I speak to you today having decided to play ‘Championship Manager’ for once, as I’m often being accused of it, today I decided to play it, what do you think?
Melo is the latest hot rumour, apart from a you tube snippet and a reasonable showing in FIFA’s version of the Worthless cup how many of you Grovers had ever seen or even heard of Melo? If I’m being honest, I hadn’t.
Why then are so many of you happy that we are on the verge of signing him? Why, I’ll tell you why, it’s because deep down you all know that what we currently have in that position is simply not good enough, but many don’t want to say it for fear of saying the manager (not me) has come up short with his belief in a few young ‘uns.
As I am now the expert in the game, ‘Championship Manager’ I can speak with some authority and a degree of clarity.
My question is, if we have been tracking him since his Almeria days (Almeria is where they make the Spaghetti westerns) then why did we wait until he was worth £15 million before we got interested, yes I know we tried in January, but even then he was being touted at £15 million.
Okay, I believe we need an enforcer and at 6′ tall and playing for Brazil alongside the great Gilberto he does seem to fit the bill, the ones he will be replacing will be good back up and if not we should at least get our money back on them should we choose to.
If it’s not Melo, then maybe Cana, Diarra or Inler, but frankly anyone that can do the holding job will do me, it’s the one thing we desperately need to push on, now that we have a decent defender anyway.
Diaby is putting in the extra hours in the gym to bulk up and that I applaud, why then don’t Denilson and Song do likewise, or why doesn’t Ade go to offside and finishing school?
Better news is we are close to agreeing a new deal for the boy wonder and that pleases me, well done Robin, we need you, you will be a star in the years to come, after all the Mancs wanted you, so you can’t be all bad!
I was really impressed with Gibbs last night and can see that maybe now we have a potential left winger in the making, so we are blessed on that flank with Traore, Vela and Rosicky all queueing up.
Getting Melo in the middle we also have the protector we so need and with Nasri, Cesc and Diaby there too we have plenty in reserve, Theo out wide still needs some help and if Eboue goes then we do need to bring in an out and out winger on the right. With Ramsey and Wilshere also in there we now have many options in midfield.
Ade now has Roma after him him and that’s good news, I get the feeling he is disruptive and I would have Nikki B over him all day long, plus he would fund Melo and that winger.
Sakho in for Eboue and the money we get from Senderos, and we have the makings of a championship winning side, and as an expert in ‘Championship Manager’ I really should know!
Finally I really believe that fringe players like Denilson, Song, Wilshere and Ramsey would all improve having such good players in there to learn from, I also think they would not have the pressure on their young shoulders when drafted in to do a job, leaving them in there for 40 games a season cannot be good for them or their confidence, signing Melo and Vermaelen is a shrewd move as they are older and better than what we currently have, but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, we need to keep either Gallas or Kolo, but we can get shot of Silvestre, Eboue and Adebayor.
I get the feeling that once the under 21′s and the Confederation cup have finished, we will conclude our business, but signing Hitzelwhateverhisnameis is buying for the sake of buying, him for me would serve no purpose other than to bring in yet another average midfielder and at the moment we are well stocked in that department.
Build from the back boss, the rest will take care of itself, our attacking midfielders and our forwards for me are the best in the world.
And that my friends concludes my masterclass into the game they call ‘Championship Manager’
Have a great day, tomorrow Pedro posts!
The wolves left back who was missing all of last season. He was just showing off on sky sports. He is fucking huge! He must have seriously hit the gym. Cant find a picture tho.
Maybe he don have one and he will chose one depending on which one gets him the most monies.
That Akinbiyi was all muscle and erm, not much else werent he!
Good old Arsenal.com advertising Arsenal tv as part of Setanta package.
And… who da fook is this Melo fella anyways??? Bet most peeps are judgin him based on this crappy Confed Cup anyways…
We shud snap up Nicky Butt or Didi Haaman, pronto!
I’d have Hamann no problem but Nicki Butt? HA!
Italian side AS Roma are eager to provide a home for forward Jose Antonio Reyes should Benfica decide not to pick up the player’s option.
Accoridng to one of the 25-year-old’s representatives, Reyes’ agents will be speaking to the Giallorossi to get a better understanding of their interest in their client.
“We are looking for a club for Reyes,” stated Dario Canovi on 24oredisport.it. “We are waiting to finish up some details and then will meet with AS Roma.”
Benfica only own 25% of Reyes’ right and must pay Atletico Madrid 6.5m euros if they want to retain the forward on a permanent basis.
The Portuguese side’s director of football Rui Costa has admitted that the club would like to keep the Spanish international, but not at any cost.
Oh Reyes…. Never really fullfilled that humougous potential did he? Just goes to show, football is a funny old fickle game, not arf, marvelous…
Meds kickin in, Im off…
Ooh, before i slip into a pharmaceutical induced coma…
I bet we are linked with even more players, seeing Wenger’s comments earlier today… Starting tomorrow, you just watch…see if I’m right… coz I will be… bet on it… go on, I dare ya?
I think the Sun, Sport.co.uk and FansFC will be browsing every Arsenal blog tonight to find players that some people suggest. If Hamaann(sp) and Butt pop up, we all know who to blame!
We need Cana. He is the protection Cesc and the back four need while every other team in the prem will absolutely fear. He has a great reputation as a teammmate, captain and will run through a wall for his side. Tha fans would adore him and he is the perfect compliment to give this team the muscle and spine it needs
Morning all
Does anyone have an update on the state of Setanta, I heard it had ceased trading, & now one @ our cable network has heard anything
*no one
Goerge, all i know is that they lost their rights to the prem and UFC. Other than that i dont know anything,
Cheers stu.
Gary it certainly sounds like Cana ticks all the boxes. Cana, Melo, both sound like they like to get up close & personel if needed
If we were to only get one then i would prefer Cana. Simply because Cana plays the lone DM role whereas Melo has Gilberto and I think Liverani at Fiorentina who both do the sitting job. They sit deep and Melo does he closing down.
Plus, believe it or not Cana seems to have the better disciplinary record. Melo got 17/3 last season. Cana only has at most 2 reds total.
Cana can also go int the back four if needed which he has already done. He is a Roy Keane/Viera like enforcer in the middle of the park and only had onr red and I think seven yellows
Cana will also raise hell with anyone who tries to coastthrough the Boltons,Stokes,etc. Leading by example and notafraid to call someone out as well.
We should all keep in mind that the Cana clip that we all know and love was made up of years of football. I havent seen him live much but when i have he hasnt been crazy at all.
I dont doubt that he would be up for a battle should it be needed but i think he is a lot cooler that his clips suggest.
Anyone know if we get any sell on fee from the Stuart Taylor transfer from Villa to Citeh?
hey Geoff tell your friend wenger check on marcus berg
http://premiershipreviews.blogspot.com/2009/06/sweden-5-1-belarus-euro-u21-champ.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Berg
before he’ll cost 15+ millions i mean
scored another 2 yesterday
Where is everyone?
I’m here, always am. Just watching, quietly, from the shadows.
So you’re not like Wenger…you “always” see it?
We do have similar traits, but not that one Iceman!
Haha!!
Morning mate.
Is AW bigging up Barbie because he’s ready to flog the offside king?
Morning all,
Barbie is the shit
Why wont he buy a midfielder he has to know lets just hope it happens soon!
I would hope so but I don’t see anyone making an offer for the Togo twat, no fucker likes him, if we sold him it would start the merry go round.
Inler’s back in the mix now!
I’ll buy the prick!
No one is willing to pay what he was worth last season, and now with all the crazy money changing hands Wenger won’t sell him for cheaper.
Geoff
I would hope so but I don’t see anyone making an offer for the Togo twat, no fucker likes him, if we sold him it would start the merry go round.
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WE PAID 7 MILLION FOR THE PRICK YEARS AGO
would it really start the round about ?
or would 7 go missing straight away ?
leaving us with the additional 50 pence we made on him
Iceman is the inler link on goal.com? or has it made it into the papers?
You could all be right, but I have a feeling Wenger will let him go as the incoming players arriving depend on it.
I just hope he buys someone as what we currently have is definitely not good enough.
Who’s Barbie?
What a shitty day
Now back home with a Peroni in hand. Thats better 
well at least wenger is honest
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_5398391,00.html
I hate the way Wenger keeps telling us getting into 2 semis last year was an achievement, losing them was a fucking disaster, that’s what he should be thinking.
Bendtner Gnarley.
Oh, its Little Nicky
I never knew that Geoff.
ethan bollox to that no one asked him to spend £100m in the first place. Excuses, excuses, excuses
was xabi alonso’s price £100m last season?
u can fool some ppl sometime but not everyone everytime
well geoff i hope that once and for all shows you
its you beloved board that have been holding out on splashing the cash not wenger ….
However the former Monaco manager warns fans that their policy of unearthing promising youngsters rather than buying the finished article will continue next season.
“I’m fed up with people who think I have £100million in the bank yet don’t want to spend it,” he told the club’s official magazine.
“How can people think that?
The ade exit stories are hotting up. I know our Thai connection will be happy
I really think he will go too this time.
He just wheels out the same old bollox and the same time of the year……
So what happened to all the prize money, gate receipts and TV stuff, bollocks he has no money.
yeah the board asked wenger to spend £5m on Aaron Ramsey
how many more youngsters does he want to unearth? we have merida, wilshere already if we are so broke why sign another 16yr old for £5m?
defeatist talk b4 the season starts. if u dont have money then sell ur love children
i never did wenger ..
you are responsible for some poor choices on the pitch last season,subing and team selections, but i was never stupid enough to believe you controlled the fianance’s as well as the football ..
you would truly be the best manager in the world if you could be trusted like that …
and the board wouldnt be in business if they did ..
There is most likely £100 million in Stan or the uzbecks bank tho. In other words if they want something bad enough they will always find the money, but they obviously don’t. Does that make sense
Kingsely..
Saw it on goal.com mate.
into paying off 412 million in debt ..
where has everything gone the past few years !!
i said this stadium would kill us years ago ..
and it has !!!!
gnarleygeorge9
There is most likely £100 million in Stan or the uzbecks bank tho.
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agreed GG9 , but no fucker will commit until they get % control .. and until that day , it will burn a hole in there sky rocket ..
He’s def on his way out.
One too many stories.
Inter/Milan/Roma/Chavs.
Oh well.
Good riddance to bad bullshit I say!!
wenger is really beginning to take the piss. no one has asked him to spend £100m
yeah u dont have £100m but i doubt the board prevented u from spending £16m for Xabi last season?
if u have up to £30m in the bank a few deadwood sales could ensure that u get the needed quality players.
stop hiding behind smoething u refuse to make clearer
accounts tell me that u had at least £30m to spend last season but u didnt until arshavin’s arrival u were had a net surplus from transfer activity
** something
** u had a net
Bullshit from Wenger.
Franchise
wenger is really beginning to take the piss. no one has asked him to spend £100m
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you dont get it do you ? it means wenger understands what the fans want him to do , and he also is sort of saying the figure it would take to compete with the chevs ..
wenger got 12.9 mil in prize money this season
(minus tax ) and he has spend 11 million of it .
id say that is all the prize money spent already ..we are now doing what geoff said , waiting for someone to be sold before he can tinker more !!!
i dont know what your on about really ..
he is not manager – accountant and chief bottle washer !
im just thankful he has finally came out and
said what needed to be said , and here i was thinking id have to wait until his auto biography before i knew the truth !!!
new post right ??
duke what ???
i am no AKB !
but if you really want me to start , lets face it
you really dont know the meaning of the world manager !
he isnt the man responsible for turning a profit at Afc . he manages the football club ONLY …
if he says he hasnt got 100 million to spend when clearly arsenal debt is 412 million currently , you would be pretty fucking foolish to not believe him !
for melo it will be a great sign for us, for adebayo let him go because we dont feel it inpact since we have players like ashavin, van persie,eduado, bentner and vela then let him go please and allow these player to showcase thier talent.