Morning Grovers, firstly, can I just confirm that whining doesn’t always get you what you want. The only encounter I’ve had with a fox since yesterday is the bastard that deposited a strategic turd on a house plant I’d placed out in the back garden. If there were a sport of the species, Foxes would be national champions at strategic shitting…
Firstly, I just want to share the bad news. Barca can’t afford Ribery, so they’ve decided to go for the cheaper option of Cesc,
“Ribery was a player we were interested in at a logical price but Bayern don’t want to sell.
“If they are interested in selling, we are interested in buying but if not, then we will look to Fabregas.
“Compared to him there is no available alternative left in the market, so we will see what happens.
So, Cesc is apparently the only player left on the market… a great confidence boost that he is seen as Barca’s last resort. Oh, and they seem to think they can pick him up for a more logical price than Ribery? How deluded is Laporta? Cesc is 21, on of the best talents in Europe, he has a Spanish premium on his and a 8 year contract… and he wants to stay?
What an idiot…
Anyway… the sun is shining and it’s Friday, so I thought I’d send you into the weekend on a high note. So today, I will be mainly focusing on the scary possibility of ’satisfaction’.
Imagine it Grovers, finishing the summer… and you’re satisfied with the business that’s been done?
Imagine heading into the season and thinking,
‘You know what, I think the coach has done a great job in the window… and if anything, our squad might be a little too deep?’
Wouldn’t that be grand? Wouldn’t it give everyone a buzz?
It would me. I’ve always said that as long as Arsenal put the maximum effort into the summer and the team looks capable, I wont be too disheartened if we don’t win the league. A sustained challenge on the Premiership is what we’re looking for next season – players that are good enough from the off is what we’ve craved for so long… being in the mix for every competition should be the goal.
That’s the way a club of Arsenal’s stature should be run.
It bores me to tears when I read that I am part of the ‘I want it now’ generation.
I’m part of the generation of Arsenal fan who believes that if you’re going to do something, do it to the best of your ability. Last season, swathes of Gooners saw the writing on the wall in August… that’s why there was so much anger and resentment in May.
The sense of urgency shown by the fans should never be frowned upon… and I think if Leonardo Da Vinci was still around, he’d agree…
‘I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.’
If urgency is good enough for a Teenage Mutant Hero Turtle, then it’s damn well good enough for me. Jokes aside, it’s a serious point… the time for knowing and talking about potential has gone… it’s time to start showing.
Last summer many critiqued Le Grove for the predictions forecast… those people never came back to eat humble pie, did they? Instead they blamed us for the negativity (Can I just say, I truly believe it is farcical the power some people apportion to blogs)!
Well, hopefully we wont have to make miserable predictions this year because the way things are going so far this summer, I don’t think we’ll need to.
We’ve bought a centre back of a ripe age… I don’t know too much about him, but from what I’ve seen… he looks to have the grit and edge we’ve lacked last season. If rumour is to be believed, we’re also on the trail of an unknown ex French under 21 captain who we’re about to pluck from relative obscurity… firstly, I’m excited because it appears after snaring the captain of Ajax, we are about to lure in another leader. I found this report on him (That’s such a lie… one of the Grovers did),
‘Matuidi would bring a great footballing brain, stunning awareness, solid midfielding defensive, a superb partner in the center midfield for Cesc Fabregas and his best aspect is his perceptive passing. Arsenal really need all those traits that Matuidi has, and he would be sure to fill the role of Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva.’
It also looks like we’re doing our best to shift on Senderos and Eboue. Marvellous. Its about time Wenger started getting ruthless with players who clearly aren’t going to make it. We’re a football club, not a charity.
I’m also excited to read that Theo might be played more centrally. I think he found an edge to his game towards the end of last season… against Chelsea, he was all over the place, shooting, tackling… making runs. This should be his year…
Carlos Vela will get more games. He is the real magic in the strike force. Even RVP can’t match him for the outrageous… if he can stay tactically disciplined and work on the defensive side of his game, he’ll be immense.
Adebayor should be off… I’m hoping his departure will release the weight hanging off Nik B’s shoulders… in the same way it did for the Togan when Thierry left. I’ve always thought there is a great striker waiting to break out… and I think we’ll see that this year with some hard working performances… I reckon he’ll get 20 this year!
I think we’ll see more of Rambo. If Eboue goes, I think that gives Wenger the chance to blood the young Welshman out wide for a year. He has pace, trickery and an eye for a screamer. He’ll toughen up this summer and I’d expect him to lay down his marker for the year ahead this coming preseason.
There are also all the other players that will ramp up their performances this year. Arshavin will be with us from the off, Rosicky will be contending again (I’m not impressed that his come back date has already been pushed out till autumn… especially as he was moaning he didn’t get to play in May), Eduardo will demonstrate his Croatian form in the league and we have the likes of RvP, Cesc, Clichy, Nasri, Sagna and Willy G who will all hopefully do the business when surrounded by top talent.
Then there is the token kid who comes through. This year it was Gibbs… next year I am hoping for Jack Wilshere to make an impact somewhere along the way. If not him, maybe JET, maybe Tom Cruise… can you imagine the headlines I could make up if Tom Cruise and JET played together… if only we had a player called Goose…
So… I’m getting excited, and hope you guys are to! I don’t think we’ll be worrying about August 31st blues this year!
Have a great day Grovers, I’m off to hose down my pot plant… Geoff will be back with a ripper of a post tomorrow!
P.S. Ryan sent me in a picture of a table his girlfriend made him for his birthday… you’ve got her well trained Ryan… see here!
Le Grove is now smart phone compatible!
Pedro
Geoff
July 10, 2009 at 09:07
Panchod and bakrichod !
July 10, 2009 at 09:07
Get in!!!
July 10, 2009 at 09:08
first
July 10, 2009 at 09:08
badda-bing, badda-boom!!
July 10, 2009 at 09:08
bastard
July 10, 2009 at 09:08
You sneaky fuckers!
July 10, 2009 at 09:08
sly little bastard Duke
July 10, 2009 at 09:08
Topolino
July 10, 2009 at 09:08
4th
July 10, 2009 at 09:08
cock!
July 10, 2009 at 09:08
hahahah, you should never post 1st or first as you might end up with egg on your face
July 10, 2009 at 09:10
You lose too Duke – ha ha !
July 10, 2009 at 09:11
Ouef sur le visage aussi Duke !
July 10, 2009 at 09:13
Geoff – That TMNT joke provoked a serious nose laugh over here! Nearly snotted on my screen! Bravo!
P.S. I fucking hate Mexico the pig aids generating wankers! No, I dont have swine flu, but their draw with fucking Panama, yes Panama, cost me over £500! Wankers!
July 10, 2009 at 09:13
TAIG, it’s a Pedro post today!
July 10, 2009 at 09:17
chary, that’s cheating, but as you see I didn’t post 1st
July 10, 2009 at 09:17
Morning all, I love the positivity of the post, but I can’t see how we have fixed one of our biggest flaws, that being; the pass to the wing and curling a header in. It was so predictable last year with zero effect, except against West Brom. I hate to say it but we missed Hleb (the cunt) we miss that creativity.
July 10, 2009 at 09:18
Pedro, but why does it say Geoff? Not only stealing jokes but also posts now?
July 10, 2009 at 09:18
Chary how did you do that?
July 10, 2009 at 09:20
I was about to write that it seemed like a Pedro post. Obviously the fox part helped (and thank you for the pic yesterday). Also Rosicky has said he’ll be back in the first team by autumn. Before that he’ll make sub appearances. Also he said he’s in better shape than when he joined arsenal.
July 10, 2009 at 09:20
chary, oeuf dans la figure
July 10, 2009 at 09:20
I am interested to see who we bring into the squad still.
More important to me is when this happens.
Ideally within the next week.
Also did anyone notice no Ade or Toure in the pre season training?
July 10, 2009 at 09:22
The weather’s improved here, there’s a positive post on le grove, and im going drinking in the evening… good day!
July 10, 2009 at 09:22
when does autumn start in england?
anyway i really like ur post pedro!
July 10, 2009 at 09:22
i like this upbeat post, geoffrey
lets have more of these… we are the arsenal.. all else are beneath us and we should rejoice in this.
July 10, 2009 at 09:23
Banging Post Pedro!!
July 10, 2009 at 09:23
Mark C, no, but well spotted mate.
July 10, 2009 at 09:26
aahhh haaa, was confused… read that post and straight away thought it beared all the positvive hallmarks of pedro… but it says posted by geoff????
July 10, 2009 at 09:27
Pedro – Its got Geoff’s name on it. Was he just the messenger? Anyway, like I said, nothing like a good nose laugh!
July 10, 2009 at 09:28
Really positive on this slightly dull Friday and I owe it to this post
we really do have a superb squad, one more edition and were ready.
July 10, 2009 at 09:29
I AM VERY EXCITED AND VERY HAPPY TODAY….
WE ARE GOING TO SIGN MATUIDI AND CESC IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE AT ALL!!! TO HELL WITH THE TABLOID PRESS AND MARCA.
DOES ANYONE OF YOU REMEMBER WHEN ARSENAL PLAYED AC MILAN AND CESC SCORED FROM A SCREAMER AND RAN DIRECTLY TO ARSENE WENGER. DO YOU REMEMBER THE CUDDLING AND CELEBRATION THAT FOLLOWED(LIKE FATHER AND SON).WENGER WILL NEVER SELL HIM….I CAN BET ON THIS ONE …
RVP SUPPOSEDLY SPOKE TO GAZIDIS AND ARSENE BEFORE COMMITTING HIMSELF TO ARSENAL AND I KNOW CESC WILL COME BACK SIGN A BETTER RENEWED CONTRACT AND STAY…
MARK MY WORDS!!!!!!
HAVE A LOVELY SUNNY DAY ALL YA’ LE-GROOVERS!
July 10, 2009 at 09:29
Hey Gents, We already know Cesc does not want to leave cos thats what he said & he has given us no reason to doubt him. So its up to Arsenal if they want to consider the offers from Madrid or Barca. So the question is would Arsenal sell Cesc for 40mil?
July 10, 2009 at 09:30
Stonroy, it’s magic !
But well said Pedro, but I think you should let rip at LAporta a bit more, you were too soft on him.
Lapoirta’s attitude stinks – I used to think that Barca had more class than RMadrid(General Franco’s boys) but they’re no better.
July 10, 2009 at 09:31
Kenya, yup fabregas is a loyalist and is going to see out his contract. Just wish his mates at Barca didn’t call him to join the party every season.
July 10, 2009 at 09:33
Do we have anything else to go on apart from a spurious report by the Daily Mail that Rosicky’s start date has been pushed out until autumn?
July 10, 2009 at 09:33
Chary, even I can’t believe that a club that has such high principles about playing football have none about the transfer market.
July 10, 2009 at 09:34
The single species Ornithorhynchus anatinus of the family Ornithorhynchidae in the order Monotremata, which occurs in eastern Australia and Tasmania. This mammal is a monotreme, which lays eggs and incubates them in a manner similar to birds. The platypus is also known as the duckbill, duckmole, and water mole. One of the most primitive mammals, it retains some reptilian characteristics. The female lacks a marsupium; however, marsupial or epipubic bones are well developed.
Ornithorhynchus is well adapted to aquatic life. It ranges from the tropical, sea-level streams to cold lakes at altitudes of 6000 ft (1800 m). It is covered with short dense fur, typical of many aquatic mammals; the external ears are lacking; and the tail is broad and flattened, resembling that of the beaver (see illustration). The rubbery bill is covered with a highly sensitive skin. There are no teeth, but horny ridges are used for crushing food and grubbing on the bottom of rivers. See also Monotremata.
July 10, 2009 at 09:34
stonroy, I was watching some highlights from the 07/08 season and I agree we missed that cunt Hleb. He was involved in so many goals even though he couldn’t shoot himself. He turned defenders inside out and laid plenty of goals on a plate for Adebayor.
July 10, 2009 at 09:37
I am really not excited by signing Matuidi!! Does anyone actually think this young kid is gonna help steer us towards the EPL title? Does anyone think he has the potential to, this year, shackle the likes of Rooney, Lampard, Essien, Gerrard, Alonso etc etc???? It will be another player that might be god in 3 or 4 years time (at which point we would sell him) but this year will offer us no more than the likes of Denilson or Song!! And considering our best DM turned out to be Song by the end of last year and the fcat that we will be losing him for January and February means that Wenger is placing far too much expectancy on the shoulders of this kid during a period where we have to play Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool, Champs League games and FA Cup games!!
If this is Wengers answer to our DM problems and is the signing of a player that fits the criteria when he said he will sign experienced players then its a fucking joke!!
July 10, 2009 at 09:39
London – not really, just 61 appearances in 3 years, none in the last year and the completely fucked body of Rosicky himself. Im certain he will not return with any form for us or any club ever again! I hope I’m wrong!
July 10, 2009 at 09:40
hey geoff,
wanted to thank u for writing about fever pitch. i saw the movie.. brilliant and the best movie ever.
thank you
Ram from India
July 10, 2009 at 09:40
Matuidi is better than those idiots of Denilson and Song. Those two are lazy and too predictable on the offensive side.
July 10, 2009 at 09:40
4 nice eduardo pics:
http://www.sport24.com/var/plain_site/storage/images/football/diaporamas/la-blessure-d-eduardo-da-silva/eduardo-da-silva-taylor/2162396-1-fre-FR/eduardo-da-silva-taylor_diaporama.jpg
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/4378/eduardoinjuryds8.jpg
http://blogs.birminghampost.net/news/eduardo%202.JPG
http://machochip.com/Eduardo%20Da%20Silva%20breaks%20leg.jpg
July 10, 2009 at 09:41
Arse&Nose – Hleb managed 11 goals and 14 assists in 3 years at Arsenal yet people fucking rave about him! Undeniably great feet but he did little more than retain the football. Denilson can do that.
July 10, 2009 at 09:42
Morning Grovers,
Good post Pedro. Re: Fabregas, he is going nowhere neither this summer nor in the next 4-5 summers.
July 10, 2009 at 09:42
Cartamn – What are you doing? No one wants to see that!
July 10, 2009 at 09:42
Cartman you sick bastard.
July 10, 2009 at 09:42
I think Fabregas will go this season or next.
July 10, 2009 at 09:42
FOOD FOR THOUGHT…..
This M’Bia signing form Marseille could possibly have an impact on our chances of bringing in a defensive midfielder. The President of Marseille said Lorik Cana could leave if a replacement was in place, and M’Bia looks like his replacement.
I know a lot of people have complained that he hasn’t got the technical ability to play for us, but when you have as many technical players as Arsenal in your starting 11, a defensive midfielder doesn’t need any. He’s been captain for a few years so there are much needed leadership qualities there, he’ll be similar to Flamini where he’s not afraid to bark at players or gee them up.
Plus, Arsenal are crying out for a no-nonsence defensive midfielder who will chase and hUrry players and let the opposition know that they’ll have him to answer for.
He will also be half the price Melo is, I’d say no more than £10 miliion to get him.
He knows Nasri very well as they’re former team-mates.
July 10, 2009 at 09:44
Arsenal Kenya – Stop teasing me!!!!
July 10, 2009 at 09:44
http://andyandjonslookalikes.com/footballlookalikes.aspx
July 10, 2009 at 09:45
TAIG
So the answer is No, there is nothing else to go on apart from an anti-Arsenal, mischief making Daily mail report that Rosicky’s start date has been pushed back to autumn.
July 10, 2009 at 09:46
London – Nope!
July 10, 2009 at 09:46
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5422859,00.html
There you go London.
July 10, 2009 at 09:46
London – Although I’m a bit sad that you dont take my word as Gospel!
July 10, 2009 at 09:46
wow …
do you believe what you wrote
????
at least you didnt mention man shitty buying up every player on the planet ..
oh dont get me wrong i dont think we are going to get relegated , we should be in the top 20% of the table as ever ..
but theres a lot to gamble on !
i think id prefer the 100 mil …
and as for cesc .. well all i can say is i told ya so …
July 10, 2009 at 09:47
Arsenal Kenya – M’bia is having a medical at Stoke today! Sad times!
July 10, 2009 at 09:47
uhh Morbid Cartman?
July 10, 2009 at 09:48
Too true Mayank, it seems the “tapping up” culture is effecting the Catalans as much as Franco’s lot.
While it seems that this summer’s transfer window is going better for us than last year’s we’re still waiting for Wenger to address the failing he himself highlighted at last May, our vulnerability to the high ball over the middle. He really addressed that last summer didn’t he ? He got rid of 2 players who were good in the air, Gilberto and Senderos, and promoted super midget Denilson to play in central defence – that worked well for us didn’t it?
My disgust at last summers transfer window came back that hot evening in Lanzarote when I saw a high ball over the middle result in Vila’s equaliser on boxing day. A few Gooners were in the evening market there also and when I told them the result(as my sons had Arsenal shirts on)their faces fell. They were disgusted by yet another 2 goal lead being frittered away.
I don’t know too much about (Modesty) Blaise Matuidi but if he’s only 5’9” he’s clearly not the answer to our lack of aerial dominance in midfield.
July 10, 2009 at 09:48
So, the answer is yes.
Rosicky told sport,
“I think I will be back in the autumn,”
Nothing to do with the Daily Mail.
July 10, 2009 at 09:49
wtf cartman?
July 10, 2009 at 09:49
Sulzeer Jeremiah Campbell!
wait a minute, Sulzeer?
July 10, 2009 at 09:51
TAIG, I have changed it!
July 10, 2009 at 09:51
Ethan, are you sure Man U are going to spend £100million?
July 10, 2009 at 09:52
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/07/10/work-harder-boss-115875-21508547/
Firstly, well done Almunia for being another player to cry out that we need experience in our team. That now makes the list Fabregas, van Persie, Arshavin and Almunia to the best of my knowledge. Coult those player be any more high profile within Arsenal? These comments say a lot more than the fcat that they think we need players! I know players dont moan when they are winning but I could never imagine anyone sticking the boot into Wenger like this a few years ago! They must be coming truly disallusioned at the way Wenger goes about managing this team!
July 10, 2009 at 09:53
Pedro – If I wasnt such a spastic, the bit where you said ‘Geoff will be back tomorrow’ should have given it way! What a div I am!
July 10, 2009 at 09:53
tonyadamsisgod, if your going to use stats to prove Hleb is a bad player, then I would assume you think Denilson is one of the 3 best midfielders in the premiership? because that is what the stats say.
July 10, 2009 at 09:53
so autumn is in….
July 10, 2009 at 09:53
I turned down Manchester United, says Karim Benzema
http://tinyurl.com/n394cu
July 10, 2009 at 09:54
Come on Grovers, it’s Friday. Give us some jokes….
July 10, 2009 at 09:55
Arse&nose… Hleb was a purists footballer… I am glad he left… because I doubt Arshavin or Nasri would be here otherwise!
July 10, 2009 at 09:55
Yes Choy, Benzema did turn down Man U cos he was introduced as a Real Madrid player last night.
July 10, 2009 at 09:56
hey its friday! didn’t realise that!
July 10, 2009 at 09:56
Since Michael Jackson’s death hundreds of children have gathered at the gates of Neverland. Police have said that they will let them out once they find a locksmith.
July 10, 2009 at 09:57
Arse&Nose – I didnt give you Denilson’s stats so thats not what I was doing. You said he laid plenty of goals on a plate and while I’m sure Adebayor missed a shit load, the fact remains that if Hleb really was the player you think then his assists over 3 years really should have been more. I’m not saying he was shit, he made us tick a lot fo the time. But I just dont think he was the superstar everyone likes to remeber him as – hence he is basically a reserve at Barca! My reference to Denilson was merely to indicate the Hleb didnt really direct us to success any more than the likes of some lesser thought of players.
July 10, 2009 at 09:57
its funny that the russian is talking about a transfer
kitty loan ,then the very next story is rumors of cesc making way …
is that the thing ivan was talking about ?
about we have a solid strategy business wise ?
sell all your assets and be left with senderos
song eboue and ade …
i think wenger thought he could get some serious cash for ade , but as no one wants him ( and rightly so ) he will have to do an invincible’s and sell cesc ..
i sort of thought that might happen ..
oh and back to the post , its about time we got ruthless and sold players .. holy moley with the de-construction of the invincible’s i think wenger could never be accused of being not ruthless when selling players ..
just ask bert – freddie etc ….
July 10, 2009 at 09:58
You never know TAIG, Geoff is not beyond referring to himself in 3rd person. Joke!
July 10, 2009 at 09:59
I wasted 15 minutes of my evening the other night thinking I was watching Cool Runnings. Turns out I was watching the Jackson family wheeling out the coffin…..
July 10, 2009 at 09:59
Vela can be more outrageous than RvP.
Nik can be better than Ade.
Keeping up the Friday humour , eh , Pedro ?
July 10, 2009 at 10:00
Ethan, I don’t think Cesc is going to leave… it’s Barca’s way of showing ambition.
Realistically… who could they sign to improve their squad? For me… Cesc would be wasted on them… I’d only accept the deal if they threw Iniesta into the mix… oh, and some cash!
July 10, 2009 at 10:00
Mayank – So true that!
July 10, 2009 at 10:00
Some good points,
It is a shame we have not seen the back of Adebeyor and Eboue, they need to be replaced with europeans as we do not need 4 africans in the squad with the anc early next year, again we will promise but probably fall short, why people are raving about RVP signing is beyond me , he has been perpetually injured and has never been that much of a team player, Walcot playing central.. what a joke walcott will not get near the team , if we play with one up front then Arshavin nasri Fabregas will take the the spots behind the forward,
lets see with walcot, defensively poor
has no idea how to use his pace to beat someone
cant cross
cant finish
and made of glass
rather Arshavin play central than walcott or nasri or fabregas or eduardo or vela and even sick note Rosicky
July 10, 2009 at 10:00
Lets keep the feckin guys together . Been long since we did that and add Inler/Matuidi/Banega to that .
And we are in with a fair shout. More than a fair shout , actually.
July 10, 2009 at 10:02
Cesc is going nowhere,why do you think RvP penned a new deal/extension…yeah right!
July 10, 2009 at 10:03
Thank you Gunners The Stunners
July 10, 2009 at 10:03
I spent 10 minutes watching cool runnings last night…. then i realised it was the Jackson 4 pushing Michaels coffin! Sorry guys
July 10, 2009 at 10:04
Not sure if anyone else has noticed, but Kroenke has bought another 160 shares at £8,500 a pop. Now has 28.58%
July 10, 2009 at 10:04
What’s the difference between Jesus Christ and an oil painting?
You only need one nail to hold up a picture.
(only a joke)
July 10, 2009 at 10:04
BTW – is anyone going to the Barnet game ? I am, so any chance of a Peroni-fest beforehand ?
July 10, 2009 at 10:04
Morning Grovers, nothing beats a positive post in the morning. Thanks Pedro
July 10, 2009 at 10:04
bollocks beaten to it
July 10, 2009 at 10:04
Why can’t Jesus play football?
He wears illegal headgear.
July 10, 2009 at 10:06
Why can’t Jesus eat M&M’s?
They keep falling through his hands.
July 10, 2009 at 10:06
11 or so assists would suggest otherwise east stand lower
July 10, 2009 at 10:06
Pedro Says:
July 10, 2009 at 09:51
Ethan, are you sure Man U are going to spend £100million?
————————————–
WHAT ???
someone said that too me yesterday too ..
fuck ive never talked about man u …
but im sure they will replace ronaldo if thats what your on about .. and maybe with 2 strikers is my guess ..
i was asked ‘who are happy that the CHEV’s bought the leauge cup a few seasons ago ‘ ?..
my answer was the …. chev fans ,
meaning who gives a fuck what other clubs think of us by spending 100 mil ..
and SHITE YES ID BE HAPPY IF IT HAPPENED !
i have a bias opinion obviously and proud of it .
July 10, 2009 at 10:06
Did anyone notice in the Arsenal team training pics? No Ade & No Eboue and none of them was on international duty like Fab & Theo.
July 10, 2009 at 10:06
Some guy just came up to me in work and said, “Did you know, people have two ears and only one mouth; I guess that means we should listen more and talk less.”
I said, “Hmm, maybe; or, seeing that you have two legs and only one head, maybe you should think less and fuck off!”
July 10, 2009 at 10:07
East Stand Lower – Do you think Walcott could work upfront in a 4-4-2? I personally think we should be playing 4-4-2 and I think if Walcott was actually given some time upfront he would drastically improve! People slag is finishing off too much considering he has very rarely played upfront! I blame Wenger for holding out on him too long because he is the only manager who hasnt made sure he has a right sided midfelder in his team!
July 10, 2009 at 10:07
Oh right, so you’re talking about the £100mill we refused… not someone elses millions?
July 10, 2009 at 10:07
I get you.
Many beat down Hlebs contribution to the team because of his poor stats.
On the other hand people beat down Denilsons impressive stats because he doesn’t immediately impress in games.
The truth may be somewhere between stats and performances. My point was just that we can’t have one rule for Hleb and another for Denilson.
July 10, 2009 at 10:08
class goonerjay
July 10, 2009 at 10:08
Arse&nose… Hleb had amazing stats.
July 10, 2009 at 10:09
hleb who?
July 10, 2009 at 10:09
Great post Pedro – just the job to cheer us into the weekend. Thought you’d forgotten Jack until that last bit. He’s the one that could set us alight this year!
July 10, 2009 at 10:09
apparently st etienne are about to sign gelson fernandes from city for 2m, sounds like matuidi’s replacement
July 10, 2009 at 10:10
I just have one of those faces. People come up to me and say, “What’s wrong?” “Nothing.” “Well, it takes more energy to frown than it does to smile.” “Yeah, you know it takes more energy to point that out than it does to leave me alone?”
July 10, 2009 at 10:10
gr8 post, Pedro
some positivity…
check out Laporta being analysed by Arseblog:
http://www.oleole.com/blogs/arseblog
mwahahahahahahaha…
what’s up with the obsession about killing puppies?
July 10, 2009 at 10:10
Notification of Share Acquisition 9th July 2009
The following announcement has today been made on the Plusmarkets website.
On 9th July 2009, Arsenal Holdings plc (the “Company”) received notification that on 9th July 2009 Stan Kroenke, a director of the Company, acquired 160 ordinary shares of £1.00 each in the Company at a price of £8,500 per share.
Taking into account such acquisition, Stan Kroenke has a beneficial interest in, and controls voting rights over, 17,787 ordinary shares in the Company, representing 28.58% of the Company’s issued ordinary shares.
10th July 2009
July 10, 2009 at 10:10
Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.
Judas Asparagus.
July 10, 2009 at 10:10
the biggest joke ever this friday…
Villarreal defender Pascal Cygan wants a reunion with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
“For now, I’d prefer to stay in Spain,” he said, “but a return to France is possible, if the proposal is interesting.”
And as for teaming up with Wenger?
“He told me that if it went wrong in Spain, the door would still be open. Now I’m awaiting his phonecall,” said Cygan, laughing.
July 10, 2009 at 10:12
I was in a cab in New York. The cab had a sign, “Please do not smoke, Christ is our unseen guest.” This guy was reachin’. I figure, if He could overcome being nailed to a cross, I don’t think a Marlboro Light’s gonna faze Him that much.
July 10, 2009 at 10:12
If Hleb had a pair of shooting boots on him and a bit more courage , he would have been right up there with the Iniestas. He was breathtaking at times , esp. in his last season.
Remember that dribble against Liv in the Champs League QF at the Grove , where he went past 4 of their guys and was brought down ( a pen we were robbed of) . The pace of that dribble was so staggering that only on slo-mo replays could you realize what the fecker was upto.
No one in the current league is capable of such ball control. Not even Arshavin.
He was a player for the connoisseurs of the game.
July 10, 2009 at 10:12
I spent ages trying to cross a busy road.
Some passer-by said, “There’s a zebra crossing fifty yards up the road.”
I thought, “I hope he’s having better luck than me.”
July 10, 2009 at 10:13
haha, GJ, that was stupid… yet hilarious!
Cartman, what’s with the Christian hating jokes!
July 10, 2009 at 10:13
@Tonyadamsisgod – Don’t u know today is jokes day..
July 10, 2009 at 10:13
pedro… is it at 30% he has to make an offer for everyones shares
July 10, 2009 at 10:13
AT, yellow card… that joke was worse than mine combined!
July 10, 2009 at 10:14
at least cygan wud be better than sylvestre
July 10, 2009 at 10:15
AT, by the looks of it, he is majority shareholder now… I’m not sure though… It all goes over my head.
July 10, 2009 at 10:16
hey pedro, i’m christian but i find no harm in these jokes!
July 10, 2009 at 10:17
Rubbish!
July 10, 2009 at 10:17
Carman – lay off Jesus dude.
And why would you post the Eduardo photos??????
July 10, 2009 at 10:18
and if u didn’t realise, the person on my avatar is judas!
July 10, 2009 at 10:18
Cygan as defensive coach!!!!!!
July 10, 2009 at 10:18
Recession Beater!!
Wife says to husband, “if you cycled to work we could get rid of the 2nd car.”
Husband replies, “if you took it up the arse we could get rid of the nanny”!!!!
July 10, 2009 at 10:19
Kroenke has just up’d his stake at Arsenal to 28.58%
July 10, 2009 at 10:20
My wife, being unhappy with my mood swings, bought me one of these mood rings so she could monitor my mood.
We discovered that, when I am in a good mood, it turns green and, when I am in a bad mood, it leaves a big fucking red mark on her forehead
July 10, 2009 at 10:20
insidealbania, coz i’m sick (for the moment)
so i’ll stop with the jesus jokes!
July 10, 2009 at 10:22
A Leonardo da Vinci joke:
It was asked of a painter why, since he made such beautiful figures, which were but dead things, his children were so ugly; to which the painter replied that he made his pictures by day, and his children by night.
July 10, 2009 at 10:23
Morning All,
Top post Pedro,
The glass is half full – nice and positive.Cesc is going nowhere and the sooner we make a stand against this BLATANT tapping up the better. What are we,a poor club with no backbone? Our legal eagles ought to be all over this like a rash.
Michael Jackson walks in through the pearly gates and the first person he see’s is Elvis.
E: Are you Michael Jackson?
MJ: Yes sir i am
E: The same Michael Jackson that married my daughter?
MJ: Yes sir thats me
E: That lying fucker Sinatra – He told me you were Black!!
July 10, 2009 at 10:23
I love the fact that this Obertan kid Utd signed has said he is average and has been told by SAF he wont be a regular starter! Didn’t they pay £20m for him??
July 10, 2009 at 10:27
A bit off this mornings track but does anyone think that Micah Richards showed that he can still be a class act whilst he was on International duty and that if Hughes ends up wanting Kolo we should just do a straight swap? Micah clearly hates Hughes and who wouldn’t….he’s a fucking woeful manager! Surely Wenger could re-ignite Richards’ career?
July 10, 2009 at 10:28
Cartman, whats up ma, you got the swine flu?
July 10, 2009 at 10:29
Arse&Nose – Re stats and performances….I guess if anyone could find the ultimate gauge of a player they would make millions! Unfortunately its impossible hence, blogs, opinions and people lobbing stats at each other!
July 10, 2009 at 10:29
Has Cartman got pig aids?
July 10, 2009 at 10:30
The other day I needed to pay a visit to the public toilet, so I found a public toilet that had two cubicles.
One of the doors was locked. So I went into the other one, closed the door, dropped my trousers and sat down.
A voice came from the cubicle next to me: “Hello mate, how are you doing?”
Although I thought that it was a bit strange, I didn’t want to be rude, so I replied, “Not too bad, thanks.”
After a short pause, I heard the voice again. “So, what are you up to?”
Again I answered, somewhat reluctantly, “Just having a quick shit… How about yourself?”
The next thing I heard him say was, “Sorry, mate, I’ll have to call you back. I’ve got some cunt in the cubicle next to me answering everything I say.”
July 10, 2009 at 10:31
A man walks into a petrol station and says, “Can I please have a KitKat Chunky?”
The lady behind the till gets him a KitKat Chunky and brings it back to him.
“No,” says the man, “I wanted a normal KitKat, you fat bitch.”
July 10, 2009 at 10:33
gonnerjay – that public toilet one is fucking brilliant!
July 10, 2009 at 10:34
huh, swine flu is like a cold for me! nothing serious!
July 10, 2009 at 10:35
So what if Jesus turned water into wine…I turned a whole student loan into Vodka once. Your move Jesus…
July 10, 2009 at 10:36
Hundreds of Barbra Streisand’s possessions will be sold at an auction in Los Angeles. Amongst all these items there is one rumored to be so big, so spectacularly grand, so priceless that no dollar amount could possibly be placed on it. Fortunately, her ego’s not for sale.
July 10, 2009 at 10:38
bitch we the best
July 10, 2009 at 10:40
First thing this morning, there was a tap on my door.
Funny sense of humour my plumber has.
July 10, 2009 at 10:42
http://www.sportspromedia.com/notes_and_insights/_a/arsenal_fc_gunners_boss_unhappy_with_arsenal_brand/?utm_source=Feeds&utm_campaign=Notes+And+Insights&utm_medium=rss
Its about fucking time he started doing his job!
July 10, 2009 at 10:42
Paris walked into a library because she wanted to experience something new. She walks up to the counter and says “Can I have a burger and fries?” The librarian says, “I’m sorry, this is a library.” So Paris whispers, “Can I have a burger and fries?”
July 10, 2009 at 10:43
Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan find a magic mirror. the mirror tells them that if they say something good that they think about themselves, they get their hearts desire. however, if it’s a lie, they get sucked into the mirror for ever. Britney steps up and says “I think I’m the smartest girl in the world” and she gets sucked in. Lindsay says “I think I’m the prettiest girl in the world” and she gets sucked in. Paris says “I think…” and gets sucked in.
July 10, 2009 at 10:44
mornin every one
so how much reliable are these matuidi transfer news are
July 10, 2009 at 10:51
A blonde walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer. She says she’s going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000. The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for the loan, so the blonde hands over the keys to a new Rolls Royce. The car is parked on the street in front of the bank, she has the title and everything checks out. The bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. The bank’s president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the blonde for using a $250,000 Rolls as collateral against a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then proceeds to drive the Rolls into the bank’s underground garage and parks it there.
Two weeks later, the blonde returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41. The loan officer says, “Miss, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow $5,000?” The blond replies………………….”Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there when I return?”
July 10, 2009 at 10:52
Now its Banega, some Argie from Valencia!
Fucking hate transfer windows….has to be the worst part of being an Arsenal fan!
July 10, 2009 at 10:52
ARSHAVIN Interview:
Thanks to Rusal from Arsenal-Mania:
How did you spend the first days after vacation?
- On Tuesday we had two training sessions, on Wednesday – one and on Thursday – two again. There are ten people from the first squad and the young lads. Those who finished the season later than the others (like Fabregas who was at Confederations Cup, or Walcott plus Gibbs who played in the EC-21) will come back later (next Monday). In addition, on Thursday I was flying by helicopter to another city to the shooting spot. So i had to work without “overclocking” from the first days.
- What may you tell about, if it’s not secret, the first training sessions? Are they hard? Is it similar to what have been in Zenit ?
- Exercises are similar to those that Dick Advocaat uses in his training sessions but it’s so hard as it was when Petrzhela was the coach of Zenit (his first week traning session after vacations was legendary in Russia in terms of physical exercises, running, etc – rusal). The first training session on Tuesday was basically running – cycles full of 10 minutes of running with accelerations with some physical exercises in-between. During the second training session we had to play football. It’s very hard training for us straight after vacation but everyone is trying, knowing that efficiency of action on the field will largely depend on how you’re working during these training sessions.
- Were there any tests?
- Yes but there is a queue. There is a timetable for passing the tests, so my turn comes next week.
- And what did Arsène ask you at the first day after vacation?
- He wanted to know how I held a holiday, but also said to the whole team that we are waiting for a heavy season in which Arsenal will focus on the highest goals.
- Did players talk about vacation experiences?
- Maybe, but frankly speaking – i’m so tired after the training sessions that there is no inner force to talk after such workout. But suddenly i was able to speak in Russian during the training sessions.
- Let me guess! You have a new assistant of the goalkeepers’ coach – a famous Estonian goalkeeper Mart Poom. Right?
- Right answer! Indeed, and what’s more interesting is that he was in our group during running exercises.
- Specially?
- I don’t know, but to communicate in Russian on the training session of Arsenal FC is a brand-new feeling.
- There is a new player in the Arsenal squad, right?
- Yes, it is Vermalaen, the ex-player of Ajax. The player seems to be good, although to do some conclusions after the three days of exercises is, of course, too early.
- Were you guys discussing any rumours during trainings ?
- Maybe but without me. I have only heard that Adebayor seems to be staying in the team and Fabregas who is wanted by Milan FC – too.
- What’s the weather in London nowadays?
- During the first training session it was very rainy. But then, thanks God, it became better.
- It seems that someone in heaven has specially complicated conditions of the trainings to you all …
- During running exercises any weather is not good. When it rains then it’s too wet to run, when it’s sunny – too hot.
- Did London surprise you after a month absence?
- No, i arrived in a familiar city so everything is easier now than six months ago and much calmer too. There is only a mailbox for this month which was overwhelmed with accounts and flyers. So many! Now i need to deal with them.
- So arriving in London is like arriving at home, right ?
- I think so – and i have the house here now.
- Who was looking after it all this time?
- Friends of the owner of the house.
- And the fact that you will have to spend a month without a family, does it greatly complicate your life?
- Naturally. But my friends came here too – a married couple, and the wife of a friend is doing all the cooking work which is great. However, on Saturday they will leave London – and then i will have to visit some restaurants.
- Have you read any British press ? About Zhirkov’s transfer to Chelsea, for example ?
- Once arrived, i checked a few newspapers but then nothing on this subject was not written. And now i don’t have much time to read the press. I regularly check only a few sites on the Internet – in the first place it’s Sport-Express.
- Do you check the Arsenal’s official website? There is now an “Arshavin Week”, dedicated to the fact that you took the second place in poll for the title of the best “gunner” last season.
- In fact, it’s nothing special here – it is only here in Russia people particularly pay attention at such things, but here it’s common practice. Such attention to the own players is in the order of things.
- I think that the attention to you in Russia is even higher.
- It is not so as in England. There is a feeling that in Russia we want to know about almost every step of our legionnaires. The fact that some things which had no chance to be attractive for the press in Zenit FC days became suddenly very important here. Overly important, in my opinion. We (with Pavluchenko) now look forward to Yura Zhirkov – he should divert attention from us to himself for some time. And to follow the three is much more difficult than for two.
- The Russians are coming to London, and “Superstars” to Madrid. Is there any feeling that after the purchases of Real Madrid Spanish league will eclipse the English Premier league?
- Let’s see. If England government won’t solve the problem with taxes then the exodus of the stars to the Spain is possible. But so far, as i think, the EPL remains the best league. Though, of course, we will check it in the Champions League.
July 10, 2009 at 10:53
Agree tonyadamsisgod!
rating/ judging any sort of performance is very subjective, explains why companies like Opta and Actim make a load of money for their stats!
July 10, 2009 at 10:57
How many Alzheimer’s patients does it take to change a lightbulb?
To get to the other side.
Oh dear…. i’ll get my coat
July 10, 2009 at 10:58
With all these Christ jokes going around, I wonder how things would progress if a few Mohammad jokes popped up.
Compare the reaction to – Life of Brian(or Gerry Springer the opera) to The Satanic Verses.
July 10, 2009 at 10:58
Why can’t Arsenal take Barca to court for tapping up Fabregas AGAIN?
they could make an exhibition out of them(Barca) for not trying to deny that they want him without formally submitting an interest to Arsenal.
Blatanly using the media to feel all powerful and assume they can get what they want, professionally unsettling other teams businesses, surely thats grounds for a lawsuit….
We’ll take one Lionel Messi as compensation thank you!
July 10, 2009 at 10:58
I have a feeling Banega could be very good for Arsenal, but that he would come in our direction should Fabregas leave, just a gut feeling, but I’d rather him than Matuidi whatever happens.
July 10, 2009 at 10:58
pedro, i wanna appeal the yellow!!! they are genuine quotes!!
on the 30% business i reckon this time next year he’ll be going for it
July 10, 2009 at 10:59
The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
July 10, 2009 at 10:59
Jimi – You seen him play? What is his style?
July 10, 2009 at 11:00
Pedro Says:
July 10, 2009 at 10:07
Oh right, so you’re talking about the £100mill we refused… not someone elses millions?
————————-
correct ..
July 10, 2009 at 11:01
The roundest knight at king Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
July 10, 2009 at 11:03
ATom – For the love of God, take your punishment like a man!!
July 10, 2009 at 11:06
Does anyone else feel we’re making heavy weather of acquiring a DM? All we need is someone who is physically imposing, good in the air and tenacious in the tackle. He doesn’t need to be technically brilliant as most of our other midfielders are (barring Diaby/Song)all he has to do is break up the oppositions play and let he oppo bully boys know they can’t kick us off the park. We have enough players to do the difficult, creative stuff so why is finding the easy bit of the midfield jigsaw so difficult to rectify?
Having said that, maybe Wenger will have someone of the required ilk lined up and ready to be paraded but I hate the wait and the fact that I won’t get to see the said player next Saturday at Underhill.
July 10, 2009 at 11:08
Tom, I’m going to do a Graham Poll and give you one more yellow…
July 10, 2009 at 11:10
Sir Cumference and his Jewish friend Sir Cumcision
July 10, 2009 at 11:10
Chary – has to be Lorik Cana! Just has to be! Now wait for the ‘but can he play football’ questions!!
July 10, 2009 at 11:10
There is a large brass statue of Winnie-the-Pooh in Lima, Peru.
maybe geoff shud visit peru
July 10, 2009 at 11:11
Chary, I reckon it’ll be this young French chap…
Preseason starts next week, so lets hope we tie up a deal sharpish!
July 10, 2009 at 11:12
Cartman – time to lay off the crack pipe!!
July 10, 2009 at 11:13
fair play… i accept my punishment
July 10, 2009 at 11:13
Ethan, what would you do with the £100million?
July 10, 2009 at 11:14
Just looked up this Argy Banega – he’s only 5’8” and 21 years old. NO THANKS !
July 10, 2009 at 11:15
I think I’d invest £100m in some sort nice property development! You cant lose on property development!
July 10, 2009 at 11:16
Pedro – You can buy an awful lot of coke, booze and women with 100m!!!!
July 10, 2009 at 11:16
TAIG, put me down for a flat!
AT, glad you took it on the chin… after 5 posts, those yellows get rescinded!
July 10, 2009 at 11:17
DDM, if I ever came into that sort of wealth… I’d be alive about 6 months…
July 10, 2009 at 11:18
Pedro – put me in your will!
July 10, 2009 at 11:18
TAIG, I’d have 6 wives to take care of… and the mistresses on the side!
July 10, 2009 at 11:20
Personally, i’d blow the whole fucking lot on a night with Megan Fox, Christina Aguilera, Shakira and a bottle of Peroni!
July 10, 2009 at 11:21
DDM, that sounds like an amazing night…
I’d buy a majority stake in Peroni…
July 10, 2009 at 11:21
DDM – Thats a good shout! Might ditch Christina though…..she seems to have mellowed! What a bout a little Angelina/Megan combo….that would be one hell of a cat fight to watch!
July 10, 2009 at 11:21
What a way to go though…………
July 10, 2009 at 11:21
Pedro – £100m would get you about 7 bottles of Peroni where I drink!
July 10, 2009 at 11:23
TAIG – I’m gonna be quite controversial here and state that Angelina is too blokish in the looks department……..
July 10, 2009 at 11:24
its not actually fair shes that megan fox is that hot.
July 10, 2009 at 11:24
DDM – Blokish?? Really?? She’d be about the closest thing to turning me into an uphill banana farmer then!
July 10, 2009 at 11:25
I watched Transformers 2 last night so she is still oh so fresh in my mind!
July 10, 2009 at 11:25
angelina would turn you inside out… shes a fruit loop.
July 10, 2009 at 11:25
Barcelona and Valencia have reached a deal that will see David Villa move to Camp Nou and are expected to make an announcement soon, Goal.com has learned.
A source close to Camp Nou has revealed exclusively to this website that the Spanish international striker has had his wish granted and he will join the European champions this summer.
Negotiations have been ongoing between Barça and Valencia and the Catalan club’s president Joan Laporta even revealed that a bid had been made during a television interview on Wednesday evening.
Now Goal.com has been told that a deal has been struck and that Villa will be a Barcelona player, although no details of the fee or any of the Blaugrana’s squad going in the other direction was divulged.
Laporta suggested that a offer of over €40million had been made and that, allied with los Che’s new chief Vicente Soriano’s promise to let the player go this year, has meant the treble winners have their man.
The arrival of Villa could speed up the departure of Samuel Eto’o, with both Manchester United and Manchester City linked with the Cameroonian striker, who was Barca’s top league scorer last term.
Real Madrid opted not to pursue Villa after being told that he was not for sale and instead forked out a fee of up to €41million to sign Karim Benzema from Olympique Lyonnais.
July 10, 2009 at 11:26
Arsenal Tom – Fact!
July 10, 2009 at 11:27
Lest get Eto’o!! He would be a much better player at Arsenal than any other EPL club!
July 10, 2009 at 11:28
was nice to see benzema turned down the manchester red sox.
July 10, 2009 at 11:28
Jeez TAIG… that’s like an hours supply! Where do you drink?
DDM, the fact she was with Billy Bob Thornton is enough to put me off that old scrubber…
She collects children as well…
July 10, 2009 at 11:28
TAIG… yaya and eto’o for cesc??
July 10, 2009 at 11:28
Einstein climbs to the top of Mt. Sinai to get close enough to talk to God.
Looking up, he asks the Lord… “God, what does a million years mean to you?”
The Lord replies, “A minute.”
“Einstein asks, “And what does a million dollars mean to you?”
The Lord replies, “A penny.”
Einstein asks, “Can I have a penny?”
The Lord replies, “In a minute.”
taig, its the 16 boxes of macarron that i had yesterday not the crack!
July 10, 2009 at 11:28
Cricket commentators make me laugh!
During Englands innings Ponting was clueless and the Aussies were ‘drifting’. Now that the Aussies are smacking us all over the place they say its the pitches fault haha!
July 10, 2009 at 11:30
Do you mean Modesty Blaise Pdero ? BTW doesn’t anyone know who I mean when I say Modesty Blaise ?
TAiG – Cana does seem like the only viable option at the moment, that seems bleedin’ obvious to me.
July 10, 2009 at 11:30
angelina in her tomb raider days… yes fucking please
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_B1yu82jZSVs/SYFKs70kCyI/AAAAAAAAKsY/fzrMbZbTQVA/s400/angelina-jolie-tomb-raider-costume.jpg
July 10, 2009 at 11:30
Pedro – she does collect children, true! And thats the price for being a Surrey born lad and drinking in Weybridge where half of the Chelsea twats live!
Arsenal Tom – Deal!
July 10, 2009 at 11:31
Chary, not the legendary comic strip launched in 1963?
July 10, 2009 at 11:32
Ha Ha Ha fuck me! Goal.com, about as reliable as a chocolate fucking teapot
July 10, 2009 at 11:34
Chary – even the long forgotten Veloso could do the job! Surely his price has fallen!?
July 10, 2009 at 11:35
That’s the one Pedro – I only ever looked at it ‘cos Modesty would nearly always be in a bikini !
July 10, 2009 at 11:35
ahh, bar rafaeli…
July 10, 2009 at 11:36
Barbarella mutha fuckers!!
July 10, 2009 at 11:36
bloody hell, the aussies are raping the english…i fancy australia to win it by an innings if it goes on like this and they score over 600-700
July 10, 2009 at 11:36
Rohan – we shouldn’t be surprised really, should we!
July 10, 2009 at 11:37
Cartman, stop changing computers!
July 10, 2009 at 11:37
if veloso was close to going to bolton it makes me wonder about him
July 10, 2009 at 11:38
AT, if ManU don’t have him… he’s not worth it…
July 10, 2009 at 11:38
haha taig, i expected more from the english this time around especially after the walloping they got last time down under…
July 10, 2009 at 11:39
Arsenal Tom – I dont think he was though. They offered £8m which wasn’t enough for Sporting so I doubt Veloso even go the chance to decline (or accept) the chance to play for them! I would imagine he’d prefer to stay at Sporting rather than join Bolton.
July 10, 2009 at 11:40
pedro… exactly mate they seem to have tabs on Portugal like wenger did/does in france.
looks more and more like matuidis the one.
July 10, 2009 at 11:40
i’m not! the computer i’m using is behind a proxy and i’m not allowed to close it!
July 10, 2009 at 11:41
Ahh, that would explain the multiple IP’s!
July 10, 2009 at 11:41
i want matuidi and hazard
July 10, 2009 at 11:42
I have no doubt that we’ll sign Matuidi. I just hope he isn’t Wengers answer to our DM crisis! If it is then my faith in Wenger will stop once the transfer window closes as I have always promised because this kid IS NOT the answer to our problems! Again, does anyone think he can handle January and Febrauary on his own when the ACN is on, Song has gone and we have to play Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool, CL games and FA Cup games!!
July 10, 2009 at 11:43
Rohan – I’d like to see Hazard take up the RW slot for us!
July 10, 2009 at 11:43
TAIG, I have been reading most of your comments and it does appear that so are too pleased to defend, English and in fact entire British players while castigating, African, French and others. You are pleased to keep Walcott, Ramsey, JET, Gibbs, etc to bade in and hasty to call for discarding of Denilson and Song. Sounds like someone who is not too pleased with other races in an English team. (just my opinion anyway). I don’t care who is in the team as long as we are doing well as Arsenal FC and not as England FC or British FC
July 10, 2009 at 11:48
yea me too i’d have hazard over walcott any dya..
and re rosicky’s comment saying that he will be back in the autumn,
1. he probably thinks the autumn starts in late august
2. he means that he will be back to his best in the autumn after playing a bit part role until then getting into the groove of playing pro football slowly..
i doubt that there is any setback as regards his recovery as he has already said that he is fully fit right now.
July 10, 2009 at 11:48
TAIG – not necessarily disagreeing with you re Matuidi as haven’t seen a minute of him play – but was just wondering if your opinion was based on you having seen him or if it was just a gut instinct ?
July 10, 2009 at 11:48
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1198787/Samuel-Etoo-edges-Manchester-City-mega-telling-Barcelona-I-quit.html
July 10, 2009 at 11:49
Ojaimo – Are you kidding me?? I am the first person to agree with Wenger that he shouldnt look at someone’s passport before he decides whether he is good enough or not!! But the fact remains that the ACN is a huge problem for us as our already small squad will further lose Adebayor, Eboue, Toure and Song!! That is not a good situation for us to be in!! I dont not want anymore African players because we will lose them for 2 months, not because I am a fucking racist!!!!
Its just simple planning!!!! If there was another International tournament that affected 4 of our key players from another continent I would be saying the same thing you plank!
If I have said I like more Ramsey more than Song its because I think he is a better footballer not because he is white and Song is black! Fuck me, I have been africa far more times than I have been to Wales my friend!!
July 10, 2009 at 11:49
3 guesses for where ojaimo is from eh…
July 10, 2009 at 11:50
Ryan – just gut instinct mate and me getting carried away I guess. It just fits the Arsenal mould doesn’t it? Why should we expect different after 4 years?
July 10, 2009 at 11:51
see ya later ze gooners!
July 10, 2009 at 11:51
Rohan – If I new how to put angry smiley it would have been done!!
July 10, 2009 at 11:52
Yes TAiG – he’s 5’11” and 23 so while he’s a little on the young side he’ll be some use at defending set pieces; one of our weaknesses we’ve had for ten years but Wenger, in his infinite wisdom, has never addressed.
July 10, 2009 at 11:52
Later Cartman
July 10, 2009 at 11:52
rohan, african?
July 10, 2009 at 11:53
Ojaimo, we don’t play the race card on here.
If Song and Denilson were English, they’d still be getting castigated…
July 10, 2009 at 11:54
Lol yeah I hear you TAIG – crack out the Prozac n beers mate lol.
Like I said I havent seen a minute of Matuidi, but my gut instinct is that he might just be the man – can’t rationalise it at all – just a feeling. A bit like my gut feeling on Cana is that he would just be like Robbie Savage with youtube hype !!
July 10, 2009 at 11:54
b4 i go, let me tell 1 thing clearly, if u r an arsenal fan, u cant be a racist!
July 10, 2009 at 11:55
ok, i’m off now, for real!
July 10, 2009 at 11:55
no shit cartman
July 10, 2009 at 11:56
time to register for the new fantasy grove pedro
July 10, 2009 at 11:56
Chary – is a 5′11 23 year old gonna be able to stifle Essien, Lampard, Gerrard etc?? I hope so but I have my doubts…..
July 10, 2009 at 11:57
Ryan – ha ha, we have the opposite views of each player and neither of us have a clue which one is right! Its probably me though!
July 10, 2009 at 11:58
Newsnow has gone dead… what happened to the hacks, why aren’t they fabricating stories. Boring, boring arsenal.
July 10, 2009 at 11:59
Nah can’t be u TAIG – ur clearly a racist
July 10, 2009 at 11:59
arshavin captain all day long.
i thought matuidi was 5′7!?
July 10, 2009 at 12:00
oh yeah fantasy grove..what a catastrophe, idid not get a chance to even look at it after the frist 6 weeks,
July 10, 2009 at 12:01
its a conspiracy from murdoch media’s goons to get us all to watch the Ashes instead
July 10, 2009 at 12:01
Cartman – yeah I guess that makes sense! Considering by the end of the year I will have been in Africa (Kenya) 3 times and that I wont have likely visited Wales or Scotland (I can’t help living in England) I dont see how I have been perceived like that! Anyway, laters mate!
July 10, 2009 at 12:01
ryan’s right TAIG is a clearly filthy dirty racist.
eboue for world player of the year and ade for player of the season
July 10, 2009 at 12:01
I’m not 100% sure either TAiG, but he can do no worse than our Denilsong combo – plus both Lumpus Maximus and Essien are getting on a bit and while the former is due a long-term injury the latter will be off to the ACN.
As for Gerrard – we’ll have to get the crowd to hold up headphones and make like DJ’s to put him off his game.
July 10, 2009 at 12:02
Ryan – ha ha, I fear one of my colleagues could be on the rough end of a backlash here…..count to 10!!
1….2….3…..
July 10, 2009 at 12:03
Arsenal Tom – I fucking well wish they were!
July 10, 2009 at 12:05
Chary – Yeah, the minimum required is to improve on what we have so I really hope he can be one of Wengers diamonds that are quicker to settle and quicker to produce the goods like Vieira, Petit and Gilberto did.
July 10, 2009 at 12:05
Chary
If we buy him i’m having modesty on my shirt
July 10, 2009 at 12:06
Noe then, now then, now then……..
July 10, 2009 at 12:08
Anyone else read about this site?
http://www.118800.co.uk/service-unavailable.html
Apparently people will be able to find your name using direct enquiries… I’m taking myself off it when it’s live again!
July 10, 2009 at 12:08
Fuck me I must be psychic!!
tonyadamsisgod Says:
July 10, 2009 at 11:34
Chary – even the long forgotten Veloso could do the job! Surely his price has fallen!?
http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/23084/Speculation_renewed_as_Veloso_agitates_for_move.aspx
July 10, 2009 at 12:12
Pedro – is everyone definitely on this?
July 10, 2009 at 12:13
chary… plus that bunch will loose dogshit, mikel & kalou.
July 10, 2009 at 12:13
Well, my sister went on there yesterday and removed her number.
It’s a pretty shocking breach of trust if my phone company have done that…
July 10, 2009 at 12:16
Geoff smoking the herb ma’an
Love the Top Gun reference, Wojeck Szercyniy (however you spell it) looks like a goose so maybe you can get your chance in the CC next year… …or sp*rs goose get’s cooked by Cruise and JET?
July 10, 2009 at 12:16
why the fuck is he linked with blooming bolton ? is he that bad or are bolton jsut trying get their reputation up…
July 10, 2009 at 12:17
Rohan, I don’t think he is that good… and I read he had weight problems!
Afternoon Gunner8!
July 10, 2009 at 12:18
tell me if you’ve heard this one…
All these people who keep saying “well yes Michael jackson fucked kids but he was a great singer,” make me sick. No one mentions what a cracking builder Fred West was, or how good Ian Huntley was at caretaking! Peter Sutcliffe’s lorry drivin was second to none!
July 10, 2009 at 12:19
Pedro – That aint not good! Can phone companies do that?
Rohan – I think everyone was surprised and from what I have seen of him, its not loads, he does seem better than the Bolton standard! Trying their luck me thinks!
July 10, 2009 at 12:20
‘noon Pedro, work is a bit hectic as I am off to Sweden for two weeks on Monday!
first hols since August last year!!!
July 10, 2009 at 12:22
well yeah he does seem like a bit of a prima donna…i’d rather have moutinho…
July 10, 2009 at 12:25
atleast good ol jimmy anderson ahs got a couple of wickets for england…things are on the up…
i’m a neutral but i did put a few bob on england not losing the first test.
July 10, 2009 at 12:27
Wotcha cock!
Anything interesting happening/being discussed?
July 10, 2009 at 12:34
Melo is a done deal
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/melo-signs-on-four-year-deal
July 10, 2009 at 12:36
haha there is no way i’m gonna fall for that…
July 10, 2009 at 12:36
Wateva
July 10, 2009 at 12:39
Fran, you are a tease!!!!!
July 10, 2009 at 12:43
Gunner8, are you taking your boy with you?
Fran… yellow card… that is a mean joke.
July 10, 2009 at 12:43
Arsenal star Andrey Arshavin says there is no truth in reports he could join Barcelona this summer.
There have been rumours that Arshavin is unhappy with the taxation laws in England, and agent Dennis Lachterinvited the European champions to make a formal bid for the 28-year-old Russia international this week.
However, there is still confusion over whether Lachter still represents Arshavin and it appears suggestions that he could move to Camp Nou are without foundation.
“That is nothing more than a rumour,” he told Sport Express.
“I’m an Arsenal player and the only thing I am thinking about is preparing for the new season.”
Top league
Arshavin also believes the Premier League remains the best in Europe despite Barca winning the Champions League and Real Madrid investing heavily this summer.
“If they do not solve the tax issues in England, it’s possible that they will see an exodus of stars,” he said.
“But, in my view, the Premier League is still the best.
“However, we will find out when we see what happens in the Champions League, of course.”
July 10, 2009 at 12:44
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/melo-says-he-has-supported-arsenal-since-he-was-a-pre-op-tranny
July 10, 2009 at 12:44
why dont we offer 15 million and adebayor for etoo
July 10, 2009 at 12:45
jobs a goodun
July 10, 2009 at 12:45
cos barca dont want dross incesc
July 10, 2009 at 12:46
anyone else see the telegraph today, apparently we are in for a pornstar called ever banega
July 10, 2009 at 12:46
Fran – you’re such a nobber!
July 10, 2009 at 12:51
without looking to see that incesc hat posted it looks like Franchise knows of a gay relationship between Senderos and fabregas…”cos barca dont want dross incesc”……
July 10, 2009 at 12:52
I though Fridays are usually Arsenal’s Press conference day. Anyone with a clue if there will be one today? 7days to the start of Pre-season, no other signing. It doesn’t spell good to me. TAIG, Apologies, if I went overboard in my comment about your perception. Just what I make out from your post not that it is what you are. I am not a big fan of either players anyway, but I want the good players to play irrespective of where they are from especially Carlos Vela.
July 10, 2009 at 12:52
TAIG, quality!
July 10, 2009 at 12:55
Ojaimo – Apology accepted, just as long as you know that I am the last person to have a problem with race. Its just sensible to keep a limit on a group of players that will all go missing at the same time. And just for the record, I have never raved about JET….not yet anyway……
July 10, 2009 at 12:55
lol Taig
July 10, 2009 at 12:57
TAIG they say a name is more than just letters. Do u think Sendross would benefit from a name change?
July 10, 2009 at 13:01
Franchise – Nope. I think he’d still the worst fucking defender in the universe!
July 10, 2009 at 13:01
Fran, nothing would benefit Sandeross even if he changes his name to Roberto Carlos or Dani Alves. He will still dribble like 5 years old on big ocassions.
July 10, 2009 at 13:02
Well played Ojaimo
July 10, 2009 at 13:02
Eden Hazard has been linked with us and he wants to come , he is a winger , 18 yrs old and ppl are wanting AW to sign for us.
Is he any better than Nacer Barazite. Barazite is also a quick winger and has been playing with arsenal for two/three years in reserves.
I think he will get his chance in the CC and is for me the better option. Why go for another youngster when we have an equally better player. and the money to be spent on the areas where we are weak i.e defensive midfield !!
July 10, 2009 at 13:02
GTS, Dani Alves??? Not with a barge pole!
July 10, 2009 at 13:04
Pedro u definitely a racist though, the last time we met for a beer fest at the S+B u did buy a round of peronis but mine was warm
u’ve been found out ages ago
July 10, 2009 at 13:10
Pedro Says:
July 10, 2009 at 11:13
Ethan, what would you do with the £100million?
——————————–
buy better players …
also sell ade and maybe even cesc ..
so can we say 150 mil ?
1.Sergio Agüero 15 mil -striker
2.Karim Benzema 20 ? -striker
3. Ever Banega 15? -midfield
4. Breno 10 – defender
5. Macauley Chrisantus 12 -striker
6.Lorenzo De Silvestri 10 – defender
7. Toni Kroos 10 -defender
8. Gerard Piqué 15 -defender
9 Lulinha 10 – midfield
10. Bojan Krkic – the new spanish messi !
and that leaves 15-20 mil for a top class goal keeper ..
all these players are not over 21 ..
and in keeping with arsene’s moral strategies
there pedro job done
July 10, 2009 at 13:10
yeah Pedro, missing the Barnet game though for the first time in years… …Franchise you b£$%&%$*
July 10, 2009 at 13:11
plus sell 4 or 5 donkeys
July 10, 2009 at 13:15
G8 was happening? Just wanted to expose the man for who he is
July 10, 2009 at 13:16
Henri Saivet,Gabriel Torje,Eden Hazard,kerlon
rossi …
the names are endless ..
so why the fuck isnt wenger pulling out his finger and getting some of these lads ..
July 10, 2009 at 13:16
Its funny how all the Mancs are calling Benzema overrated today. They are also saying he is knowhere near United quality and he will be a bench warmer at Madrid. Silly girls!
Now today there are reports that Veloso wants to leave Sporting and that they will accept bids of around £8.5m. That is fucking cheap! I know some people doubt him but I reckon Wenger can help form him into a wonderful player and an excellent partner for Cesc. He can also play the stylish Arsenal game and would score plenty free kicks.
July 10, 2009 at 13:17
oh thats right we are working to a sound financial plan …
that doesn’t involve spending money on transfers
July 10, 2009 at 13:19
Ethan, do you think we need an 18 year wingr(Hazard)? I thought the last thing we need to be doing is lowering the ae of our squad, but if you are being ironic wrt Project Youth I apologise for being dense.
July 10, 2009 at 13:20
I’am fed up with that”fabregas to barca” rumour.
He has said that he is going to stay and he will stay!! Barca must stop with that ” we will fabregas”.
And about matuidi, he is simelar to essien. And a midfield with nasri-matuidi-fabregas because nasri and fabregas can defence too. So matuidi will be good. But AW and Gazidis said that we will bring in players who are good now, so i think if we will sign matuidi we will sign an experienced CB. That is a good think. Think about it.
July 10, 2009 at 13:21
ethan have you actually seen half those players play?!
why do you think ever banega is any better than what we’ve got??
kroos is a midfielder, not a defender.
benzema already moved for 35 mil, 20 mil is living in dreamland,
as is 15 for aguero, if he leaves it’ll be 30 odd mil,
breno is a good young player but would be nowhere near ready to play regularly for us,
likewise christanus,
de silvestri is a right back not better than sagna,
lulinha is just a brazilian kid, no idea how he’d adapt to europe or if he’ll make it over here if he ever comes,
and bojan is on his way to valencia if villa comes the other way, and again although he’s a very talented player with alot of potential, he’s no further along in his development than vela imo!
pique is a quality defender, but barca wouldn’t let him go
ridiculous!!
July 10, 2009 at 13:21
good afternoon all. Interesting comments by all. pedro i like ur posts they’r quite funny at times
CARTMAN- ur jokes were awful man 
July 10, 2009 at 13:22
Chary Hazard has the potential to be the next Ronaldo. I will not be pleased if another big club picks him up. Especially the Mancs!
July 10, 2009 at 13:24
Did you guys know Kerlon has joined Inter on a free? Where the fuck was Wenger?
July 10, 2009 at 13:25
How much would Hazard command in a transfer? £10m? I’d sign him up for that and stick him on the right! Cant be worse than Walcott and he should be upfront anyway!
July 10, 2009 at 13:26
Plus the headlines alone would surely mean we win the league! ‘Hazard-ous for Utd’s health’, ‘Arsenal in the garden of Eden’….the possibilities are endless!
July 10, 2009 at 13:28
TAIG at todays rate Hazard can possibly leave for £5-8m. At next years rate a possible £15-17m with Real Madrid flying around.
He would bring more quality than Walcott on the wing. He is an exact copy of Ronaldo. Just smaller. So expect the nutmegs, step-overs, embarrasing defenders etc etc. Minus the diving ofcourse.
July 10, 2009 at 13:30
plus, Hazard has said he loves arsenal..
July 10, 2009 at 13:31
gp i’d imagine kerlon would find it very difficult to get a work permit
exact copy of ronaldo re hazard?? I thought he was good?! wouldn’t want someone with no football intelligence in the team even if he did have great technique etc!
July 10, 2009 at 13:32
Then again, I reckon the best ready-made winger we can buy is Ricardo Quaresma. Oh how Wenger would turn him into a bastard of a winger. Under Wengers guidance he would sort his career out and leave full-backs as his dust. His crossing and Bendtners heading/Eduardos finishing would be lethal.
July 10, 2009 at 13:33
Is Huntelaar to Stuttgart definitely happening?? Bit of a weird one if Utd are actually interested, and he’ll score a ridiculous number of goals in the German league!
July 10, 2009 at 13:33
chary
no im actually quite serious ..
well in keeping with wengers ideologies i am ..
(which means im thinking like wenger .. SHOULD )
but obviously its not going to change so
ill buckle to wengers will and put myself in his teen fetish for players .
id obviously prefer villa – messi – kaka and ronaldo etc . but if your talent scouting for youth i feel wenger should be sharper than buying song diaby denilson etc ..
and yes ive seen them play A.. and under wengers wing they would be top shelf …
and imo they are young stars who have far more too offer than wengers A grade scouting circus, which he has delivered to us past few years .. it seems if your not french or going for a 1 million quid then he isnt prepared to buy anyone ! but they sure as hell are out there in abundance …
July 10, 2009 at 13:34
yeah Fred, Hazard said that.
A, Kerlons already moved there. Done and dusted. I dunno how he got the permit.
I won’t even bother tackling the Ronaldo point as I would possibly get ganged up on by the rest of you. I am possibly the only Gooner who loves Ronaldo and thinks hes quality.
July 10, 2009 at 13:37
no that’s what I meant gp – you don’t need a work permit for italy, but it’s why he could never come to england.
quaresma is another one who lacks the footballing intelligence to play for us imo, he had alot of early talent but has gone to shit completely because of his lack of intelligence and dodgy attitude, wouldn’t want him!
it’s one thing rating ronaldo, but loving him?! the majority of utd fans didn’t even love him by the end because he’s such a fuckhead on the football pitch, petulant cheating nobber, how can a gooner “love” him?!
July 10, 2009 at 13:37
A
why would he find it hard to be granted a work permit ..
AFC hasnt applied for one in over 3 years ..
denilson – song ..
its not like we are man shitty and hiring a Brazilian ever year !
July 10, 2009 at 13:38
Quaresma would be available at £5m. Mourinho and Inter like Diaby (for some odd reason), give them him in exchange!
July 10, 2009 at 13:39
Ronalado’s record is unbelievable. he is quality, but a prick, and sometimes that makes it hard to give him the credit he deserves. goals against shite teams are still goals..
he can head, shoot, dribble, but is ultimately, a tool
July 10, 2009 at 13:39
That’s fair enough Goonerpress but we really don’t need any more potential – we need the finished article, in any case he could be another Pennant. We also don’t need another youth player swelling the size of our payroll costs.
July 10, 2009 at 13:40
ethan – because he hasn’t got a single brazil cap, let alone played in the 3/4 of the games in last two years which he’d need to qualify for one, and is now 21 so would find it very difficult to get an exceptional talent visa, which both denilson and song got as teenagers
July 10, 2009 at 13:40
A
the majority of utd fans didn’t even love him by the end because he’s such a fuckhead on the football pitch, petulant cheating nobber, how can a gooner “love” him?!
———————————–
if we can put up with ade who is all of those things plus a shite player to boot, then im sure most comatosed Arsenal fans wont object A !
July 10, 2009 at 13:40
gp i’d rather have diaby!
July 10, 2009 at 13:41
you can beat the shit out of your girl friend head nut fellow players and still be loved at arsenal !
July 10, 2009 at 13:41
ade is one tenth the nobhead ronaldo is on the pitch ethan, though obviously he has a very questionable attitude, he’s not in the same league as ronaldo in that respect, although there hasn’t been a player in my football watching lifetime that is!
July 10, 2009 at 13:42
well A, you got diaby … and where did we finish in the league this season ???
July 10, 2009 at 13:42
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1198696/PICTURE-SPECIAL-Cesc-Fabregas-flees-transfer-speculation-Barca-Real-line-bids-Arsenal-star.html?ITO=1490
What a f***cking bad rumour of that daily mail.
This is useless dailymail!!!!
July 10, 2009 at 13:44
did someone just say they love ronaldo on here????
yellow card goonerpress
July 10, 2009 at 13:45
kerlon played U-20’s and U 17’s
South American U-17 Football Championship Top Scorer: 2005
South American U-17 Football Championship Best Player: 2005
i think that qualifies as talented enough dont you …
if song can get here on exceptional talent im sure kerlon could walk it ..
July 10, 2009 at 13:45
lol great logic ethan, what point are you trying to make there?! how can people genuinly say that a player is shit because of where their team finished?!
(incidentally i don’t rate diaby)
July 10, 2009 at 13:45
A, its because I used to watch him when he was younger and have always thought he was class. The only point I really hated him was when he got Rooney sent off with the wink. But fuck it, Rooneys a knob anyway. Everyone has their choices and I think Ronaldo is quality. But then again thats just my point of view.
Him and Quaresma both have it in them, the football intelligence that is. Thats not enough though, a player always needs the right coach to bring out the attributes in him. Fergie is always after a show pony and an entertainer thats why Ronaldo turned up that way. Watch him when he played against United, with Sporting, and he was magical. Quaresma is the same, hes never had a good footballing coach. They have always fucked around with him because of his ability to put up a show.
Its like that dancing bear thing, lock em up under your rules and make them dance and put up a show. Unleash them and they will fuck your life over. Which is exactly what Ronaldo will do to United in the UCL
July 10, 2009 at 13:46
no ethan – it would have qualified as an exceptional talent in 2005 if someone had bidded then, but things that happened four years ago don’t matter now when applying.
July 10, 2009 at 13:47
A
yes ronaldo is a knob head because he’s good and talent and can get around defenders and score goals ..
ade is a knob head because …errrr…
hmmmmm … ill get back to you ..
July 10, 2009 at 13:48
agree on HLEB – he was a purists footballer – my type
he was someone who’d draw 2 defenders to him & would pass to a Cesc/Eddy who would supply the assist.He’s v.similar to Iniesta minus the shooting. So ROSICKY’s back in Autumn – October-ish?i’d play a 4-3-3 until he’s back with Arsh,Eddy,RvP as the 3 forwards,Cesc,DM,Nasri in the middle.when Rosicky returns we should revert to a 4-4-2 with him on the left & Arsh right wing.KICKASS MOTHAFUKKAS!
July 10, 2009 at 13:48
ethan that list is a bit lame, im glad you arent in charge of transfers.
July 10, 2009 at 13:49
we’ll see gp – going to real could either be the making or breaking of ronaldo. He could either completely fail to cope not being the main man with the team built around him, his ego causing him to lose it, and be the biggest flop in footballing history, or it could force him to learn some humility, and become a much better all round player. Only time will tell!!
Quaresma will never make it now imo, he’s had enough chances. Dunno what you mean about not having a decent coach, rijkaard, mourinho, hiddink are all top coaches in my book!
July 10, 2009 at 13:50
well A its part of the collective logic of either you have decent players on the pitch or you dont .
throw stats about defend players til your blue in the face but the players your tearing strips off
are successful , the players your defending have won FUCK ALL for at least 4 years if not there whole career !
July 10, 2009 at 13:50
Sorry Ethan,
Your having a laugh with your valuations
1.Sergio Agüero 15 mil -striker more like 30-35
2.Karim Benzema 20 ? -striker sold for 30 rising to 35
So youve just spent 70mill !!
And bojan the next messi not even in the same postcode scored plenty through the youth ranks but looks all at sea in the first team from the perfomances ive seen,
July 10, 2009 at 13:52
huh ethan, do you not understand that you can differentiate between a player’s footballing performance and behaviour??
Ronaldo is a nobhead because he just walks off the pitch leaving a team with ten men, is petulant when being taken off, throwing his top on the floor, walks straight down the tunnel, feigns injury, dives, tries to get opposition players sent off, kicks out at people, whines constantly, has a go at his teammates time and time again when he makes a mistake, refuses to track back EVER, the list goes on and on, nothing to do with his taking it round defenders or scoring goals.
Ade hasn’t done 1/10 of the despicable things Ronaldo has!
July 10, 2009 at 13:53
Rijkaard is a good coach but he abused him. I remember something about him playing Quaresma in CM. He was continously being played out of position and was humiliated at the club. He was young and that was not what he needed.
Mourinho is a good coach but have any of his teams ever played sexy intelligent football? I wouldn’t expect his players to either. Mourinho is such a good coach that he went to the press and told them to award Quaresma the award for Worst Player in the League. Thats humiliation once again. How can you do that to your own player?
Hiddink I can never diss but he hardly used him and didn’t have enough time to work some magic on him.
July 10, 2009 at 13:54
i would buy
mascherano 40 million
Villa 40 million
then id would buy myself a massive house and a ferrari
July 10, 2009 at 13:54
KM i agree about hleb, what do you mean rosicky back in october?! I expect him to start against barnet a week tomorrow!! Agree about the 4-3-3, but with rosicky in for nasri, that front five would walk the league
July 10, 2009 at 13:56
definantely think wilshere is gonna get a few games this season, is he better than Fabregas was at that age??
July 10, 2009 at 13:58
unfortunately not incesc! Though he’ll be a top top player, and agree he could well get a few games this season
July 10, 2009 at 14:03
Look at it this way, if Cesc is worth 40-50m after an unimpressive season what will he be worth next year?
We have to hang on to him until his late 20’s to maximise his use at Arsenal and his transfer value.
July 10, 2009 at 14:04
KERLON was at a lowly Italian club so Inter snapped him up. I’m a regular on Brazilian blogs etc.Kerlon was an awesome PROSPECT.He became r.famous for his ’seal dribble’.He done v.well at youth competitions etc but since he got injured he hasnt hit the same form again. The young Brazilian strikers atm to watch out for are Kerrison who’s consistent and has moved to Barca(?) & Nilmar who’s becoming consistent & has scored some awesome goals.I think we should sign up Hazard on a pre-contract & let him play another year for Lille.This way we buy him cheap and before the annual Madrid circus comes to town. I love Quaresma on youtube but fails to impress consistently.theres no doubt he has the X-Factor but he’s already 25/26(?).i think its more of a question of mentality/attitude more than talent.
July 10, 2009 at 14:05
I agree Arse&Nose, it would make absolutely no sense to sell him now, he’ll be worth much much more at the end of next season, and even more the following season. With Arshavin in, Rosicky back, and Nasri adapting to the prem Cesc could be amazing this year
July 10, 2009 at 14:08
Ah ok – didn’t realise he was already in Italy at Chievo – according to wiki it was actually inter who signed him, but kinda sent him to chievo because of non-eu regulations. The signed him this summer, I’m guessing it was similar to the Chelsea thing with Alex
July 10, 2009 at 14:17
i remember watching Quaresma play against l’pool abt 2yrs back.he was awesome.he had outrageous skill- more than Ronaldo. However Ronaldo had Fergie as teacher & i think he’s mentally tougher. IF i had £100m to spend – what would i do? Hmmmmmmm GO TO VEGAS MOTHERFUKKERS! Hahahaha (HANGOVER style)i dnt like gambling/dnt drink/drugs(might take weed),however i’d get the best bitches going & have an awesome time. RICK JAMES BITCH !
July 10, 2009 at 14:18
chippy
got the valuations from 2008 top 20 youth players.
however in trying times im sure arsene could barter or swap players ..
even if you missed on 1 or 2 players which naturally you would its a far better crop of players than what we currently own ..
incesc ,
sure my picks are worse than song- denilson – diaby-ade- nik b currently and all the other tross we keep playing week in week out …
July 10, 2009 at 14:21
well yeah bendtner is miles better than bojan currently, christianus, and all denilsong and diaby are better than banega, lulunha. look at how many goals the two of them scored and who had the better service??! song, denilson, and diaby are better
July 10, 2009 at 14:21
and on that note im oput of here with my scouting staff …..
remember its joke friday …..
Steve is shopping for a new motorcycle. He finally finds one for a great price, but it’s missing a seal, so whenever it rains he has to smear vaseline over the spot where the seal should be.
Anyway, his girlfriend is having him over for dinner to meet her parents. He drives his new bike to her house, where she is outside waiting for him.
“No matter what happens at dinner tonight, don’t say a word.” She tells him, “Our family had a fight a while ago about doing dishes. We haven’t done any since, but the first person to speak at dinner has to do them.”
Steve sits down for dinner and it is just how she described it. Dishes are piled up to the ceiling in the kitchen, and nobody is saying a word. So Steve decides to have a little fun. He grabs his girlfriend, throws her on the table and has sex with her in front of her parents.
His girlfriend is a little flustered, her dad is obviously livid, and her mom horrified when he sits back down, but no one says a word. A few minutes later he grabs her mom, throws her on the table and does a repeat performance. Now his girlfriend is furious, her dad is boiling, and her mother is a little happier.
But still there is complete silence at the table. All of a sudden there is a loud clap of thunder, and it starts to rain. Steve remembers his motorcycle. He jumps up and grabs his jar of vaseline.
Upon witnessing this, his girlfriend’s father backs away from the table and screams, “OKAY, ENOUGH ALREADY, I’LL DO THE FUCKING DISHES”
July 10, 2009 at 14:23
A – Inter like ManU are buying a lot of Brazilians.They got Maicon,Coutinho (awesome talent – bit like Kaka) & now they’v got Kerlon.However not sure if Moureen is the right coach for young ‘intelligent/flair’ players
July 10, 2009 at 14:28
Certainly not flair players KM, though attacking intelligent players can do well under him, but they’ve gotta have the attitude and discipline, which is why the likes of Robben struggled at times, and obviously quaresma too. It’ll be interesting to see how coutinho and kerlon will do
July 10, 2009 at 14:33
As we’re talking about the Greasey diver I’d like t say this:
As a footballer he undoubtedly has technical skills(dribbling, shooting, heading) with his only weaknesses being his poor tackling and tendency to over-do stepovers(I suspect he does that for effect).
HOWEVER as a sportsman and role model for aspiring young players he could not be a worse example.
His diving, ego tripping self-centredness combined with his narcissistic tendencies result in a thoroughly unlikeable and disagreeable specimen of a human being. I can’t think of many footballers I dislike more(perhaps Joey Barton) although the way he has f***ed over the Manks who worshipped has redeemed him ever so slightly in my eyes.
But to me, once a mankskummer, always a mankskummer.
He can go and f**k himself.
July 10, 2009 at 14:33
As I said earlier I’m going to Barnet(not having my hair done in case you misread the slang) so Gunner8 I’ll be there as will Peaches and possibly Fran, is that right Fran ?
I have to video some of it as I now have a subscriber to my Youtube account. A whole one ! I have to put a new video up to keep my audience happy !
July 10, 2009 at 14:35
good one ETHAN
agree on BOJAN – i think he’s one of those talents who are amazing until they reach the senior side.i dnt think he’l succeed at Barca.he’s gona take more time to develop hence why he’s gona be loaned out/(sold?) Agree on lulihna – all these brazilian kids are amazing at youth level/youtube but only a few maintain that X Factor when they reach the 1st team level.
July 10, 2009 at 14:41
chary i wouldn’t say his only weakness is overdoing things and stepovers. in my eyes his biggest and most limiting weakness is a complete lack of intelligence both footballing and otherwise, which means that his passing and decision making is very poor and as a result he’ll never reach the same levels as the best in the world, because he’ll never get the assists, despite his undoubted absolutely unbelievable gifts when it comes to his physical and technical attributes.
I’m most likely going barnet as well (though i’ve not bought tickets yet) and expect to see rosicky and eduardo tear them to pieces!
July 10, 2009 at 14:46
A – Benega was a young DM sensation as a teen.he done well at the olympics for Argentina as well.However i think he moved to A.Madrid too early & he got loaned to Valencia frm there & wants to go back to Athleti which shows he’s struggling….
July 10, 2009 at 14:46
A, his record is pretty good, even for assists.
G A
34 9
42 8
26 20
Considering Hleb was considered a really intelligent player… he only managed 17 in his whole Arsenal career.
July 10, 2009 at 14:47
… and to say he wont go down as one of the greats is a huge understatment… because if he was scythed down tomorrow, he’d already be classed as a great.
July 10, 2009 at 14:50
Anyone heard about Benega and the webcam stories lol
July 10, 2009 at 14:51
A – whens the barnet game & what time?i’d love to go & see a match on Sunday.hard to come on w/days or sat as i work & live in Wales :/
July 10, 2009 at 14:51
I have to disagree with you there Pedro – to be one of the” greats”, like Pele, Bobby Moore or Beckenbauer you have to be respected on and off the pitch.
Ronaldo is worthy of nothing but my contempt.
As I said before he can go f**k himself, the c**t.
Can I scythe him down then ?
July 10, 2009 at 14:52
I disagree Pedro – he’s nowhere near reached the heights of the previous best players, henry, ronaldo, ronaldinho, zidane, and messi also is a league above what he’ll ever be imo as well, and will improve from his current position too!
Last season Ronaldo got 8 assists, 8 the season before. He did have the one season he got 20, and if Madrid teaches him humility he could do that again, whilst scoring alot of goals, and if he does then he’ll be classed on the same level as the players that have gone before him, but currently he isn’t in the same league imo.
If he was crocked tomorrow he’d be remembered as an amazing talent, but not as a great.
July 10, 2009 at 14:53
Chary, there is hate in your text…
Diego Marradona is a great…
July 10, 2009 at 14:53
week on saturday KM, kick off 3pm
July 10, 2009 at 14:55
Ronaldo has the ability to score goals out of nothing, but in terms of his ability to completely influence a game the whole time over 90 minutes, his overall game has a long way to go to match what the likes of ronaldinho, zidane, ronaldo, henry used to do, as well as being capable of scoring goals from anywhere, anytime
July 10, 2009 at 14:56
imo rooney could go on to be remembered as much more of a great than ronaldo…. if his ego doesn’t cope with not having all the attention at madrid the season before last may well prove to be the peak of his whole career!
July 10, 2009 at 15:00
A, I don’ think it’s possible to score 40 goals and get 20+ assits…
The season he made 20 assists… he scored 26… the season he scored 40… his assists dropped to 8.
July 10, 2009 at 15:02
Pennant has gone to Zaragoza!
Now there is a great player…
July 10, 2009 at 15:05
A, I completely agree with your comments about Ronaldo. Rooney is more likely to control a game than Ronaldo ever is, Ronaldo is an impact player who can go bang bang and disappear for 30minutes.
A good example of this was when Man Utd played Milan and Kaka bossed the whole game by controlling Milans tempo and passing whilst Ronaldo was anonymous.
This is in no way a insult to Ronaldo but in my opinion to be a great you need to be a bigger influence on a team than simply scoring solo goals. You could say the same for RVP’s style, he also needs to improve his team play but on his day can win a game on his own.
July 10, 2009 at 15:05
messi got 38 and 16 last season pedro…. henry got 32 and 23, and 30 and 15 in 04/05 in just 40 games….
July 10, 2009 at 15:06
Arse – tell us abt the webcam diaries
Pedro – in his 1st two years Hleb was bedding in.However he exploded in the last year.Personally as a purist i would prefer him over Ronaldo – strange though it sounds.
July 10, 2009 at 15:08
also – with the true greats the stats don’t tell the whole story, or at least not just goals and assists. The likes of ronaldinho, henry, messi have the goals and assists, but also offer so much more than that. When ronaldo isn’t scoring goals he offers absolutely zip to the team, with him the stats DO tell the whole story!
July 10, 2009 at 15:09
i’m the same km, for our style of play hleb contributed much more than ronaldo would have, though if we had ronaldo rather than hleb i’d imagine our style of play would have been adjusted
July 10, 2009 at 15:09
KM in WALES, the young Argentinian Benega was duped into stripping naked via webcam and the poor guys pics went to the tabloids! Here is the full story…
http://www.soccerway.com/news/2008/January/08/valencias-new-signing-appears-in-naked-webcam-video/
July 10, 2009 at 15:12
KM and A… I respectfully withdraw from any conversation that says you’d rather have Hleb in your team over Ronaldo.
July 10, 2009 at 15:14
July 10, 2009 at 15:14
I think hleb hasn’t even dreamt of scoring as much as ronaldo has actually scored.
July 10, 2009 at 15:15
Hleb isn’t on the same level as an individual player Pedro, but in terms of being a cog in the wengerball machine, i’d have hleb over ronaldo every day. our game was based on keeping possession, hleb is one of the best around at that, ronaldo is one of the worst, the style of play relied upon intelligence, hleb has it in abundance, ronaldo the opposite, that’s it in simplistic terms!! Though ronaldo as an individual player is far superior his strengths wouldn’t have been maximised with us, and his weaknesses would have crippled us
July 10, 2009 at 15:15
guys what if Ronaldo consistently played at the same level as the last two yrs? And winning more titles & intnl honours along the way?Would he be considered an all time gr8 then?
July 10, 2009 at 15:18
A, if Ronaldo played for Arsenal, we’d adapt our system around his game.
He would not cripple us…
40 extra goals and 8 assists would have put us right in the mixer.
July 10, 2009 at 15:20
KM, he’d be regarded as a great… anyone with the trophies, production levels and flair he has would be.
July 10, 2009 at 15:22
Lol @Benega webcam story thats hilarious!
July 10, 2009 at 15:24
I agree pedro – if we have ronaldo we would have changed our system, but we would also have bought different players, different types of players etc, just swapping him for hleb in our 07/08 system would have crippled us completely.
Pedro ronaldinho, ronaldo, zidane are greats from recent years, ronaldo isn’t and wouldn’t be considered in the same league as them, he’s a level below.
Ronaldo would have been considered an incredible talent who could have gone on to be a great, but wouldn’t be considered a great yet, just as even Messi wouldn’t if he was cut down now, even though he’s at a level that Ronaldo has never reached
July 10, 2009 at 15:24
That’s true Pedro – to my mind for all his undoubted skills he has blotted his copybook with his attitude. Of course being a Mank is always going to be a hard starting point to endear a player to me; but he’s gone, to the “nth” degree times the other way – as a person he has no redeeming characteristics whatsoever and his on field antics when things don’t go his way are no better than Robby Savage when it comes to his petulant kicking out at opponents when he throws his toys out of the pram.
He has no dignity, self-awareness or modesty; the true greats of sport had this humility that would cut across partisan divisions.
He is largely disliked by all non Manks and by a good deal of his own mank supporters before he left.
Again, fuck him and fuck his hair grease.
July 10, 2009 at 15:25
Pedro – just curious – can u tell through which device i’m posting?
July 10, 2009 at 15:26
What has the world come to when you can’t whack off on a live web chat?
Jeez…
A, I agree that he isnt’ at the same level as Messi or Henry… but I still believe he’ll be regarded as a great. Power, pace, flair, goals, trophies… a great fake tan.
July 10, 2009 at 15:27
KM, you’re in Bristol and the IP is addressed to Orange PCS PLC
July 10, 2009 at 15:28
Have to agree to disagree then pedro, because in my eyes Messi wouldn’t yet be regarded as a great, you’ve gotta do it for 3/4 years on the trot minimum to be regarded as a great. He’s got great talent, but in terms of what he’s done in football it’s nowhere near enough to be regarded as a great.
July 10, 2009 at 15:30
i still think if Ronaldo carries on at the same level he’l end being claimed as a Cruyff by laymen or a PELE by the tabloids in this era of media Hype :/
July 10, 2009 at 15:31
A, I didn’t say Messi was a great yet?
July 10, 2009 at 15:35
we can really go for it this year can’t we, just one more player short.
July 10, 2009 at 15:36
Totally agree Choy… I hope this young French kid is the answer.
July 10, 2009 at 15:37
A – agree with u.Messi needs consistency.for la liga watchers nxt year will be a treat! PEDRO – ur right on the IP but wrong on location. I’m in pontypridd in Wales.i think its saying that cos Orange HQ is in Bristol (my bro-in-law works there).
July 10, 2009 at 15:40
Which french kid?
matuidi?
July 10, 2009 at 15:42
choy ur the boy! (i thought it rhymed:) I think we can do it as well but we need a DM & key players FIT!
July 10, 2009 at 15:44
whats up KM…
pedro any sign of rico these days?
July 10, 2009 at 15:49
gday all, what up?>
July 10, 2009 at 15:50
is it this time next week we find out which CL team we get for the qualifier?
July 10, 2009 at 15:50
Surely if Matuidi was in London since Sunday night, and St Ettienne signed Gelson Fernandes today as a replacement he should be wrapped up today?!
July 10, 2009 at 15:50
,
July 10, 2009 at 15:57
I have information found about matuidi. People here say that no english clubs want him but Tottenham,everton and Pompey are after him. He seems like a essien who we need. I love him and people, give that boy the chance!! You will see him play and you think WTF, he is very good. Mark my words!! He is one of signings like eduardo and sagna, he will be our essien. And I look forward to see him play.
Give that boy a chance!!
July 10, 2009 at 15:59
I agree dutchman, I actually really want us to sign him, left footed too so he’d give us some more balance, and just have a feeling he could come in and be class
July 10, 2009 at 16:01
A- Re.matuidi signing. i got a sneeky wenger/board are a bunch of sadists or have a very twisted sense of humour.they sign the player and keep us in the dark and make us wait for ages & secretly laugh at us
July 10, 2009 at 16:05
ive never heard of him but bring him in anyway. i heard he was only 5 foot 7?
July 10, 2009 at 16:05
KM, would you like matuidi???
July 10, 2009 at 16:06
EVO, 5 foot 9:D
July 10, 2009 at 16:06
Didn’t Pato and Elano get caught on webcam too?
July 10, 2009 at 16:06
Not together, obviously
July 10, 2009 at 16:07
They don’t play for ManUtd
July 10, 2009 at 16:08
DUTCHMAN! go for it soldier! arsenal need more passionate fans like u
July 10, 2009 at 16:09
Apparently, Real Madrid have accepted a 19m bid from Vfb Stuttgart for Huntelaar. Man U are so far losing all their potentail targets one after another.
July 10, 2009 at 16:09
From Wikipedia re: Matuidi:
“5′9″….He primarily plays as a combative defensive midfielder often playing in a withdrawn position as a deep-lying playmaker.”
If he turns out as well as Sagna has, we’ll all obviously be thrilled.
July 10, 2009 at 16:11
I don’t understand cricket but I think we’re shit
July 10, 2009 at 16:12
Yep Stunners – really hope they miss out on everyone and just stick with owen!
July 10, 2009 at 16:13
lol Trinidad
we got some comedians onboard this afternoon. DUTCHMAN – well soldier,he would definately add strength to the squad. So yes.
July 10, 2009 at 16:13
PW, I’ve got my fingers crossed for that!
July 10, 2009 at 16:13
5 foot 9 even smaller than me. hope he’s good!
July 10, 2009 at 16:17
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8143744.stm
Fucking mentalists…
July 10, 2009 at 16:17
just one thing to say before i go home:
I ♥ Pedro
July 10, 2009 at 16:17
Subject: Cesc
Haven’t gone searching the recent threads for any related discussion, but assume Barca offers Arsenal 40MM for Fabregas. Do you take it?
I say, emphatically, no. Not only because he’s a great player, but because of the message it sends, not only to the footballing world about the state of affairs at the Emirates, but most importantly to the fans and to the current squad members. That being said, as much as I’d love to have Cesc for life, he will go to Barca at some point and my guess is that it’d be next year, regardless of how the season turns out for Arsenal this year. If we win the trophy, he’ll have achieved the goal of winning silverware with Arsenal. If we don’t win the trophy, my guess is his frustration would be too much for him to live with for another year at the Emirates.
But this season is very pivotal, particularly with the new Man City sure to breathe down necks of the top 4, and we need Cesc to further cement our position as a top 4 club. With all the talk and confusion surrounding Arsenal’s finances, we cannot afford to let him go at almost any price this season.
Alright, this place is killing my work productivity so I had to spew it all out at once. Happy Friday.
July 10, 2009 at 16:19
Chipo… you make me blush
July 10, 2009 at 16:19
im getting back to the cricket, catch u all later on
July 10, 2009 at 16:19
Yes GoonerMichael – the Skippies are 28 ahead with 6 batsmen still to come. The best England can hope for is a draw now. A chance to go 1 nil up in the series lost there.
July 10, 2009 at 16:19
At the moment, we’re really looking like a team who want to challenge for everything next season.
July 10, 2009 at 16:20
Stunners – dnt think Fergie was after Huntelaar,unless he was r.cheap.but the main factor is the kids – Macheda & Wellbeck. ManU were after Benzema because he is a level above Huntelaar.a lot of my friends & family are mancs (ewww) and they’r saying that Fergie is doing a Wenger nxt season and is relying on the kids to come good.ManU would beat Stuttgart in a bidding war,plus they have more prestige than the German side.Owen is gona be a bit part player,an impact player or playing 1 game a week max.
July 10, 2009 at 16:21
Pedro – that happened in Almunia’s home town.
July 10, 2009 at 16:25
Chary, I heard it was Big Al’s bull…
July 10, 2009 at 16:27
one thing tht i couldn’t understand was if real is not able to pull strings for alonso how the f*ck they’ll be willing to pay 40+ for cesc
July 10, 2009 at 16:29
Well Pedro,if he couldn’t bring his bull over no wonder he got himself that little poodle as a substitute !
July 10, 2009 at 16:29
essien’s only 5′10″ so i’m not fussed if matuidi is 5′9″!
July 10, 2009 at 16:29
Grovers,
I imagine 2 more additions will do us well. But the bigger problem for AFC is Wenger’s matchday failings. Wrong formations, poor sub timmings, wrong sub strategy, and a thin first team squad. In short he often gets his matchday tactics wrong.
Thats why I favor adding rather than selling as we constantly have injuries. We can send some players on loan.
July 10, 2009 at 16:29
PW – i like ur thinking…. PEDRO – the cupid of blogland?
July 10, 2009 at 16:32
is it sure shot thing tht matuidi is in london…y is it not in any paper or newsnow for tht matter
July 10, 2009 at 16:33
I agree with you KM but the question is why Fergie splashed millions on Nani & Anderson a couple of seasons ago and £30.75m on Berbatov and for the record all of them come in major flops category at OT.
Now, everything seems to be changing and I believe Rooney will find it quite hard to click with new partner(s) up front.
Anyway, it’s good for us if they keep relying on kids.
The most important thing for us is start the season with positive attitude and be on top until the end of the season. Hopefully, this might be our season.
July 10, 2009 at 16:33
Chary, he tried to recreate the bull run in St Albans with 4 poodles… not quite as scary! haha!
KM… always! haha!
Right Chaps, I’m off out with a Goonerette tonight!
Have a good one!
July 10, 2009 at 16:35
Well it’s a club by club, situational thing. Kaka could come because Milan needed the money, Ronaldo could come because Fergie had enough of him. Benzema was always going to be too big a talent for Lyon.
Arsenal don’t have a reason to let Cesc go.
July 10, 2009 at 16:42
the papers are busy covering madrid
July 10, 2009 at 16:42
Erichero, Arsenal have massive debts and while we have those debts we have a huge reason to consider any bids for any of our players. -this is how our board will be thinking so don’t rule anything out!
July 10, 2009 at 16:43
A – agree with u.gr8 minds think alike
mascherano & makelele are midgets and they’r not bad DMs….
July 10, 2009 at 16:44
I wish at times Le Boss would answer Laporta and others who say things to unsettle our players. i like the Athletico Madrid president style.
Excerpt
But Enrique Cerezo has now issued a firm hands-off warning to every club interested in any Atletico player.
“Laporta [Barcelona president] likes Forlan? I like [Lionel] Messi,” Cerezo told AS.
“We will not sell any player, not even Maxi, Simao, Kun or Forlan.”
July 10, 2009 at 16:46
Bull got his own back
July 10, 2009 at 16:47
thats class Coadsi
“Laport likes Forlan? I like Messi” lol
Cesc aint going nowhere. Dont worry folks
July 10, 2009 at 17:00
I guess the rule with Cesc is the same as with any Arsenal player – enjoy them while they’re at the club. I was watching a Youtube collection of all Henry’s goals – what a player. You can sit there listening to all the speculation, when in truth, you just need sit back and appreciate, because if you blink it will be past and you’ll only talking about how it used to be.
July 10, 2009 at 17:08
thats deep erichero
July 10, 2009 at 17:10
very philosophical erichero
July 10, 2009 at 17:12
lol Coadsi. Laporta needs to shut his mouth & learn frm Wenger. I thought Barca had more class than Madrid….. Stunners – Nani was bought at the insistence of Quirez & Ronaldo who were telling Fergie that he’s the nxt big thing.Fair play to Nani though he was a good prospect in Portugal but his lazy attitude lets him down.Anderson was again a classy young talent. He was the player of the youth world cup (dnt know which one)so obviously there was something abt them.I agree though they havent lived up to their potential yet although anderson is starting to.
July 10, 2009 at 17:22
Agree with erichero. I cued up Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” and re-read the post.
July 10, 2009 at 17:22
back l8rs guys.off home
July 10, 2009 at 17:28
AC, Inter, Real, Barca, Manure, Chelski??, L’Pool…..etc of the top clubs, if u had to choose 2, which one you love to see fall to mid table this upcoming season?
Even with a new striker i think AC will struggle this year (sneakingly that would delight me because flamoney is there as well as Ade’s heart). No carlo, kaka, beckham, plus alot of experience (old old old) players still there. They are really skint. i really think they asked le boss for Ade but they could not afford the price.
July 10, 2009 at 17:34
Well if Man City cracks the top 4, it’d be poetic in a way for Man U to drop out. And who wouldn’t want to see Real Madrid fall on their face?
July 10, 2009 at 17:45
I’d like to see both Chelski and Real Madrid languish in mid table mediocrity
July 10, 2009 at 17:57
the squad is looking for strong and touch wood wenger will get dm player,i dont know how much read in to fact toure has not been givena new contract yet only 1 yaer left,but its real shame that wenger silvestor might be on his way but the real liability silvestor we might be stuck with,the only thing that concerns me if eboue leaves is righ back cover
July 10, 2009 at 18:02
It won’t happen though, because it seems footy is in a little bubble of it’s own, not affected by the relities of the real financial world!
Leeds made the error of spending large amounts on dross, at least these other clubs are buying decent players.
As much as I would love to see Real and the Chabs and citeh fall on their arses!
July 10, 2009 at 18:02
I think we should sell Cesc now.
Why risk him having a shit season and decreasing his value, for when we inevitably sell him next summer when he looks to jump ship to a proper club that actually wants to win things?
Sell him, let Wenger fuck about with some daft replacement, watch us have another disappointing season, and pray that we have a new manager for 10/11.
July 10, 2009 at 18:05
LOL. Great responses… those are the moments when they all choke up and stare into their beer.
July 10, 2009 at 18:07
Cesc is on a 8 year contract. Even if he has a bad season he’ll have to stay with us ’cause Barca won’t want him after a bad season.
July 10, 2009 at 18:09
If he demands to go, we’ll let him go.
It really is that simple Mayank.
And, after another mediocre seaason, I’d be staggered if he didn’t demand a move. He’s a brilliant player – he deserves better.
July 10, 2009 at 18:14
SO you’re solution is to sell him now so we lose for sure and the others leave the next year. You’re ambitious.
July 10, 2009 at 18:14
*your
I hate it when people confuse the two
July 10, 2009 at 18:19
“Why risk him having a shit season and decreasing his value, for when we inevitably sell him next summer when he looks to jump ship to a proper club that actually wants to win things?”
You risk it because he’s one of our best men and we’re trying to win a trophy. Sounds as if you want to throw in the towel already, which is certainly your freedom to do. Suggestions on a new manager?
July 10, 2009 at 18:28
Hopefully none of our players read LeGrove
July 10, 2009 at 18:32
I hope they don’t know what the internet is personally. I believe every single player has been berated beyond belief at some point of time. And if they realise these are the expectations the fans have from the club i’m sure they’ll just think ‘fuck it, i’d rather play for man city, at least the fans are positive’
July 10, 2009 at 18:33
after such a positive post from goeff y this negative vibes????? we’ll win this year for sure….one DM signing and thts it!!!!!!
plus i jsut saw thomas rosicky clip…..aaaargggh didnt we miss him…waiting to see his glimpse on the pitch doing what he does the best
July 10, 2009 at 18:36
I don’t think we’re moving any further forward under Wenger. It will be year after year of 3rd / 4th until the inevitable happens and we invite financial ruin on ourselves by finishing 5th.
This isn’t a strategy for the future, it’s cowardice and some perverse idealism.
Getting rid of Wenger is the only way this club can really move forward.
July 10, 2009 at 18:39
Who to put in charge, if not Wenger, Jimbo?
July 10, 2009 at 18:40
the person who wrote ‘yaya & eto’o for cesc’…you taking the absolute piss? i’d take just one of those for cesc and i’d gladly give money to barca as well, both are clearly better players than him…cesc is too slow, nasri can easily take his place and then we will have more pace through the middle instead of 1 mph man…so fucking slow, did you see him during the confederations cup? a complete embarrassment especially as he was playing beside a much more gifted player like xavi…yes cesc can chip the ball through to the attackers every now and then, but arshavin was our main assist maker since he signed and nasri filled in well for cesc whilst he was injured…so I would happily bet anyone that we won’t miss him once he’s gone, infact our team would improve(the best position we’ve achieved with cesc being a main starter is 3rd…just incase someone says he’ll be a big miss, he clearly won’t when we’ve won nothing with him in the team)…and with 40million we might actually buy a decent defensive midfielder for the first time in 13 years.
July 10, 2009 at 18:43
Who’s available PW?
July 10, 2009 at 18:44
Jimbo i dont think getting rid of wenger is the answer. besides its hard to get rid of someone satisfies everyone but the fans. if it was the otherway around i.e. satisfies the fans and not the board then adios. but i think he is doing what his employers pay him to do at the moment.
July 10, 2009 at 18:44
Having a handful of negative comments on one of many fan blogs is more than offset by a roaring crowd of 60,000 at the Emirates. And really is there a club out there that doesn’t have supporter blogs opining and making negative comments in similar fashion? Now, booing on a large scale at the stadium is another story. Point is, players have better things to do than to bring themselves to our lowly level.
July 10, 2009 at 18:45
Jimbo, I don’t know who’s available. I’ve not thought about it since I’m, admittedly, a Wenger supporter. But I recognize each fan’s right to their opinion and am curious who people sharing your opinion wish to have in place of Wenger.
July 10, 2009 at 18:49
A lot of managers wouldn’t even want to work with this board. Besides Ivan, everyone seems a cunt
July 10, 2009 at 18:49
LD, i don’t go for calling people names but you’re a fucking prick!
July 10, 2009 at 18:50
Well JW, the problem is, I don’t know who else is available either.
I’ve come out with a list of suggested names on a few occasions – people like Moyes, Rijkaard & Deschamps are usually near the top. But it really depends on who we can get
July 10, 2009 at 18:50
You don’t think we’re moving forward do you? Then we should definitely replace him. I think most gooners don’t realise that Arsenal is not as big a club as Barca, Man U etc. and we don’t have some divine right to win. The only way we can progress as a club is by becoming a footballing giant. Sure we can appoint Mourhino as our coach and Usmanov our owner but will that guarantee success? It will perhaps increase the chances but the only thing it’ll guarantee is that if we fail to win in those circumstances, the only way we’ll go is down. We’re on the right track we have a hell of a stadium, the best academy in england and one of the best scouting systems around this guarantees we have a steady stream of players and don’t have to rely on the whims of a sugar daddy to provide us with stars. On top of that we have a footballing ideology instated in the club by Wenger that will continue to attract players and give us good football. To sack Wenger now will ruin all the good work and push us back as a club.
July 10, 2009 at 18:53
Still no signings… Meh!
July 10, 2009 at 18:55
lol Rijkard is shit
July 10, 2009 at 18:56
Mayank – all Wenger has created is a club that is constantly rebuilding, constantly a few pieces short and a manager who refuses to do a proper job replacing because he’s obsessed with promoting his kids, rather than actually putting out the best team he can.
At best, we’re going to be a club that’s ALMOST good enough for the rest of his tenure, but alwasy going to finish 3rd or 4th.
At worst (and with Man Shitty building most likely), we’ll be out of the top 4 in a year or two, and we’ll bring financial ruin on ourselves. A year or two out of the CL would cripple us, and the way Wenger’s going, highly probable.
Fire Wenger, save the club.
July 10, 2009 at 18:57
So, Jimbo, your biggest issue is that Wenger refuses to splash a ton of money out there a la Real Madrid? Or is it more tactical?
July 10, 2009 at 18:58
Well OK Pat, you may not rate Frankie – that’s your perogative.
The problem is, getting a manager in will depend on who’s available at the time. Rijkaard (if you ask me) is good, and would also be available. But, as I don’t haev a list of cellphone numbers, I don’t nkow who else we could possibly get.
July 10, 2009 at 18:58
I support Wenger, but if something were to happen:
Laurent Blanc (Although he’ll probably end up as SAF’s replacement)
Hiddink
Bould
I also want to see how well this Martinez bloke does with Wigan. I’ve heard great things about him, but its still early and he’s still young for a manager.
July 10, 2009 at 19:00
No PW, I’ve outlined my problems with Wenger already – not that he won’t spend LOADS of cash, it’s just that he absolutely doesn’t seem capable of finishing the job and building a COMPLETE squad.
July 10, 2009 at 19:00
I just want to sign Matuidi and start preseason already
July 10, 2009 at 19:01
Martinez is an interesting shout Pat, as is Bould.
As for Hiddink, he’s a short term manager, which is the problem with him. We’d get a good year out of him, maybe two, but he wouldn’t last with us long.
July 10, 2009 at 19:03
Jimbo Wenger has built a club whose fans think that 4th is a failed season in comparison to pre-wenger when we’d be delighted by it, he’s built a club where you can say players like Walcott are not good enough to start, he’s built a club where the fans can bitch about just making the s/f of CL whereas pre-wenger we’d probably be over the moon if it happened. Also Wenger has given the club a footballing identity which makes players like David Villa and Arshavin put us in the same bracket as Barca.
July 10, 2009 at 19:03
http://www.goal.com/en/live-update/47/live-debate-has-arsene-wenger-lost-the-plot
has any1 read that? Some bloke, who has nothing to do with arsenal is telling us what we should and shouldn’t do in the transfer window, to remain one of the big four and not slip down to “everton standards”.. How about **** off u mug!
BUT he does make a valid point about us spending 10m on vermaelen when we didn’t really need a centre back..
We still haven’t sold any of senderos, eboue, diaby, toure or adebayor to generate funds for a top class purchase of a centre midfielder, so we’re left with a 3-5m purchase of matuidi who is NOT much better then song…
I don’t want Cana nor melo at the price that’s been touted about because for 20m you can get toulalan.. M Diarra from Madrid at 10m might be worth a punt.. Other then that we aren’t going to get any1 else…
Infact i’ll bet a good money we actually do not buy or sell any1 else..So we might as well start talking squads and formations with what we’ve gt rather then with what we haven’t…
July 10, 2009 at 19:04
Blanc did very well with Bordeaux for 2 seasons now. 2nd place in 07/08 I think and Champions this season. He’s new to managing as well.
I like what Bould did with the youth. Its always a huge positive when the youth plays the same type of football as the seniors. Easier to adapt for the youngsters.
Martinez did what very few managers at Championship level could do. In a league thats very, very sloppy, his team played quite attractive football and got 7th(I think??) in their first season after being promoted.
We’ll have to keep an eye out on him cause Wenger’s departure will come eventually.
July 10, 2009 at 19:05
Mayank it’s only you who thinks forth is an achievement then.. I bet you’ll tell your kids it’s the taking part that counts when they are labelled losers..
July 10, 2009 at 19:05
Maybe it’s folly, but the year before last, that team was championship caliber. And then Eduardo and Sagna got hurt and the wheels came off a bit. Injuries happen, and I wish the team would’ve held up better, but they didn’t. Especially after coming on the heels of Henry’s departure, that was a damn good team. And, LD, Cesc had an incredible year that year. Now, we’ve had one year down from the prior year. Granted we’ve not won trophies in a handful of years, but I can’t sign up for one year down from the last year equating to a trend or firm direction downward.
With tougher challenges from Villa last year, Everton the last few years, and now Man City, don’t you think everyone that supports a top 4 club is nervous? If you’re any big club in the EPL this year thinking it’s going to be a cakewalk finishing in the top 4, then you’re crazy. Arsenal’s got issues, and we feel the anxiety over them, but I know fans of all the other clubs and they’ve got their own problems.
July 10, 2009 at 19:05
Mayank,
You don’t need to tell me what Wenger has built, I’m well aware.
As I said before, it’s whether or not he’s still taking us FORWARD that’s important, and as far as I’m concerned he absolutely isn’t.
July 10, 2009 at 19:06
Rev, Matuidi is worth the money. I think we’d pay 5-10 million for him.
July 10, 2009 at 19:09
yeah pat he is.. That’s why he’s rated in the 5-10m bracket… You get what you pay for and paying 10m euro and 5-6m sterling on two players means you’re competing in the spectrum of the transfer market with sunderland and stoke..
July 10, 2009 at 19:10
Well said Mayank… Wenger is partly responsible for transforming Arsenal into a Super club! We all expect to be first and the competition is fierce and in some respects we have reinvented the game which attracts these multi-billionaires into the race to buy a club like Man City and make it their hobby to be better than the rest by buying the best just to satisfy their self-obsessive egos!!
July 10, 2009 at 19:11
I don’t expect us to spend 50-60m every season.. We only need 1 player ffs and that’s a cm… Surely we can go above wenger’s danger figure of 16m…
We lost out on ribery 2 years ago because of it, alonso last year and now melo.. It’s a fucking joke! Somewhere down the line the board have got to take a gamble with a transfer fee.. We don’t even need to bust the wage structure.. it isn’t like we’re trying to haggle for e’too are we..
July 10, 2009 at 19:11
yep sunderland and stoke do spend more than us.
July 10, 2009 at 19:11
Wait, did someone above say we didn’t need a central defender? Granted we’ve got more than 2 of them on the squad, but still…..
Also, who really knows anything about Matuidi or whether or not he’s better than Song, Denilson, or maybe my mum? Recent purchases have seemed to turn out okay, so I’m inclined to put my faith in the scouts.
July 10, 2009 at 19:11
Well trophies are not the only way to judge whether we’re moving forward. The club as a brand is growing constantly and we’re one trophy away from being a footballing super-power. And i think the most successful manager since Herbert Chapman is capable of delivering us that one trophy that will give us the momentum we need for the club to carry on being a big club.
ReVELAtion i never said that being 4th is an achievement if you read carefully. I said that Arsene has made arsenal a big enough club for us to consider 4th a failed season.
July 10, 2009 at 19:13
Jimbo i think at the end of this season we will find out whether you have a point.At this point we have a great team that just lacks a DM
July 10, 2009 at 19:14
sorry mayank, but the ponce on goal.com ha sput me in a foul mood..
What gives him the right to have an online debate and tell arsenal fans what we’re missing and why we will sink into mediocrity when he has absolutely nothing to do with the club…
He lives near the stadium apparently.. If i find out where he lives i’m going to set fire to house with him inside it..
July 10, 2009 at 19:16
Mayank,
You really think our reputation is growing, despite finishing 4th in the Premiership every season?
What is our ‘brand’ tied to, if not our success on the field, and if it’s not what we’re doing on the field then how is Wenger growing it now?
This seems like a spurious argument to me, I’m afraid.
Wenger’s had 4 years of grace now, and at best we look like having an outside chance in the Champions League provided we get lucky in the draw and don’t face another English club. He’s had plenty of chances, plenty of leeway, and he’s basically fucked it all up.
Cut him loose, let him go and start his academy, or ruin Real Madrid, or whatever else it is he wants to do.
July 10, 2009 at 19:16
Also I’m not saying that Wenger is solely responsible for everything good at Arsenal, a major part are the fans who’ve filled up 60000 seats every week and the worldwide fanbase too. As a matter of fact there are many factors in making us a BIG club but i think that it wouldn’t have been possible without Wenger.
I think Wenger’s ambitions for the club exceed us winning trophies in his tenure.
July 10, 2009 at 19:17
What’s funny or interesting is that here in America, if a manager or coach had won three titles in twelve years, and had he continued a long streak of relative success, he’d be lionized and worshipped by the city and given the benefit of the doubt for quite some time past year #12. Not saying it always has to be that way, but it’s the context within which us American supporters of the club view Wenger.
July 10, 2009 at 19:18
I can see where Jimbo is coming from, the board(wenger) are seriously taking the piss out of the fans with there lack of ambition, always nearly signed him ,just missed out there, same old same old its like a stuck record its time we started acting like a big club no point of having a great stadium and a mediocre football team ffs just a couple of signings then we will compete.
July 10, 2009 at 19:20
PW, structure of sport’s very different in the states though, isn’t it.
No promotion or relegation, and most sports have mechanisms in place to regulate the dominance of individual teams (like a salary cap, or a ‘draft’ system). In addition, each sport has a lot more teams – therefore sustained success is a lot harder to come by.
July 10, 2009 at 19:20
Jimbo you’re talking in absolutes, yes we’ve not won for 4 years but have we never had a title winning side? I think that’s all you can ask of a manager, to build a winning side. Our CL final reaching squad was the better team and last year bar some unforeseeable bad luck we’d have won. Replacing Viera has always going to take some doing so a transition period was inevitable.
July 10, 2009 at 19:20
Back to my last comment, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised by the clamoring for Wenger’s head given this is a league were Avram Grant was fired after losing the CL final in a shootout.
Just a reminder, we were in the CL semifinal and didn’t really have a lucky first half in the home leg. To the detractors, would having made it to the final against Barca been enough? Or would we have had to beat Barca in the finals? Or would that even have been enough?
July 10, 2009 at 19:24
reggie 57, spot on….
Gazidiz is just from the sam “spule bullshit” mantra as fiszman & wenger… I’m not inhaling all this nonsense…
They think any1 but themselves actually gives a shit about running a sustained business model like they run it out of their houses and keep receipts when they use public transport.. This is world renowned fucking football club where people get 80,000 quid a week is normal….
If we need to dip our toes in the red so we can “invest” 25m in a top quality centre midfielder so be it.. We’ll be happy and if we still don’t win anything, no one can have any complaints…
But if we do, it’ll be because we spent some money for once instead of being the nerd group at school who get’s bullied by the big boys, who in turn then invite the nerds who get popular to hang with them leaving the rest of nerds to their own little corner…
July 10, 2009 at 19:25
Jimbo, good points on the league structures. Still, if there’s a big 4 in the EPL, then 3 titles in 12 seasons, I suppose, is par for the course? Granted Chelsky hasn’t always been as rich.
July 10, 2009 at 19:25
PW – luck had nothing to do with those CL games against United.. We got shown up for what we are.. A youth experiment gone wrong against a footballing juggernaut..
July 10, 2009 at 19:26
FIFA / the Prem Reps need to take some control back over these foreign entities because the game is in danger of impoding within… as soon as a big club folds then maybe finally the powers that be might notice that they needs more control over these capitalist approaches before the game suffers further exploitation.
At least in principle we are trying to run our club on the level… and I am proud of that fact even though I like every other fan would love to see at least 2 new signings before the new season begins.. preferrably Matuidi and Hazard – come on Wenger he’s worth gambling on!
July 10, 2009 at 19:27
you think a 22 y/o and 18 y/o will make us title contenders redbearer? I don’t..
July 10, 2009 at 19:28
It’ll just esculate when on the first day of the season everton beat us 3-1 at goodison..
July 10, 2009 at 19:28
adebayor will start and play shit as will song…
July 10, 2009 at 19:28
Mayank,
You’re still talking about the past.
I’m not diminishing anything Wenger’s achieved historically for us, btu since 2005, the direction he’s taken the club has been a joke, and he’s showed no signs of fixing his ways.
If he wants to leave Arsenal with the reputation he could have had, he should step down immediately before his out of control ego and idealism completely ruins us, OR completely change his atrocious philosophies which are leading us nowhere.
People talk about a ‘transition period’ as if we’re moving towards something. Well, Wenger’s had 4 years of transition, longer than anyone would have had anywhere else in the world, and we’re still a mess. Why? Because he’s still obsessed with proving to his bunch of spineless cunt kiddies like Denilshite that they have what it takes, when quite blatantly, they don’t. This isn’t a transition. This is modus operandi at Arsenal now, simlpy because Wenger’s totally out of control.
July 10, 2009 at 19:30
The only way forward if you want to compete in the circus football is becoming is for one of our rich investors to completely take over the club and invest hundreds of millions into the club.
Other than that we’re fine, asking for another manager to come in, is fine, though I doubt it’d make much difference, unless the above ideal comes to frution. Unless someone can name a manager who spends less or the same as Wenger and achieves the same results ? Even then I doubt we’d find someone with the same pull for players or with the football the team would end up playing.
July 10, 2009 at 19:32
No-one wants a new manager or a fucking sugar daddy billionaire.. All we want is to get rid of adebayor and buy a central midfielder for more than wenger’s 16m roof fee. who is class and worthy of the shirt… That’s all.. Not fucking rocket science is it!
July 10, 2009 at 19:34
Jimbo – Why has Wenger been allowed to get away with it ? I mean surely you can find plenty of examples of teams across Europe that have gone through the same transition seemlessly and won their own League and countless other trophies at the same time ?!
July 10, 2009 at 19:35
ReVELAtion – Are you sure no-one wants that ?! What would getting rid of Adebayor and buying a Central midfielder accomplish ?!
July 10, 2009 at 19:36
Has anyone noticed our so called list of targets is getting smaller each day(not in height)Benzema,Mello,Dzeko all out of our so called price range, what players will be left? i tell yeah damaged goods which the BIG clubs have rejected and then next season we will be discussing the matter of having a fit squad, ring any bells!!
July 10, 2009 at 19:36
Keyser – It’s because they don’t worry about killing denilson, song, diaby, eboue, ramsey, gibbs, walcott etc.. with bringing in better players.. They just want to win at all costs…
July 10, 2009 at 19:38
ReVELAtion – Who wants to win at all costs ?!
July 10, 2009 at 19:38
Keyser – That’s simple.. It’ll
a) get rid of the biggest cunt ever to wear our shirt bar ashley cole
b) Get in someone who is top quality to play in the centre of the park with 1 of our only world class players and captain..
God, Cesc must feel really lucky to have to play with denilson and song week in week out.. The amount of times he’s had to come out and confirm his love for arsenal is starting to wear a bit thin, because it’s just said out of obligation now more then anything..
July 10, 2009 at 19:39
Keyser, I’m leaving the office now so won’t be around for a big debate, but take last season.
Anyone who had ever watched football, apart from, aparently, Arsene Wenger, could have told you that Denilson was at best not ready to play regularly in the Premiership, and at worst not good enough full stop.
And yet Wenger throws caution to the wind, in a crucial season, and chucks him in anyway. I mean, how brass-knecked is that? It’s like telling the fans to fuck off, because his own little personal agendas are more important than actually putting together a competitive team, because he wants to do it all with kids. We’ve spent over £25mil since then on Arshavin and Vermaelen, so it’s nothing to do with money – it’s Wenger’s pathetic idealism.
Any manager who makes mistakes as fundamental as that isn’t fit for this club. I don’t really care about pertty football (as if we still play it), or a consistent record of finishing 4th. IF, after a decade in charge of this clbu, the man thinks that he can get away with such pathetic decisions, then his ego is totally out of control.
The boos and the jeers at his pathetic team this year were well justified. I feel sorry for the players, crucified by an inept manager in being asked to meet expectations that they were never capable of, but at the end of the day the message was there for all to hear – Denilson, Diaby, Eboue, Akinbayor simply aren’t good enough, and just because Wenger was good 4 years ago, patience has, rightly just about worn out.
July 10, 2009 at 19:39
Keyser – The teams who go through transisiton periods.. They usually only last 2 years, our has lasted 5 and we’re still in it..
July 10, 2009 at 19:43
Safe to say folks may disagree when the transition started? I view it having started when we sold Henry, and we’ve had only two seasons go by since then. And one of them was pretty successful in most folks’ eyes.
Anyway, I know I wanted to sell Ade before last season and I wanted some help in the midfield next to Fabregas and it didn’t happen. Nasri helped offset Hleb’s loss to a minor degree, but Arshavin’s purchase more than made up for that void. Coming into this offseason, I was feeling similar to those that wanted us to go out and buy Benzema or Villa, but I didn’t forsee Real Madrid’s craziness or the extent to which Man City would put its $ where its mouth is. So, yeah, you guys, I, like you, wish for us to replace Adebayor with someone better. But, at least for me, at this point I’m not wanting to sacrifice Wenger in order to make that happen.
July 10, 2009 at 19:45
Transition started when Wenger sold Vieira and decided it would be a good idea to start the season with Gilberto, Fabregas and (the then shit) Flamini as his only 3 central midfielders.
The man was out of control from that time, and almost had his arse handed to him by Spurs, of all people.
That mistake alone would have got him fired at a lot of clubs – we had patience, and now it looks like we might have been better off just getting rid there and then.
July 10, 2009 at 19:46
charybdis1966 Says:
July 10, 2009 at 14:51
I have to disagree with you there Pedro – to be one of the” greats”, like Pele, Bobby Moore or Beckenbauer you have to be respected on and off the pitch.
————————————–
sure but his career isnt over yet ,there is still a LONG way to go , once he matures as a human being he might get a personality that is likable ..
if his career ended yesterday id agree with you .
July 10, 2009 at 19:49
Jimbo – Don’t worry about replying we’ve got ages till some real football comes about, I’m sorry I didn’t reply to your last post about O’neill the other day, but it was pretty obvious you have an enormous soft spot for him, I didn’t want to shatter any illusions you have.
I really don’t undertsand how you come to the conclsions you do, suddenly it’s not about money because after 4 years of being prudent we’re spending some ? I’ve heard that a few times now and it gets harder to believe each time, obviously every year that goes by and we generate the money we do from the Emirates whatever financial constraints we were under would ease.
Also Denilson is one player, we must have had countless injuries last season, but then you’ll get people saying we can’t keep blaiming injuries, of course we can, it’s part of being a football team and considering every other club above has spent hundreds of millions on there squad we’re doing quite well.
You keep coming up with these assertions that Wengers mistakes are catastrophic, like I said find other examples of clubs facing the same sort of transition and see what you find.
It’s just odd how you can deride Wenger sOo much yet Champion O’neill at the same time, I see you’ve stopped mentioning his name in the same context as other managers you’d like us to have, thank god, but realise you’re only holding your tongue because of the monumentous cock up he made of Villa’s season last year.
I know I go on about it, but it sums up your thinking for me, I’ll be around from now on, we can carry it on some other day, Enjoy the evening.
July 10, 2009 at 19:51
I’d really hate if Madrid won fuck all, because then we’d have wenger and ivan spouting all types of bullox..
July 10, 2009 at 19:51
Im not asking for AWs head all in asking is someone on the board to grow some and bring him to task, ask why we dont sign experienced players, why are we constantly in transition,what are the fans booing for
questions that any company would ask!!
July 10, 2009 at 19:52
Martin O’neill is a shit manager. I hope he takes over at the theatre of cunts
July 10, 2009 at 19:53
The transition started with the Emirates and the decision to move to a new stadium.
ReVELAtion – What clubs do you want us to compare with ?!
There’s a few clubs in each league you could to begin with and then you’d have to look at each situation indidvidually.
It’s all too easy to make these sweeping statements, for examples look at Valencia moving to a new stadium.
July 10, 2009 at 19:53
reva
What if RM won fuck all but we won something?
I hope they win fuck all because they are classless cunts. they are the Jordan of football
July 10, 2009 at 19:54
Transition started after we left highbury.
July 10, 2009 at 19:54
Jimbo,
Respectfully speaking, I think it’s overstating it to say that replacing Flamini with Denilson/Song was proof of Wenger’s reckless and massive ego. I think a big ego problem would be exhibited by Fatface Fergie trying to win the trophy again by doing nothing but letting Ronaldo and Tevez go.
I agree, it was poor judgment by Wenger. But such an offence to warrant a sacking? At least it seems as if we’re trying to address the matter now in the offseason. And, yeah, Matuidi doesn’t have the recognition that Melo has, but I’m going to trust the scouts given the recent purchases.
I think Arsene has sounded different this offseason and has had more of a tone of recognition that this year, much more than the last two, is quite pivotal. I do think that he and the club may make a splash should things not work out this year. I’m willing to give them this year and it’s your prerogative to want his head on a stick. I just hope we’re all out there supporting the club and making a lot of noise at the stadium (and I’m not suggesting “boos”).
July 10, 2009 at 19:56
Keyser, a couple of quick points, then really must dash:
1) We’re not a cashflow business – we can fund transfers fairly easily, at any given time. In fact Wenger is developing a habit of taking ridiculous gambles in the summer and then trying to save a bit of face by spending a fair old whack in the January transfer market, as happened in 05/06 and again in 08/09. He’s sent out a pair of shambolic squads, and been made to look like a fool.
2) I think we established a few days ago that Arsenal’s injuries weren’t a great deal worse than our competitors. But regardless even of that, if Wenger builds squads of physically robust players, we can forgive the unexpected injuries they pick up. It’s the complete errors of judgement that I’m sick to the back teeth of, and Wenger’s got a fair few under his belt now.
3) Wenger’s mistakes are mind-bogglingly stupid. ‘Catastrophic’ is a word I’d use to describe what will happen when they cause us to drop out of the top 4 – which I believe will happen in the next year or two, unless we sack the guy or he changes his policies immediately.
4) Your fixation with me and O’Neill is bizarre. He’s just one of a number of names I’ve suggested. Indeed, any manager who understands the importance of central midfield would be a big improvement on Wenger in many regards. The only reason we talk about O’Neill so much is that you seem obsessed with discussing him, not because I think he’s the perfect manager!
July 10, 2009 at 19:59
PW – not that offence alone.
But the fact that he’s still being so mind-bogglingly reckless, and repeating mistakes he’s made in the past (look at our central midfield, after we sold Vieira) suggests that he’s a man who not only doesn’t learn from his mistakes, but doesn’t understand why people criticise him for it.
I’ll take more notice of Wenger this offseason if he starts ACTING differently, not SOUNDING differently. An absurd amount of hot air erupts from his mouth and his arse every summer. When he actually makes a half decent fist of things, then I’ll give him some credit.
July 10, 2009 at 19:59
reggie57 – We’ve moved stadium, we’ve kept ourselves in a competitive position and now we’ve got a great young team to build off and each year we’ll have more and more money to spend, it’s not that bad.
July 10, 2009 at 20:00
I don’t want to compare us to other clubs.. We are Arsenal not some mini barcelona with the spending power equivolent of sunderland…
goonermichael, if we got with what we’ve got now.. Who knows? we might win the CL as it’s a lottery, the fa cup or the carling cup.. But the prem? NO CHANCE!
I’d love if it madrid won f-all as well and it’d be sweeter if we knocked them out of the cl last 16.. However, although i’m quite confident at batting away the 2nd & 3rd tier clubs 19/20… If we get to semi’s and final’s do we have a starting 11 you’d be completely comfortable with? No is the answer…
The goalkeeper is not rally an issue anymore.. Unless we end up with a buffon, cassilas etc then any one underneath that isn’t really going to make a difference..
The glaring hole is in centre midfield next to cesc and to keep lodging square pegs in round holes is becoming a nuisance.. Let’s just replace Vieira with a player of his calibre, not some french-african kid who may or may not be comparable in 4 years time…
July 10, 2009 at 20:02
Gutten abend yede. Wass up yo?
July 10, 2009 at 20:03
reggie57
there is only one logical answer ..
he is not getting funding by the board , and there are more than just clues of that neglect ..
Highbury square is the main catalyst for the funds drying up .. 413 mil in debt is another big one
if usmanov can see we need funds , & 4 other 1st team players have came out and said it also.. the fans have been saying it for over a year , no one can be that stupid and still have a job as manager ..
its obvious to me (but not others geoff
)
that the board are used to giving wenger nothing transfer kitty wise ..
so wenger principals have stayed the same for 11/12 years at the club , but the big spending
introduced by the chevs 4/5 years ago have made wengers goal posts move so to speak ..
i blame wenger for many things but not spending money isnt one of them …
i cant believe all you grown men think wenger somehow co-signs the company cheques ~!
…
and uses the clubs funds like its his own football club
the board of directors are the money men ..
they are business men !
they wouldnt let ANYONE sniff the chicken !
ok .. so would you give a stranger your wallet ?
July 10, 2009 at 20:04
Jimbo – Mate don’t worry just reply next time I’m around.
1. Thats too simple, we can fund transfers, but you have to look around at how the teams around us fund there’s and at least be able to recognise what we’re up against.
2. You didn’t establish anything, our injuries were far worse, you haven’t shown anything to show otherwise.
3. I hope your as wrong with your predictions as you have been in the past.
4. It’s your fascination with O’neill, I just thought you’d have learnt something due to him, but it seems you haven’t.
All I remember is you championing him in January, going quiet for a few months with once his monumental cock ups began and then I thought I’d mention it again to see if you’d changed your mind.
What’s odd is that you have a blind spot when it comes to him, that has the opposite effect when it comes to Wenger.
July 10, 2009 at 20:05
ReVELAtion – It’s up to you, it’d help you understand our position better, you’d be surprised at how much Sunderland have spent.
July 10, 2009 at 20:05
Keyser dont you get fed up hearing how we just missed out on potential signings that could have made us champions? im sure quite a few other fans are!!!
July 10, 2009 at 20:07
Alright, so we’ve had three years of “transition”. First year was down, second year was up, third year was down. Not ideal, but not plunging, right? Not that avoiding a plunge is the aspiration here, but within the last three years of “transition”, there’s been undeniable promise from the core of this team.
July 10, 2009 at 20:08
Funny how wenger is apparently nnoyed with rosicky.. he’s at the age where wenger would probably like to sell him on at a profit and the injury has shot that transaction down to pieces..
July 10, 2009 at 20:10
reggie57 – Not really, it’s just the way football is, what I don’t get is that while United, Chelsea, Liverpool fund themselves from Investors, or Madrid get massive loans from banks, we blame the manager.
If all you did was worry about the players you missed out on, you;d never be happy.
July 10, 2009 at 20:17
Having looked at the finances, I think I tend to side with the authors of this blog in their beliefs that Wenger is the one holding back on the extravagant player purchases. But assume that the club is hamstrung financially. As much as I’m wary of Usmanov, conceptually what he and his group were suggesting seemed pretty logical. I do think his motive was to wrestle more control, but raising more equity would be the right thing following a hiccup in the club’s business. That hiccup being Highbury Square and the troubled housing market. In the business world, when a company’s got debt and the business plan does not come to fruition, typically banks will require you raise equity to help alleviate matters. In this case, raising equity would go a long way to facilitating a refinancing of the Highbury Square debt, thus eliminating this uncertainty and opening up the coffers to make one or two big transfer splashes.
July 10, 2009 at 20:19
lol keyser your optimism is i’ll give you that…
Fisczman at various interviews – “All you need to know is we’ve never said no to arsene”
If that’s the case, why hasn’t he (arsene) gone in the board room and said:
“I want to sign “blank” and it’s gonna cost 25m, you’re the money men, get on with it and i expect results come monday.. Now i have to go and pack away the creche and talk with steve about wilshire’s rapid development”
Somewhere someone’s having us on.. It’s always a grey area.. We have money, we have debt, here’s 100m to fund players, we don’t need it because we can afford to compete at the top level blah blaah blah…
You can’t expect us all to just accept that intwinned with paying the most expensive tickets in world football to watch song, eboue, diaby and denilson (on the same pitch on occassions) play in a team afforementioned with challenging constantly for honours.. If i had the expectations of say, an everton or villa fa i’d be exstatic with the achievements..
But, if i am told we are one of the biggest clubs in world football, i expect us to start acting like one..
July 10, 2009 at 20:20
*optimism is refershing*
July 10, 2009 at 20:23
Well said ReV took the words right out of my mouth, someones telling porkies who i dont know!!
July 10, 2009 at 20:28
ReVELAtion – It would be refresshing, considering the depressing angle soo many seem to take on here.
United are one of the most dominant sports franchises around and they were still bought out, Wenger’s loyal he won’t go against the boards wishes, the board want to help Arsenal through the transition to a new stadium and now what seems most likely isthat they’ll sell to Krenoke.
People can question it, I just don’t see how, like you say there’s a grey area, we know anything for certain.
We’ve spent 4 years being prudent and now you see us spending money on the likes of Arshavin and Vermaelen, isn’t that the sort of sign you want to see ?!
Also the ticket price thing, I’m going to watch Arsenal anyway, I don’t think we’re particularly being ripped off, or how would you say the prices at highbury were when we were playing the best football in Europe ? Were we getting better deals then we should have ? How do you estimate it ?! I know I like the facilites and seats at the Emirates a lot better.
July 10, 2009 at 20:31
I don’t buy the expectation thing, if Everton or Villa had moved to a brand new stadium and were still competing for Champions League finals and so on, I’d say you were right, but our expectations are still completely different.
July 10, 2009 at 20:35
i was a bit harsh on eboue, diaby, song and denilson there as they are still arsenal players.. But, at current, they are not players capable of making an impact at the highest level..
I have no problems with them being allowed to develop and come in where there are injuries or a heavy run of games as more then ever. football is nowadays a squad game and i feel that they are very useful players and in the case of some of them, they are still learning their trade and it’s at a top club where there is an immense amount of pressure to succeed..
Alot of anger is taken out on those players, but we must remember that they play for our club and we should try and support them as they are given the opportunity to do so by our manager to the best of their ability..
In, saying that, the recent so called “scrooge like” transfer dealings of our board and manager have once again turned us into whingeing kids as silly season takes it’s place again amongst us for a couple of months….
Let’s just hope we can all get a nice suprise, lay off the cana worship, get in someone top notch and wait for next season…
It probably won’t work out that way and we’ll end up with matuidi and adebayor will still be here, still i’m off out for the night to get pissed and i don’t want to be in a negative frame of mind in doing so..
Have a good weekend groovers
July 10, 2009 at 20:38
keyser you’re a good bloke and we both really just want our club to be successful that’s all. Albeit seeing it in alot of various, occassionally different ways..
We’ll debate it another time.. have a good w/e
July 10, 2009 at 21:00
TAIG, Good to hear you are coming to Kenya.
Check out http://www.arsenalkenya.com for the local Arsenal outfit and contact us whenever so that we can watch some games together and enjoy a cold Tusker.
Terry Neill is coming down this July 30 and has made contact…his second visit.
cheers!
July 10, 2009 at 21:39
On your points:
1) It’s not too simple. Worrying about what other teams do is precisely the wrong way to look at it. We don’t need to make massive moves, we need to make small but significant ones, but Wenger time and time again gets it wrong, pleasing a penny pinching board that has been constricting every arsenal manager in my living memory (which goes back as far as Georgie G’s arrival). And yet we don’t. We ‘convert’. We make do. We avoid killing a collection of youngsters who’ve proven nothing and never, ever contributed anything meaningful to this club beyond picking up an absurdly inflated wage packet.
I couldn’t give a toss about other teams. I give a toss about Arsenal, and why our manager can get away with making such moronic mistakes.
2) Avoids the broader point, and I’m not going down this trail again. It’s dull. However, I pointed out a few days ago how almost all major teams have had to live with injury problems over the last few years. Arsenal aren’t special in any regard, apart from the fascination with one or two injury prone players that Wenger has, presumably because he thinks he’s being clever in getting a bargain with them.
3) Which ‘predictions’ did you have in mind? The only one I can remember is the Arshavin deal – however then I was only conveying what I’d heard, and where I’d heard it from. It was never a secret. Yes, I turned out to be wrong, but at the end of the day I think we all saw how the transfer was a remarkably close run thing. I suppose you’ve forgotten my prediction that Arsene had castrated the midfield in the summer, and Arsenal would struggle badly because of it? Because that’s one I definitely think I got right.
4) Again, you come back to O’Neill. He has only EVER been one of a list of many suggestions of managers who I think could come in and do a better job than the fool Wenger. He’s not even my first choice. But he’s on the list.
I have no idea why you think I’m criticising Wenger for this season. I’ve wanted him gone for 3 years, since it became obvious that he was a man on a personal crusade, not fighting for Arsenal but fighting to prove a point to football.
We absolutely MUST sack him.
July 10, 2009 at 21:53
I can’t wait for the season to start i feel very optomistic
July 10, 2009 at 22:01
Jimbo – You have a seriously odd way of looking at things and it’s precisely why O’neill comes up again and again, because it’s one of the ways I should be able to get through to you in terms you would want to understand, instead of just thinking with the same sort of blind hatred which seems to be prevalent in your posts.
1. How can you focus on one issue and not see the bigger picture, it’s all well and good making small moves, but at the same time you have to appreciate the Premiership as it is now and the teams which play in it, how can you appease yourself with small moves when in comparison teams like Chelsea and Liverpool have made giant ones to get where they are.
If Wenger or any other manager were to build gradually like you say, each move would have to be soo meticulous and perfect that it’d be almost impossible to pull off, why ? because while you make these small moves the Premiership doesn’t stand still, what did United do to combat Chelsea’s spending ? (Remember, this is a club that afforded Ferguson 5 years to sort out the club and that was 2 decades ago) They were bought out and simply outspent them when Chelsea ran out of financial puff.
It’s pathetic calling them moronic mistakes because your reasoning makes no sense, you mention Denilson as it this was the epitomy of Wenger’s errors, he’s one player, in one position, in the grand scheme of Arsenal as a club he’s just a minute blip on the radar, barely registers.
2. You can point it out all you want, again it was a poor point, not every team has the same resources, the same squad and will face the same sorts of injuries, you couldn’t show it then and it’s dull because you can’t show it now.
3. Mate, I could go back through the posts, I could be wrong, just going by your reply it tells me enough, you said Arsenal would struggle badly ? Woah thats uncanny ? How easy is that ? What is Arsenal sttruggling exactly ? Making a Champions League Semi-final, FA Cup Semi-final ? Or are we just going to go by the league ? One of the most competitive leagues in World football, with 3-4 teams who regualrly make the final stages of the Champions League.
Far more competitive then it used to be under Geore Graham or any previous Arsenal manager.
4 – Back to O’neill because I don’t understand it, 100 million pounds and he’s taken Aston Villa a total of 12 points further up the table, a team supposedly in disarray, he saved them from the brink of collapse and single handedly got them to where ? His most productive season he got them a total of 2 points further up the table then the season previous.
Yet he is championed by yourself and Wenger derided it makes no sense again at all.
Nothing has become obvious, except to yourself, it’s odd you thought far more of Wenger than even anyone of his defenders could, to you he must have been God, a miracle performer, a sage, someone wise far beyond his years, if he could cope with any sort of problem that managing Arsenal could throw at him.
We’ve been wanting to move to a new stadium for decades, we’ve finally done it, through Wenger and the boards prudence, we’re starting to spend money a little more freely, we have a young and very talented squad to build from and if we had a couple of the right players, despite having a vastly inexpenive squad to our comeptitors we could still end up challenging them in all compeitions.
Yet you want the manager to be sacked now, after all the hard work or conservatism, if the board were the problem why wouldn’t you want them out first and formost ?!
July 10, 2009 at 22:27
How have we still not signed Matuidi?! Maybe he’ll be unveiled on monday?! Really thought it’d happen before the end of the week, ah well
July 10, 2009 at 22:40
1)
Because as I said above, we only play Chelsea twice each season, and as such I couldn’t give a damn what Chelsea do. I care about Arsenal putting together a competitive squad, and when I see such blundering errors as Wenger makes, it’s pretty obvious that the real reason we’ll never compete with the Chelseas & Uniteds of the league is NOT because they outspend us, but because we’ve got a manager who is out of touch with the ability of his kids. We didn’t lose to Hull, Fulham, Villa and Man Shitty this season because Chelsea spent a fortune. We lose because we have a hopelessly unbalanced squad, with children occupying key positions.
Denilson a minor blip on the radar? The guy played 37 league games with the vast majority in the CRUCIAL position of central midfield. That’s not a blip, that’s a major fuck up. Calling it a ‘blip’ does a disservice to all the great players we’ve had there in the past.
2) I showed it then, and you went away with your tail between your legs, because apparently, all those players that Villa had injured just don’t count, because, well… Who knows why you deliberately ignore the facts?
3) I’m sorry, I call struggling getting humiliated in the league, and then unceremoniously tossed out of the cups by vastly better teams (and how anyone can think our FA cup run, against a bunch of lower league teams and the might Hull is anything to be proud of, I don’t know).
We were a very mediocre team last season.
I care about our own league more than anything else, and I’m fed up with Wenger completely underestimating the competition.
4) O’Neill has had three seasons at Villa, and brought them TEN places up the table. On top of which, he has a certain amount of pedigree at all of the other clubs he’s been at. I consider that a pretty good achievement, personally. And I certainly consider it a better achievement than what Wenger’s achieved since 2005.
I look at trends when judging performance, not absolute position, and O’Neill’s Villa have vastly outperformed Wenger’s Arsenal over the last few seasons in terms of growth and improvement.
But if you want, just pretend that I don’t want O’Neill in. He’s one of a few names I’d think about, if Wenger were to leave tomorrow, but right now he wouldn’t even be top of the list.
I don’t need an Arsenal manager to perform miracles, but I do wish we had one who could get the fundamentals right.
I would love to see Wenger sacked AND the club taken over – preferably by Kroenke, but Usmanov will do if it comes to it. Because the sooner we get crusty toff cunts like Hill Wood out of the boardroom, the sooner we stop applauding a manager for doing half a job, the better off we’ll be.
July 10, 2009 at 22:44
I would really love to see our club sign matuidi. I believe he is a talent out there and he would bring to us quality. He would be the ideal partner for cesc fabregas. However, I believe that signing only matuidi is not enough, because if he gets injured, we are only left with song and denilson. For me song is not there yet. He has the quality but just isnt there yet. Denilson too.
Therefore i seriously hope that wenger to sign 2 experienced DM. Someone that has played in that position for at least 2 seasons. Matuidi has been playing in that position for quite awhile and thus i believe he would be a great signing at a cheap price.
Reports are also saying that wenger is eyeing an Argentine called banega. Well he is another defensive midfielder that is highly rated. He is only 21 years old. I believe we should get this boy as well. But due to the rules in the CL and EPL (soon) regarding the quota thingy, I bet wenger would only probably sign one of matuidi and banega.
Next season would be exciting for arsenal. We have kept all our players. None is leaving at the moment. I seriously hope that we keep all the players with us, even for senderos and adebayor. This is because the pre-season is starting and hopefully the team will gel as one. I sincerely do not wish to see either toure or gallas leave. I believe that they would still be able to form a formidable centre defensive pair. I wish for them to pass their knowlegde to djourou, senderos and vermaelen.
Hopefully, adebayor can find his scoring boots again next season, and end up scoring 30 goals again. We will then sell him away next season.
The youngsters i tipped to shine next season would be gibbs, wilshere, merida, ramsey, lansbury, vela, nordveit, hoyte and jay-emmanuel.
July 10, 2009 at 22:46
Matuidi will sign soon. I think on monday. What you say
July 10, 2009 at 22:54
Gallas what would the point in signing Banega be? He’s someone who’s never played regularly, and further away from being able to than Song and Denilson imo. Agree about Matuidi though, his prospective signing excites me, but I really can’t see there being any truth in the Banega rumours, though you never know I guess.
July 10, 2009 at 23:02
Jimbo -
1. So basically, you’re not willing to accept anything other than Wenger is the reason, because somehow he’s gravitated to the epicentre of the footballing world and should be able to control what happens to Arsenal, the club, as he weaves the threads of footballing time.
Your reasoning again is poor, Hull, Fulham, Villa and Man Shitty did not finish above us, Chelsea, Liverpool and United did.
Denilson is one of any number of varibales you consider, what’s fascinating and disturbing is that you choose to focus in on him, one of countless others that could have affected our season.
2. – You showed nothing, you mentioned a couple of names and somehow expected this to be enough for everyone to understand what you mean’t, they count, but compared to us and what we were looking to achieve they were pretty insignificant.
3. Everything’s an extreme with you, we were huliated becaue we finished 4th, wat would you have done if we finished 5th ? I shudder to think because I’d have to think about your own physical well being.
4. Randy Lerner has moved Villa up the table not O’neill, O’neills just an empty vessel a run of the mill manager, hit and miss, lucky for him he has the tens of millions of Lerner to spend so that he can justplaster over all his mistakes and even then his record with Villa is pretty Pathetic.
We’ll see where he takes Villa next season. If this years failure wasn’t enough to shift your belief in him.
It’s odd that Wenger’s still in charge, if I followed your thoughts, though I bet whoever takes the club over is quite happy with it.
July 10, 2009 at 23:11
Jimbo
I can’t argue with most if what you said and I know how you feel about Wenger but if he had 3 years with villa and spent what O’neill has he’d take them 10 places up the table. If Wenger went to Rangers or Celtic he’d win the spl. Madrid offered him the job of managing Ronaldo Kaka etc. Do you think they are that stupid?
July 10, 2009 at 23:16
!
July 10, 2009 at 23:17
1)
Wenger gravitated to the centre of the footballing world? Well, he gravitated towards the centre of Arsenal when he was made manager of the club. So yes, he IS responsible for his decisions, and YES he keeps getting them wrong.
Actually, YOUR reasoning is at fault here. Chelsea, Liverpool and United finished above us, due in large part to the fact that Hull, Fulham, Stoke, Man City and Villa BEAT us. Our record against the other top 4 actually wasn’t too bad last year – but our record against the clubs below us was very poor relative to our ‘rivals’.
Denilson is just one reason, yes, but he’s an obvious one BECAUSE he is a problem that any half decent manager would have FIXED. Having such an unreliable, and ineffective player in the middle of our team is one of the major reasons that we were so inconsistent and poor against supposedly ‘weaker’ teams this year – it has a massive impact on the whole team, and is not a small mistake.
I don’t blame Wenger for the things he doesn’t have any control over. But until he stops making massive mistakes in the areas of our game that he DOES control, I have no sympathy for him. I don’t expect him to be perfect, but I expect him to get fundamentals right, and to stop fucking about in the transfer market. And frankly, I don’t think we’re going to get that from him, which is why I think it’s SO IMPORTANT that we get rid of him as soon as possible.
2 – I pointed out that almost all of the teams that finished around us lost big players for significant portions of the season. I cannot help it if you don’t like that fact, but it’s the truth.
3 – What would I have done if we’d finished 5th? The same thing – demanded that Wenger be sacked, yet at least because we finished 4th I know that we still have time to actually make something of the club before he can damage us beyond all repair.
4 – Funny – why don’t you think Spurs, Man City, Sunderland, Newcastle, or any of the other teams who spend in Villa’s league are as high as them in the league?
Your view of this game is obviously hopelessly simplistic. If anything, being a Wenger fanboy you should recognise that spending money is NOT directly correlated to success, and regardless of how much you have to spend, it still takes GOOD management to do well in this league.
I don’t actually see 2008/09 as a failure for Villa though – and coming from a man who thinks that Arsenal dropping a place into 4th can make a man unsackable, and FA cup run against Championship teams a success, and a humiliating run a success, I find it a bit odd that you’d also call a legitimate challenge to the big 4, and consolidation of the massive gains they’ve made in the last few years a ‘failure’. Perhaps I’m not the one with the double standards?
The year ended poorly for them, no doubt, and that’s something they’ve got to work on. But they’ve shown the frailty of Arsenal in particular for all to see. It will be only one or two years now before our place is taken by one of the teams below us, unless Wenger gets his act together or we fire him.
July 10, 2009 at 23:19
goonermichael,
I don’t know what Wenger would do if he were in O’Neill’s place since his Wanderers days, but I also doubt we’d be in the same state we are now had O’Neill been manager of Arsenal since 2005.
All hypothetical though.
and are Real Madrid stupid?
Yes. Yes they are.
July 10, 2009 at 23:20
*humiliating run
Should read – *humiliating thrashing by Manchester United in the Champions league.
No idea what happened there!
July 10, 2009 at 23:23
“I also doubt we’d be in the same state we are now had O’Neill been manager of Arsenal since 2005. ”
I agree completely, I genuinly don’t think for one second we’d still be in the champions league. However it’s all hypothetical and just down to opinions.
A wenger/o’neil debate is just ridiculous though, it’s like having a kaka/darren bent debate, you’ve got to have a very skewed view of football for it to be even debatable in the first place.
July 10, 2009 at 23:25
guys Benega is like a viera/henry.e.g henry was a prospect/young talent at monaco (dumped manU out of champions league)and his progress stalled at Juve. Same with Viera – he was stuck at AC Milan.however they became stars at Arsenal. Check out Benega’s early career – he was quite a good DM prospect as a teen. However i’d be happier with Matuidi as Benega would take longer to settle in England imo
July 10, 2009 at 23:32
With the players we have we should play either
4-2-3-1 or the Barca style 4-3-3..We can play Barca style 4-3-3 against teams that park the bus.
4-2-3-1 for more defensive shield against bigger opponents.
Here are tehe teams
Barca style 4-3-3
……………….Al……………….
Sag/Eb……Kolo/JD……Gal/Verm….Clichy/Gib
………………Matuidi/Song………………
…….Cesc/Den………………..Nas/Rosick….
…RVP/Theo……….Ade/Bend/Eddy……..Arsh/Vela
Brazil style 4-2-3-1
……………….Al……………….
Sag/Eb……Kolo/JD……Gal/Verm….Clichy/Gib
…………………….Matuidi/Song………..
………..Cesc/Den………………………..
RVP/Theo…………Arsh/Diaby……Nas/Rosicky…
………………Ade/Eddy/Bendy……………..
July 10, 2009 at 23:37
Jimbo -
1. Of course he’s responsible for his decisions, but your making it out as if there’s no way to mitigate any of them, that somehow Arsenal should have walked the league each year and the only reason wee haven’t is because of Wenger’s mistakes, a completely insular way of thinking.
If you applied the same rationale to O’neills time at Villa, you’d have shown the same disgust towards him.
There’s a limit to how much criticism can be placed on Wengers shoulders before you take stock and think yeah he could have done things better, but some of it is beyond his control.
United, Chelsea and Liverpool finished above us, not only do you consider who we lost to and why, but also the fact why they finished above us and one of those reasons is because of the money they spend,it’s probably the most significant one in there.
The thing is you do blame Wenger or so it seems because you don’t seem to have a balanced opinion on him, these massive mistakes how do they contrast, why is everything massive, there’s no scale just extremes.
2. You pointed out one or two players to be contrasted with Fabregas, which wasn’t even close to an estimation of the problem we faced with injuries, it’s not the truth mate, though you’re wlecome to delude yourself with it.
3. Again, I’m just glad for your well being we finished 4th.
4. Why don’t I think of those other teams because Villa net’s spending last season was only exceeded by one or two teams in the whole of Europe.
I’ve tried to make it as simple as I can to help you understand, but your blind bias is holding you back, this isn’t chump change, it’s like you’ve completely blotted Abramovichs arrival from your memory, theres just no excuse for it.
You are definetly the one with double standards here, O’neills improved his points total by 2 points, our struggles falsely accredited him with anything significant, but like I said we’ll see where your Messiah ends up next year.
I’m sure if he improves at the same rate within the next 15 years he might have put together a points total that might see him challenge for the title.
July 10, 2009 at 23:42
Difference for me KM is that Vieira had a full season or two at Cannes playing first team football, and Henry made over 100 appearances for Monaco.
Banega made just 28 appearances for Boca, and considering it was his breakthrough season I very much doubt they were all starts. Then he made 7 starts for Valencia, and 5 for Athletico the next season. The only place he’s really shone is the Argentinian youth teams, and very briefly at Boca, so he’s never actually done anything in Europe at all, he’s very unproven and very different to both Vieira and Henry imo in terms of the level of risk.
We don’t even know if he’ll make it in Europe at all.
July 10, 2009 at 23:42
Jimbo
You are entitled to want Wenger out and you’re not the only one. Martin O’neill is shite though. Moyes is a better manager imo. He got to 5th without a striker for part of the season. Villa went pear shped when they bought Heskey and that was o’neill’s decision.
July 10, 2009 at 23:43
fuck..
was going through a few comments and was stunned to see ppl calling for cesc’s selling.
wats more surprising is that the same people talk about how wenger has just been rebuilding for the last 5 years. Selling Cesc is an improvement??
In this inflated transfer market, 40 million will get you 3/4 of an able replacement for Cesc. Unproven.
I think you guys are just tired of seeing the same old faces in an Arsenal shirt. Thats about it.
Fuck all topic to even ponder on really.
July 10, 2009 at 23:46
The Barca style 4-3-3 is obvious as most people have wathced Barca this year.
RVP/Theo will play Messi’s role
Ade/Bendy/Eddy will play Etoos role
Arsh/Vela play Henry’s role
Nas/Rosiky play Iniesta role
Song/Matuidi Yaya role
Cesc/Den Xavi role
IN the Brazil style 4-2-3-1
I pick Arshavin or Diaby to play Kaka’s role because Arshavin is the best dribbler we have at pace…so he drives the counter attacks right down the opponents throat just like Kaka…We all know Diaby loves to dribble so I put him as Arshavin’s back up in this formation and its his best position so hopefully he can do well there.
Nas/Rosicky will play the Ramires/Elano role meaning box to box…the only differnce is its on the opposite side…Ramires/Elano play on the right while Nas/Rosik play on the left.
RVP/Theo will play Robinho’s role but on the right..not the left..they stay a lil higher up the pitch than Nas/Rociky
Matuidi/Song will play Gilberto;s role and Cesc/Den will play Melo’s role…spraying the passes but staying relatively deep only joining the attack ocassionally.
And then Ade/Eddy/eddy play Fabiano’s role.
I think thise 2 formations will work well for the type of players we have.
4-3-3 against park the bus opponents
4-2-3-1 against bigger opponents
July 10, 2009 at 23:47
Jimbo all my comments are basically for you. Thank god moderation is keeping me away from giving you a piece of my mind, and getting myself banned.
I want no signings, I just want the season to start. Maybe Toure will be played at DM and he will be the man for us.
Stop ffs the perennial speculation about who we should sign. Enough of negative vibes.
Makes me sick.
July 10, 2009 at 23:50
Wenger can play 4-4-2 in the Carling cup and FA cup early rounds with Bendy and Vela as the strikers..maybe even Eddy just to see how thigs are progessing..Rosikcy can also play a part in those games.
But for league and CL I say 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1
July 11, 2009 at 00:22
1 – Keyser, please stop me if you think I’m criticising Arsene for things beyond his control. And, furthermore, if you think that it’s beyond Arsene’s control to build a team that does not suffer defeats to Stoke, Hull, Everton, Man City, Villa and draw a further 12 games, then again, just stop me and we’ll go our separate ways, agreeing to disagree on the extent to which we can expect Arsene Wenger to influence Arsenal.
but mitigating for mistakes? How do you mitigate for not having a proper central midfield?
2 – No, I pointed out that almost all clubs around us in the league last year had a similar number of players who missed similar numbers of games to us. Again, it’s just a fact. If you don’t like it, then too bad.
3 – Appreciate the concern
4 – And now we’re onto Abramovich’s arrival? So Roman Abramovich is to blame for Arsene Wenger forgetting what a central midfield looks like?
Your unwillingness to even read what I’m writing is making this discussion difficult however. After all I’ve written, you still refer to O’Neill as my ‘messiah’ really makes me wonder if you’re not just trying to deflect the whole thrust of the argument to try to score cheap points?
July 11, 2009 at 00:24
Goonermichael, I agree, I actually prefer Moyes.
Don’t blame me for this massive discussion on O’Neill though – Keyser seems rather fixated.
July 11, 2009 at 00:32
I don’t rate O’neill at all. Moyes isn’t bad but I’d still stick with Wenger another year.
July 11, 2009 at 00:43
Jimbo –
1. I have, you just don’t seem to want to listen, yeah it’s unfortunate we’ve lost to teams that have finished below us in the table, just for some reason you seem to think this is something exclusive to Arsenal, like this never ever happens to anyone else, you’d be surprised.
Wenger’s made mistakes, just don’t see how you can expect him to be able to cover everything and overcome it.
We could have had a better midfield, stop with the extremes, our problems went far beyond just those specific examples.
2. Similar ? Heh, you pointed to one or two players from any number of clubs, it was neither a completel, nor a balanced comparison. A poor fact with little relevance, but keep holding on to it.
3. Mate, seriously we’re still Arsenal fans aferall.
4. I can be as facetious as you want, if you want to believe that the sole reason we don’t win the league or lift the Champions League title is because our central midfield could be better, than fine, if you want to expand the debate let me know.
I’d apologise for the ‘mesiah’ comment, but you were being silly with the success comments, so I thought I’d join in.
If the O’neill comparison irks you, as it should, after his momumental failure, then I’m sorry, just trying to put it in terms you’d appreciate.
July 11, 2009 at 00:47
wel guys it seems we are not in great danger of being taken over by man city for our 4th place next season
July 11, 2009 at 00:51
no tevez no eto and certainly no terry,with signings like g.b and r.s.c.lets be honest there not serious are they,c’mon……………
July 11, 2009 at 00:52
i agree bbk – is tevez definitely not happening now as well as etoo?? It’s a pity, utd could have been in trouble this year
July 11, 2009 at 00:56
Probably the last one before bed.
1 – What made you think I didn’t know it happens to other people?
It just happened rather more to us, last season, than it did our rivals. That’s a rather obvious point, I’d have thought, and the reason that we didn’t come close to even remotely challenging for the title.
I’m not sure what you mean by your second sentence though. I don’t expect Wenger to make schoolboy mistakes in the first place. Our central midfield was an amateurish mistake from Wenger last season. Was it our only problem? No, our central defence left a lot to be desired as well, as did some very dubious tactics from Wenger on a few key occasions, the underperformance of ‘key’ squad members, and yes, we suffered injuries too, just like our rivals.
But I can forgive Wenger making small mistakes. It happens to everyone. Enormous cock-ups, like, you know, royally fucking up central midfield are not forgivable, and I don’t see why you’re so insistent about it being a minor issue, when really it’s not.
2 – I’m going to drop this, because frankly it’s dull. What we did, as I’m sure you recall, is bemoan how a few players missed a lot of games last season, and then a few of you proceeded to whinge about how unfair it was on Arsenal, apparently ignoring the fact that I pointed out that most of the clubs that finished around us had similar casualty lists.
If you still want to pretend we were really hard done by, then power to you. But to be honest, you’ll be saying exactly the same thing next year, because last year was nothing out of the ordinary, for us, or anyone else.
3 – Interlude for a group hug, and… on to four
4 – Is our central midfield the sole reason we didn’t win the league? No, but it was Wenger’s biggest and daftest mistake of the year (even worse than signing Silvestre), and was probably the biggest reason our league campaign was effectively over by November.
As for O’Neill, your comments don’t really irk me, just display remarkable double-standards.
July 11, 2009 at 00:57
not gonna happen
July 11, 2009 at 00:58
can i just ask why you are numbering your points of view??????
July 11, 2009 at 01:04
Yup, that’s definitely it for me tonight Keyser – enjoyed the banter! Bis morgen!
July 11, 2009 at 01:08
Jimbo – It’s kool, not as if we have anything new to discuss.
1. It’s a minor issue in relation to how big a challenge it is now to achieve what we are trying to and despite your protestations and exaggerations it’s nowhere near as big as you make it out to be, you’d find similar examples across the premiership, but then those managers won’t have been sacked either.
2, It’s dull because we go around in circles, you seem to think because other teams had an injury or two this somehow equates as equal, whether we had 1 or 12.
3. It’s all good, keeps my mind occupied before I go sleep.
4. If there are double standards, which having conversed with you, I don’t think you quite understand, this should have pointed out where you were going wrong, but ah well it wasn’t to be.
You can keep saying it’s the biggest or daftest mistake, in relation to everything else we’ve had to deal with, it doesn’t specifically stand out, at least not as something that was simply inconceivable that it should be left be.
Much like you pointing out a 4th choice central defender as a major mistake, while trying to undermine injuries as a reason for our demise.
July 11, 2009 at 01:12
Jimbo
You disappeared on here when The Arsenal went 22 games without losing, then made it to the semi’s of the CL. Then when the run ended back you came.
July 11, 2009 at 01:14
[...] SATISFACTION + Cesc due to leave for logical price. Morning Grovers, firstly, can I just confirm that whining doesn’t always get you what you want. The only [...] [...]
July 11, 2009 at 01:18
When The Arsenal are top by xmas, don’t hide this time old boy, show some backbone & take your medicine.
July 11, 2009 at 02:19
By the way…why are we starting pre season so late. Everton had a game today, Liverpool start theirs on Wednesday..not sure about anyone else.
But we dont start for another week. What are we waiting for ffs!
July 11, 2009 at 02:35
ReVELAtion Says:
July 10, 2009 at 20:19
well done lad sums up the situation correctly ..
—————————-
keyser
It’s dull because we go around in circles,
———————————————-
well let me shoot it straight at ya then
keyser u take optimism to a new level .
KEEP IT FUCK’IN REAL FFS!
your the only one on here who believes your own hum drum , most like reva’s post know the situation ..
you talk about the chev’s manU etc..
well correct me if im wrong but man U haven’t been out of the top 2 …
that was us not so long ago under wenger ..
its obvious, VERY OBVIOUS we have let it slip! ..
and if your blind enough not to see why on the pitch .. look to the EPL table ..
or the board room and where the money goes
( or doesn’t ) for that matter
i m not even sure why you chat about football you clearly know nothing about it ..
arguing on the other hand is your forte
keyser it wouldn’t surprise me if you were a regular on ACLF but changed your Id. so people dont know you here …
———————————–
1. It’s a minor issue in relation to how big a challenge it is now to achieve what we are trying to and despite your protestations and exaggerations it’s nowhere near as big as you make it out to be,
—————————————
the difference is small .. YES
if your an idiot !
of course the gap is small if your not looking at it correctly .. its like trying to
tell the difference between wilt chamberlain and Micheal Jordan ..
but Micheal is still clearly the best ..
or tiger woods and singh ..
we aint going to get relegated .. SURE !
but we wont win the EPL title at this rate either ..
not enough quality – not enough players who believe in themselves -and the ones that do want out .. wenger doesnt even really have a bench …
DO YOU CARE TO WAGER THIS SEASON
we wont finish 1st ???????????
no odds ! MONEY ….
your either confident or your not …
thats why you bet ….
and your clearly confident , or stupid
but that’s what bettings all about isnt it ..
smart people taking money from stupid people
which one are you
because unless arsene gets some serious funds
we wont be challenging for anything other than the F.A – C.C , and if wenger keeps adopting his youth injections thru-out these comps , we wont win anything there either !
its not doom and gloom its fact ..
if there was something to cheer about id be cheering , and louder than the lot of you !
because i can
July 11, 2009 at 02:53
Ethangunner – Seriously mate, I’ve stopped discussing anything with you, because frankly you don’t know what you’re talking about half the time, you actually seem to agree with some of my sentiments and yet don’t know you’re doing it.
What do you want me to bet with you about ?!
That we don’t finish first ? with no odds ?!
Hah, why ?!
July 11, 2009 at 03:01
“if there was something to cheer about id be cheering , and louder than the lot of you !”
lol bollocks, there’s always something to cheer about, no situation is ever 100% negative, people can just choose to focus on the positive, or focus on the negative, or in the case of some people on here claim that everything is a negative, and exaggerate any negative to 100 times the actual case!
I share your sentiments about a fair few posters on here Keyser, some are just hysterical, and others are slightly more articulate, though so ridiculously set in their ways stuck arguing cemented opinions based on very limited or non existant logic, that it’s impossible to engage in rational debate with them. I’m impressed with how long you kept going with Jimbo – I gave up the other day even responding to anything he writes, amongst others, because so much of it’s so ridiculous it’s impossible to debate with!
July 11, 2009 at 03:11
I think it’s quite telling that practically everybody in the footballing business, that is people inside the game who have considerable knowledge about all things related to football, share the view that Wenger is one of the best and most astute managers in the game..
But hey what do they know? It’s a far more balanced point of view to throw ones toys out the pram because he didn’t win anything and demand he be sacked.
July 11, 2009 at 03:19
A
you cheer when you have some degree of success .
any degree of success , that usually accompanies winning something ANYTHING or finishing better than the season previous they are the landmarks of progression .. so please tell me what is so thought provoking that we should view this season as being any better than the last ?!
AA-23 is the only positive thing that happened to us this season … but there is only so much 1 man can do against teams like man U and the chev’s
and its true A , i give credit where its due .
ive said ade was shit when a lot of you disagreed i kept to my guns and now , 90% of the fans want him gone ….
so yes i clearly dont know what the fuck im on about ..
or in the past that letting go of diarra was a mistake that will leave the position empty come the end of the season .. i clearly knew nothing there either ..
or the fact i said TH14 would leave 2 months prior to him making it official , and flamini and hleb for that matter …
at least 90% of what i say does come true , or is at least the next step in the arsenal camp’s think tank ..
like the sale of cesc … and ade ..
it has to be looked at if the club is indeed in need of funds .. which they wont admit , but
obviously do need!, due to mounting pressure of man shitty and the other top 3 looking to add this season also ..
i class it as logical thinking with degree of guess work .. but thats what id do ..
July 11, 2009 at 03:25
HB
i dont want wenger sacked i want our land tycoons the board gone from the equasion .
they have split loyalties currently and would rather worry about the real estate market than
the very thing they are in business for to begin with …
no other management in the EPL show this littler passion , for their supposed PASSION …
they are a bunch of backyard hicks who imo sacked existing board members and replaced them with money men as a safety net , because even they aren’t sure what the fuck they are doing ..
a for another point ( and blowing my own trumpet) just ask DDM ..
who was right about the highbury development over 4-5 months ago .. who was the 1st to say
we should still be at least over 250-300 mil in debt… 90 % of you said bollocks to me !
and highbury development has nothing to do with the burden of our football club …
thank fuck i know nothing .. !
July 11, 2009 at 03:32
I think you’ll find most people knew ade was nothing special even when he was scoring goals ethan, that’s nothing special at all. Everyone knew Henry and Hleb were going as well….
90% of what you say comes true therefore your opinion is right?! that’s simply laughable. It’s like saying we were gonna sign Vermaelen after all the rumours started, then claiming it as some moment of genius!
I never made a comment on last season – you said if there was ANYTHING to cheer about then you’d cheer louder than the rest, which obviously isn’t true, for you to cheer you’d need EVERYTHING to be positive, which is a situation that could never happen at ANY club!
Just because we don’t have a top player in central midfield doesn’t mean that shipping off the turd that is diarra was a mistake, that’s still very much open to debate, and of the more articulate gooners from my experience most are pleased to see the back of him. Regardless of his abilities as a footballer as a person he showed his true colours, and i’m very glad to be rid of him.
We don’t need massive funds, most of the sensible gooners seem to agree that, it’s only the hysterical pessimists or the less rational who seem to believe that it’s impossible to achieve any level of success without throwing vast sums of money in the fire.
July 11, 2009 at 03:34
ethan why are you stating things that are announced in the papers or on blogs, and claiming that having repeated it makes you somehow knowledgable?!
July 11, 2009 at 03:34
ethangunner. I can’t claim to have much knowledge of the actions of the board. But it is clear that with so many inconsistent and contradictory statements, that they are very guarded about the club’s funds.
The thing is that people like to take whatever statements they think suits their personal agenda best and use them to back them up without actually using any sound evidence.
I’m glad you don’t want Wenger sacked, because it would be absolutely disasterous for the club at this juncture. We could all dream about having rich Russian oligarchs as owners and a shiny new manager who’s will spend cash we don’t have on players for a mere chance at temporary success.
But for me it’s not viable nor is desirable. Wenger’s management is crucial
July 11, 2009 at 03:36
*nor is it desirable
July 11, 2009 at 03:38
Wow there’s an Icelandic football team called FC Santa Claus, crazy Icelandics!
July 11, 2009 at 03:39
Anyways, it’s past my bedtime, night people
July 11, 2009 at 03:40
Night A
July 11, 2009 at 03:46
A
your kidding right ?
the amount of ade lovers even on this board was
staggering .. i was in combat mode 24-7 fighting back the delusional lot !
people like ‘paT the goon’ had arguments with me
telling me its the media who are making all this shit up and flamini – TH14 aint going anywhere ! and he is in the top 10%ile
of smart bloggers ..
hey i was cheering in 2002-03, i cheered when we won the last F.A cup … but since then the fact be known there is nothing but negativity .
Football is about winning , especially when you keep up this persona of a top flight club ..
and logic suggests if there is 100 things to fix you dont gloat on the 1 thing youve fixed .
you chat on the way to make things better , to go forward , to succeed better than the previous season.
can you see anything good that made us better than 2007-08 season ?
AA23 maybe .. but time will tell also on that count .. i mean nasri started off on fire also .
now AA 23 has had time to settle maybe he wont
be as eager to impress the fans this coming season … currently anything is possible ..
nothng is taken for granted ..
rosicky was supposed to be back pre-season ..
now he isnt .. dudu was supposed to be back jan 09 , he played 1/2 a game .. RVP thought about leaving if the club cant match his ambitions .
cesc is courted and continually denies he’s leaving .. there is only so much you can take before you start to think the grass is greener .. he wont tell the masses he want to return home .. he has seen how the fans have turned on ade ..
if people are stupid enough to believe he is loyal then so be it .. but the facts remain we will NEVER get the best years from cesc so sell him at a premium … with his individual case its doomed ! i hop i know you long enough A to tell you i told you so on that count also !
July 11, 2009 at 03:51
A Says:
July 11, 2009 at 03:34
ethan why are you stating things that are announced in the papers or on blogs, and claiming that having repeated it makes you somehow knowledgable?!
————————————
huh ?
when have i done that ?
i have my own opinion ..
its most of you lot that are fence sitters and believe nothing until its too late !
July 11, 2009 at 03:56
ethangunner, Everyone also thought Ade was going to leave this summer, but it looks like he’s staying.
The point is that any speculation as to future transfers is just that, speculation. By all accounts things seem much more positive this summer than they were last, wouldn’t you agree?
July 11, 2009 at 04:17
HB
ive stuck up for wenger when people are telling me its his choice not to buy quality players ..
its like having poor parents , you know not to ask for the new tonka front loader because you know the answer will be no !even at christmas !
wenger imo is the same , he has to ‘HAS TO ‘ get on and manage the club with no funds the best way he knows how ..
but if wenger could buy players like bojan pato and messi im sure he wouldnt be persisting with denilson – song – eboue diaby ..
and the simple fact is during wengers reign have you ever heard wenger has a 20 mil kitty this season or any kitty figures for that matter ?
NO !
its a simple 1+1 = 2
for me …
and the board can conveniently say we have never denied wenger funds ,because the fact that on every occasion he has bought a CHEAP player he has obviously had to ask for the funds to do so ..
but normal managers have a kitty , so there is no need to constantly beg for 2 or 3 mil here and there .
and i said flamini would leave oct. 07 over 9 months prior to him leaving ..
there was not a single fan that concurred with me and pat the goon will back up that fact ..
he lost a bet to me and still owes me that BEER!
in fact pat the goon told me to fuck off and join a blog like Le grove
ive always stuck up for gallas too !
he is a class defender , and i can overlook his hissy fits if he is quality on the pitch , something ade IS NOT !
but i will say this ! for the people who cant see clear and simple logic .
sagna – nasri – ade – and AA23 all have started
there arsenal careers with a bang , and there
(end of seasons in narsi’s case ) and the 2nd season in ade’s and sagna’s case have been less than impressive …
there is every chance arshavin might suffer a bit this season from the arsenal blues also..
so dont tell me you didnt see it coming this season .. and dont hinge all your hopes on him
saving / making our season !
July 11, 2009 at 04:25
I’d never pin all my hopes on one specific player. Football is a team game and i’ve never seen anything to suggest otherwise.
That’s why i think people are way off when they say United’s demise is imminent because they lost Ronaldo. But i don’t think either of those players particularly stood out as bad at any point. As i just said it’s a team game and the team were bad as a whole.
Just as a new world class DM wouldn’;t automatically make us title winners. It will strengthen our team, but we will still need to perform as a unit and we will still need confidence to win anything
July 11, 2009 at 04:27
HB ….
are you joking ?
we lost flamini – bert – freddie – hleb – th14 -diarra in 07-08
and replaced them all with sivestre – bitchslap and 1 good signing nasri ..
yes i suppose if your an optimist like keyser you would say this season is better …..
if you over look the obvious that none of the above where ever replaced …
our midfield was deplorable this season ,even cesc when not injured , no ball retention , no back bone .. yet people blame the defense because they cannot see that if your midfield fails badly like it did that more pressure is put on the defense ..
couple that to our strikers not burying there chances (which is the same as season 07-08 )
and it all adds up to more draws and more losses …
test the defense more , chances are they will
appear to look bad from a lay-mans perspective .
this season there was no one of flamini’s calibre racing around doing the dirty jobs he did so well ..
there was no hleb to push the ball up field .
and cesc was suffering from a lack of experience around him ..
but lets blame the defense shall we because
certain people fail to see that a lack of quality in the team made us get tested by the opposition much more last term ..
and if our strikers put the game beyond doubt in the 1st half
(which used to be typical of a good arsenal side ) the opposition has to change tactics ..
we didnt dictate the tempo last season AT ALL and the waves hit hard upon the defense’s shores !
July 11, 2009 at 04:32
ethangunner. I don’t understand what you mean. Am I joking?
You have just outlined exactly why this summer is better than the last. Last season we lost Hleb, Flamini, Diarra, Gilberto. This suummer we have lost nobody, and we have two players more than we started the season with, one of which is has proved himself an excellent player. How can we not be better off than this time last year?
And i’m not sure if you’re still addressing me, but i never said it was the defences fault. In fact i was quite clear that it is a team game and you have to blame the whole team
July 11, 2009 at 04:41
no im not addressing you RE:- ‘the defense’ , its more 80% of the bloggers on here .. im not sure if your one of them , i hope your not …
as for are you kidding , i agree to an extent this season has started with no one gone …
but we do need some gone this season , thats obvious .. eboue – ade being 2 ..
and getting AA23 & tomas is better , sure
but we still arent addressing the 5 players lost that you can pin this slump on !
also we have lost A lOT of players this season ..
read below
———————
Bischoff made just four Arsenal first-team appearances, all as substitute, following his move from Werder Bremen last summer – which came as the midfielder battled back to fitness after a long-standing groin injury and manager Arsene Wenger admitted was something of a “gamble”.
Rui Fonte – who had a spell on loan with Crystal Palace – is also being released at the end of his contract.
Reserve-team players James Dunne, Abu Ogogo, Paul Rodgers, Rene Steer, Vincent van den Berg and Anton Blackwood are also being released
July 11, 2009 at 04:43
so thats 8 of wengers young guns gone who were no doubt on good wages , and if they were not with us at all we might of had 2 reasonable 1st team players in our ranks last season ..
July 11, 2009 at 04:50
I don’t see the logic in saying we need those players gone. Eboue is a useful cover at right back, and with our injury record, i wouldn’t like to gamble on Sagna staying fit for every game, and even if he did, players need a rest sometimes.
As for Adebayor, Well you said yourself, our strikers not finishing well enough last season was a problem, so i don’t see how weakening it by offloading a player who has proven he can score, will help us at all.
I agree about the midfield. It wasn’t strong enough, and still isn’t. What i’m saying is, getting in a world class DM would be great, but it won’t automatically the whole team play well.
The whole team last season, in far too many games looked like they didn’t really care. Weren’t going for 50/50 challenges, looked scared, had no bottle and generally were at a loss creatively. Fabregas included. He didn’t even look like he could be bothered until he was given the captaincy.
I’m not saying the team doesn’t need some reinforcement, I’m just saying we are in a better position going in to this season than we were going in to last season
July 11, 2009 at 05:00
it was posted on the web. dunno if true.
“Blaise Matuidi HAS signed for Arsenal according to my reliable sources in a deal worth around £8m pounds on a Four Year Deal. Arsenal may not announce this for 24 hours. But great news I am sure he will be a great success!”
July 11, 2009 at 05:02
JJ posted where?
July 11, 2009 at 07:33
July 11, 2009 at 08:37
anyone heard anythink about mohamadou diarra? he doesnt seem to get linked with anyone let alone us. he shirt number was given to that twat lass diarra, so it appears he is on the market for transfer.
July 11, 2009 at 08:40
Morning Grovers!
I’m looking forward to a well balanced and reasoned post from Geoff today!
July 11, 2009 at 08:50
Morning all is it true that we have signed Matuidi or is it just JJ on a wind-up!!
July 11, 2009 at 08:58
i look forward to more outrageous claims that we are back in the race , that things are rosy as fuck and that we are kings of the world , and only because our club has told us so !
July 11, 2009 at 09:01
NEW POST!
July 11, 2009 at 09:02
that obviously was not aimed at geoff but fellow
delusionist bloggers ..
yes ive just made up a new word …
a delusionist
its half magical / half bullshit
these ‘delusionist’s ‘often met on blogs to defend the clubs failings and fill up space with
ramblings of pure insanity
July 11, 2009 at 09:02
oh fuck
July 11, 2009 at 11:40
Honest Bill
http://arseneknowsbest.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/matuidi-expresses-his-desire-to-play-for-arsenal/
i know, i know… but show me anything else…