As the season draws to a close we are all turning our eyes and blogs towards the off-season version of fantasy football – speculating about who we are going to buy. Anticipation is growing that Arsenal FC are in their strongest financial position for many years and even better that the board are ready to unleash Arsène onto the most benign transfer market of recent times. A combination of recent massive spending by the Spanish clubs, financial hangovers at Liverpool and Man U (even Chelsea to some degree) and the tightening of credit around the world mean that some of our traditional rivals for top players are not quite so ready to snatch the prize players from under our noses. Set against that, new rivals like Man City and the Spuds will have their own attractions for the stars that emerge from the World Cup, and our tax regime has to be the least attractive in Europe for the big guns.
The speculation is that we have £30m, £40m, maybe even £50m to spend on players this year, beyond any money recouped from player sales. The more cynical or realistic among us might doubt that the board is really ready to change the habits of a lifetime, or indeed might think that our manager is genetically incapable of splashing out. Others can point to his eye for a player (Vermaelen surely the best buy in Europe in the last 12 months and Chamakh could be a bargain free transfer) and the recent, persistent bullish announcements from our manager, our Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis and the Board which all indicate that they are ready to bring in the experienced talent that we need to move from good to great again.
We want to gauge the mood of Gooners everywhere – if Arsène really does have £50m in his back pocket, what should his priority be? Should he focus on one really top signing? A Torres or Villa – the type of player who can take us on to the next level and be part of a strategy to build the best squad in the world over the next few years, then spend the change on short term signings where necessary. Haven’t we bought enough ‘promising’ players already?
What about getting the spine right with a GK, CB and DM in the range of £10m – £15m each? They won’t necessarily be the world’s best but might be a better balanced way of strengthening the whole team. On the other hand, will that give us a team capable of consistently beating Europe’s best in the future?
Another option is to invest in what Arsène has called the strongest squad he has worked with. Up to £17m has been spent this year on extending contracts within the squad – should this continue to be the core strategy? It isn’t just the young players, what about upping Cesc’s contract again to fend off the temptations of Spain?
Alternatively, why spend the money just because it is burning a hole in his pocket? If the right players aren’t available, should he hang on to the cash and roll it over to the next transfer window, when Arsenal’s financial strength and footballing class along with the further demise of our rivals might make us even more attractive?
Vote in the poll below and let us have your comments about how he should be spending the results of five years of prudent financial management, and on whom.
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Morning all. For what it’s worth, I’d prefer to see a major signing rather than 2/3/4 sprinkled across the side.
i’d be rather satisfied with good gk and a good cb/dm (kinda like a version of Song that’s centerback first and defensive mid second)
Morning Alfa,
Thought provoking post. Are you seriously saying you’d rather have one superstar and keep the the GK’s we have? – I think your poll is a foregone conclusion and the vast majority will want to see 3 (ish) new players
Damnit, I wouldn’t be unhappy if that’s what happened, but I’d like to think we can attract players that the rest of the world fears, like Rooney, Ronaldo, Messi, Puyol etc. When we need a goal in a CL semi-final, or to shut out Chelsea and Man U in the PL, they are the players who can make the difference, IMHO.
Rasp, you might be right but yes, I think I would. Maybe I’m cheating a bit as I think we could have a good enough GK for a small fraction of the supposed £50m.
Alfa, I’m working on a transfer rumour widget to highlight the (sensible) rumours of the players we’ve been linked to …. do you want me to include Villa?
strongly disagree to get a defensive midfielder, because of all the talent in central midfield; like Thomas, Lansbury, Diaby, Denilson, Wilshere, Eastmond, Henderson, Aneke…and Galindo if confirmed. The first four mentioned have already played regular football at a high level. Not all defensive midfielders, but central midfielders. Eastmond and Henderson have made huge steps into the first team this year, Frimpong on the bench in PL, while Coquelin has become a right back. Aneke recently refused Barca, and is together with Afobe seen as a talent of the Cesc/ Wilshere pedigree. If a central midfielder comes in, then what about those?
At least one central defender is necessary though, and if a central midfielder with experience then it should be someone who can play in several positions in my opinion. This to not stand in the way of talents. Gallas has become a huge player thhis year, still think he does not reach up to the presence Sol Campbell has…and I think that is needed. Mannone, Schezny and Fabianski possibly need more first team experience on loan…would love to see a stable keeper again. Alumnia can be brilliant, and sad
GK, CB x 2, DM , LW (with left foot) & striker. its a big ask, but necessary. i think a bit of English will help, if just to talk to the refs a bit.
Morning all, while I hesitate to plump for the obvious option, in this case, IMO, the obvious choice is the right one.
So, to paraphrase my alter ego, the Arsenal fans will “have to sit and wait in anticipation of(their) skill…or lack thereof.” regarding AFC in the transfer market this summer.
Good stuff Alfa I have voted for three players because that is the best option there, but in truth I would like to be sure that money is available to keep most of the Squad together as well as making additions. Would settle for major GK and holding squad together because a full a Squad would be like having new signings.
This is a worth a read.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/7692380/Arsenal-Premier-League-season-review-2009-10.html
providing we keep the top class players we have (Cesc, RVP, Arsh) then I dont think we need a single marquee signing. We need better defensive stability. A new CB, DM and GK is exactly what we need, assuming that Chamakh is already here.
we could afford to lose Gallas, Silvestre, Almunia, Denilson and Eduardo. We should also promote a few more English youngsters to the fringe.
Gazzap i couldnt have said it better myself
Morning gazzap,
I’m in agreement too. The noises that are coming via the Arsenal PR machine seem to be indicating 2 players – certainly no more than 3. If Chamakh is one, that may mean no new GK or DM. A lot will be resting on Djourou’s shoulders if we don’t sign a CB (assuming Sol will get an extension)
I voted for the 3 signings across the defence. GK is pretty obvious, they give the defence confidence and if they dont give away cheap goals can be worth a good 10 points a season. CB is an obvious one too because with the 3 leaving on a free and Sol yet to extend we are left with just Vermaelen and the unreliable Djourou, so maybe 2 CBs would be better.
And finally the midfielder. Since Chamakh will be free we can spend that little extra buying a box to box midfielder. I think Song has done well enough this season to keep his place for next season so i would rather we buy a CM to completel the midfield 3. Cesc, Song and X. Preferably they would be pretty big and able to fill in for Song if he is ever missing.
Come on “Gazzap” if we let Gallas go and buy a new DM how does that help?The new DM might get injured and Vermaelen might get injured as well.
Therefore we will have Sol Cambell and Djourou to play together and it might be the crucial time in the season as well , may be six games to go and Man Utd and Chelsea among the six games.
Trust me it is going to happen again-Premier League likes it that way.
Remember that we conceded loads of goals in the last 5 games of the season although Sol Cambell played well,it wasn’t enough.
So i think keep Gallas , get a new CB,Let Alumnia ,Silvestre,Denilson go.
Alfa
Arsene Wenger just needs to do the things he has to do, to win a trophy or two. If he can’t do that then its time for him to move on. With the squad he has, which he describes as the strongest he has ever had @ Arsenal, then is he saying that he himself is the weak link?
Buy Sell
GK: Joe Hart 8 million GK: Fabianski 3 Million
CB: Chiellini 15 million CB: Senderos 6 Million
MF: Milner 18 million MF: Rosicky 10 million
CF: Chamakh Free CF: Eduardo 10 Million
Offload Cambell and Silvestre
Total Spent 41 million. Total Income: 29 million
The equivalent of spending 12 million so that next years Squad looks like this
GK: Hart, Almunia, Manonne
CB: Vermaelen, Cheillini, Gallas, Sagna, Clichy, Eboue, Gibbs, Djourou, NordVeit
MF: Fabregas, Song, Arshavin, Nasri, Milner, Diaby, Denilson, Walcott, Ramsey.
CF: Van Persie, Chamakh, Bendtner, Vela
Send Wilshere out on loan for 1 more seasn to Bolton to continue development.
Hey ‘Joe’ we cant get £6million for Senderos and we can’t get £10million for Eduardo and why do you want to sell Rosicky ?
Rosicky adds experience to the team and he is an hard worker unlike lazy Diaby and Denilson who easily give up whenever the game is not going our way.
I dont think Man city will sell Hart,therefore Wenger should not waste time chassing him.We should get the CSK moscow keeper instead.
I think if we can get Milner , it will be nice but you and i Know Wenger is not going to pay £18million for a Midfielder.
We dont know if Wenger will buy a DM but he will do well to buy a GK and with Chamakh coming in , Wenger will work with the midfielders we have.
Dont expect more than two players from Wenger.He will keep Sol cambell as well.
Ok – what do we think is the worst case scenario for the summer transfer window? For me it’s that we keep our current goalies(because the manager believes in them) and the only “in” is Chamkah; Sol and Gallas go and Djorou’s return is “like a new signing.”
morning all. I agree that it all looks a bit obvious, GK is a must but cant see us getting Hart prob a cheap but experienced player to fill the gap till the poles are ready. We are losing Gallas and Silveste so at least1 top defender needs to be added and even though we do have a wealth of potential in midfield I dont think any would step in and be the dominant player we need (not yet). It must be melo. melo,song and cesc in midfield would balance the team nicely.
Go back to 4-4-2
GK: Buffon (5m + Sagna), Almunia, Mannone
DR: Eboue, Azpilicueta or Van der wiel (7-8m)
DC: Naldo 10m, Vermaelen, Zapata 8m, Djourou, Campbell
LB; Clichy,Gibbs
DM: Yaya Toure (17m), Song
MC: Fabregas, Diaby
MR: Gourcuff (15m), Theo
ML: Arshavin, Nasri, Vela
Strikers: rvp, chamakh, Balotelli (15m) bendtner
Ok so thats like 80m spent but sell denilson, traore, rosicky, eduardo we can raise close to 30m so 50m spent. The summer after we should get Hazard and Lukaku
The big word being used is experience and AW is looking at Sols impact but money will also play a part i’m sure.If i had to put my money on 3 players it would be
david james experience and cheap
matthew upson experience and relatively cheap
felipe melo to be our big money signing (but possibly a part swap deal)
Arsène has identified the defence as an area that needs needs reinforcing, but oddly, it is in this area that I can see him saying – “what we have is good enough”. Silvestre and Senderos are gone, but if Campbel stays and JD is fit, he may choose not to buy a CB. Similarly he has said that a GK is not a priority so it may be that Chamakh and someone like Melo who can also play CB will be the only signings.
Morning all,
Here we go again huh? Its transfer time – the bane of our lives.
It has to be the option for 3 doesn’t it? We don’t need marquee signings for £30mil because Wenger is more than able to buy players in the £10-£15mil mark and see them progress as superstars – Henry, Vieira, Pires etc
We NEED a new keeper, no questions there and I reckon he might go for an old head considering that Chesney is being built up as future number one.
Silvestre is gone (probably), Gallas if he stays has become an injury concern, Djourou will need time to get match ready again, Campbell can only be a fill in which leaves us only with Vermaelen as a starter. Song is wasted been moved to the back so we need another CB regardless of Gallas staying or not.
Up front, Chamackh will probably be it.
Yup Raspers, that’s pretty much the worst case scenario I had.
Hi Irish, you’ve stolen my hymn sheet 😉
It’s such common sense that it’s guaranteed not to happen 😳
Agreed chary, I’m not saying it’s what I expect to happen – just that it’s what I don’t want to happen … that’s poor english, but you get my drift.
So very true Rasp and so very sad.
If we had bought TWO players that were up for grabs over the last year I’m convinced we’d have been EPL Champions now – I’m writing the post and I’ll stick it into drafts so ye can use it if you need it – I’ll not be insulted if ye don’t, it’ll be there for back up.
Ha ha 😆
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=120744351278771&v=wall
Hi Maire – nice to see you here, I’m popping off to lunch; catch you,later.
well worth going over to arsenal.com and watching the AST / gazidis Q&A from last night
freely available to view.
Catch you later Chary.
Meant to ask – did Peaches get back from Nigeria okay? 😆
They should spend the $ on a real coach, and ditch this whiny loser, Wenger. Chamkah will be another wimpy diver just like almost everyone else on team. Get some muscle and a new coach
George.. ur surnames not graham is it ? haha
I am embrassed to be an Arsenal Fan. I work with these guys that abuse me all day cause we have an A-hole for a coach, and our team has no spine. Wenger is a loser and no Fergie. Heck I would take Tony Pulis at this point. Please ditch Wenger and sign someone with balls so I don’t have to defend my team’s honor week in week out.
Chamakh is very far from a ‘wimpy diver’, he is a very strong aggressive striker and I will forecast now that he will get 15+ goals next season
😆 i am more embarrassed that you purport yourself to be an arsenal “fan”
Yeah I hate our A-hole of a coach, I was so embarrassed when we cruised to a championship unbeaten and now I’m so embarrassed that we have built a new stadium whilst managing to stay in the Champions League. So envious of Liverpool right now, what an arse of a coach we have…
Roopesh,
I’m guessing you wouldn’t have written that 6 years ago. We must give Arsène a chance to show us what he’d like to have been doing since the Ems was built and bring some added quality and experience to the squad.
irish – come on, you can’t expect “it” to know that much about our history.
Rasp – do you see Chamakh playing out on the wing or down the middle?
Could RVP play off Chamakh, is he a target man ?
SH – He is entitled to his opinion mate, I just don’t agree with it – AT ALL.
chamakh is absolutely a target man, probably the best we will have at the club.
that is sometimes the problem with blogs, irish.
Irish,
I think he should play in the middle to maximise his potential, but I wouldn’t discount him playing wide. The problem is, that if AA stays, I’d expect the front 3 to be Cham, RvP and AA. Chamakh prefers to play on the left or centre so where does AA play?
I wonder if Arsène would consider moving RVP to the right and playing Chamakh in the middle. I never like it when RvP takes corners, he’s our best striker – but when Chamakh’s playing that would be fine.
Chamakh is Bordeaux’s target man from what I’ve seen of him and he runs the channels well. I just wonder will Wenger change RvP’s role (even if slight) considering how well he has played as CF.
I agree with SfH – Chamakh is a good target man who can hold the ball up – I should think Nik will be the one to miss out of the starting lineup
i think Aw is eyeing up chamakh, rvp and bendy as the interchanging front 3.
confuse the hell out of opposition teams… by deploying 3 tall, agile, strikers who can all play the hold up, lone striker role… and can drop off to the flanks aswell.
Irish gunner 12.47 you seem like a lady I could fall for, dont tell the wife though LOL
I’m thinking the same as you Rasp so if hypothetically its Cham – RvP – AA, where does that leave Nasri, Rosicky, Vela, Eddie, Bendtner?
Could we see Wenger changing formation depending on personnel and opposition? Am I getting carried away?
Ha ha I won’t Dandan 😉
Does he need to revert to 4-4-2 in order to get Cham and RVP to play together ?
I believe Arsene will play RVP as his new Bergie. he has the technical ability and the eye for a killer pass.
i think this talk of 4-4-2 is crazy
4-3-3 it defo here to stay, been implemented throughout the entire club from the u-9s all the way to the first team.
it is the arsenal way now.
I don’t think 4:4:2 is a language Arsène speaks 😆
That’s what I’m wondering Andy but I don’t see it happening he likes the 4-3-3
with rvp, chakh, bendy, theo, aa23, nasri, vela, rosicky
we have a decent selection to pick 3 top players for our forward line for every game we play, whether it be epl, cl, fa cup, lg cup… that there is your world class squad coming to fruition.
he spoke it well enough when he won 2 doubles and a season undefeated, rasp 😉
Cant help thinking AA will go…… Nasri, Cesc and Rvp be the creative engine room,Thomas can do the job as well of course.
True i agree that 4-3-3 is the Wenger way so perhaps its more of a rotational thing that he’s gona look for making competition for the places.
SH – I’d forgotten about Theo, big season for him coming up. Did he make England’s squad or was it announced yet?
not yet, he will be defo in the final 23.
Hopefully so and he gets some game time, his only real competition is Lennon – unless Milner is moved to the RW position.
Hope not DD. Perhaps Theo will be on his way. A decent WC followed by a large bid could well see him go-
I was boring and went for the 3 signings
He will be in the thirty fine, but the final 23 well we just have to hope
That was 4:4:1:1 / 4:5:1 in reality SfH
4-3-3 was always the wenger way, he won the title with monaco using it.
aw is a student of rinus michaels, the godfather of total footabll using 4-3-3, which was then further glorified by johan cruiff at ajax and barca.
only when he came to england, he respected that 4-4-2 mantra so widely held over here and made it work.
after a decade or so, he has totally shaped his squad and now believes he has a full selection of players and youngsters coming through the club to play 4-3-3
and more importantly, place the arsenal total football blueprint all over the gaff for fututre generations to pick up and run with.
And Johnson at MC Irish (nice to see you back here). I guess you were away whilst he has been getting rave reviews.
what was 4-4-1-1/4-5-1 rasp?
The 4:4:2 you referred to
are you saying we won the 98 double with 4-4-1-1/4-5-1?
AA is an enigma Raddy his body language is all wrong, Also he doesn’t like to pass, the first goal on Sunday he had to bounce of a defender when RVP was completely unmarked and a simple pass away.
He is a wonderful talent though but just doesn’t seem a team player.
the goal aa23 scored on sunday was utterly disgraceful, at 0-0.
if it was the goal to make it 4-0 it was acceptable.
Cheers Raddy.
Heard he had done well – didn’t get to see too much of Citeh lately. He had slipped my mind – actually never registered to be honest.
You shouting for England or Denmark? Both?
I’m saying that if it was 4:4:2 it was so ‘fluid’ it could have been interpretted as any number of formations.
yup it could have been, but it was always referred to as a 4-4-2
which is why in the 2005 cup final such a massive deal was made out of us suddenly using a “new” systme of 4-5-1 😉
No goal scored for Arsenal is ‘disgraceful’. Selfishness is a trait shared by all the best strikers. In hindsight, I’d expect AA was hugely relieved that he scored as RvP was in a much better position.
in my view it was disgraceful.
utterly disgraceful, and told us all what we need to know about the player.
I agree SfH, the beauty of having players like DB, Bobby and TH was that the opposition could not track them as they had such a brilliant understanding of each other’s play they could swap positions/interchange at will.
No of course it wasnt disgraceful but it was risky at a time when we needed a goal owing to the fact that we had bossed the game and not got any reward
Irish, Both( plus Netherlands because I am from Dutch descent). Gives me more of an interest!!
Plus any team with a Gooner, and Italy 🙂
But we will not get all the hype you get in the UK media, none of the build-up etc etc. A double edged sword as I hate all that WAG crap but love to get caught up in the craziness. The ’66 and ’90 WC’s were footballing highlights
But enough of that, this is an Arsenal site…..
again, in MY view it was disgraceful
he had a tight angle to score from, on top of that there were 2 players on or around the line defending any shot….
at the same time he had rvp 100% unmarked, waiting to unleash a rocket on his favoured left foot, that 9/10 times would have made it 1-0
what aa23 tried was a 50/50 effort
it was selfish, he never once looked up, it was all about him, him finihshing the season with a goal on a high, maybe advertising HIM, nothing about Arsenal.
IMVHAHO i may add, just making sure i add that from now on, noses, out of joint, etc.
SfH.Utterly Disgraceful is what Shawcross did. Selfish is what AA did ……
Hi dandan,
Ian Wright was one of the most selfish players ever to play for us …. Arsène observed that he had never worked with a player who was so completely focused on scoring. Any player who shoots from outside the box when a pass is available could be described as selfish – but we have been lacking that a bit lately.
I think we may have touched on a feature of our training here – are our players ‘schooled’ not to be selfish?
br – selfish and utterly disgraceful 😎
theo in the 30, just released on SSN.
I’m going for North Korea 😆
Arshavin scored – I’d only be mad at him if he didn’t. Nice to see he has confidence in his ability.
no sol
OK would love to continue the debate, but er indoors is dragging me out shopping.
CU later
Well I’ll be happy if AA scores 20 utterly disgraceful goals for us next season.
based on percentages, he wouldn;t, rasp
that was the point….
What percentages?
Rasp – I read on Arse.com before that Bould got mad at some player (think it might have been JET) cos he kept shooting from outside the box….
go back and read the posts 😉
“IF” any offer came in for aa23 from a big club.. he would be offski
but come on… are barca gonna bid for him?
I don’t need to…
Irish,
Shooting without the ability is selfish and frustrating to other players. I have seen Diaby pull out of several shooting opportunities lately which is a shame as it is one of his strengths – and where has your mate Tomas’ rocket shot gone?
but you did, you asked “what percetages”
either you missed them, or you choose to ignore them.
What percentages in which post? I have never seen a statistic that claims to represent the number of times a player has shot and failed to score when a pass was a better alternative – and that was your point.
FWIW
9/10 = 90%
50/50 = 50%
HTH 😎
True that all top strikers are selfish beacause its what they are about but to me AA just wants personal glory over the team success, If he were playing as the main striker then maybe more acceptable but he plays as a wide man. I dont think he has gelled with the team and cant see him staying.
so as an avid follower of football, rasp
in your best, most open minded, experience filled views..
are the chances out of 10 of him scoring that goal every 10 efforts
as opposed to a dolly up for rvp on his left foot from 3 yards.. out of 10?
That’s 100% silly SfH and does not substantiate any thing you’ve written
Yep Rasp but Bould said this after he scored two crackers – nearly full sure it was JET.
I really don’t know what has happened Tom, I think he had one crack on goal all season..
it exactly what i wrote at 131 rasp
my view is that ( i would expect most viewers of football to agree, without prejudice )
that shooting from a narrow angle with 2 players on the line is far less likley to conclude in a goal over a 3 yard open shot for a player on there favoured foot from a central poistion with an agle at the whole goal.
Guess what SfH – I never said any of that … it’s you creating an argument out of nothing again.
I actually said in my first comment on the subject that the pass to RvP was a better option, neither you or I have any way of knowing how many times out of 10 he’d have scored.
What I take issue with is your assertion that a goal for Arsenal is ‘disgraceful’ and your apparent denial that selfishness is part of the makeup of every great goalscorer.
CESC in a interview with balague
“I don’t like to give specific instructions, but sometimes you see something clearly, like a teammate who isn’t making a pass because he wants to do it on his own. That really gets me cross. It’s one thing if a player doesn’t see the pass, but if you can see he’s seen the pass but doesn’t make it because he wants to be the big star, that makes me mad.”
Just a thought – Are we only arguing over this goal because at what we perceive as AA’s apparent lack of interest in playing for Arsenal. If this was 12 months ago would we be celebrating it and his genius?
SfH and Rasputin: take it easy guys, it was good AA23 did that, selfish it is but show of class it is-remember it is his favourite position in scoring goals.
But my fear is that hope he didn’t do that in a last minute advertising campaign to Barcelona.
rasp, i think you are getting upset here for no reason whatsoever
i never said you said it.. i said IN MY VIEW
why does that rattle you so much?
chill, stop looking for the argument, i have my view you have yours.
sd-lon – i dont think barca would want him, he has been less than impressive this season.
What’s the point of this…
He scored so not disgraceful. Sure if he misses then give him a rollicking. He was basically shooting past 2 defenders on the line….as would RVP albeit from an easier angle.
He scored… we move on. AA scores most of his goals when a pass is the better option but so what. Nice to have at least 1 selfish forward. I wish Nik would shoot more as his passing isn’t the best
I’m sure I could find plenty of quotes these past few seasons that have said something along the lines “although in a perfect shooting position, he chose to pass sideways and the opportunity was lost. There’s a balance. Cesc has the most assists in the prem. He is a brilliant midfielder and plays with his head up.
lets agree to disagree rasp, i know you have a soft spot for the our mad monk, so we will leave it there.
Spot on Irish. His first goal for us v Blackburn he didn’t pass and scored a wonder goal..
nice to see scott parker in the england 30
Sfh- of course i know Barcelona wouldn’t buy him but i would really like Walcott to show a bit more of confidence like AA23.
He could have attempted RVP’s goal himself instead of passing to RVP(although an extra and definite goal was needed ).I am just worried about his confidence in scoring goals which might be exposed in the England friendlies.
I think what is wrong is not that he had the shot but the fact that he gives the impression of playing for his own agenda and not for the good of the team.
Livers and Andy – Spot on, on both counts.
Isn’t taking a shot from 40 yards greedy as well but who ever says that when it rattles the back of the net?
AA scored – he has set up many a goal this season and last as well. RvP might have been in the better position but hey wasn’t that the obvious option? Wasn’t that what the keeper have thought he would do? Pass?
very good he is having a fully rested summer without a WC, if we can get the aa23 from his first 3 months with us.. he is a massive asset to the team.
but this season he has been very indifferent, i would like to believe this has more to do with niggligng injurues.
irish – think different contexts to be fair, it is selfish to shoot from 40 yards, but not on the same scale as shooting from a narrow, unlikley angle with two players on the line when you can roll a simple ball to an unmarked stiker to shoot home from 3 yards.
there is a distince difference imo.
I’m bloody perplexed that we are arguing over a goal scored… it must be off season!
With ya Irish… selfish for scoring at OT and selfish for scoring from a tight angle… blimey
no way was that goal at OT selfish, was a great srike from 30 yards.
lol.
Yeah that’s fair SFH but by the same measure passing to the player that is 35 yards away from the goal is the better option than shooting from 40?
AA23 has done this before and scored, its why I don’t see the problem. Its not like he is some young pup trying to make a name for himself – he has already made a name for himself and one of the ways he has done that is scoring goals that others would find impossible.
I hope with all my heart that his seeming indifference is down to injury, he is a magical player.
next somebody will write it was selfish almunia kicked the ball out instead of rolling the ball 5 yards to sagna 😆
yes irish, i agreed, i said it was selfish to shoot from 40 yards.
but on a different scale to the exmaple we are discussing.
so in a different context.
how about almunia the selfish git? should have rolled ti out to sagna 😆
Ha ha its going down that road 😆
Shouldn’t we be happy we have a player with that talent?
hey i have a good idea how Wenger could buy this season:
Buy a goal keeper
Buy James Milner
Chamakh is in on a free
Keep Gallas by increasing his salary(it is
cheaper than buying some one else.)
Keep Sol Cambell .
With Milner in – Song can cover at the back if
we have injury spells.
What do you guys think?
Problem with our keepers is they pass it to the wrong team..
exceptional talent, up there with th14, pires and co as one of the most skilful players in the wenger era.
The problem there isn’t Almunia being a selfish git, its him being in goals in the first place…
sd – i think milner is a wonderful player, rate him and his huge workrate highly.
can see him ending up at old trafford.
Djourou will be more involved and would love Buffon to come but fear specualation will link us with 40 keepers..
Milner would be a great buy but who knows how much Arsene would pay.. Even Scott Parker would give us some bite.
Agree about Sol though and a n other CB
😆 Livers spot on
Well, 93% in favour of 3 decent players so Rasp was right. Some great debate on here, sorry not to join in – clients intruding, how inconsiderate 🙂
Will be back later
SD – I like Milner. Someone like him could be our new Ray Parlour. I miss Parlour, loved that guy.
Just saw England’s squad – Carragher been in the squad is a disgrace. Not that I particularly care but why should he get to play (possibly) in a World Cup that he didn’t help get to?
You know the formation problem is fitting Cesc in…
In all Wengers era we’ve had 2 defensive midfielders in the middle, Vieira and Petit and Vieira and Gilberto. Apart from the latter years when Cesc came through we don’t have enough cover with Diaby and Denilson so inconsistant. We always had a kind of 3 up front with Pires and Overmars and Parlour as good defensive cover from the right..
Does Cesc spoil our formation somewhat if we have too many attacking minded players..
I’m not for one minute suggesting he’s the problem as he’s quite clearly our best player but we have to still have cover when he’s more forward something I don’t think Song alone can do
I think we need to play proper 4-3-3 against lesser teams with Arshavin – Chamakh-rsvp/Bendtner in front.
Score S**T loads against teams like Blackburn, Stoke, Newcastle(you know the other teams).
We need to create the fear of Arsenal back into those teams. Including the Spuds as well.
Then play tight against tougher clubs i will say 4-4-2
Rsvp and Bendtner/Chamakh up front.
Livers – Your on to something. A Spud mate of mine mentioned that to me many times that Cesc is a problem in a way for us.
I just think Wenger hasn’t found the right ying for his yang.
Barca play two attacking players in Xavi and Iniesta while we really only have the one in Cesc. They combat it by team defending.
Iniesta and Xavi rarely play in the midfield 3 together though with Iniesta part of the 3 up front as such..
With the genius of Fabregas assists and passes you just have to find a way of covering any of his lapses. That is up to Wenger.
Who is this Roopesh character? There is no way that someone who claims to be a Gooner fan would ever purport such idiotic statemets. The only person who would make such comments must have been a Drexel grad who can’t get any action in the sheets (except with Rosie p*lms of course).
Roopesh said earlier:
May 11, 2010 at 12:43 pm
I am embrassed to be an Arsenal Fan. I work with these guys that abuse me all day cause we have an A-hole for a coach, and our team has no spine. Wenger is a loser and no Fergie. Heck I would take Tony Pulis at this point. Please ditch Wenger and sign someone with balls so I don’t have to defend my team’s honor week in week out.
I think you answered your own question
LOL me too
Is it me or does Roopeshadouche and Roopesh sounds ,reads and feels like the same person.
Probably trying to redeem self after serious bashing
BUFFON!
We are Arsenal, not some mid-table bullshit outfit!
Worth 1.2 billion!
Buy the best! It is available!
again SD… answered yourself
LOL
SD-London–please do not compare me with that tw&t. He has no passion for our team, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he would rather have Fergie as our gaffer instead of our French Voyeur. Roopesh, if you’re out there, in the words of the immortal Rock, “Don’t sing it, bring it!”
Is there people talking to themselves here?? 😆
O.k O.k Roopeshadouche !
lalalalala silly season… time to go to a happy place…
Wow
Ok you guys are right. Wenger had world class keepers this year whom he always supported and said were world class. Wenger did not get a striker when Van Pussy was hurt again. Wenger’s defense stinks. And the only time Wenger won was when he inhertited players that had some spine. Since then he gets us kids like Vela that are wimps. Everyone can see guys like Drogba dominate us physically. But you guys can live in fantasy land and say Arsene knows. I know one thing. No silverware in 5 years
I can’t believe the love affair with Milner. He’s just a decent, honest hard-working English tryer.
And before everyone says “but that’s exactly what we need,” he just doesn’t have the technical ability to play for Arsenal. He doesn’t read the game well, his first touch is OK but no more than that and he plays with his head down. He’ll run all day and he’ll tackle back, but I would rather we bought someone who can do all that AND has a high level of technical ability.
Milner will have a career as a solid English battler who never achieves great heights.
Stop arguing with Roopesh – he’s quite clearly a Sp*ds troll. Just ignore him.
Rocky–I couldn’t agree more. I might have to change my name now though, and that makes me sad. AIDRIAN!
How We Missed Henry.
Seriously dude stop talking to yourself.
I think we have 2 people talking to themselves on here now 🙂
RL – i think a blend on different types of players produces the best sides.
You more or less described Parlour when describing milner, and raymond was an essential part of the 98 double winning side.
I see why Irishgunner is offended by the “no balls” Arsenal comment. He probably suffers from the “Irish Curse” and is sensitive thoe comments.
sorry bro
you meant “sorry, sister” 😉
LOL- Was just thinking how we haven’t got someone that could score 20 goals for more than 3 seasons, irishgunner!
” I see why Irishgunner is offended by the “no balls” Arsenal comment. He probably suffers from the “Irish Curse” and is sensitive thoe comments.” – Jeez if you can confuse me with a dude I can see why it happens to Lady Gaga 😆
Having checked the I.P. addresses, I can confirm that your suspicions are correct!
SD – haha you were just thinking out loud, not talking to yourself ha ha
Some people seem to forget that some of us can see behind the blog and the IP addresses 😆
Full of detectives on here we are 😉
oh, a girl. No wonder she has no clue
Roopesh,
Try to show a little respect if you want to continue to post.
I can see why Roopesh has problems with girls to be fair
Irishgunner, noticing that u are not interested in talking Arsenal any more, i refuse to engage you in unnecessary banter you can have the whole post to yourself. Enjoy.
So I take it it’ll be 3 weeks(i.e. the 1st of June) before any signings can officially be announced?
We’re bound by the same rules that everyone – other than General Franco’s team – with regard to when we can officially announce players joining us. Who remembers Franco’s team announcing a new signing last May?
Somebody needs to learn how to read!! SD the world doesn’t revolve around you – imagine it was this Roopesh bloke I was talking to….
Yeah Livers – can I be Jim Rockford? Scratch that, I’d like to be Magnum, minus the silly moustache though.
Meant to ask – how did Djourou play on Sunday? I only caught the highlights so couldn’t really tell.
Played ok Irish, not really tested at all so hard to tell
Disturbed, I’m with you on the buying front. I concede all the points made by the wise heads who say we need a GK, CB etc. and can explain that in terms of 4-4-2, 4-3-3 etc. But the more I think about the more I want us to be behaving like the best team in the country, not the 3rd best, and for me that means only buying players that noteiceably improve on what we have – players already at the standard of Cesc and RvP.
I’m with you Alfa and that’s why I mentioned Buffon. However it’s not really Wengers style. Getting a keeper of that class would make people take notice
Cheers Livers.
In fairness Alfa Arshavin, Nasri, Vermaelen would fall into that bracket for me. Its just we aren’t covered in all positions.
Afternoon all.
The result of the poll so far is pretty convincing, can’t disagree at all.
If you are still on, Stu, are you the ice cream man from Ireland.
The England 30 has a lot of maybe’s in it.Will be interesting to see who the 7 are that drop out.
SFH, rasp and I are sensitive old folk, we just can’t help it 😉
Irishgunner–serious question–would you rather have Keano as our manager, or Wenger?
Wenger – least he doesn’t run away and he’s a far better manager.
Keane was a good player but he was always more committed to United than Ireland.
Yeah, I agree, but it bothers me that we continually underperform. There is no way that we should have lost to United this year. We completely outplayed them both times.
It was silly how we lost to them in particular your right – especially at Old Trafford, those 3 points were ours and just silly, stupid things. ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!
Alfa,
Why can’t we buy 3 world class players? or at worst two. Chamakh could well be the real deal, looks very tasty from the little I have seen.
And a top quality GK – I would buy Sorensen.
MU will buy either Akinfeev or Lloris. MC will keep Hart.
And it was good to see Capello agree with my assessment of Dawson.
Now go out and buy him AW…..
These Buffon rumours have taken off like wildfire. He was linked with us as well in January or last summer I think…
BR, Irish, good as he is, I just don’t rate Nasri for instance as world class. DB was a world class creative/attacking midfielder and when we bought him (for £7m I think, how times have changed) I believed we were serious about being the best team in the world, not just the best club. OK, players like PV, Bobby, TH, became world class but as Arsene himself has recently said, the days of spotting hidden gems have gone – every big club has scouts at every place in the world where football is played from the age of about 8 upwards.
The kind of world class player I mean would cost £20m+ for a defender and probably £40m+ for a more attacking player, a lot more if you include salary, which is why we could only get one, then use the few quid left over to make a few Sol/Silvestre type acquisitions.
Just for comparison, Modric is now linked to Man City for £20m+ I think. We don’t need more players of his standard, good though he is as well.
I agree a top GK would be less, maybe £15m.
Just noticed that this is the 100th Post. Hooray for Us and everyone who has contributed, commented, insulted and entertained us all and kept the blog going, especially Peaches and Rasp.
buffon would be an extrodinary signing.
can’t believe he is still only 32, so has at least 4-5 great years in him.
BR, I agree also that Chamakh looks very good. Could he be better than Eto’o, Ibra, Drogba? Maybe, I hope so.
You make a very fair point Alfa. Even at the goalkeeper stage your probably looking at the likes of Akinfeev and Lloris costing £20mil plus – I’d not be surprised.
As for Nasri – he came billed as the next Zidane. He has been inconsistent but has shown glimpses of what he can do. Thing is aren’t we all sick of just seeing glimpses?
Glimpses of Nasri, glimpses of Walcott, glimpses of Bendtner, glimpses of Diaby….
Hi Alfa,
Thanks, Yes, 100 posts, over 110,000 visits and more than 12,000 comments – so it’s congratulations to us all 😛
Buffon would work for me 🙂 Even though his name is very close to the Italian for ‘funny’ and we don’t need any more clowning between the posts 🙂
Its hard to believe Casillas is so young as well. He has another decade in him – don’t think Real Madrid are for selling though ha ha
Irish, exactly. Personally I’m not sick of seeing it, I really enjoyed Theo’s performance against Fulham for instance, but I think we’ve almost forgotten that we used to compete off the field as well as on the field. That isn’t a dig at the board, prudence etc., far from it.
London has made good points recently about how we realised we couldn’t compete with Abramovich, but maybe now we can. If so, let’s take them on. If not, then why add to the roster of could be/might be/will be players? Our fantastic youth system is churning out players like that.
Incidentally, good to see that Chelsea are now saying they won’t try to match City for spending.
I think Ambramovich is done with the big spending at Chelsea – he pretty much said as much. According to some papers he is only willing to buy a player over 26 under exceptional circumstances because he is worried about the age of the squad.
I wonder what affect City will have on the transfer window this time around. Last time they got players a level below what we should be looking for (Given and maybe Tevez an exception) and I can’t see it changing this time without Champions League football.
They can try for the Kaka’s and Villa’s but I don’t see them getting them.
Irish, the money+Mancini may help but I see your point.
They got Robinho… 😆
It’s hard to believe what a loser Wenger is. I rather have Bruce Arena at this point
ha ha that didn’t go too well for them 😆
Wonder how much of a “factor” will Mancini be, suppose we are about to find out.
Roopesh, perhaps he would also be able to play in goal for us as well. Did you ever see him play?
Hi Alfa
We still can’t compete, with 5 billion he is a sleeping lion. Three players of the Vermaelen standard is all we need.
Good post by the way, I don’t know how you do it, every time you write, the amount of comments doubles.
london, watch part 2 of the Q&A with Ivan G that is freely available to watch on the arsenal.com website right now
fast forward to around the 14.30 mark
you will enjoy 😉
London hi, good to have you on. Three Vermaelen level players would be a pretty good haul but he must be worth £20m+ now. More than Jagielka surely?
It’s been nice to see some new names on today, I hope they come back, it’s been a good conversation.
I know none of you are interested but malaga airport is closed again, since last night, utter chaos, and on Sunday malaga entertain Real madrid, a sell out, a ticket cost more than a season ticket for this one. If or should i say when Malaga lose they most probably will be relegated. 12ooo ex pats will be there.True support I say 🙂
I disagree about curtailing of spending .City will pay over the odds to recruit more players,regardless if they are in the CL or not, and that will have a snowball effect.
I ask you all, how do you judge what a true price of a player really is.Some will say whatever a club offers, others like us are working to a restricted budget, I bet I know who will be the winner in the long run.
So if we have say 40 or 50 million to spend, we will always use the option to buy 3 instead of one player.
Kelsey, 12000 expats? Do you mean British expats?
Kelsey, what level is ‘over the odds’ though? I agree that one Messi is not worth 5 Nasris but at the highest level of any sport the difference between first and second always costs more than any objective measurement of value.
And even having a Messi guarantees nothing as we have seen.
which is why we have the best manager, pound 4 pound, kelsey.
at the time when manure were spending 18.6m on dwight yorke
we were spending 10.5M on th14
at the time when manure spent 28m on veron
we spent 7.5m on pires
at a time when man city spent 16m on toure
we spent less than 10m on vermalen
spending the most is never an sure sign of success, it certainly helps, but is not the be all and end all.
SfH, fair point; one thing I am very clear on is that I might be able to make my own amateur judgements about what is happening on the pitch but off the pitch Arsene is in a class of his own.
You didn’t mention Bruce Rioch’s purchase of DB – that must rank him with AW surely? 😉
good lord, crack the champers… gordon brown hours from resignation.
actually… keep it on ice, snake-oil salesman new PM.
Hi alfa,
yes all are ex pats mainly scousers, who have adopted malaga as their second team.
Over the odds, maybe a wrong terminology.What i meant is that it is getting harder to evaluate a players worth as so many have a fairly short career with each club,moving for money only.A top striker used to be based on a number of consecutive seasons playing well, not just one season.
david dein signed DB.
Kelsey, that’s a good point about the strikers moving around. In fact really these headline figures are a bit meaningless aren’t they. They give the impression that Club A transfers £xm to Club B on a particular date and the player moves. I understand what really happens is that Club A transfers some money to Club B on the given day, then promises some more in the future, plus they get money back from sell on fees, then the players image rights come into play, along with their own signing fee, salary, bonuses etc., then the player moves again anyway and another club comes into the picture along with agents etc.. There is probably never a point at which a single amount of money can be fixed as the actual cost of the move.
SfH, I was aware of DDs role 😉
That is a difficult argument Kelsey.
In order for a selling club to inflate the price, there has to be two clubs after the player. Man City cannot sign all the players. Our targets are unlikely to be similar to theirs. e.g. they have little need to sign a GK, and we have already bought our CF.
They are packed with quality DM’s , in fact I would take De Jong, Ireland, Barry, Kompany, Johnson (M) or Petrov ahead of Denilson.
alfa, i think it was more than just the role of fly out and getting pen to paper, i will find an article and link it… but DD actually signed and selected DB, rioch was on the sidelines, it was a european style signing, the board select the players.. the manager trains and plays them.
SfH, yes, I knew that, hence the 😉 on both my comments.
Presumably DD had AW’s arrival at least in the back of his mind as well; I always wondered how much of his plans he told DB about to persuade him to come.
Kelsey,
I watch a fair bit of la liga and I’m sure they’ve mentioned the price of season tickets at Malaga before saying ex pats buy them as they are so cheap and then pick and choose what games to go to or tout out the tickets for the big games, you can take the person out of England but not England out if the person 😉
It’s not that blinking ash cloud again is it? I’m meant to be flying to Portugal in a month it had better of been dispersed otherwise there will be trouble I tell you 🙂
SFH, Id agree Wenger has been better in the transfer Market than fergie but your skewing the facts slightly in his favour because you could say wright or van der sar Jeffers or solskaejer it’s all relative both have had success but both have made mistakes that’s what happens, Wengers main legacy will be the stadium where as Fergeis will be a generation of trophies both will be rememberd as the best the clubs have had in there own ways,
SfH. Is it possible that Rioch identified the player and DD arranged the signing, as he did with Platt?
DD is a great business man but who knows if he is a good scout?
My point being that too many plaudits are laid at DD’s feet and too few at Rioch’s.
Let it not be forgotten that Rioch did get us into a Euro spot.
SfH. You just answered my question. Prescience !!
agreed alfa, DD wanted AW before rioch got the job, but the board rebuffed the ideas of a foregin unknown coach.. DB was a massive glen hoddle fan, so it would not have gone unnoticed he was managed by AW at monaco.
Chippy – yes of course there are pros and cons to both managers transfer history…. but i used those particular examples to highlight how paying more money did not neccasarily get the best player relative to each other at around the same time both transfer were sealed.
i think paying 50M for one player is pathetic, no player is worth that much.
the best big money transfer in recent years is rooney for 32M. worth every penny.
chippy,
spot on they pick and chose the games they want to go to.And yes more ash in the sky.
BR,
I think City will unload several players this summer, but as you say they can’t buy them all,but some are quite happy to sit on their arse, providing the money is right.
Last year I thought Steven Ireland was one of their best players,now he can’t get a lookin. They paid over 20 million for Santa Cruz, a big thank you from Blackburn, do you see what I mean.
I have a really bad feelinh TA6 is back on the sauce 😦
According to the Guardian: Former Arsenal defender Tony Adams has agreed a three-year contract to manage Azerbaijan side Qabala FC
Blinking ash i don’t mind if it pins us in Portugal just not on the way out 🙂
SFH,
Understood, Would you say Rooney over Ronaldo ? I’ve been surprised by Rooneys return this season i didn’t think he had that amount of goals in him, Up to this season I’d have said Ronaldo all day long but now in this league I’d probably go for Rooney, Would be a nice choice to make tho!!!!!
chippy – good question, ronaldo cost them something like 17m and was sold for 80, so a 63m profit, 3 league titles and a CL aswell… not a bad bit of business at all.
overall though i think rooney at 32m will be considered the better signing once he finishes up.
Must be a different TA !
One CF for us? No question ….. Drogba. The man is an animal and at €24m was a steal. He is 32 now, so AW would only give him a year contract 1
Kelsey, thanks for explaining Malaga’s fan base, I had no idea.
Well I’ve done the popular thing and voted for the 3 players. While I think that is the sensible thing, I think if we get Chamakh on a free, add a galactico CB to partner Verm and cheap out on the GK we can finally make the last step to PL glory.
Although we’ve finished way behind the leaders again, almost everyone will agree that a few matches could’ve changed the script. The squad strength is good if we keep the injuries under control but the ability to handle big pressure comes with a big price-tag.
Spot on Mayank
I see Gilberto has been named in the brazil squad. Any comment.
SFH
Just seen the Gazidis interview….interesting but apart from being told the property side is now debt free I don’t think I learnt anything new. What was your point.
london – he was just confirming what you suggested a few times… re:the chelski money coming in and effecting the transfer/yoof strategy 😉
Mayank, I like your thinking.
Kelsey,
Good on him he was fantastic for us and an absolute pro that in my view got a bit of a rough deal of wenger regarding the captaincy he was fantastic the season before adding vital goals when needed, he truly deserves one last go on the big stage, But his legs had gone and he would have struggled badly by the end of that season,
Any suggestion for any galactico we could get?
Cheillini(sp), Buffon?
No 😉
Haha, so I take it you’ve spent the best part of the last few summers speculating.
My guess is we’ll just end up buying Chamakh, Rodwell and a GK.
Rodwell is a beast of a young player and if we were to sign a youngster I’d love for it to be him as he will go a long way, but personally I think wenger will sign experience in this window,
Nope Mayank. I go to my bolthole for the summer which has no TV, telephone or mobile signal.
After the PV4 “will he , won’t he” summers I got so p’ed off, that I decided not to read papers through the summer.
Hope I can do it again this year, but temptation is terrible in World Cup years.
IMO Rodwell will be joining Rooney. If not this summer then next.
Is Rodwell right-sided or left-sided. We alreay have Gallas, Sol and JD for the right, although all 3 are injury prone.
Found on PollDaddy
Isn’t it obvious??? .. everyone can figure this one out .. if Arsenal start next season without a new GK, two new CBs (one established + one backup) and a defensive midfielder (right now, we have only one DM: Song) then it will be yet another familiar story.
The other day, i had a nightmare where Arsenal started the 2010/11 season with:
1) Almunia & Fabianski remaining as 1st & 2nd choice GKs!!
Almunia is fine for a mid-tabe side, NOT a club that wants to win PL/CL .. He is a good shot-stopper but does not inspire confidence with his decision making .. Fabianski has had far too many accidents for his confidence to ever recover anywhere outside the training ground! .. They say a top GK is worth 10-15 points over a season .. neither of these two is anywhere near that level.
2) Silvestre & Campbell as the backup CBs!!
Campbell has impressed when called upon but he should be 4th/5th choice CB along with Djourou (who has yet to deliver) .. as for Silvestre, it’s a case of “a has-been” FB, and a “never-was” CB .. Even if the now-injury-prown Gallas remains, Arsenal need TWO additional CBs: one established performer + a proven young backup .. with the inevitable injuries, you just know you need THREE proven top class CBs.
3) Song remains the only DMF, and AW buys yet another young, small, “promising”, injury-prown attacking MF is brought in to add to the half-dozen already there .. and Denilson remains at the club!
Just as Denilson disappears in the big games, he needs to disappear to another club ASAP .. No player can expect 3-4 seasons to “mature”!!
4) The delicate Walcott comes back exhausted from the WC, gets injured, and “recovers” only to spend the rest of the season ending his sprints with “hybrid” cross/shots that have no explanation except that he is possibly aiming at a disguised Glen Hoddle, who happens to be sitting in the Admirals Club near the halfway line!
I woke up sweating .. then i remembered that (minus Campbell’s return, and the Hoddle explanation for Wallcott’s end-product) i had had that same nightmare about 12 months ago!
Posted by Iyad Alarrayed on May 11th 2010, 3:26pm
I will be someone’s house that we sign an experienced CB, probably from the PL.
I believe Rodwell is left sided or at least he has played there on the rare occasions I have seen him. Superb prospect, but we have AR, who is going to be better
a day that will go down in the negative history of this great country.
Mayank, I’d like Kaka to help out Cesc and RvP
We’ll see..
Politics should never be discussed on a forum or boozer
I would like to see Messi instead of Walnutt, but I am not sure about Messi’s crossing ability
Cracking game going on between Forest and Blackpool – currently 3 all on aggregate.
Is Rodwell more CB or midfield?
Rodwell is a CM not sure where the queries come from 🙂
Also well done to the Arsenal kids on winning the Prem league 5-3 v Forest. Afobe 3 Freeman 2… Future is still bright..
Rasp you’re right… 3-5 Blackpool now..
I like little nutty Holloway
oooh 3-6
If Rodwell is CM there is more chance of the Pope arriving in the summer. We already have Ramsey, Lansbury and Wilshire.
Yes Livers. Apparently B’pool have average home attendance of 16,000 and now they’re going to be hosting us, the chavs and manure … it’s unreal!
DJ Campbell hatrick was amazing. They play good fluid attacking football, I can see them upsetting a few prem teams
Correction, actually, they’re just through to the final at Wembley – haven’t made it to the prem yet!
They’ll beat Cardiff if it’s them… DJ Campbells on loan from Leicester.. they must be kicking themselves if they lose
diaby, clichy, sagna made the france 30
they left out benzema.
That was a super game. We would destroy them.Hope they get promoted
i make the spread 4-7 days before we hear Diaby has torn a muscle or broken a bone.
diaby took vieria’s spot in the 30.
I just heard that the UK has emerged from 13 or so years in the economic dark ages. The place may be worth visiting again.
New Labour, turned out to be no better than a classless tart. I guess all the intelligentsia интеллигенция will now just have to crawl back into there dark little holes again. Well done Tories 😆 Good riddance deluded commies 😆
GG, as Livers said, this isn’t a good place to discuss politics. 🙂
Great result for Blackpool last night though in my opinion neither Blackpool or Forest would stand an earthly chance in the PL.In fact I would go as far to say that if Blackpool get promoted,they would go straight back down with the lowest points tally ever in the PL.No disrespect to them,but they just aren’t equipped for this move up, though I still remember as a child the great side they had with Mortesan and Mathews.
Maybe we could discuss later today if it would be beneficial for Walcott to be included in the final 23, as I have a feeling that he would have only a bit part to play, if at all.
He knows all about playing on a big stage,but would it improve his chances of becoming a better player for us, as he clearly is by no means the finished article.
GG. I am one of the intelligentsia !
OK Kelsey. Let’s discuss it after lunch with a beer for me and a sangria for you.
BTW. do you think…. oh no….. that is business and politics 😀
BR,
yes it is 1.18 and going up 😉
Continuing the World Cup theme. I mentioned Denilson and Djorou are not in their respective squads (Senderos is) does anyone know who else from our first team squad is not going beside,Arshavin,the 2 keepers,Traore,Silvestre and Campbell and Nasri.
I think it is relevant to the freshness of certain players having a decent holiday period(as long as they don’t come here and cause havoc)
Vermaelen, Rosicky Gibbs ……
Maradon a has left out Cambiasso and Zanetti yet taken Guitirez of Newcastle.
….. And here are his proposed tactics
“Maradona, speaking before naming his squad, said he wanted Messi to roam freely during the World Cup in South Africa.
“I don’t want him stationed on the [right touch] line,” said Maradona. “All the balls have to pass through him.
“I’m going to defend with four centre-backs but I’m also going to have full-backs available in case we need to improve coming out of defence.”
The man is Plum Loco
Thanks Raddy, so that leaves Eboue,Sagna,Clichy,Bedtner,
.Gallas, Cesc,RVP,Walcott,Vela,Song,Diaby and .. all selected
is that it or have I left anyone else out…
ooops. I left off Eduardo.
Alfa
Fair call 🙂 I guess having not won a trophy for 5 years going on 6, I look for any way to beat the chest over a vanquished opo.
BR
Intelligentsia?
This is not a good place to dicuss politics 😆
When does the transfer window open?
Jue ist.
July 1st?
GG, I’m supporting England for the same reason, to celebrate if we win, even though I can’t stand most of the team 🙂
Walcott has to play IMHO. I think it is 7 matches to win the World Cup. If he plays in 2 or 3 and his pace creates a goal or two, he will have been worth it. As far as I can see the WC isn’t at all like a league season. Teams either win because they have a really strong overall team who all know each other and play for each other (Germany, Italy, France when they won etc. Croatia when they were doing well) or because they have some individuals with something unique that catches the other teams out. Sometimes a team has both then they are unstoppable. England are not in the former category in my view although have shown signs of it under Fab. So if we do well it will probably be because Theo outruns every full back in the competition or Lampard scores five goals from midfield or Crouch keeps up his goal a game average.
I just can’t see us grinding out results by our superior technique and team play and I bet Fabio doesn’t either.
I believe it is July 1st but deals are made and sealed before that date, the registration of the player can only take place after July 1st – but I could be wrong 😳
😆 I thought ‘jue ist’ was Danish for something 😆
Morning Alfa,
Nasri being left out of the France squad must be a huge disappointment for him.
Nothing surprises me with Domenech to be fair. He continually picks players who won’t lose rather than win a game
Morning Rasp.
I guess any player with his talent would be.
Got to dash, be back later.
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