offered a contract by ANY club is verging on the ludicrous.
Arsenal are not desperate sluts, it’s all about quality, we’ve already got it, if we’re going to bring in someone it would be a player superior to what we have, someone to be first in line in the starting 11.
If not it’s a player who we can mould and at 27 Appiah is a fully formed player, if it takes 3-5 seasons to get a player playing exactly as we want him to, perfecting his technique, he’d be ready at 30-32.
Players Arsenal sign are either completely ready at 27+ (Silvestre….Premier league experience, trophy winner)or they’re not worth the trouble or the time, that’s the harsh reality of Premier League football and playing for a Champions League club. There might be a club or 2 in the championship who he’d revoultionise, West Ham is a top offer for him, but Curbishley and the ‘Appy ‘Ammers have parted company over their transfer policy of signing players who are a bit dented and out of shape. It’s cost them dear.
We’ve got players in line, so there’s no point in adding to the squad. Appiah wants first team football, he’s not going to get it at Arsenal.
Good post, i’m getting tired of grasping at straws, our team is too good for this nonsense.
Did you see the Dutch manager played RvP, despite his suspect fitness, in an attempt to get him “match-fit” for Croatia?
Is this the same management team (not manager !) who complained that RvP was rushed back from injury by Arsenal?
What a bunch of two-faced fools.
I’d actually happy for him to come, just to give us a different option. At sertain points of this season our kids are going to get bullied on the pitch, having an enforcer type option would be useful.
Not essential but useful.
20:)
What are u talking about?
First of all Appiah would be an xcellent signing for us, definitely worth the risk for no transfer fee
Second, if song was gna be the new defensive mid, why isnt he playing now? its not as though denilson has been setting the world alight – although he clearly has potential
- he even played eboue there ahead of song when cesc was out
well, thing is, we don’t have to start him do we?
He’s surely make a very nice 2nd/3rd choice DM.
He’d be 4th choice, we’ve got plenty of 4th choice players already.
good article.caught offside always talk nonsense
Peter. Song was at the Olympics , and then recovering from jet lag. He came on as sub in the DM role during the Newcastle game.
IMHO he will be a huge player for us.
& just because I disagree with you about Appiah, doesn’t give you the right to question “what I am talking about”. We all have our opinions, mine – and everyone else’s – is as valid as yours.
Big Raddy
Don’t worry, we the Dutch a lesson
As far as Song is concerned, according to Wenger, Song is not yet back to full fitness after the Olympics.
I’m with you Finest.
Off out., but will carry on the battle later
*taught
Goodonya GG9 !
gday all, happy birthday pedro for yesterday!
i think Song will be used in the difficult away games where the opposition will be attacking us more. Denilson will probably be played at home against the “easier” teams where his defensive qualities won’t be as necessary.
I dont actually know anything about Appiah so i just wont say anything.
First, let state the obvious, i am a Gunner. An unrepentant one. Next let me inform you that i am a Nigerian. It is necessary in order to drive home the point that as a homeboy we are very much in the know about African Players. Appaih played against Nigeria two years ago in the ACN 2006 edition competition and he was a monster of a player. He also was exceptionalduring the world cup of the same year. Cast in the mold of Micheal Essien, he is much more offensive and technically gifted. I understand your apprehension but it steams from your lack of infrmation on the player, not having watched play him once. he has age on his side, very strong and could finally put a stop to our midfield being bullied around. Also he could offer much more protection to our midfield gem who i need not mention. He definatelly is miles ahead of Song, who, i feel is anexcellent prospect in the future. Let me also remind you that he dislodged Edgar davids from Juventus years ago. Yes, getting him is a risk but then again,, Arsenal is never afraid to take risks. Just go back in time,, see the Fabregas and others. I say let us go for him. Ghana and Nigeria may be bitter soccer rivals but for once i will join the queue for Arsenal’s potential version of Stephen G.
so blackburn on saturday at midnight kick off for me. you beauty!
If wenger is planning to sign Appiah he would have signed him before the transfer window shuts… i don’t think he is giong to sign anyone before jan… if he doesn’t have confidence in the squad he would have done a deal already (appiah or someone else)….. As mentioned by wenger we would go for quality… not simply because we need another man in midfield…
Caught offside what a shit site for arsenal news. all i see is headlines like
“WENGER TO MAKE 30 MILL SIGNING, WILL IT HAPPEN?”
what utter shit.
any ways thank god the Natinals are over and bring on the league games.
Monday ill be in Turkey again so ill be watching arsenal in the sun, Woop Woop.
the only down side is getting to a computer to check whats being said on Le-Grove
as usual arsne knows better than me
also doing business on free transfers is not our policy… like chelski and liverfool does
it shows you that Arsenal fans are getting desperate and prepared to accept averageness!
YES WE ARE ! – been saying it for months !
To play at Arsenal you need to be better than average, you need to be amazing!
EBOUE ? ADE ??? ! BENDS?? DENILSON ??? DIABY ???
if the choice is Appiah or Eboue ?
well sorry if i create waves but the choice is as clear as crystal for me !
Also i would go as far as saying apart from narsi potentially Appiah would be signing of the summer !
He has leadership quality’s also !
thats important !
very important ..
We could do far worse by not sign anyone ! There is a gap right in the center of the field and it burns like a hole in the Ozone layer !
it needed to be patched during the regulation off season , it was totally over looked
and denilson – eboue- song are NOT the answer !
Hey Guys, Happy Bday for yesterday Le Grove, Geoff and Pedro!
Has anyone read this?
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_4112654,00.html
I love the comment at the end:
“Of the matter, Gallas added: “The moment Barton came on to the pitch he made a bad challenge on Samir Nasri.
“Samir responded with an act that maybe wasn’t especially nice. But bearing in mind the player he did it to, then fair enough.”"
In case you haven’t looked at arsenal.com here is the pic of Bitchslap:
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/bischoff-on-course-for-first-team-chance
Is it just me, or does it look like he’s got some serious fitness-training to do??
Ethan dont be so quick to write off Song. He will be(if not already) good enough.. I mean he was in the acn XI
Ethangunnner – I agree the added depth and experience will be welcome, meaning sign Appiah.
But, I disagree with your analysis of Song. I think this is his break-out year Flamini-style, AND I have more faith in him than Diaby/Denilson/Eboue.
i didnt want appiah a few seasons ago when he was rumoured then and im still not keen now
Its not just you. He doesn’t really look like a footballer. He looks pretty out of shape which i guess is understandable considering he has been injured prob most of his life.
Actually, he reminds me of Syler from Heroes.
HelsinkiGooner
playing with U-23 in the Olympics is hardly a test .. I will reserve judgment on him until i see him play 4 or 5 games in the EPL on the trot ! And when have you seen him play DM in the EPL ?.. last time he played there was a year or so ago and he looked like shite !
Ok granted he did an OK job at CD ! but you need more tricks in your book to be a great DM ! . He is definitely not a proven quantity yet !
And all that aside Helsinki , you know wenger will put eboue there ! eboue is rated by wenger ! and dont you just know that at the next starting line up eboue will be next to cesc !
He is the fucking pass master after all !
The realistic choices are ONLY 2 ! , the pass master or appiah!
Evo – I just think competition for places would only be a good thing…that and he has the experience we lack. Still not first team material though.
A fully fit Appiah is Top-class! But why are we bothering to speculate about him? Of what i’ve heard he already failed a medical at Arsenal on September 1st before he went to join his National team…
Hasn’t anyone else heard this?
helsinki – i just read some info about him how he’s still available.
whilst i definitely wanted someone in, its not Wenger’s style to just take the remaining player left over. although he is on a free, so stranger things have happened at sea!
that rhymes !
Ethan – Good point about being unproven – that’s why we need Appiah, b/c ALL our CDM candidates are unproven. Assuming that AW is not the short-sighted fool we all seem to think he is now and again, treading on AKB territory here, but AW must be thinking that either Eboue or Song is ready to make the step up that Flamini did last year. IMO That’s the only rational explanation to why he didn’t buy, and after seeing that the Piss-master isn’t really up to it, then Song would be the logical choice.
A lot of assumptions on logic there though…
Sorry to all those stuck in moderation! I’ll be back and forth all day!
Catch you later!
Ray – nope, haven’t…he’d be a bonus if we got him, but still not first team, so haven’t bothered doing any digging on him. If he failed the med, then he’s prob not signing.
Evo – stranger things HAVE happened – he did sign Bitchslap didn’t he!
Morning all what happened last night in the England game?
Song played for Cameroon at the African Nations Cup also, not only in the Olympics! And Cameroon (as you would remember) went all the way to the Final (in which Song started as a DM)!
He has proven himself good enough for me and when he’s fully recovered Wenger will play him along side of Cesc, i have no doubt!
Geoff – i intermittantly watched it switching back and forth between that and the socceroos game. it was pretty boring actually.
competition for places is fine if wenger takes heed !
how often has he played ade when he continually failed last season and this season ?
how often does he leave walcott on the bench for eboue ?!
Wenger clearly has his favorites – gallas – and toure pairing ..
You basically have to play like a mega star player for wenger to change his line up !
I agree with you normally for other clubs , chevski – man U pick there IN FORM players
but wenger continually persists with the players he rates if there in form or not !
I think for that reason jack should of gone out on loan !
he has more talent at 16 than most of the midfield put together !
he is one like theo that needs to be played regularly !
these English lads wont go anywhere ,no Spanish aspirations , so just get them up to scratch quickly ,and we would have a excellent 11 !
Geoff what happened to Khan?
signing a 20-year (Bischoff) old who’s recovering from injury and will hopefully have many years in front of him playing football isn’t as bad as signing a 27-year old (Appiah) injury-prone player…
I don’t know what happened to Khan and I still don’t know the England score!
goonermichael
khan got knocked out in 54 seconds in the first round
ill find u the link on youtube
goonermichael – here u go mate
Amir Khan gets Knocked out in 54 sec
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tQvxcGOYZFs&feature=related
2-0 England – dominated by England, but no final ball. Downing was pure shite, and Lampard gave up at least one chance to play Theo in alone, to try a long-range-hope-for-a-deflection strike. Theo had a good 1st half, but was doubled in the second.
Johnson looked good at RB, especially since he kept that cunt neville out.
Could have been better, but not too bad.
Geoff -
england won 2 -0. theo had a great first 20mins. england fans bood them off at half time.
so Fabio bring on Joe Cole and Hesky at half time and Cole got 2 goals from the bench
Thanks Raif.
I didn’t watch England Geoff. But everyone says they were rubbish. Terry said Theo is different classs somewhere.
theo played well for the whole game !
rooney fucked up at least 3 walcott crosses , delivered the cross ade style into the box !
its madness not to play theo ! for croatia ! but loved the beckham sub for lumpard !
it made my night !
capello took off lampard geoff ! and replaced him with becks in the middle of the park leaving theo on the right wing for the full 90 minutes !
lampard sitting on the bench @ the 80 minute mark spitting out water his mouth was priceless
should of been 4-0
Amir Khan gets Knocked out in 54 sec
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tQvxcGOYZFs&feature=related
ray
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_4107761,00.html
appiah passed a fitness test for his national team on friday !
Geoff
John Terry labelled Theo Walcott’s debut ‘different class’, and the England skipper told Setanta Sports that Fabio Capello will have a hard job leaving him out in Croatia.
England got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a winning start in Andorra, with substitute Joe Cole arriving off the bench to silence the boo-boys with a quick-fire brace.
Surprise starter Walcott had been the star of an otherwise drab first half, setting the tempo by roasting his marker on several occasions, and Terry hailed the contribution of the Arsenal man.
“I thought for the first 25 minutes Theo was different class,” Terry told Setanta Sports. “They doubled up on him which made it difficult for Theo so we had to switch to the other side.
“It was a great game from Theo and he’s given the manager food for thought I’m sure.”
Despite Walcott’s energy, England’s fortunes did not look good until the double substitution of Emile Heskey and Joe Cole at half time, but Terry insists Capello’s contribution was verbal, as well as practical.
“Their gameplan was to sit deep, frustrate us, get physical with us, and as I said in my press conference on Friday that makes it difficult to break down.
“It was encouraging to see our players keep trying passes. Sometimes it wasn’t coming off, but the message from the manager was to keep trying those things.
“We needed to be patient and make sure we didn’t get sucked in by our frustration, the fans were getting a little impatient, but we stayed together as players and it came right.
“Emile gave us presence up front, and Joe came on and gave us great movement and got the two goals. We’ve got great strength in depth throughout the squad, as Joleon [Lescott] proved by coming in and doing well.”
Terry accepts the performance levels have to be raised if England are to beat Croatia, who opened their campaign with a 3-0 win over Kazakhstan, but he believes confidence will be flowing through English veins in Zagreb.
“We can take confidence from this game. We lost to Croatia home and away last time so we’ve got that in the back of our minds.
“But we go there on the back of a win and we go there full of confidence.
“Croatia will be a different game, they’ll come at us, so the likes of Wayne [Rooney], Jermain [Defoe], Emile [Heskey], Lamps, they’ll all get space in which to play.”
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_4112764,00.html
YES do it ,do it !!!!!!!!!!
Fenecatche is a really good team, they always win the turkish league and they always make a good impression in the championsleague. For example they knocked sevilla out of the championsleague. He is not the best player in the world but he is good and if we sign him im sure he will do a good job for uss.
Well fantastic for Theo, bad luck for Khan, thanks guys.
that goes a long way to proving my theory, thats why we are not spending !
the company looks far better off with all the cash reserves in the clubs coffers
and all the money saved this season straight into the share holders/ boards pocket !
like DDM said you cannot re-coupe a 30 million dollar player once he is purchased by the club . its dead money .. this way on the books AFC looks 30 -50 million dollars richer .
and the price goes up accordingly + plus more ..
To prove the Stadium and the club makes HUGE money is a additional bonus to any buyer !
Any potential candidate who takes over doesn’t have to implicate a world of changes ,
the job is already done !
ethangunner -
that link about HillWood.
sounds like to me his saying he will sell if the offer is good enough. its only a matter of time now before we get some Group trying to buy us out, i dont want the russian’s tho. there dirty bit of work they are and the the way they go about there busniess. very Cut throt
Hill wood is only a nominal shareholder as far as I know. He doesn’t want the the club to sell but he’s basically saying there’s nothing he can do about it if the price is mental.
raif
everyone fear the faceless man ! im sure the glaziers were not a good public choice either
at 1st glance . We are still based in the UK , our players will all still get on , on the pitch
and if we have a better class of player and we can keep wenger im sure everything will
look brighter !
you know what i think ! i think our current board are starting to realize we may not finish top 4 this season ! and if we fall out of it the price will drop ! for me the takeover has to happen this year ! its always something i thought would happen prior to wenger leaving .
but it just adds to with this news .. I would like to see red and white holdings
(the russian ) take over as he will leave dein head of the board !
we could do far worse, the russian knows fuck all about football ! this assures me dein will make the decisions and run the club !!
and you can bet ya that dein will buy back his shares also ! im sure he only sold the russian his shares to buy more ! but the board stopped his advances with a lock down !
lock down to 2012 my ass !
they know we might lose C.L football this season and now are looking for buyers !
bring it on i say ! anything to make this club motor forward !
off to bed all. early one for me as there’s no football to watch
catch ya during the week!
cheers
I still don’t see the board as the problem, Wenger is the one who won’t spend the money.
I do however think it’s time to refresh the board and sling out the dead-wood, pardon the pun.
I’m off now Grover’s, hopefully I’ll be back later.
have to disagree geoff i like appih and think he will be a benifit to our small squad. no ones on about replacing anyone ie denilson. i think appiah would be better when we play teams like bolton,blackburn away where we need to fight and need some strength and height in midfield. surely u can see my point. people sy hes better than essien mate.
hill wood is a complete tosser i wish he would sell had enough of him. from his comments today i got the impression hes just bothered about money and what they can spend not spending it. as long as we get in top 4 hes will be happy. that extra push and 3 or 4 big signings we need he aint bothered
I think one or the other has to go !
wenger has to go (not my choice) so the club will spend and advance and compete for silverware .
Or the board is taken over , giving wenger no reason not to go out and get 3 or 4
serious top class players .. (my choice ! )
GET DEIN BACK !
anything else is hovering in limbo !
If it took Arsenal till the 2nd half to breakdown Accrington Stanley, & eventually go on to win 0-2, there would be massive outcry from Arsenal fans. It would be considered a disgraceful performance.
Ethan the consensus id that Wenger has the money but won’t spend it. new investers would just get a new manager
David Villa scored again yesterday, we really missed out
GG9….Accrington Stanley…that’s a good one.
Joe Cole’s interview after the game gave an insight into what was at play, that there weren’t any injuries, job done and to judge the team after Croatia.
They were given orders to be careful and just to take the three points. I suspect this scenario is quite commonplace, that players playing for England won’t get stuck in because there is too much at stake in their club careers should anything unfortunate occur in an England shirt.
Cole’s game was indicative of England’s mentality, it was all about getting the job done, once Cole had scored he kept defending much to Capello’s annoyance.
I really don’t believe that these players are giving their all for the England shirt, maybe a big game in Croatia will get them motivated. But lets face it, if Lampard has a poor performance for England, it’s not like Chelsea are going to give two hoots.
I’m really worried by PHW comments, we know hes awfully good at spouting rubbish and can be relied on to put his foot in it, but this is really serious talk. What he is saying is that the rest of the board would take the money if an excessive bid were made. Thats not whats been coming from the board since the ‘lock-down’, the whole point of the lock-down I thought was to stick together and thereby protect the club from a takeover.
Maybe he should be gagged – no public speaking allowed – obviously the interviewer knew hed get a stupid sound-bite from him, however his comments are now out there!!!!
Just kidding about the gagging – freedom of speech and all.
It is of no surprise that Andorra,who are the third worst team in World rankings,play the way the did,as they always do.Capello knew this,and the coach may have changed but in principle it’s the same England squad inept of ideas,and looking as if they didn’t even want to be there.Players should be played on current form,not on past reputations,and it is obvious that the players that play their club football for the so called top 4,do not perform with the same passion when on international duty.We are not a dominant force in world football,though the tabloids hype us up all the time.Capello was the wrong choice,england need a manager who the players respect and want to give their best for.There aren’t many canditates but Mourinho and even Venables are in that mould.We are now stuck with Capello and he seriously needs to look at the players available and if neccessary take risks by making changes by bringing in some of the younger players who have a desire for their country and let the prima donnas get on with their Champion league focus.To conclude,when did Englast last really play well,this has been on the cards for the last 2 years,and dramatic changes need to be made,if we are going to compete.Thank god I can watch the Arsenal ;0
I think he’s just stating the obvious peaches, that if someone came along and offered a gargantuan sack of cash for people’s shares, that he’s powerless to stop it or de-motivate shareholders from selling.
It is a sorry state of affairs because there is no protection in place regarding who might choose to buy the club, you have to be fortunate and hope the owners will not plunge Arsenal into a perpetual state of debt, or that a decoy who is sponsored by a rival club takes over for the purpose of making it less successful.
Kelsey
I absolutely agree about using younger players who I think would wear the shirt proudly and want to impress. Certainly against Andorra Capello could have put out a carling cup side with some 1st teamers on the bench.
By all accounts Theo played really well, where were the others from the under 21 side that did so well last year?
Aaaarrgghhhh decoy sponsored by a rival club!!! Thats too scary.
The board have maintained they have a love of arsenal that runs really deep, as a romantic I hope that the offer of millions for their shares will fall on deaf ears. As I’m writing this I realise that some offers would be too good to turn down.
Oh its not fair!
The fa has a fit and proper rule about who can own football clubs. What an absolute load of bollocks that is.
actually can I just point out that the fa are cunts
goonermichael
thats reassuring then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if you think song denilson and eboue are better then him you really need help
If you’ve got the money you can buy a club. Arms dealers, criminals or dodgy politicians are all eligible I’m afraid. So personally I really don’t want to jump on the money bandwagon just yet.
ok heres a ? if arsenal got taken over would you still buy a season ticket
or would you say fuck it im not going anymore
I haven’t got one. I wouldn’t but one now because I work on Saturdays so thet question is wasted on me. If Adnan koshoggi bought us I wouldn’t spend another penny on Arsenal if that answers your question. If it was an oil comapny, bank or other legitimate company then I would carry on with my (limited) financial support.
BBK
It really depends on who takes us over.
ok say it was out of kronke and usmanov they were the only 2 who would you choose
Kronke
Big Raddy,
sorry for late reply,
i meant “what are you talking about” more in reference to song, but apologise if i offended you
wenger has said he doesnt see him as a long term midfielder becausehe doesnt think he has the stamina to play there for a number of games, and he did have the opportunity to play him when cesc was out but chose eboue
i think it is more likely between denilson and diaby when he returns and song is seen as a centre back
goonermichael Says:
September 7, 2008 at 1:41 pm
The fa has a fit and proper rule about who can own football clubs. What an absolute load of bollocks that is.
whys that ? thaksin shittytwat got the boot quick enough !
he was found guilty and now has gone !
he is found guilty of corruption in thailand
and im sure the FA pushed the move for him to sell !
therefore quit !
why else would you buy a club for just 1 year ?
he didnt jump , he was pushed as they say !
Giovinco is regarded as one of Europe’s most explosive young talents, but his future at Juventus could be in limbo as he has been in a contract dispute with the club all summer.
The 21-year-old is demanding an increase in salary to €1m a year but so far the club’s management is refusing to meet his demands.
Yesterday Giovinco appeared to express his frustration at this situation when he stated: “My renewal with Juventus is not a priority and to be honest I couldn’t care less whether the contract is renewed or not.”
Giovinco has been linked with a move to Premiership giants Arsenal repeatedly over the last few months, with manager Arsene Wenger known to be a huge admirer of his creativity, flair and fantasy.
Reports in England claim that The Gunners will table a bid for the attacking midfielder in January and, due to the current contract dispute, are confident of getting their man.
Giovinco is also said to be unhappy after he was left on the bench for the entirety of Juventus’ opening day of the season draw against Fiorentina last week. With hot competition up-front for Juve, a move to Arsenal may attract him, given Wenger’s famed reputation for blooding youth.
goonermichael
Al Maktoum
Is a sultan , like royalty he isnt a gun runner FFS !
a highly respected and authoritative tribal federation that was the dominant power throughout most of what is now the United Arab Emirates. In 1833, about 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe, under the leadership of Maktoum bin Butti, took over the emirate of Dubai and established the Al Maktoum dynasty in the emirate
He apparently would be the prospective buyer they are talking about
آل مكتوم
we dont need anymore young players we need ready made,world class personell to achive things and start winning trophys again all these youngsters are not good enough for a team of our magnitude we need ready made meals not tv dinners……..
I agree. We should trust Wenger. He has shown us that there is no need to plash big money to get a good player. Don’t forget we still have Djourou who is able to cover for the defensive medfield role. I would like to add that Flamini should be thankful for his time with Wenger. The reason he was able to do well last year was due to the fact that he has been played at different positions for him to understand how to provide cover when they need help. I suppose this is what Wenger is also doing for Eboue. Players like Walcott, Diaby and many have also been played at other positions for them to get exposures of what these positions need before they flourish.
evening all!! how’s everyone doing?
TV dinners ARE ready made meals.
And as for PHW, that soundbite will have alerted cash-rich billionaires across the globe. He may as well have put an advert in the Financial Times – ‘Premiership Club For Sale’
Football’s latest billionaire tycoon, Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim, met one of Arsenal’s two biggest shareholders to consider investing £180million in the north London club earlier this year before turning his attention to Manchester City.
Dr Al Fahim, who led negotiations for the Abu Dhabi United Group’s £220m takeover of City, has admitted that he ‘looked at’ Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle before settling on City.
Alisher Usmanov
Unyielding: Arsenal’s Alisher Usmanov
More…
* At last! A threat to the real football bully boys
And The Mail on Sunday understands that meetings took place with Arsenal stakeholder Alisher Usmanov earlier this year, with a view to buying his 24 per cent holding.
The Abu Dhabi United Group would have had to pay a premium on the shares in order to gain a foothold at Arsenal, but Usmanov was only willing to sell a proportion of his stake, meaning negotiations eventually foundered.
The deal for all Usmanov’s shares could have reached £180m and would have made ADUG the biggest shareholders in Arsenal, owning marginally more then director Danny Fiszman.
It would have raised the prospect of Arsenal finally submitting to the glut of international oligarchs who have taken over Premier League clubs in the 21st century, with the club having so far resisted Usmanov’s efforts to bankroll transfers and have an input into running the club.
But with Brazilian striker Robinho joining Manchester City from Real Madrid for £32.5m in the immediate aftermath of the ADUG deal, it appears that Arsenal came close to being able to draw on the extraordinary wealth of Sheik Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the man behind ADUG.
However, Fiszman and his fellow directors, such as Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, who owns 15.9 per cent of the club, have agreed to offer first refusal on the sale of any shares to each other before selling out to foreign billionaires in a lockdown agreement which extends until 2012.
It means that it would be difficult for any outside tycoon to have a controlling interest in the club. Usmanov, who bought his stake from former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, had been frozen out by the club’s other directors, seemingly due to their antipathy towards Dein.
I thought it worth reproducing this article,take note lockdown arrangement extends until 2012
test
And The Mail on Sunday understands that meetings took place with Arsenal stakeholder Alisher Usmanov earlier this year, with a view to buying his 24 per cent holding.
The Abu Dhabi United Group would have had to pay a premium on the shares in order to gain a foothold at Arsenal, but Usmanov was only willing to sell a proportion of his stake, meaning negotiations eventually foundered.
The deal for all Usmanov’s shares could have reached £180m and would have made ADUG the biggest shareholders in Arsenal, owning marginally more then director Danny Fiszman.
It would have raised the prospect of Arsenal finally submitting to the glut of international oligarchs who have taken over Premier League clubs in the 21st century, with the club having so far resisted Usmanov’s efforts to bankroll transfers and have an input into running the club.
But with Brazilian striker Robinho joining Manchester City from Real Madrid for £32.5m in the immediate aftermath of the ADUG deal, it appears that Arsenal came close to being able to draw on the extraordinary wealth of Sheik Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the man behind ADUG.
However, Fiszman and his fellow directors, such as Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, who owns 15.9 per cent of the club, have agreed to offer first refusal on the sale of any shares to each other before selling out to foreign billionaires in a lockdown agreement which extends until 2012.
It means that it would be difficult for any outside tycoon to have a controlling interest in the club. Usmanov, who bought his stake from former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, had been frozen out by the club’s other directors, seemingly due to their antipathy towards Dein.
Ready made players cost millions, even if bought 1 or 2, it only takes and injury or two for us to have to rely on the kids again.
Look around, what we do works, while people spend 20 million on ready made players like Carrick, we spend pittance on Fabregas and who’s better ? The only difference here is that teams above us ahve bought 4-5 of these players at 20 million a pop each we simply can’t compete like for like.
The yongsters need a chance, this Appiah thing may or may not be true, but either way it could work out.
Shinawatra sold because his assets were being frozen by the Thai Ggovernment. The fa can’t even charge red nose with improper conduct. How could they have anything to do with Sinatra leaving? Where did I say I had anything against Arabs?
Evening all!
I suggest giving him a year long pay-as-you-play deal. People have said that his knees are shot but didn’t people also say that about Marc Overmars before he signed?
By giving him a deal like this deal we have nothing to lose. If he doesn’t play then he doesn’t get paid, simple. We then wont get stuck with an injured player eating up the wage bill.
In my eyes if Amaury Bischoff is worth a gamble then Appiah most certainly is too. He is a player who is different to anything we have at the moment in the squad and will add depth to a midfield light in numbers.
Who knows, he may prove a great signing and we could end up with a very good player in our hands who at the age of 27 is experienced as well as talented.
Appiah could be over his injury, signing for Arsenal would provide him with a new lease of life. He may then even regain his form of old.
Groovers,there is something going on at the Arsenal.Dein is stepping down as chairman of Usmanov’s Red and White,as the board won’t entertain any bid while he is there.On the otherhand Hill Wood says the lockout clause remains until 2012,but says he will listen to any proposals regarding the future of the club.
By the way Grovers,
I’ve written a tounge in cheek piece about the Spuds not having any players playing for England last night.
I expect a back-lash!
Any support would be grateful!!!!!!
Hope you dont mind me maybe borrowing a Le-Grover or two Pedro and Geoff!
Evening chaps!
‘PHW issues a come and buy me plea!’
What a way to come out and say it?
Looks like we’ll be joining the Premiership gravy train sooner than we thought… I am pretty sure the lock down agreement isn’t legally binding?
Very naughty…
PHW is?
Never mind. I figured it out.
Looks like everyone missed that it was my post today! haha!
I just saw Khan get knocked out… brutal!
Evening Pedro,
Khan was proper sparked out!
Do you reckon that PHW will sell out but only when Dein steps down as he is rumoured to do?
I want a cash injection but not a complete take over!
Cant I have both!
Here Grovers,
follow on screen instructons and check this out!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk7CxHCasts
What did Peter Hill Wood issue ? I’m sure he was just commentating that not everyone’s going to share the same views about Arsenal.
Wrighty, I’m not sure what is going on… but I could imagine Usmanov selling for a premium… but I can’t think of many richer than him? I think he is worth £9billion? Berovsky isn’t interested anymore… that Mexican chap has never been linked and I don’t think the indian guy worth £60billion is interested in football?
I’m not for the takeover… I like what Arsenal stand for, but if it happened… I’ll just accept it as keeping up with the Jones’
Fizzers speaks a lot of truth here:
“You either believe in Arsene or you don’t, and at Arsenal we do. We believe in the way he manages our club.
“In fact, we believe Arsene has the best football job in the world. During the transfer window there was £30m for Arsene to spend on a player if he wanted to.
“It’s his head on the block in the end, but we have total confidence in him and his record at Arsenal supports our belief in him.
“When you look at the average life of a manager you can understand the mentality of so many who say: ‘I’ve got to buy the finished article now because I haven’t got time to develop my own players’.
“But right from the start Arsene never actually went down that route. His words to us when we first met him were ‘I want to leave Arsenal in better shape than when I came’.
As long as whoever comes in respects what Wenger is all about, I’ll be happy.
If they came in and allowed us to compete on salaries… that would be a good thing right?
Keyser:
“If somebody came and made a really huge bid then you cannot recommend shareholders turn it down because we don’t like it.
“We want the club to stay in its current ownership and, of course, you have some concern that someone will try to buy the club.
“The directors don’t want to sell but we are a public company. It depends on the price.”
Pedro,
This is the last Youtube I post on here today mate….Promise!!
For some reason I find this one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euPal-TkA1w
Usmanov is like the 18th richest person in Russia, has a fortune of just under 3 biillion, or that’s what he’s worth according to wikipedia and Forbes as of 2007.
We have to be extremely carefull when it comes to takeovers, it doesn’t take much to de-stabilise a club to the point where it may never recover again.
The Peter Hill-Wood thing, couldn’t he just be saying that if someone puts in an over the odds bid for Arsenal he can’t just dismiss it out of hand because the board doesn’t like it, everyone will have to be consulted.
Arsenal’s growth could be phenomenal moneywise, we’re one of the best prospects for investment out there, wasn’t David Dein’s initial investment only something like a couple of hunfred thousand, I wish I’d bought shares then.
As a fan I like the idea that we’re supposedly punching above our weight, it’s a challenge, it’ll mean more in the long run and at the end of the day we see some of the best football played in the World.
A brunette, a redhead, and a blonde were on their way to Heaven. God told them that the stairway to Heaven was 1000 steps, and that on every 25th step he would tell them a joke.
He told them not to laugh at any of the jokes along the way or else they would not be able to enter heaven.
The brunette went first and started laughing on the 150th step, so she could not enter heaven.
The redhead went next and started laughing on the 350th step, so she could not enter heaven either.
Then, it was the blonde’s turn. When she got to the 999th step, she started laughing hysterically.
“Why are you laughing?” God asked. “I didn’t even tell a joke.”
“I know,” the blonde replied. “I just got the first one.”
i worked out that shares in 2007 and in 2008 have risen probably over 20%
for instance PHW owns a lousy 0.80% or 500 shares valued in 2007 at 3.2 mil quid
but todays value has them at over 4.1 mil !
so what happens if we lose C.L football ?
and next year are out of the top 4 ?
Im betting a take over wont be far away !
and thank fuck for that !
people are worried about a take over and running us into debt !
well it wont happen ! we arent QPR or wolves !
‘we are arsenal’ im sure there are several differing clientel just waiting to buy us up !
and how can a billionaire run us into debt ?
there might be a point he will stop investing in the club heavily
but if said party give wenger a huge kitty to spend , im sure wenger
would love it !
wenger is making do ! make no bones about it !
he is a winner !
these clowns (the board) know they are living on borrowed time !
if your all honest we’ve all known about it for 2 or 3 years now !
AFC cannot compete with its rivals !
it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work it out !
This is the only viable move for all parties !
Sell up … before you crash and burn !
You’ve made some good points there Ethan!
Why would you run a club into needless debt (Unless you were selling it back to yourself and leveraging the debt)?
If the chosen Billionaire takes over, decides not to invest… they will have the great business model to fall back on… I guess that is what makes us so attractive.
I also don’t think a Billionaire would be interested in taking money out of the business… what is £50million a year to a billionaire? Surely you could get better returns from other businesses? Is that naive? Is £50million a year profit a great return on a £700million investment? Bearing in mind that you probably couldn’t take that whole £50million if you wanted to keep up with everyone else?
What would you prefer, and Arab consortium with a trillion quid or a sports tycoon like Stan?
Keyser, Dein didn’t ever pay for his £400k’s worth of shares apparently… and I like it that we punch above our weight… but there comes a point where you get sucker punched… then you might find yourself out for the count for more than a season…
I thought that the boards agreement to “lock down” and not sell shares was only a 12 month agreement, where did 2012 come from??
It is in my opinion just a matter of time before the club sells out. Will it be a good thing or a bad thing? I guess it’s like the people who call for Wengers head and want him out, you wont know if it was a good move until after it happens???
Just to tag onto my last post. I certainly would prefer the likes of Kroenke taking over versus a bunch of Arabs. As Pedro stated, at least with Kroenke we get a genuine sporting man as opposed to being the expensive play toy of some fucking Arab!!!
Ethan
Do you think Arsene’s ‘experiment’ of creating a trophy winning team comes from not being able to spend money on experienced players?
Where is the joy of having a winning team that is an amalgamation of super stars?
I have spent the last four years rubbishing chelski and all they stand for, at least red-nose recognises raw talent and buys a mix of experience and inexperience. Lets see if berbatov can fit into the man u team and be of use to them, i still reckon he would have done better to come to us.
Each time we go through the torture of an england game we see how using just talent doesn’t work. You need a heart and spirit and chemistry for a team to be successful, I don’t believe you can buy that to slot into our team. Look at how much the spuds spend and how successful are they!!!!!
Pedro
Wheres the info about Dein not paying for his shares? You might need to be careful there . . . . xx
Hey Pedro and Geoff, I just posted a comment and I’ve received no message that it’s in moderation, I tried posting it again but it recognises it as a duplicate, have you received it?
Geoff knows the details, but I am pretty sure Dein bought the shares without paying cash upfront… as a loan type thing… then he never ended up paying for them? I don’t think anyone would begrudge him that though… he did an amazing job for us.
Hounddog, I am sure the lock down was always 4 years… but I don’t think it is legally binding? I think it is like a gentleman’s agreement or something like that?
I think Kroenke taking over would be best for the club… he would be less likely to meddle in the clubs dealings. I can see an Arab/Russian consortium buying players behind the managers back…
Peaches, I am sure the Chelsea fans don’t give a rats arse about doing it the hard way… the same way the Madrid, Barca and Milan fans don’t care. In this business, it’s all about trophies… and I’d take a few at this point in time!
I’m not for the club being in debt. look at the debt Man united in…..a few weeks ago I remember the vitriol of many sniggering at the situation they’ve been forced into by Glazer. I wouldn’t want the same happening to Arsenal. if they were debt free, make no mistake about it, they would never have to consider money. They have to now.
Manchester United have a global fan base of 50 million, Arsenal’s is big but it’s a fraction of Manchester United’s, their global income compared to Arsenal’s is huge. If Arsenal had the burden of Manchester United’s debts it could cripple the club.
A huge level of debt and poor performances are a huge risk, we cannot rely on a future where Arsenal will always be a top 4 club, if the competition improves and Arsenal have Chelsea level debts, we couldn’t always rely on an emergency sale to a rich owner.
Mohamed Al Fayed is an example of a very wealthy owner who hasn’t had the impact in the Premier league you might associate with a billionaire owner.
Have it large, splash the cash and trophys are bound to stack up in Arsenal’s cabinet, simple as…?
Finest… so what do you do?
Stan the man would leverage the debt against the club… but run it like a business and let the manager get on with it…
The arabs would buy it out right, and just use us as a hobby… and probably buy players for the manager…
What do you do apart from hope Platini brings in those new rules sharpish!
quite a conversation going on here.. mind if i say something?
the focus is primarily on the premier league.. billionaires buying clubs and the premier league is getting targetted.. it is becoming a very very popular league..
I am not from England, but the coverage that the PL gets compared to the La liga and the Serie A is just massive. Football means the PL mostly in India, you would be hardpressed to find a lot of people supports clubs other than the top 4!!
Sports Channels mostly show PL games!
Now Platini and FIFA boys will not be happy with the kind of attention the PL is getting, attracting all the top players. Each country’s FA or the equivalent will be pointing this out. They will not want the PL to dominate World Football. I am sure they will enforce some kind of rule which limits how a football club does its transfers.
If not it surely means that the other leagues are seriously in danger!!
I think it is cyclical Choy… every league has it’s moment in the sun… then another league jumps on board.
The problem UEFA is facing now is that all the money is in the premiership… and they are going to struggle to move it out. Billionaires want to live in the UK because apparently the UK is the best place to be if you are a billionaire these days (So I saw on BBC news…)
So it doesn’t matter what you do to the prize money, quota’s or anything else… the billionaires are here to stay!
Well, that is what I think anyway!
Evening Pedro,the 2 articles from the mail didn’t get posted initially,that’s why i added another one.Maybe something is afoot,as I don’t believe the Man City deal happened overnight,these royals plan things out.
Choy,Hi there,i am going to a Dell distributer tomorrow
Bid you all goodnight off to watch the tennis
the one redeming thing i can say about appaih, and i don’t for one minute think we are in for him, is that he is a better free addition than bitchslap, which isnt much of a reccomendation.
Pierre… I bet you Bitchslap is a revelation…
You know it’s going to happen! We’ve all given Wenger so much flak for him…
hello pierre and kelsey.. just trying to watch a movie.. but i keep getting bored or rather can’t seem to step away from le grove… hahaha
pedro…. yeah the billionaires get a lot of visibility.. and a statement too i guess.
“oh i own a PL club”
Pierre, and just what are you basing that assumption/fact on??
I think we’ll get him.. if the press are to be believed we did try to get alonso and inler before the window shut.. I am sure wenger did not like the price to value ratio.. also doesn’t help that we have 3 players vying for the same position.
Now here comes player who we’ve supposedly tracked for quite a while who is “experienced” and is on a free..!!
wenger must be jumping up and down..
Sorry to take the debate off course guys:
But wouldn’t it be sweet if Theo kept Bentley out of the England squad?
If only…..
hey Himpressive .. haha.. like rico says that would be the mutts nuts!!!
Choy, Wenger would have snapped him up 2 years ago if he was good enough… in my opinion anyway…
I don’t think we registered an interest back then either… so there is no hope of a Baptista type second bite at the cherry.
Hounddog, are you based in Germany? What is your feel for our new Werder boy?