… and a very good morning to you all!
Day 3, and Geoff has informed me via pigeon courier that due to a lack of summer signings he has taken it upon himself to do some pro bono scouting work for the club. At the moment he is tracking a 12 year old suit case stitcher from the Himalayas, I’ll report back on his findings.
Nawang Topkay insists he what it takes.
So, this morning we have awoken to the heart breaking news that AC Milan are looking to sign our dear captain; Cesc Fabregas, for £31million. There is no source bar the Sun newspaper… and no real effort in their valuation. If you could get someone to buy your paving slab for £25million, why would you then sell your diamond for £31million? Cesc is on a 54 year contract, so if Milan have dreams of luring Cesc… I think they should firstly up their bid to a number that isn’t insulting and secondly… look somewhere else.
In other less exciting news… we’ve canned off talks with Numbchucks. Arsene Wenger believes £15million for a player entering the last year of his contract is a little extortionate… I’d have to agree. Especially as it appears we don’t need him.
‘In five months, Chamakh will be free to talk to any club and Bordeaux won’t get anything. It’s over. I’m in no rush.’
At least we know who our next striker is likely to be, eh? One of our bloggers whose been correct with a few insider tidbits has informed us that rumours of a Kalou bid are extremely wide of the mark… I’m still unsure as to why we need another striker.
I’m also tiring of the ‘Eduardo fitness’ debate. He’s been running about since November last year, he’s had 4-5 set backs along the way… but the key is he hasn’t had a preseason set back. You could take the fitness argument wherever you wanted to… for example, I read an article a few years back by a sports scientist who said on average, a professional footballer will sustain a serious injury once every 2 years…. so on the basis of that, we should buy a world class left back to replace Clichy who has had two injury free years… no? Does that sound ridiculous? Of course it does. I think Eduardo has as much chance as anyone staying injury free this year.
On the defensive front, apparently the 6ft 5in Federico Fazio has rejected our overtures in favour of re-signing for Sevilla. In other news, I rejected the overtures of Megan Fox to commit to my girlfriend. Sorry Megan.
I’m also pleased to announce that Phillipe Senderos has nearly agreed terms with Everton and will be heading up North to try and resurrect his career with the Toffees. Phil, the last time I went to Liverpool to see Everton, I was nearly attacked by 5 blokes in a stolen Vauxhall Zafira for wearing gloves at a petrol station… good times. I’m sure you’ll love it up there!
On the subject of Big Phil, what is it with Arsenal fans and their poor memories? Senderos left us under a cloud of embarrassment after spending his final season demonstrating he couldn’t cut it at the highest level… yet this summer, I’m reading comments about him being our best defender. Are we talking about the same defender who broke down in tears after the West Ham game and had to be rested due to ‘emotional issues’? Crying is for girls I’m afraid… not 6ft+ burly centre backs who want to be taken seriously. Crying… pffft… what a pansy!
The same with Eboue… ok, the guy has talent in the same way there is always a kid in Wembley doubles who is amazing… yet when they get out on an 11 aside pitch they can’t cut it. Eboue has never delivered for us, he has dived, time wasted and fluffed his lines more times than I care to mention. Even at right back he failed… because if he hadn’t, he’d still be our right back, wouldn’t he? Let’s stop worrying about players leaving who haven’t cut it… Wenger is usually pretty spot on about letting players go who no longer serve a purpose.
Finally, I’m getting pretty excited about the prospect of playing in a 4-3-3 next season. There are too many combinations to start picking out our best starting 11, which could be viewed as a bad thing, or it could signal that for once, we have genuine competition for a starting place. I’ve also been thinking about Theo Walcott a lot over the last few weeks (Not in a special friends kind of way). This is a major season for him… he has to prove himself, because Jack Wilshere is miles ahead of him for footballing intelligence and sadly, as a goal threat. Rosicky proved with his first touch on Saturday that he isn’t going to be a passenger this year, and there are a few other players who would be more than happy to give him a run for his money. If we can see the Theo we saw against Chelsea, but with a clinical edge… we could be in for a real treat!
Finally… I’m going to ask you politely to have a look at some of the other stuff we’re doing at the moment.
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Here are a few snaps sent in of the training day. My thanks go out to Chary for sending them in!
Wenger watches head tennis with Jack, Theo and Denilson
Watching the penalty taking
The Verminator sprints past
The squad jog past
Gallas,Bendy,Robin, Fishead jogging by
Ofcourse not, but I would
why??
The bookies aren’t very good with predicting leagues at the start of the season bbk – they always have the league’s champions from the year before as the favourites, and although utd have won the last 3 years, it’s rare that a team retains the title.
who would you have down as favs right now aa???
Teams retaining titles isnt that rare in leagues. Lyon did it for a while. Bayern are usually the team to beat if you want the german league. Celtic won it 2 or 3 times in a row before rangers last season. Inter won it a few times in a row as well.
It doesnt happen in knock out comps but in leagues its all the more likely.
Does everyone remember when we were linked with Sagna a couple of years back?? Everyone was like ‘why are we signing a rb when we have Eboue and need a blah blah blah’.
If there’s a player out there Wenger likes, he’ll try and get them regardless of postion.
I want to know how the Vieira saga is moving along. It’s all gone quiet, which at Arsenal usually means it’s either a done deal or dead in the water.
Probably Chelski are favorites, then Manure, then liverpool, then us.
i hate transfer season so much
Stu it’s much rarer than the team not retaining the title, therefore the bookies are wrong the vast majority of the time!
Lyon is different, they were pretty much the only team in France for a few years, just like in Scotland there are only two teams, so it happens more regularly there.
Inter won it a few times because Juve and Milan were done for cheating so they had no competition!
Odds are for idiots. I mean it fluctuates as well depending on the number of Average Joes betting on any given team. People are most of the time betting on close outsiders so Man City are obviously going to get a massive amount of bets, thus shortening their odds.
yeaman u and chels are 2-1 and liverpool 11-4 according to william hill
BBK I’d say Liverpool, Chelsea, Us, Utd
Actually liverpool lost alonso, hmm.
Liverpool, Chelsea, and Us level favourites, Utd 4th favs
Chelsea will definitely finish ahead of Liverpool, even if they still had Alonso.
Wenger wants Chamak, but is not desperate for him. Besides, Wenger has publicly given Chamak the re-assurance he needs and as long as Wenger does not sign another striker, Chamak knows that all he has to do is to bring a pen with him to Wengers office in January. Either Bordaux take Wengers offer, or its Chamak on a free.
However, if the same Wenger could want a striker, it goes without saying that he is looking at two further players. Had he not lost Toure, then we would have unlikely needed another defender. But because from last season he did admit lack of defensive strength and depth, and that we have lost Toure, then it would be illogical for him not to buy another CD, or has Doure stepped up? Sounds like Eboue could be leaving as well. Something I appreciated after seeing Wilshires weekend perfomance. But what about Eboes defensive contribution?
And if its true that Wenger was pursuing Melo, again we are looking at a DM coming in.
But because these are his priority targets and that nothing is yet predictable or obvious, I understand Wengers stance of claiming that he has enuff cover because he wont want to be deemed desperate at the negotiating table.
Spurs are favorites
unless we sort out our defending we won’t be winning nothing
for relegation
How can you say definitely Angelos?! They didn’t last season, we’ve got absolutely no idea how well Ancelotti will do, and he’s got a poor record in the league anyways, just a champs league specialist. He’ll be focussing on the champs league too, whereas benitez is focussing on the league more than europe.
skwam wenger said eboue isn’t going. Vermalen was brought in as kolo’s replacement, but I agree, i’d like another centre back
FACT BBK, FACT!
If our players never got injured, we’d sweep the league easily, imo. And if we got a CDM as good as Matuidi or better.
Almunia
Sagna Gallas Verm Clichy
Cesc CDM Rosicky
RVP Eduardo Arshavin
CDM is such a huge priority right now, especially with Song going off to the ACN. Unless Wenger is planning to buy one in the winter market…
Well then, ita settles. Noone is gnna win the league.
United have lost a lot and ar shit now.
Chelsea have a shit manager who even with AC milan could only win the league once in 8 years.
And liverpool have Rafa who more or less shit.
It’s nothing to do with Ancelotti A. It’s to do with Cech, Terry, A Cole, Lampard, Essien, Ballack, Anelka, Drogba. To me the only players we have who compare are Van Persie, Arshavin and maybe not even Fabregas on current form. Man Utd have Berbatov, Rooney, and most of their defense. Liverpool have Gerrard, Mascherano and Torres.
Thanks for that A Says. Coz at times when Eboue isnt simulating pain he does contribute. And hes the nearest we have to a utility player. Hope he comes back intack from the Africa Cup.
The Ancelotti isn’t good in the league argument is a lazy one to be perfectly honest. The Milan players were mostly on the upside of 29 and took it upon themselves to prioritise the matches that they played in. I have watched a hell of a lot of AC over the years and the players just didn’t perform. I think with a squad that age it’s hardly the managers duty to fire up the players or pressure them to perform. The blame always falls on the manager and it’s almost always undeserved.
I would rather sell Eboue and get a proper utility man who can play any position. Like John O Shea for the mancs.
and since alonso has moved to Real, is there now a possibility of getting Diarra back?
Ancelotti is not my favourite manager in world football…far from it, but to dismiss Chelsea’s title hopes because of him is silly.
Thats fair Angelos, i suppose. But if the players arent performing then its the managers job to move them on and get players that will perform. And for a manager of his status he should have had the players working how he wanted.
Aquilini is a very good player, but he’s no Alonso and I think he will have a hard time adjusting to the PL. For me Alonso was every bit as important to Liverpool as Gerard and Torres. They beat Man U at home without Torres or Gerard, they wouldn’t have without Alonso. Tactically and technically they’ve lost a huge player. Given their reliance on four player Carragher, Mascherano Torres and Gerard they will have to be extremely lucky with injuries to do what they did last year.
I still think UTD will add to their squad, if they don’t they are their for the taking. Their regular central midfield partnership could conceiveable consist of Carrick and Fletcher with Hargreaves still on the treatmant table. With the loss of Tevez and Ronaldho and the signings of Owen and Valencia they will certainly be a more orthodox less dynamic team and if they are to regain the premiership it will be on their defensive displays as i think they should be easier to contain for the better defences in the league. Owen will score for UTD but most of his goals will be against the poorer teams in the league.
Chelsea have Essien, if we had him we’d win the league. For them he’s a “utility” player who sacrifices his own game to accomadate Lampards contribution to the team which is Goals. Any real tinkering with the Chelsea system causes problems both on and off the pitch but what they do they are incredibly good at. They will be strong again this year but given the age of their key players it really is the law of diminishing returns.
With a fit squad Aresnal without doubt have the most quality attacking talent and options in the league. Protecting the back four is still an area of concern. I like Song and Denilson I consider them to be miles ahead of virtually all their peers. Song has gone through a period of rapid improvement in the last 12 months and when you compare a shadow chaser like Anderson to someone who is so positionally and tactically aware like Denilson at 20 years of age you should be excited at the thought of these players being at the club in four or five years time. If i had my choice of CM players to choose from i’d go for Essien, De Rossi, Toure, Senna or Mascherano. In the real world however their is an absence of an Essien like somebody out there to sign, so why waste a huge amount of money on someone who isn’t going to improve the team in real terms? If you can think of someone by all means point them out. Players who could add a bit maybe include the likes of Sessegnon, and Lucho Gonzalez who’s went to Marseille but neither are midfield general more footballers who can also tackle. Its such an easy out to slate Denilson and Song yet when pressed for an alternative fans regularly hark back to Flamini who made his descision, Viera whose body has given up on him and Matudi whose not at the level Song or Denilson is at. The point is the type of player that were in need of is pretty thin on the ground. Suck it up Grovers unless a De Rossi or Essien becomes availible start supporting these two kids.
None of the teams are perfect and i’m really looking forward to this season because we do have a chance.
No Skwam. The reason they bought Alonso is because they wanted to get the midfield balance right with Diarra as a starter.
Angelos they had all those players last season and came 3rd….
No matter what players there are, they have to fit into a system, or the manager has to develop a system that fits around the players. Just have players x, y and z on paper doesn’t guarantee success, as we saw with chelsea last season….
Stu. He wanted to do that. Do you know how hard he had to try to bring in Pato as well as his failed attempts to get other players in like Mexes. Milan have had money problems for a good 6 years now, the board wanted to see how much they could squeeze out of the squad they had. The structure of the backroom staff there proves it too.
No they didn’t A. Essien, Drogba and Terry all had injury problems. The only ones that managed to stay relatively injury free were Anelka who was the top scorer and Lampard who was better than every top 4 midfielder bar Gerrard.
So they made him keep using older players on undoubtedly higher wages than younger players would have been on? Thats difficult to believe
Milan couldnt be that stupid.
I think not Angelos. Check the stats. Denilsong are the best midfielders in the premiership.
What Stu?? It’s got nothing to do with wages and everything to do with what they deemed unecessary transfer fees. I’m not asking you to believe, just offering the truth.
Angelos Essien did, but Terry certainly didn’t, and Drogba didn’t have injury problems, he just didn’t get on with Scolari!
Angelos, im not saying you’re not telling the truth. Just saying if money was a big issue then i thought the board would have offloaded the high earners. Thats all….
Brady right foot….am agreed with you. my concern is when you lose diarra, flamini etc and ask song and denilson to take over…suddenly. arsenals game was based on having a midfield fortress that was the basis from which attack was launched. And whenever this midfield fortress was breached, Arsenals defense was VERY vulnerable. So not ensuring that we held onto the platform of our success was a failure, and demanding or expecting 20 year olds to suddenly step up to the level of Gilberto or Flamini who was allowed his education in the trade right into his mid twenties is folly. I salute the two lads. But I have concerns about having them put in the situation in the first place. Couple more seasons, DM wont be a position to worry about with them not sold, but the jobs came one if not up to three seasons too early for them
Lampard and Terry weren’t just “relatively injury free either”, they only missed 4 Premiership games between them all season!
Essien was a massive loss for them, and is a top top player, as are Drogba, and an on form Anelka. Lampard has certainly stepped it up a level as well.
Terry is average though, very overrated, and they’d be better if they offloaded him imo, he’s become bigger than the club, a la shearer at newcastle.
Cech has been average since his head injury, Almunia made less mistakes last season than him!
Terry had an ankle injury for almost the entire season A, as well as knee problems. Just because players play A it doesn’t mean they’re not being troubled. What were the reasons Scolari gave for Drogba not playing initially? It was wanted him to get to match fitness. After that yeah, there was a deterioration of their non-relationship but nonetheless he wasn’t an ever present.
Chelsea had really good luck with injuries last season actually, they had 7 players who started all but five or less games! Essien apart obviously.
We had just two, Denilson and Sagna too, not the most influencial players!
Get a grip A. Almunia?? The only difference is Almunia knows to make his few mistakes in the big games. And you can try and put it anyway you want but all of those players I mentioned would walk into this Arsenal team. Maybe Van Persie to partner either of the Chelsea strikeforce.
Angelos, the stats on Denilson I have issues. The problem I have with him is that he tackles brilliantly only to pass the ball back to opposition. He does this again. And again. And again. This merry-go-round tactic he has does make his stats look good.
Yeah Angelos, Cech was VERY poor last season, not saying Almunia is good, but Cech was below average last season, something was very wrong with him.
Out of the Chelsea team I’d take Alex rather than Terry, Bosingwa, Essien, and that’s it. Cesc rather than Lampard, they’re different types of players, and Cesc is better for us than Lampard would be. Arshavin and VP over both Drogba and Anelka. Zhirkov maybe, but have to see how he adapts to the prem. Cole isn’t the same player as he was when he was with us.
I trust my eyes and ears skwam not stats. And they tell me that Denilson is far from poor but just as far from great.
The chelski players i would defo take are Alex, Essien and Anelka(maybe). Other than that i really wouldnt take the others.
Oh and Zhirkov too. And Sheva is he was free because he one of my favourite players ever.
This would be my Chelsea/Arsenal team A
Cech
Sagna Gallas Terry A Cole
Arshavin Essien Lampard Rosicky
Van Persie Drogba
Mine would be
Almunia
Bosingwa Alex Gallas Clichy
Rosicky Cesc Essien Nasri
VP Arshavin
Or maybe Arshavin left Eduardo or Anelka up top
skwam. You are basing that off one pre-season game. Denilson rarely passed the ball to the opposition, the stats back that up, and if you’re seeing things otherwise then your subjective opinion is obscuring the facts
And in a 4-3-3
Lampard Essien Fabregas
Arshavin Van Persie
Drogba
Skwam m8 decent shout, I think Wenger thought Flamini wouldn’t leave,but for whatever the mistakes of the past and i’m sure Wenger should have done more earlier to keep Flamini the player the fans are crying out for this midfield general who is he and how much will he cost?
Yeah Denilson rarely lost the ball. But a lot of that was because he didnt try any adventerous passes. But some of his passes were bad because they were to players who werent open to the pass…were under pressure and lost the ball. But Denilson pass was still recorded as complete.
He doesnt lose the ball but his choice of forward passes could be better.
Angelos..right way to go about mate.
But definitely one to hold onto for the future. He is still learning and we dont know how much more he is capable of. But if he improved on his passing, his contribution with his tackling stats would be automatically immense. He is Brazilian, right?
The Arsenal/Chelsea team should be 4-3-3 because thats what both teams play and have the players to suit that formation.
Arsene said that Denilson was a mixture of Thomas Rosicky and Gilberto Silva skwam. Let’s see what happens…hopefuly he takes more from the Czech.
Stu. i’m just saying that if people are going to criticise a player, don’t do it based on their imaginations. We all have the tendency to attribute certain characteristics to people based on one or two things that stuck in our minds, but that is where the stats do help. They help you to see that your view of a football match is limited, and when it’s your own team you are prevented from objective analysis by your emotions
In a 4-3-3 you have to have both Essien, Lampard and either Anelka or Drogba up top otherwise it’s not a 4-3-3.
Noone took the ball off his feet, but he either made a poor passing decision that lost Arsenal the ball or he completely failed to pass the ball to a team mate. On too many occassions from what I saw. And with as many tackles as he made, and with passing as good as you say he had, Im sure we wont be screaming out loud for a defensive midfielder, considering that we also have Song who was deemed better than Denilson last term.
Cech
Sagna Gallas Terry Cunt
Cesc Essien Lampard
RVP Drogba Arshavin
What a team
what ever happened to Kalou rumors?
We picked the exact same team Pat. It’s scary good.
He rarely failed to pass the ball to a teammate skwam. So your memory of what you saw is obviously flawed just like any other human being. Because from what I saw, he always makes the safe pass, passing either sideways or in to negative space. The stats back that up
I actually wouldnt have cashley at left back. I woud prefer Zhirkov. Cole was arguably once the best left back in the world but imo since leaving us he has been half the player he once was.
I would take Clichy to both Zhirkov and Cashley.
Yes it is Angelo. You have the spine/toughness in midfield, along with a little maestro pulling the strings. A world class CDM, an assister, and a goal scorer in midfield. What more can you ask for?!?!
I tried squeezing Rosicky in there. Maybe if cesc wasn’t available, I’d put Rosicky in the middle.
I like my full-backs to be balanced mentally in terms of attacking and defensive duties. From what little I’ve seen Zhirkov he likes the opposition half a hell of a lot. That’s not a bad thing though and Barca proved with Dani Alves sometimes it can make a big difference.
I’d take Clichy if he didn’t have such an awful season in 08/09. Clichy on 07/08 form is a no brainer.
For me hopefully nothing further happens.
Because if we are able to get Chamak free, who is good, coz Wenger thinks so, then we are less restricted on the choice of DM or defender coz of finance.
But I dont think Wenger would buy Kalou if he knows that Chamak is available for what he Wenger is willing to pay or on a free as a belated xmas present.
Kalou could happen if Chamak signs for another club. But as I said earlier, Chamak knows that he can walk into Arsenal in January, if Wenger hasnt signed someone else
gday all,
so who do we want?
Team Ranking
1. Arsenal (QUALIFIED) 106.899
2. Lyon (QUALIFIED) 91.033
3. Sporting Lisbon (QUALIFIED) 68.292
4. Panathinaikos (QUALIFIED) 56.632
5. VfB Stuttgart (QUALIFIED) 45.339
6. Fiorentina (QUALIFIED) 42.581
7. Atletico Madrid (QUALIFIED) 41.853
8. Celtic (QUALIFIED) 40.757
9. Anderlecht (QUALIFIED) 32.065
10. Timisoura (QUALIFIED) 25.781
Yeah Pat, the midfield is so complementary as is the attacking trident. Skill and shooting ability in Van Persie, Strength and aeriel threat with Drogba and pace and creativity in the form of Arshavin.
Watch the Birmingham and Tottenham mistakes and come back to me on thet luke.
Not January skwam, next june. I’d be surprised if Chamakh happened in January or next June, but I guess it’d depend on how other players do between now and then.
Anderlecht, Celtic, Timisoara, Fiorentina, Athletico for me Evo, in that order
ive seen him. He has premier league experience though, where Jerkoff doesnt, and Cashley can go piss up a rope as far as Im concerned.
If you have the stats to back you, wont argue. But I will stick to watching football
them*
skwam, why would you bother when you can apparently come to conclusions about what happens without having to?
Timisoara would be no.1 due to lowest ranking, although they knocked out shaktar. I don’t want Celtic as they are my Scottish team!
yeah evo, but i think we’d beat any of anderlecht, celtic, and timisoara comfortably, but I’d rather avoid timisoara, because it means potentially having to travel to romania 3 days before travelling to old trafford, so there are issues with travelling distance, and crappy pitches over there so potential for players getting injured, or just being more tired than they would be playing in celtic or anderlecht
Anderlecht would be the best bet for me
yeh, could jus go to central statistics office. should have thought of that one. But more seriously, I might say is that if i have seen denilson fail to pass a few good times, i might have concluded that he aint any at passing and maybe I started picking on him on that more than other players. am starting on a clean slate with ALL players nex term. PEACE?
Fazio is a decent central defender – and he can play DM role as well.
Signing a new contract is standard in spain to bump-up the transfer fee. Unfortunately he is good and they don’t want to sell – and we won’t pay more than $500 anyway
yeah true. no celtic for me, but ill play any of the others
skwam fair play mate. As i say, people’s memories are unreliable. One can watch a game and sit there waiting for creative passing and something good to happen, so all the little safe passes just don’t register. Whereas a misplaced pass at an emotionally charged moment of the game will stick in one’s mind “He gave the ball away”. In our minds the tendency is to remember that mistake.
This is where stats are helpful because they allow us to supplement our memories with the facts. I’m not saying that Denilson is a good passer, or even claiming him to be a good player. I’m just saying that the criticism that he gives the ball to the opposition is inaccurate.
Celtic for me. Not far to travel, good pitch and not crap enough to make us complacent but not good enough to beat us even if we are.
Celtic might not be so good, we would probably end up with half our squad injured. I’d much rather we play a continental side
Anderlecht, Celtic, Reyes, Timi, Fiorentina for me.
Celtic arent a physical side (apart from Scott Brown). And with Mowbray as manager they will try to play football and we generall walk all over any team that tries to play football against us.
Admittedly i haven’t seen much of Celtic recently. Possibly just a stigmatism i attached to the fact that they’re a jock side
Celtic wouldn’t be half as aggressive as an eastern european team Bill.
And if you take into consideration that players have gotten injuries just by running on bad or hardened pitches I think Beltic are definitely the best option.
And by Beltic I mean the hoops.
Yeah i was kinda hoping to meet Anderlecht, nice and close, weak enough to walk all over. Don’t know about the quality of the pitch
I find it surprising that the Fulham boss keeps saying we shud back off on Hangeland. Is he inviting Wenger? Hes even suggested that we throw in Vela if we interested in his defender, but NO approach has been made for him as far as I know. Wats this all about?
The other thing is that if he is that good, would he not be a candidate for Man City or Villa if he is refusing to sign a new contract. Cant come up with any conspiracy theory other that he is not as good as he is made out to be. I like him. Make coz he outjumped our defense and showed more determination, leading to his goal. But throughout the season he was rated highly, made it into the premiership team of the season, if Im not mistaken. Aint worth adding to our side and his valuation?
Im goin sleep. Night grovers….
Stu, you are copping out a bit mate.
You claim we need an experienced DM with top-class experience. By this, you must mean Champions League experience, because I’m SURE you don’t mean we should pick up a guy with 50 caps for Latvia or something.
Then you say that it’s the scouts job to find such players.
Well, obviously the top-class DMs with lots of CL experience are known to everyone. It’s not like there is a 29 year old with heaps of experience in the EPL, La Liga, or CL, plying his trade in relative obscurity out in Muaritius or something. The scouts by their very nature will be looking for players without the experience, but with the ability to play at that level.
Once again, if you know a DM who has CL experience and who is available and realistic, please, tell us who
DDM aka Mr. Xenophobe…Fuck the redcoats. Remember Yorktown.
Celtic? aren’t they an Irish team
Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky could be out for up to ‘5 to 6 weeks’, after the Czech international reportedly sustained a hamstring injury in training this morning.
According to radio station talkSPORT, Rosicky – who only recently returned from a long-term injury – will be missing for almost two months with the Arsenal press office revealing that the injury is currently being assessed.
The show’s host, former Gunner Ian Wright, said that a press conference has been planned for tomorrow afternoon, where Arsene Wenger is expected to tell the media how serious Rosicky’s ‘injury’ is.
http://goonertalk.com/2009/08/05/reports-rosicky-sustains-serious-injury/#comments
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood insists there is “absolutely no chance” captain Cesc Fabregas will leave the Emirates Stadium this summer.
The 22-year-old is under contract with the Gunners until 2014 but his future has once again been the subject of much speculation this close-season, with AC Milan having emerged as the latest big-name club to target the Spain midfielder.
However, Hill-Wood does not expect Fabregas to be following Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure out of the north London club’s exit door.
He said: “There is absolutely no chance of us selling Cesc and all this talk is just fabrication.
“This sort of thing crops up from time to time and it is something we are perfectly used to. Cesc is happy at Arsenal, as far as I am aware.”
—————————————–
when things get messy up steps PHW ,
Arsene is his bitch and he is the drunken husband who spurts it out LIKE IT OR LUMP IT not really giving a #### what others think of him …
if you think wenger is in charge of NOT spending then your all delusional .
out for the C.L qualifier ..
GREAT
http://www.imscouting.com/global_news_item.aspx?id=2754
PEDRO , you can tell me he’s just like a new signing again in September/October
or maybe Christmas knowing Rosicky ..
So who decides if we’re gonna get that much talked about DM?
There is only 1 source reporting Rosick’ys injury. We’ve already had 3 false alarms this preseason. 2 with Rosicky(both talkSPORT) and 1 with Eduardo
Ladies Smith…Sell your shares to Usmanov…lets get this party started…and end this tight fisted fiasco that has seen us spiral down in the world of football…
Rosicky out again
WTF
Outsideright, scouts watch every player we are about to sign… that is their job.
They don’t just hunt out unearthed talent, because in today’s game… there is no such thing.
Ethan, we’ll wait and see on the Rosicky thing… too many false flags on this one mean I’ll wait on it.
You are right about the spending bit… and I reckon this £40+mill he has in his hand now will show everybody that it’s always been Wenger’s choice not to spend.
David I’m with you. Years & years of meally minded Labor fiscal policy has rubbed off on those in charge of The Arsenal.
Gnarley… I really don’t think it’s the board holding back the finances… it’s Wenger.
I don’t know why everyone blames the board? Arsene is independent enough to be this demi-god at Arsenal… yet everyone thinks he is under some sort of financial gagging order from the club?
It makes no sense.
Rafa loses a player… straight away he goes out and purchases another. Fergie loses Ronaldo, straight away he replaces him… why do Arsenal insist on taking 3 months to do their business? Are we that short sighted that we don’t have a look at who is available before we flog a player?
there you go with the £40+mil talk again Pedro, deal with the facts, not speculation treated like fact!
Pedro, who do you suggest we buy at DM?
Arsene doesnt believe in replacing great players…Henry, PV4, Tony Adams, David Seaman, Overmars….etc.
Pedro previously it’s been the board, Wenger has more or less said that, saying he’ll always spend within his means. This summer if we spend nothing else then we know it’s Wenger, because he’s said that he has the ade/kolo money to spend, so we know he’s got some money.
I disagree about the short sightedness thing – we signed kolo’s replacement well BEFORE kolo went! Ade went because he was surplus to requirements, a replacement wasn’t necessary, but chamakh it would appear was always going to happen, but his circumstances require waiting for longer because the closer to the transfer deadline the lowed the price.
Hard to think of one great player on the team asides from Arshy
Also with Ronaldo and Alonso both of them were absolutely central to their respective clubs, if we’d lost vp, or cesc, then things would have happened differently with regards to ade, but seeing as he wasn’t even going to be a first team player this year, the necessity to replace him immediately wasn’t there, as it was with alonso say for liverpool.
David i’d say arshavin, vp, cesc, gallas
VP, Cesc might well be great players but its been a while since theyve had a great season?
Gallas is emotionally unstable.
The fact that we arent even linked to any DM’s says alot about Arsene and his spending.
Morning all!
So shall I say ‘I told you so’ to everyone now or save it for the new post? The amount of times I have said that Rosicky will be a permanent crock is ridiculous!
Now we are without Nasri and Rosicky during a very tough start to the campaign!
i’d say vp had a great season last season david, even if not a perfect season. 11 goals 10 assists in 28 games is pretty impressive.
not being linked to a DM means nothing, i’m still certain one will be signed. Being linked to players or not, doesn’t say anything about anything to do at the club!
taig only talksport have reported rosicky is out, and they did that on the 16th, and the 30th of july, and were completely and utterly wrong. Wait until it’s actually official before you state it as something that’s happened, doing otherwise is ridiculous!
A
every player we’ve ever bought we’ve been linked to at least once.
Except Silvestre.
Even the gutter press has learnt from talksport’s false alarms – the last two times skysports and the press reported rosicky was injured, this time even they havn’t said anything, because they’ve learnt their lesson when it comes to treating talksport’s word as gospel!!
A, my facts are as accurate as yours… in fact, I would say I’m closer to the true figure.
Unless of course you yourself have evidence to the contrary?
I think what was apparent A, is that we needed to bolster our squad last summer… so the fact that the hunt for a centre midfielder has dragged on into August is a bit ridiculous…
We didn’t know Kolo or Ade were going to go… If City had purchased Terry and Eto’o, those two would still be here. The only defender we knew was going was Big Phil… and we knew Silvestre wasn’t going to be first choice this year. So I don’t really subscribe to Vermaelen being a direct Kolo replacement.
If I have £500,000 to buy a house, and instead, I buy a tent for £200… I have spent within my means.
A – Jesus am I not allowed to believe it? I think you would argue with me if I said its Friday tomorrow……
We weren’t linked to eduardo before we signed him, nor sagna, nor rosicky, nor ade, diaby….
We’ve signed players out of nowhere completely unexpected before. We’ve been linked with matuidi, but i could see it being someone different if not him, that we’ve not been linked with
PDT, I’d go for Matuidi… purely based on Makelele’s assessment of him!
A cross between Gerrard and himself… that sounds like a pretty awesome combo.
Same sh*t. Different season!!
Oh man
A… we were.
I remember reading about all of those transfers on Tribal football bar the Eduardo one.
Sagna and Diaby weren’t instant transfers… Chelsea nearly nicked Diaby!
If Matuidi was going to happen..it be done by now because of AW and Comolli’s relationship.
Th fact that it’s not done by now…doesn’t look too likely.
Yes Pedro, but it is a bit rich to say we need an experienced top-class DM with champions league and international experience, then not provide a name because it’s the “scout’s job to find him” You can count those players on one hand, and none seem like realistic targets. As I said, it’s not like there is a 28 yr old Champions League winner playing in Turkmenistan that the scout could find. These sorts of players are widely known and most likely unattainable. Please, tell me one player who fits the criteria now who we can realistically get?
… and I didn’t read about the Eduardo one because I was on Holiday…
Pedro – As I said to Franchise yesterday I think Makelele was just saying what he thought everyone wanted to hear. He’s not going to turn around and say ‘no, I hope Arsenal don’t buy him because he’s shit’ is he! He was even less enthusiastic about Chamakh, hardly beside himself with excitement. He was a guest in our house and was just being polite.
Toulalon? Mahamadou Diarra? Keita? Flamini?
Actually we were linked to Eduardo, and Sagna and Ade..infact the french press where buzzing that he would arsene has found “baby Kanu”….Same thing in the Croatian Papers…Sagna is hardly a low profile signing as he was rated the best player the season before we signed him….
TAIG, he wasn’t… I watched the interview!
He doesn’t plays for Paris… he had no reason to say nice things. He said Chamakh is the best striker in french football at the moment… that is pretty enthusiastic… how else was he supposed to say it?
David… I’d say that we hardly ever sign a player that isn’t part of a protracted transfer…
Iceman… I’d have to agree… he is going to stick with his love children in the holding role.
Pedro – He’s not going to say he shit regardless of who he plays for. Why would he be rude and portray himself in such a manner in front of the media, that’s just stupid. he just sat there rambling on talking with no real passion and saying such obvious things. Just because he said it, doesn’t mean he meant it.
Or he’s decided against Matuidi and is going to spring an Eduardo on us Pedro….
There is always a glimpse of truth in one of these protracted transfers…
That’s high praise for Matuidi….
Taig, that is a pretty negative way to view someone’s comments?
Why would you assume that a 35 year old man has to be nice about a footballer because he is under pressure?
If he wasn’t entused… he’d just say, ‘He’s a good player’. He wouldn’t go on to make such a lavish comparison. Judging someones demeanour when you don’t know them personally is a but rash? How many interviews have you watched where he has excitedly praised a player?
What is the point of Gazidis?
Huntelaar to join AC Milan
http://www.imscouting.com/global_news_item.aspx?id=2759
Pedro I take your point, but the fact of the matter is that someone has the final say on “to spend or not to spend, that is the question” whether it is Wenger or The Board doesn’t matter, the fact is its happening, & its time a new style be implemented in the spending department. & it appears that that “new style” is already in waiting. Lets just fast forward it.
Pedro – Its just the impression I got.
Perhaps it has something to do with me not wanting any more average/progressing kids at the club. Chamkah is coming across like Adebayor reincarnated and Matuidi is as young as Denilson, 4 inches shorter, had a good year during the 07/08 season and then spent a lot of time injured last year (only 27 league appearances) for a club that only just survived relegation on the last day of the season.
Right, I’ve spoken to my man, and there is no press conference this morning.
Rosicky has pulled his hamstring and will be out for up to six weeks. Think about it, why would any club feel the need for a press conference to announce a player’s injury!!
Ian Wright = Clueless Twat
Also, the Vieira deal is all but dead and get this, the reason is based purely on the fact that the performances of the team during pre-season has shown Wenger that we don’t need him!!!! Absofuckinglutely, haven’t we done ever so well against a bunch of also rans and pub teams!
There you go Grovers, he’s so happy with his team there’s no need for reinforcements, you can almost hear Fizsman and PHW spark up another couple of Cubans, as they pat their backs and congratulate each other on £40m+ banked……..