Is it only me who wanders around contemplating the important questions about life, the big issues, the meaningful stuff like — why has Almunia been allowed to stay with us for as long as he has? Considering the amount of blunders he has made over a prolonged period of time, aren’t you surprised why he is still with us at all?
The only justification I can come up with in an attempt to make sense of this mystery is that it must surely all be connected to Fabrégas. My guess is that Big Al has taken on the role of the older brother to the most important, most valuable asset currently at the club.
Imagine the situation: the squad have to travel miles and miles on a bus making boring journeys to and from grounds all over the country. It seems to me that if Fabrégas had to sit for hours on end speaking only in English, regardless of how good he is, it would take next to no time before we would have another Reyes on our hands.
Enter Big Brother Al: what could make those journeys more bearable than a bit of friendly banter in your native tongue; well almost, I doubt that Almunia speaks Catalan but Fabrégas will speak Castilian with almost the same ease as he does his mother tongue.
Wenger has a history of trying to keep his most talented stars happy. In the case of Bergkamp I am convinced that he prioritised the purchase of Overmars for that very purpose. As good as Bergkamp was at speaking English it would still have been a chore after a while and he would have understandably yearned for the ease of his mother tongue.
Henry is another example; in his case, Wenger bought most of the French National team to keep him happy, I jest, of course — but not by much.
This suggestion as to why Almunia has been with us for as long as he has is all well and good but probably the more important question is will Fabrégas stay. As tedious as this question has become the one thing that every muck raking journalist fails to mention is why he left his beloved Barcelona in the first place? The answer, as far as I can see, was his desire to play regular football, something that he was very unlikely achieve at the time with their youth policy being what it was.
In fact, I wouldn’t’ be surprised if the loss of Fabrégas, Merida and Pique, to mention just three, there were probably others, was Barcelona’s wake up call to take their own “Project Youth” more seriously.
Fabrégas left his beloved Barça because we offered him the chance to play; we still do and it is for that very same reason that he will be with us at the start of next season.
Hill-Wood may have all the diplomacy skills as Prince Philip, exemplified by his crass comment suggesting that he wouldn’t get in the Barça team — but he is right. Fabrégas would never have the same playing opportunities as he does with us, Christ we even let him play with a broken leg, it was broken before the Barça game — you know it was.
So we arrive at the purpose of this post: Fabrégas stays but if Almunia goes expect Wenger to sign another Spaniard to keep our Captain company……….David Villa?
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Morning all
London – hope it was ok to put this up. Its wonderful 🙂
Nice one London great article, your break obviously gave you some thinking time.
You may well have a point re Fab, David Villa no I don’t think so, but hells bells if you are right, the possibilities are endless,could it be Rafa Benitez the board go for.
Bus?? Have you been living under a rock….?
a) they dont travel by bus they fly (Icelandic volcanoes allowing)
b) his best mates were Senderos and Hleb…..erm I dont think Wenger gives two shits about keeping friends together and so he shouldnt. They are professional sportsmen, not a fraternity.
c) silly article/point
Morning all,
Naughty post London 😛
I’d take Pepe Reina, but Villa is never going to come to Arsenal.
Arteta
OM what side of the bed did you get out of this morning, Blogging can be fun you know, Oh and people have to do a lot of chatting at airports anyway, especially with all this ash around.
Do you seriously believe that? As one poster above already mentioned. Fab’s best friends have already left the club. It is a football club…..they are professionals. Fabs commitment to the arse is not based on which of his mates are there or weather or not he can shoot the shit in Spanish.
Morning all.
Ok, it is not one the more high brow posts, just a little something that crossed my mind. I don’t think we have a cats chance in hell of signing Villa, he is as good as signed to Barcelona but I still think that there is a valid point up there, that being that if Almunia goes and Fabrégas stays I do expect Wenger to buy another Spaniard.
OM, I don’t believe the team fly to half the grounds in the EPL that in itself is enough coach travel.
bob….Arteta, it could be.
Simon,
Have you ever worked in a non English speaking country?
Off course Fabrégas’ reasons for staying at the club are more than just having mates, if you read the post again I think I made clear that it was his opportunity to play regularly was the main reason but who isn’t happier if you have a friend to talk to in your native language.
And if you think Wenger doesn’t take this into consideration how many times have you heard him say “We ave a good team spirit” In French accent naturally.
What a pointless article, Almunia is not his close fiend. Cesc has lived in London since he was 16, and when you are that fluent the idea that speaking in said language is some kind of chore is laughable. Why not suggest that Arshavin needs another Russian to keep him happy. We need to bring in some quality players with experience, hopefully starting with a goalkeeper. It makes no difference which country they are from. Thats the way to keep Cesc happy, if not he will be off, if not this season then in 2011.
Morrissey
I speak Spanish, French and basic Italian how many languages do you speak? To understand the humour of a second language you have to be brought up in that country.
Was Fabregas brought up in England? No. So he naturally enjoys the banter with Almunia. Get it?
Oh and I think your idea of another Russian to keep Arshavin happy is a good idea. Or do you think he is happy as things stand?
The BIGGER question is surely couldn’t Almunia be Fabregas’ mate from the bench?
Morning Irish
Lol
MLC, cheer up mate, even Morrisey had a laugh sometimes. 😆
Well OK, not often, but then again I think he is a Manc isn’t he?
Morning all. Good post London, a timely reminder that our players are human beings who get happy, lonely, drunk, divorced etc. and we don’t always know what motivates them on the pitch.
” I speak Spanish, French and basic Italian how many languages do you speak? To understand the humour of a second language you have to be brought up in that country.” – London I don’t think the language matters. England, Ireland, America, Australia all speak English but the humour is vastly different.
There is an evident likeness between Irish/British humour that isn’t evident at all in America. They just don’t get our sarcasm and wit.
Basically I’m agreeing with you, just saying it goes beyond the language and into the culture.
Morning Alfa
Thanks, just a bit of fun really.
Ballack out of the World Cup – bit of a blow and a bit not of a blow for Germany seen as he wasn’t too liked in the camp.
Good point Irish
Brits understand the humour of the septics but they do not understand ours and as you say we all speak English.
Fabrégas left his beloved Barça because we offered him the chance to play; we still do and it is for that very same reason that he will be with us at the start of next season.
wrong he’s gone he wants to win trophy’s not be happy with the 3rd place trophy
London, continuing the fun, what do you think of this?
“Yes, I’d love for him [Cesc] to join us,” Xavi told The Sun. “He’s a very close friend of mine and a footballer with Barcelona’s DNA.”
I may be reasing too much into this, but its strange how we are linked with so many players yet Arsenla.com mentions only a few on the new transfer linked page. Players like Hart and Yaya have been strongly linked, yet the club have not added these reports to the site. Could they actually be true ?
Wrong, yourself Forza, Fabregas today is an Arsenal player.
Ha ha London as you know Irish people love the “craic” – the English/Scottish/Welsh get it and slag us back but not the Americans, hell not the Americans, they think that we are insulting them.
One of the best examples of this is the first interview Lady Gaga did with Jonathon Ross about a year and a half ago. She came across as a bit thick but really she didn’t get his humour – priceless stuff.
Brady, Yaya is on there. The site mentions the pre-season game he played for us against Barnet a few years ago.
I think it is just a way of filling space and attracting a few more fans to the site, especially as season ticket renewals have just been sent out.
Hi there by the way.
Brady
Here’s the trick……..don’t trust anything you hear or read, nothing is to be believed until you see a player holding an Arsenal shirt in front of him.
Interesting point London, it hadn’t really occurred to me that could be the reason for Almunia’s continued presence -it’s certainly not for his playing ability that’s for sure.
It’s a pity any amount of blogging brings out opposition team trolls, it certainly takes the fun out of it.
Hey ho.
Morning Brady,
Some of the more realistic transfer targets are listed in the right hand column on here. The club’s next announcement regarding new players will be…. brace yourself ….. we’ve signed Chamakh!
It’s not the club’s way (quite rightly) to flag up interest in players before we are reasonably sure we’ve landed them.
MLC,
It’s silly season didn’t you know? This is just London’s contribution 😉 I hope you feel better after getting that off your chest – glad we could be of service.
Remember when Chelsea had Robinho shirts for sale before they officially signed them = 😳 for the chavs
Alfa
You should have posted the question as well as the answer.
But I will do that for you:
Mischievous Journalist: Would you like Cesc to join Barça?
Xavi: No, because the little runt might take my place.
So as per, Wenger has been suffering a fool like Almunia just so that Fabregas as someone to talk to in Spanish? What an utter load of rubbish! Nowadays anyone create a blog and write loads of bullshit.
Don’t just write something just for the sake of writing. It is okay to say you got a bad tummy and take a few days off from blogging instead of dishing out such bullshit on unsuspecting Gooners!
Morning Chary
There may be a modicum of truth in it, just how much is, of course, hard to say.
If you could give us a better reason for Almunia being our number one for the last few seasons we’d love to hear it 😆
Crossed off the list:
Being Cesc’s Friend
His Ability
His Haircut
London 😆
Sam – you say ‘Nowadays anyone create a blog and write loads of bullshit’ like it is something new. The press have been doing it for years – hadn’t you noticed? Be grateful that crap comments are also welcome here.
At least this is our bullshit 🙂
Sam,
If you had visited the site regularly you would have been aware that …
1. The article was written tongue in cheek as there is very little to report on at the moment.
2. We discuss serious matters seriously
3. Anyone who discards another’s words as rubbish is challenged to write a post of their own for the site, and guess what, most haven’t got the bottle – does that include you?
Haha. There seems to be a few on here today who take things a little too seriously. I liked it. Utter nonsense but still good.
good post london, i knew you would be in the firing line from non regulars tho…. not to fear you have plenty of friends willing to shout for you.
how about big bro torres? or is he younger, cant be bothere to check.
cant wait for big al to go, if wenger has so much up for chezzer (who i did not realise was 6ft5 apparantly) i can only see him buying a veteran – david james anybody…?? jaskerleinen??? ..
On a slightly more serious note for the sake of on-field communication should we be looking for a GK / CD who already know each other. Green and Upson perhaps ?
Tommy, good call on the GK thing. I said last week imhoping for Hart Lloris or Green but expect it to be a cheap oldie. James, Schwarzer, Robinson ?
rasp @ 11.29 😆
tut, tut, tut
It would be better Andy but improbable I’d reckon although West Ham will have a fire sale.
Are you proud of me SfH? 😆
Irish, I just sent you an email, hopefully that helps with your cunning plan.
it is rumoured out of London we will make a significant bid for PArker!! 14 mill it is said. Hope this is true as he would add steel to our midfield!!!
Hi irish,
Other reasons we can dismiss for keeping Almunia,
He’s a crap waiter
He can’t catch a cold
Turqoise doesn’t suit him
He can remember his passport
Hi a4e,
We were linked with Parker some years ago. Didn’t Lauren knock some of his teeth out in a game at Highbury?
Thanks Alfa 🙂 It is indeed a cunning plan ha ha
Any reasons for keeping him Rasp?
He might, MIGHT be better than Fabianski
rasp – you certainly got young sam into a corner, either he fights back with a detailed article, or he disappears into the blogosphere.
You win some, you lose some SfH 😉
I’d vote disappear.
irish,
In answer to your 12:08
No way Jose
We could buy that toffee with the crazy hair to keep TV company ?
Ha ha Rasp – I was just trying to be nice to Mooney 🙂
Andy – he’s only a card collector
I think you have cracked it London’
GK + experience + Speaks ENG/SPAN + is spanish + played Real Madrid + could handle Irishgunners wish for a new song = Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva
Hi dandan,
Sorry I couldn’t respond to your comment at the end of yesterday’s post.
In answer to your question; in a world where there are either chiefs or indians – you are clearly a chief 😆
I like Dandan 😀
Well I will admit to having been scalped a few times Rasp. LOL
Dandan
The penny has just dropped, you are right, Julio ticks all the boxes 😉
Good fun post London. As an ex-pat, my ears always prick up when I hear an English accent, sp I know what you say about language is true. No matter how fluent one is.
Julio? Probably closer to being Spain’s GK than ALmunia
Rasp. Your 11.29 is great,could be cut & pasted many times 😉
If you have just noticed the picture, that is the asking price for Almunia not Cesc.
Is that in pence London?
David Villa has already signed for barca. How about we get ibra + 39 million pounds? If eto’o is worth that then how much more fab4
The post is something I’d wondered about but brushed off seeing that Cesc seemed better mates with Rosicky. Similarly Gael’s best mate at the club is Theo. If you get the person you get the humour etc.
Ibrahimovich is just a slightly better version of Berbatov – too lazy for us IMO.
Ibra? You have to be kidding. Give me Chamakh anyday. Barca got well and truly shafted in that deal!! And Eto’o will have the last laugh….
Irish. Did you read that in the CLSF, Ibra did less running than Victor Valdes, the Barca GK? And that is a fact 😀
Never saw that Raddy but I’d actually believe it – very much so.
He has scored some awesome goals but jebus is he lazy. He’s like Adebayor in steroids – but the kind of steroids that make you not want to do anything… anti-steroids 😆
He is one of those Youtube players…. you know the type that look absolutely fantastic in clips but go missing in the games. Whenever Ibra has been called upon to perform in the big games, he has been anonymous.
Had TH played instead of him, Barca would be in the final
Henry is passed it BR – big time.
He’ll be playing in the US of A next season I reckon.
Graham Hunter has just said on sky that Cesc had told Wenger he would stay if He bought the players He (wenger) had named. However he has had a week with the Spanish squad and is now waiting to fly home and will tell Wenger he wants away, if Barca come in for him, he wants away by the world cup
Dandan
I just saw that, what a muck raking tosser Graham Hunter is. How the hell does he know what Cesc is thinking?
boy, would i like to see that list DD
Kelsey says that it has been all over the spanish papers London
dandan,
Is that quote direct from Cesc by hearsay, a recorded interview, or an “A source close to Cesc Fabregas has told me” type story?
Who is this Graham Hunter?
It’s the annual BS that we have to suffer every summer with one player or another.
Hunter is an English journo in Spain, he held a paper up and said it was all over it, so I cannot verify the accuracy his report
The only worrying thing is that Cesc is usually pretty quick to refute such stories, but I guess he’s pretty busy getting fit for the WC and he must enjoy being back in Spain. I wonder if any of the Barca contingent of Spanish squad have been encouraged to try to unsettle him. That twat Hleb was pretty quick to try and get him to join Barca and look where he’s ended up!
Its always the same when Cesc goes off with the Spanish squad – the Barca players have a “word in his ear” and he comes back wanting to join them 🙄
I suspect that a month with the squad, particularly if they win the world cup and Cesc will be away if he is not sold in the next 11 days as Hunter says he will be.
hey guys how is it going?
Well,in response to dandan’s post yesterday (just read it)
IF BETTER IS POSSIBLE, GOOD IS NOT ENOUGH
we’ve missed out on 20 trophies in 5 years, comon that cant be acceptable? Ambition is what drives humans. A club of our stature should have ambitions to win trophies everyyear
Top Stadium: ✔
Huge worldwide fanbase: ✔
History: ✔
Revenue & Profits: ✔
Ticket prices: ✔
AFC sell the hype they have to live up to it no excuses
🙂
BTW the silence from AFC and Cesc is killing me
did i say 20 trophies i meant 25
oops sorry 24
oh its 20 so i was right initially
Mancini has said today that city will win the premier league next year.
Hi Franchise,
There were plenty on yesterday who agreed with you.
I used the word ‘ambition’ too yesterday. I think that’s what Cesc is asking for – concrete evidence in the form of significant signings to prove we have the ‘ambition’ to do more than get into the CL.
Cesc won’t have any medals to admire in his trophy cabinet in 20 years time that have been awarded for CL qualification. We want players with ambition, and those players want trophies. as much as the fans.
LOL Franchise are you sure its 20??
Didn’t Cesc make a statement sat/sun? He must be getting bored of making them. He isn’t going anywhere, its just another Spanish hack with his “sources”.
Rasputin a lot of people in the world dont take us seriously anymore
its a far cry from where we have were in 2004
as at 2004 you would have thought the next level was consolidation at the top of the league and one or 2 european trophies. Fine Chelsea destabilised us a bit but we have taken too long to react
Somewhere along the line Fergie has won 3 consecutive titles in reaction to Chelsea
Manure wrestled the league from Chelsea with 4 not so expensive signings in positions they were suffering
Evra – 5.5m
Vidic – 7m
VDS – 2m
Carrick – 14m basic fee possibly rising to 18m (im sure it has)
Wenger didnt need to spend as much as fergie in reaction to Chelsea’s emergence.
truth is he didnt spend enough at all
I don’t like players giving clubs an ultimatum but in a way you’d kinda hope its true because there would be war if Cesc was sold because of lack of ambition so this summer we might actually get the players we need.
and worse of all he let experienced players leave at the expense of untried and untested youngsters
irish its actually 10 cos Wenger doesnt rate domestic cups anymore 😉
if he doesnt then we can say its 12 cos the fa cup in 2005 is not really a trophy if you go by wengers comments
I really don’t think he had the funds available in previous years Franchise, whatever noises were coming out of the club. This year, it has been said at all levels that we have money to spend. I absolutely agree that we don’t need to go for the expensive glamour buys. There must be players out there in the £10-15m bracket that will improve our squad.
well Rasputin if that is the case (your assumption) then Wenger was in it with the board to fool the fans who kept insisting there was money
I wld rather go with what the club has reiterated over the years that there was money for Wenger if he wanted it
he just chose to believe in young players IMO. Denilson cost 3.5m as a 17 yr old. Pienaar and Cahill cost Everton the same together
When we let Flamini, Diarra and Gilberto go, we could have brought in an experienced player like frings on the cheap
Why did he let Diarra go in the 1st place?
Wenger is mostly to blame IMO no matter how u look at it
According to Hunter, Wenger named to Cesc a Midfielder a Defender and a Forward. I dont recall him saying a GK although he may have
Franchise,
‘Going along with/fall guy for’ the board – two sides to the same coin. I think he has done very well to achieve his minimum goal of keeping us in the CL through the ‘lean years’. I shall judge him at the end of the summer, and if he’s sunning himself at the WC whilst we fail to sign the players we clearly need, I may just topple off the fence and fall down on your side 😆
dandan,
If AW doesn’t sign a GK, I’d say put Chesney in as number one and let him learn his trade at the sharp end because we are unlikely to win anything with Almunia or Fabianski between the sticks.
Rasputin who was supposed to topple us from the top 4. A lot think its such a big achievement that we have at least finished fourth in our trophyless spell but I dont think so
We have always had a team that mirrors our league position
comon we lost Cole and got Gallas not Boumsong
Diarra went for a profit with a sell on clause, because he was destabilizing the dressing room just as he and Gallas did at Chelski.
Bloody hell, Sugar is now touting for the FA chairman’s job. Hope he sits on spuds disciplinary hearings
with the stability of having the same manager over the last 14 years, having a decent first 11 for most of the years…. I dont see how we were going to miss out on the CL in the 5 years.
our problem is that we are not good enough to win.
Spurs and City are definitely going to change the whole landscape soon IMO. So we have to wake up
Rasp that is the way i would call it, But and it is a big but, we are operating on hearsay here
I wouldn’t mind Calamity coming for a year to help our young keepers, although big Al has run his course and should leave.
There is no question Franchise that this summer will define our ‘ambition’. We need actions not words for sure.
Gazidis has made it absolutely clear that we are looking to sign some new players – so we’ll just have to wait. There is no point in going over what has happened before because we merely speculate without the facts.
dandan,
You read my mind, I was just about to say that we could do a lot worse than sign DJ for a year 😉
Actually I find Hindsight management a very easy game, you don’t make so many mistakes that way. Especially when it is fantasy hindsight without any authentic facts but plenty of conspiracy stuff.
Diarra just wanted to play. The only reason he came to us in the first place was to play. he took a pay cut to come to Arsenal. Why wld he leave Chelsea to us if it wasnt to get a fair crack of the whip. well well that is by-gones
there was ManUtd and Arsenal as forces in the league in the late 90s and early noughties
Chelsea, Liverpool, Villa and Newcastle were the clubs that were normally flirting with the top 2 occupying the spots below
Chelsea took spending to another level and led the league for 2 years, ManUnited reacted and won the next 3
Spurs started to spend big and reduced the gap btw themselves and their north london rivals
Villa also started to spend some good money
Manu, Chavs, Liverpool and Arsenal formed what was known as the top 4
Spurs spent loads to bridge the gap between us and them nothing else
Manutd and Chavs have rightfully finished above us every year since 2006 (Chavs since 2005)
We have brought in better quality players than the likes of Spurs for most of this period i refer to (Gallas, Sagna, Hleb, Rosicky, Arshavin etc)
Is top 4 over the last 5 years really an achievement then?
Not in my opinion. The other sides were too far behind us and have taken a while to bridge the gap
sorry i meant leeds not villa
Franchise,
You mention Newcastle and Pool amongst those flirting with the top 2 in the nineties and early noughties, and they subsequently spent a lot of money unwisely to try to maintain that aim. They’re both in financial trouble now – I wouldn’t swap our position for theirs.
Fran you mentioned the signings that worked for Fergie and if those were the only signings he made then it’d be commendable. But he didn’t so it isn’t and his net spend before the sale of Ronaldo was very high.
As for the stability thing, that is the only reason the stadium was built. Imagine having to change managers while paying off the debt, it could get very ugly.
Rasputin Liverpool like Manchester Utd are in trouble cos of stupid American owners. Well as for Newcastle shit happens. Not spending enough is not the solution anyway you look at it. Quite a few average players have too much playing time comfort at Arsenal.
If we want to improve look no further than getting rid of some of these unreliable guys and getting better players in.
Wenger was successful when he packed his team with Vermaelen kind of signings in the late 90s early 00s now we are spending that sort of money on youngsters
But I do agree on one thing, coming 3rd in a 3 horse race isn’t an achievement. Just like coming second for Real isn’t one.
Sky saying chamakh is at Emirates today discussing his move.
Mayank those were the 4 signings made that helped Manutd wrestle the title from Chelsea. Vidic, Evra signed Jan 06, VDS in 05, Carrick in 06. What we suffering right now with GKs Manunited suffered with Howard and the other Irish guy cant remember his name
Can’t disagree about the keepers Fran. Worryingly AW has stated that a new keeper is not a high priority. I can’t see any point in keeping hold of Almunia even as a No.2.
Yup, but those signings just happened to work. You mentioned the price as if that was Fergie’s net spend. Fergie has a successful signing ratio of about the same as anyone else.
Mayank who cares about net spend but Arsenal fans?
we pay our money to them I would be happy if they spent it on players
Imagine what Manutd and Pool fans are going through knowing that most of the money thay pay is used to repay debt put on the club by stupid investors
Net spend means little to me
I judge my club by the level of ambition they show every season
Jesus Nevas, Cesar Azuilpueta (Osasuna) or Javi Martinez please.
after all this property development and stadium build, wont it be counter productive if we still cannot close our eyes and buy a £30m player if he is actually Wenger’s first choice for a position or would we continue to loose players to ‘bigger’ clubs?
Hi Marko and welcome,
I’m going to have to go and do some research on those players – do you have specialist spanish knowledge?
Well the whole point of the stadium was to fight for £25m + players so lets see…
Most ppl say Chelsea bought the league etc etc etc
You think their fans give a shit? 🙂
BTW where is peaches?
Jesus Nevas is an out and out winger, who while he doesn’t score alot of goals he does get a number of assists cause of his ability to cross and his trickery. Azuilpueta is a right back only 20 or 21 and very solid indeed and Javi Martinez has been hailed as the Spanish Frank Lampard he’s a ball winner who can play anywhere in the middle and likes to shoot from distance. All young good and would do the business.
Peaches is in the throes of moving house Franchise so she’s a bit preoccupied.
exactly Mayank lest see if it was purse constraints or Wenger beliefs that has stopped us missing out on some top talent like Alonso, Ronaldo etc
Marko,
How would you rate those players in comparison to Fran Merida – I rated him very highly and was sad to see him go.
So what happens now Fran?
You have complained about the last five years and in some ways that is understandable but that done, are you now going to show enough courage and say you want Wenger gone? Are you just going to keep moaning about the same things over and over again or are you going start supporting Arsenal?
He’s gone? Oh well Id rate Navas better than walcott, Azuilpueta wouldn’t be as good as Sagna I think even though some people think Sagna’s shit whereas I think he’s been solid for us since he came. Javi Martinez is also very good but of the 3 I’d say we don’t need him as he’s not defensive enough. As far as I know the 3 made the provisional squad for Spain but probably only Navas will go to Africa as the other 2 haven’t made their debuts yet for Spain.
L.Diarra is a terrible player FACT and Madrid want to sell him FACT
Got this from the other site.
I believe that there will be a fire sale among a number of Premier League clubs as the banks begin to foreclose on loans, as the banks struggle to rebuild their balance sheets for the new year because some of the measures announced in the new budget in June will begin to bite in April,
We may well be able to collect some real bargains then
So my advice to Wenger would be buy only the three/players we need to make us competitive and then fill your boots in January.
I will also be gobsmacked if at least one maybe several clubs dont go to the wall.
The Revenue are also going to go hard at offshore accounts so expect others to join Arry in his dance with the judge.
Rasp
I have been out of the loop for a bit, has Merida gone?
Actually london I don’t want wenger gone yet and who defined support as accepting the status quo
Fair play to u if u think all is well
I honestly think after Chamakh if we were to sign Sabestien Frey, Yaya Toure and one of Zapata, Kjaar, Subotic or whatever other top defender and retain Campbell then we’d be sorted for next season. I’d be of the opinion that if anybody else leaves then replace them with like for like. I feel we can only afford to let one of the goalkeepers and Silvest and possible Gallas leave and thats it.
I have not said all is well Franchise and it certainly wasn’t me who said anyone had to accept the status quo, I am just asking you what you are going to do next? If you don’t want Wenger sacked, are you just going to complain about the same things over and over again or are you going to support Arsenal. How does the mind set of Le Grove work? This is not meant to be a provocative question, I am genuinely curious.
Marko I would like Frey, Toure I don’t know, we could have had him cheap but the coaches were not sure,But a DM and a CH yep and then hang on till Jan.
Hi London,
I may be getting ahead of myself, it has been reported that he is off to Athletico Madrid as soon as his contract expires on the 30th June – I believe this to be true.
Thanks Rasp
That makes sense to me.
Fran Merida story as reported on another site …..
http://justarsenal.com/atletico-madrid-sign-fran-merida/3699
Well london for start I was responding to dandan’s post as I dint agree with it
2ndly ppl would continue to talk about these things until change comes. The poress never got tired of talking labour neither would the glass half empty party
3rdly we wouldn’t be so upset if the club actually treat us with respect. I’m tired of everyone at AFC esp the manager acting clever and treating the fans like customers and idiots
It wld be nice to hear the truth once in a while. Too many conflicting reports
AFC is run like a secret organisation and it pisses me cos the only commodity they give is football. Why all this nonsense then?
A midfield of Song and Yaya in front of the back four with Fabregas ahead of them causing all sorts of damage would be the best in the premiership, would be strong and competitive and wouldn’t get bullied by teams.
In january wenger had the audacity to come out saying he dint rate domestic cups only because he got humiliated by stoke
Would he have said this if we won the fa cup. No I bet he wld have raved about how big an achievement it is.
Last 2 seasons was actually a success in his eyes cos we made 2 semis of which one was the fa cup
aha if this aint spin from le spin doctor himself I wonder what it is
Sorry bout my spelling and grammar I’m on the phone
I’m not going to labour this one Fran, you seem like a good guy at heart, have a good evening.
I got Sky digital and live in Ireland so this year I didn’t have the option of watching the FA cup unless it was on the internet and thus this year I didn’t really give a shit bout the FA cup.
Hi Fran . Nice to see you here.
Your argument about the secret society could be said of any PL club. No-one washes their laundry in public.
As to AW’s “lies”: Well, if you are asked the same questions 200 times a season, you may well say something that didn’t prove to happen. Especially as what he actually says and what gets reported are totally different.
That said, I wouldn’t dispute your requirement that AFC put their house in order by signing a few players.
Marko its your choice but u are not paid 5m a year to be manager of AFC
Fran 6.20. I would say that is your spin 🙂 Show me where AW said that about the FAC and Stoke.
Plus you are forgetting that we went to Stoke with no fit players, AW didn’t throw the game
What are fans if they are not customers then Franchise, you either buy a seat, a TV Contract or Merchandise. So how are you not a customer and what right do you have to demand information from what is actually a multi million pound business unless of course you are a shareholder
And didn’t we get knocked out in the 1st or 2nd round of our involvement in the fa cup?
I don’t think there were a lot of games to see Marko
Plus the only reason that Arsenal have to tell you anything, is that the premier league have an agreement with Sky that they will make themselves available at a press conference each week and after matches. Alex Ferguson has shown in no uncertain manner that he is the final arbiter as to who attends his, thus Arsenal are much more open than such as Man Utd.
Don’t be silly dandan the fans have every right to know what is going on at their club
U don’t say happy things to them when its time to renew season tickets then change tone when their money is in the bank
Last summer window wenger said he couldn’t find better than what he has. If his vision has dwindled that badly then he might not be up for the job anymore
Oh 2 months b4 this he promised ‘super’ signings
Might just be coincedental that it was around renewals
The way forward for football is fan ownership
Everyone else gets paid out of this shit but the fans
So now we don’t even have the right to know what goes on at our club
Jesus 😯
The life of a fan 🙂 truly depressing it should be
If you are happy to use that information as to whether or not you renew, then one has to ask just who is actually silly.
The fans have no rights beyond those they can solicit under the freedom of information act. I say again you are quite at liberty to support, watch and discuss the games endlessly. but you have no legal rights unless you are a share holder apart from information as and when the games you paid to watch are to be seen.
I will leave it there Rasp. sorry if i bent the rules Guy’s
Fran: Fan ownership is Total fantasy. When you talk of depression it begars the question, why do you bother? If you don’t enjoy following the Arsenal when there are so many other ways of spending time and money, surely it is time to say enough is enough and take up Bridge
Evening All,
In a non policemen way 😉
Interesting debate I see today, Well it looks as tho the worst kept transfer in history looks likely to be resolved today or tomorrow and I for one am happy with the signing as he will bring much needed pace to our front line,
I’m seeing him as the Head of a 3 man attack next year with VP one side and the Russian the other,a bit if a Dutch system with the joints if you so wish how do you all see him fitting in?
Now for a keeper, centre half,centre mid and nudge to wake me up from this sweet dream lol
Soz on my phone should be of and without !!!!!!
its not Raddy see Barcelona. Impossible is Nothing 😉
my comment re depression was in response to dandan who says we have no rights whatsoever……. u know the rest
Wenger used to be an intelligent man (probably still is) but i doubt ppl queue up to hear what he has to say these days. He is so full of bullshit IMO
I know Fran, Barca fans may well own the club but they have no input whatsoever. The President wields power and of course he is voted in by the fan/owners. But once in power he doesn’t give a flying one about the fans….
AW is still the most intelligent and entertaining manager in the PL IMO. Who would you point to? SAF? Fat Sam? Ancelloti? Crooknap?
Chippy. I see it that way as well,
no one takes wenger serious anymore its a shame
Raddy, Would be a tasty top 3 and hard to defend against due to the movement but would in my view certainly need another centre mid with a more defensive mindset to play alongside song and cesc if he’s still here!
Dandan
You are right, you know you are right. It is like explaining to a five year old why they can’t play in the sand pit.
Evenin’ All (in a policeman kind of way, with knees slightly bent).
Good chat going on.
If Chamakh is any good, it looks like Bendy will be the most likely to miss out.
If you don’t take Wenger seriously anymore which by that statement I assume you include yourself Fran why aren’t you calling for him to be sacked?
long live lord Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger the 5 yr old is leaving the building
good night Raddy
I have watched Chamakh play three or four times and he is no out and out striker but he certainly has the ability to play Wengerball……good eye for a pass, plays the channels well.
cos if he gets it wrong again he has no excuse that he was removed prematurely
Good night Franchise
Why don’t you send the club your email address and I am sure they will let you know off any deals they have in the offing before they announce them to the rest of the world after all you are a fan and that gives you the right to know everything that is going on.
Remember you started the insults
“Don’t be silly dandan”
Franchise
Are you ripping into Chamakh before he has even arrived?
silly is not an insult london. silly is saying stuff like fans have no right to know what is going on at their club. deep down he i bet dandan knows what he is saying aint true but how dare anyone question Arsenal?
Calling someone silly is a patronising insult, I do not want to speak on behalf of Dandan but I make it clear that I agree 100% with what he says regarding how and when the club supply us with information.
So rather that go over old ground in which our positions are obviously at polar opposites why don’t you try and explain to us how you think that the club should keep us better informed.
Evening all
Theres smoke coming from the blog.
We are all entitled to our opinion about what Arsene will or won’t do, what is the right or wrong thing for him and the board to say or not to say. We would like to be better informed but we aren’t. I’m frustrated that this kind of debate can turn into silliness because we only know what they want us to know and the rest is speculation.
Fair play Peaches
Dandan put forward a valid reason as to why the club is restricted in the information that they supply to us, I am curious to know how Franchise thinks this could work better.
Theres just as much fun in moaning about the shortcomings as there is in accepting the status quo.
It seems to me that as we are without power of any form there is no harm in airing our views even if often we are poles apart. I’m with Franchise about hearing some truths – certainly about the money that has been available if AW wanted to spend it but its not going to happen – doesn’t stop me moaning about it though.
Doesn’t make me a bad Arsenal supporter – just a questioning one IMO.
I agree there is nothing wrong in airing our views that is why I am asking Franchise how he thinks the club should keep us better informed.
And by the way Peaches, Gazidis has answered your question about the money, go onto Arsenal.com and watch part two of his three part interview.
If somebody says that Sunday follows Saturday and another person disagrees I think it is reasonable to ask why they disagree.
Dandan says
so we are customers when it comes to getting the information about our club from our club then we should follow blindly when it comes to support?
wow that is a complex set up there
what sort of info do u think fans want to hear?
we want to see the manager make promises and deliver. we are not 5 yr olds why should wenger come out saying he couldnt find any better than what we have?
the truth is if they have nothing to hide the more transparent they are the better for the relationship
i have every right to know why adebayor was sold and wenger refused to replace touting vela as the next fowler.
u have to realise that there isnt a press press conference and fan press conference. when wenger talks to the press he talks to the fans
what information do you
….think the fans want to hear?
we want to hear AFC say we havent tried enough
we dont want to hear wenger blame everything else but himself or his team
we dont want to hear about silly things like financial doping or anti-football
we want to hear the manager say that the efforts the players put in certain games is not enough. we dont want to hear that they were jaded or playing in reverse gear or with handbrake on
im tired of hearing about average age
i kind of find twitch (redknapp) refreshing in that most times says it as it is
that performance was UNACCEPTABLE
I agree with all those points Fran – but what we don’t know is whether AW gives the players his honest opinion behind closed doors. Confusing for us and them really.
Why on earth do you think you have the right to know what Wenger is going to do in the transfer market before he his competitors; don’t you think that might weaken his negotiating position?
I am going to leave this one to you Peaches, I know he is your friend.
By the way Fran, for what it is worth I am glad you come on this site.
cheers london
no one is asking for wenger to tell us who he is after
he doesnt seem to sign anyone is the problem 😀
London – I’ll check back, but I don’t think Franchise has asked for information about what AW is going to do in the tranfer market.
Aha there you are tall one 🙂
I thought you did well when you came on last week, bulked up a bit too 😆
Peaches IMO Wenger has a problem with spending money. Well based on a couple of things he has said. He is an economist isnt he?
for example
Wenger has long argued the case for clubs to operate within their natural resources instead of living beyond their means. But he admits that his preferred system is little more than a pipedream in the modern age.
“Basically you could judge really the managers if you say to the 20 clubs in the league ‘You have £20million, show me what you can do, everybody.’,” said Wenger.
“Then you can judge. Give everybody the same resources, go out in the world, make your team, come back and show me who is the best. But it will never happen.”
Actually not a bad idea but he should just get on with it and realise its fantasy 😀
Franchise, who has said anywhere that you have to blindly follow anyone,it is your decision whether you support the Arsenal or not.
I only pointed out that you have no right to know what a business does with its assets (Adebayer) unless you are a share holder. The company report is supplied to all shareholders and dissected minutely in our case in the media.
If it suits the company they are at liberty to issue a press release but that is a corporate decision not a fan driven one.
In fact the very fact that we are all hungry for information, makes it easy for the press to spin any snippet they are given or indeed make up. Look how easy it is to promote hits on a blog by putting in a fancy heading. The same nonsense sells papers.
So yes we all love info, but we have no god given right to it. So moan as much as you like, fantasise as you will,enjoy the debate, but do not abuse people who are doing their job abiding by the legal rules laid down by the law of the land.
Thanks London for your support
I think he’s realised that now – too many young players let him down consistently this season and last season. Some showed moments of brilliance but its not enough one game in five. Thats where having 2 or 3 more experienced players would have helped – they would have kept the young boys going when things got a bit tough IMO
You all know my view with regards the club and the porkies they’ve come out with over the last few years so I won’t join in this debate, All I will say is that I’ve debated with both London and Franchise before and although Im more in agreement with Frans view points as London is DanDans I’d say both love the Arsenal and act like grown ups in debates the way it should be in my view;) Londons a good bloke who always gives reasons for his arguments whether I agree or not and that’s the beauty of this site, Life would be so dull if we all agreed lol
Oh crap, does Sunday really follow Saturday?
I need to change my prescription.
legal rules laid down by the law of the land? u r funny dandan
Franchise, I disagree with you about Wenger and money, but you are spot on about the rubbish excuses he comes out with in the media when we lose. I wish he’d say nothing rather than blame everyone else except himself and his team. Every other top manager (inc Rednose, Maureen, even Ancelotti) sometimes says his team’s performance was not good enough. Arsene never does. I have stopped listening to his post match comments because they are embarrassing.
I have a problem with being treated as a consumer – I’m an Arsenal supporter. I can’t choose a different brand that might treat its customers better – I can decide not to be a supporter though.
The point of being a supporter is to feel part of the club you support – if the clubs develop into businesses where the supporters lose that attachment then they will lose supporters and therefore revenue.
Evening Rocky – your post will follow nicely on from some of this debate 😉
When did clubs ever really listen to their supporters? Maybe in the old days when the local club was owned by a local businessman they would have found it harder to avoid direct feedback from fans, but, in all honesty, they have always done the bare minimum for us.
Should AW go ahead and sign 2/3 more players we are going to have a very interesting time seeing whether the players some call “marmites”, really are. e.g will Denilson get a game outside of the CC, and if not will he want to stay ?……. mmmmmm …… there’s a post in this!
London – are you still about, I just looked at the stats for the first time today and this post rocks 🙂
exactly peaches we are not costumers and i think that it is in that knowledge that AFC treat us like they do sometimes cos come next year we would be back
if AFC is to be believed over the years then its Arsene that has refused to spend. Sometimes i doubt this though
dont get me wrong things are not all that bad but IMO we are not putting enough effort
Evening Peaches. I think we’re in interesting (if tricky) philosophical territory here. What duty has a club’s Board got to its fans? What duty do the players have to the fans? What duty do the fans have to the club? To the players? To each other?
A club chairman might say “my primary duty is to keep the club in existence (ie solvent) and to ensure the safety of staff and supporters.” Or, he might say: “This is a business, my first duty is to make profit and reward the shareholders.”
I’m of the view that football is more than a business and more than ‘just a game’, but it’s hard to legislate for the passion supporters feel for their club.
Peacges 8.57. Fine words but once you are an addict abstinence is extremely difficult.
Just look at MU and all those clowns wearing green & yellow scarves, they feel like customers of the Yanks but they still pay their money and support the club.
I feel as though I have always been a customer, and as you know I am AFC nuts, I pay my money and get my fix. I am anonymous despite spending too much money to think about on my obsession. If I were a cokehead at least my dealer would know me !
Peaches well put the PR at Arsenal Is very very poor and has led to more frustration and anger than neccasary a prime example was the night after we got hammered by Barca the website decided to put it’s lead article as Arsenals biggest defeats in Europe they were surely having s laugh wernt they, Another example was then telling the Fanbase that Eboue was a passmaster crap like that does the club no service, RL yep I tend not to listen to Wengers after match utterances now in victory or defeat as if I hear the words Mental Strength One more time I’ll Scream,
BR – I think it’s more like being in love with someone who doesn’t even know you’re there.
Er… but I think that makes me a stalker as I’m always hanging around her place hoping that this time she’ll acknowledge me.
Chippy – we should start a metal band and call it Mental Strength.
Fran. I think this season has been a major eye opener for AW. He really thought we would win it, and the manner we fell apart was a shock.
I think he believed the squad was good enough, but he discovered that he has a wonderful set of 13/14 players but the rest are not Top 4 quality.
Evening all,
We’d worried that the blog wasn’t going to attract much interest once the season was over but paradoxically, we’ve far exceeded the average per day ….
Franchise,
We are customers by definition whether we like it or not. If we were shareholders, we’d have more of a right to know what’s going on behind the scenes.
Like you, as a supporter, I have the romantic notion that my role is more important than just someone paying for a service and I shall continue to live under that delusion because otherwise I’d have to admit to being a bit of a chump 😆
BR – @9.14 – so so true. You could see it in his face during the last two weeks of the season.
RL. Give me her details, I am very good at this sort of problem. I have years of experience !!
Peaches it could get worse if an owner gets control of the club and takes it private, then he can do what he wants as long as its legal and answer to no one but his auditors and the Taxman.
None of us like it, we all love the club Peaches, all I am stating is the facts, corporate managers ( Wenger ) have to conform to the companies rules.
Sure his insistence that he doesn’t see any of our indiscretions and has a twenty twenty vision on anything the opponents do, erodes his credibility but those statements like the ones about the quality of his squad are consistent with a manager motivating his people. What he says in private is not known but may well be something different. Look what happened to Hull after they were Tangoed in public, so no manager worth his salt would demean his squad in public,
He also of course knows whatever he says will be spun by the press and used against him at a later date.
BR – she’s called Emms (must be short for Emma) and is a classy sort, lives just off Drayton Park.
Hi Raddy,
I agree with most of your 9:14, but would say that we have a wonderful 8 or 9 players, another 5 or 6 that are good enough for most opposition, a further 5 or 6 who are still improving and may be good enough one day, and 4 or 5 who will never make it at Arsenal.
Thinking that fans approval or condemnation has an effect upon the club is similar to imagining that wearing my lucky socks have an influence on the result.
OK, here’s a question. IF (and I stress the IF) Cesc were to go this summer… what should our first team be? (There’s probably a post in this).
raddy i think u are right. Wenger might have actually believed his team was good enough
i remember saying this last summer and the summer b4 but here we go again
‘this summer is make or break’ 😀
RL. I know her. Gve it up mate … she is bad news. You can do better 🙂
True Raddy @9:20, and we all do it 😛
Sorry BR – I’m hooked. I’ll continue to pine, lonesomely.
Fran. We both said exactly the same this time last season and the summer before .
We said (and I can prove it!) we need a GK, CB, DM and CF. Song came good, we signed Vermaelen, and yet we are in the same situation.
Why is she a she? What does that make me? 😳
Peaches: Because if I was pining for a ‘he’ it would be, to say the least, a novel experience for me…
RL. OK. When I am next in London I will sort it for you. Got to help a fellow Gooner . As long as you haven’t screwed up too badly anything is possible.
Raddy you hav’nt been washing those lucky socks have you, if you have its all your fault
Rocket Lives,
🙂 Arsene Osborne vocals Song Hendrix on lead Guitar and Andrei moon on drums lol.
You can fool some people sometimes but you carnt fool all the people all the time !
Get up stand up lyrics springto mind regarding Arsenals PR, Bit of Bob Marley As we are on a musical theme 😉
Raddy I hope your right but I’ve got a sneaky feeling Wengers loyalty to this group may still hinder him and us when it comes to the crunch I hope not I’d love the old ruthless Arsene back as it was sad seeing him in the final few games as he looked crestfallen and despite what some may say I could never doubt his affection for this club and some of the sacrifices he has made due to the move
NO GOALKEEPER – THATS WHY WE’RE IN THE SAME SITUATION 🙄
You may well laugh (especially you Peaches!) but I have been asked to set up a Courting School, teaching Danes how to find and keep love!! Honestly…..
just trawling through AFC.com archives came across this from 2008
how sad 😦
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/wenger-flamini-and-fabregas-are-the-best
That is not all Peaches. GK’s weren’t the only reason we lost to MU & the Chavs
Now the Mrs has gone to bed, Can I enrol Raddy
How can Denilson go back to being a squad player when hes practically been one of the first on the team-sheet for 2 seasons?
Early start tomorrow so signing off. Thanks everyone for some entertaining discussion.
And just in case Cesc is reading all this, and in the spirit of London’s original piece, can I just say: ADIOS AMIGOS.
Fran. If that is sad, how sad is it that you were trawling through AFC.com archives !!
DD. Money gets you through any door
haha raddy im just bored. im doing an end of season analysis for the last 3 seasons
sad indeed 😦
Peaches 9.32. That is my point, how can he? But with AR coming through, the return of Lansbury and the likely signing of another DM, where does he fit in. Denilson will be at best 3rd in the pecking order.
Fran. Why not post your analysis on the site?
RockyLives, even sorry mate on my phone!!
Raddy wouldn’t agree on the condemnation point if enough people started not renewing the club would soon sign a player of a high calibre to put bums on seats,Its why we get the we will sign world class players bollocks just before season ticket renewal time every year they know top players sell tickets.
Raddy – who’d have thought it 🙂 is it cos you is so smooth 😆
The keeper cost us points and if we’d have been in a stronger position the team may not have capitulated to the mancs and the chavs. Psychobabble possibly – but a team in a strong position has more ‘belief’ 😛
Right. I’m off as well.
Thanks for the banter today…..
So am I, good night all,
Yes Fran – come on, time to put yourself up there, we’ll look after you – well, I will anyway 🙂
Was just brushing the ivories and realised I’d credited the original post to Dandan. Sorry London – it is inimitably yours. My bottle of Sauvignon Blanc is kicking in.
Night Rocky, Raddy and dandan – see you tmoro 😉
The editing fairy just corrected it 😉
ok peaches ill try 😀
Lord Triesman’s real name is….
drumroll…..
Baron Triesman of Tottenham, a lifelong spud 😆
I’m devastated…………..you mean BR’s lucky socks don’t really work?
Night all 😉
with chamackh coming there is no way we’ll buy villa.
We already have plenty of spanish speaking players at the club: carlos vela, fran merida, phil senderos (probably not for much longer truth be told).
thnk ur onto something, thats why denilsons stil at the club to babysit wellington silva when he arrives.
although fabs bm is rosicky
ps villa wlll sign for barca very soon as henry is off.offical!
I really don’t expect Cesc to leave us just yet as he won’t get a starting place.
There are only two players that Cesc can replace in that team. However he would only be replacing the two because of coming on as a sub or replacing one of the two getting injured.
The two players I speak about are the world class duo of Iniesta and Xavi. These two are what Wenger is to Arsenal, irreplaceable.
Xavi keeps reaching out to Cesc because he knows it would be good for the team to have him as an option in case things are not going right, but he knows that the arrival would not threaten him of a starting place.
It would make no sense at all in our captain moving on now as even though he scored 19 goals and his numerous assists, he still can not push one of these two Barca players to the bench.
im sure cesc would rather play second fidal to the likes of xavi and iniesta then to be stuck with clowns like denilson song and diaby around him.
Sorry but if you are used to playing first team football from the age of 16 and not for just anyone, but Arsenal a side that fights for the PL as well as the CL you would not be happy or content to sit on any bench.
[…] Expect Wenger To Buy Another Spaniard. Is it only me who wanders around contemplating the important questions about life, the big issues, the meaningful stuff […] […]
why go to barca? look at henry half the player he was,with all those big players you dont get all the loving u need this plays on your mind and also your performance.never get 90 mins no more a captain.slowly drop down the pecking order,dont do it.wenger get david villa.
Readie. It depends upon what sort of person you are. Cesc does not have the superstar ego like Ronaldo. He is happy to be a cog in a team, more like Xabi Alonso….. a man who should be wearing an Arsenal shirt.
According to a dodgy website, we have had a bid of €14m for Pepe Reina turned down by Liverpool.
In light of London’s post, it could be true (as if ……. )
………. t t t as they would say in the old country 😉
Morning all,
Franchise made some quite valid points yesterday (in his own style) and met with some stern resistance from a few ‘regulars’ – it might be a good idea if we went back and read the comments again in the light of a new day.
LOL big raddy beat me to it, about reiner being the spaniard to sign in light of londons post!
i just couldnt see wenger wanting to sign a 24 yr old with regard to chezzers devlopment… but then again the bbc aint one for tittle tattle.
A few witticisms to start the day 😉
An exchange between Winston Churchill & Lady Astor:
She said, “If you were my husband I’d give you poison.”
He said, “If you were my wife, I’d drink it.”
===========================
A member of Parliament to Disraeli:
“Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.”
“That depends, Sir,” said Disraeli,
“on whether I embrace your policies or your mistress.”
===========================
“He had delusions of adequacy.”
Walter Kerr
===========================
“He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.
Winston Churchill
===========================
“I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.”
Clarence Darrow
===========================
“He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.”
William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).
===========================
“Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it.”
Moses Hadas
===========================
“I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.”
Mark Twain
===========================
“He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.”
Oscar Wilde
===========================
“I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play;
bring a friend…. if you have one.”
George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
“Cannot possibly attend first night,
will attend second …. if there is one.”
Winston Churchill’s response.
===========================
“I feel so miserable without you;
it’s almost like having you here.”
Stephen Bishop
===========================
“He is a self-made man and worships his creator.”
John Bright.
===========================
“I’ve just learned about his illness.
Let’s hope it’s nothing trivial.”
Irvin S. Cobb
===========================
“He is not only dull himself;
he is the cause of dullness in others.”
Samuel Johnson
===========================
“He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up.”
Paul Keating
===========================
“In order to avoid being called a flirt,
she always yielded easily.”
Charles, Count Talleyrand
===========================
“He loves nature in spite of what it did to him.”
Forrest Tucker
===========================
“Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?”
Mark Twain
===========================
“His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.”
Mae West
===========================
“Some cause happiness wherever they go;
others, whenever they go..”
Oscar Wilde
===========================
“He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts …
for support rather than illumination.”
Andrew Lang
===========================
“He has Van Gogh’s ear for music.”
Billy Wilder
===========================
“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it.”
Groucho Marx
very good very good
Morning tommy,
There’s a good chance Chamakh’s signing will be announced today.
The Cesc story is gaining momentum – I’d say it’s now 40/60 he will leave 😦
morning rasp….its funny hearing all this cesc talk, it used to bother me when i was younger but not anymore, we hear it every summer. if he leaves he leaves, arsenal still goes on… we have no say in what happens but will always be there whoever the personell. i dont think he’ll go, but if he does i just hope we stick it out for £50m+. wenga ball will still be here and we will still be competing with the best .
im excited about chamach, but i’m puzzled to how its gonna work with VP.
Yes, that’s the way I see it too tommy. I think we should never lose sight of the fact that it is Arsenal we support. I do get the distict feeling sometimes that loyalty to AW exceeds loyalty to the club from some sections.
Me too, I expect the front 3 to be AA, RvP and Chamakh but can’t think which of the 3 will be on the right unless AA moves to the right and RvP to the left.
Loved those quotes Rasp.
Morning all
Rasp. 8.51. Thanks. A fine start to the day.
9.01. The bitter pill to follow. I am in Tommy’s camp. If he goes, so be it.
Rasp. I don’t believe any fan supports Wenger ahead of Arsenal. I believe people polarise in argument and become so pro or anti AW they overstate their true opinion
Morning SS
Damn….. I have to go.
See y’all later
i support wenger but not above arsenal… if he left then it would be more difficult for me to accept than say our star player…. i dread the upheavel, the uncertainty and the transition!
Morning Raddy,
You’re probably right – it just looks that way sometimes 😉
Morning sharkey,
How’s things with you?
New post ….
Hey Raddy. I agree withyou on that re Arsene vs Arsenal.
Rasp – Things are pretty busy at work, but at least I can access AA2 these days, so theres some good in the world !!