Here are some facts:
- Arsène Wenger is dithering in the transfer market.
- He is paralysed by indecision because so many top players are threatening to leave.
- Arsenal’s main rivals, by contrast, are acting decisively and boldly.
- Highly rated players will not join Arsenal because we have not won a trophy for six years.
- Arsenal will never spend ‘big’ money on a new signing.
I know that these are facts because I have read them in the newspapers. The Mail, the Express, the Sunday Times and of course the down market tabloids. They have all published variations on all of the above statements.
The journalists responsible are professional reporters. They’ll have done their journalism training at Darlington, Cardiff or Westminster (the most established journo training centres) or at one of the in-house schemes run by some newspaper groups.
They’ll have started out with great dreams and ideals of being a top sports writer. They’ll have worked their way up, for the most part, through local papers and news agencies, covering non-league games on rainy, windswept pitches in front of tiny crowds before moving on to the lower divisions and finally getting their big break in Fleet Street, writing about the EPL.
And now they produce these ‘facts’.
For crying out loud, they should be ashamed of themselves.
If these are facts, they’re the sort that would do Joseph Goebbels proud.
Goebbels, for those who don’t know their World War Two history, was the chief propagandist for the Third Reich. Up until 1939 his main narrative was that Germany’s intentions were entirely peaceful. And we know how that turned out.
That’s what propagandists do. They develop a narrative and stick to it. Every event, every outcome, every statement is re-positioned so that it fits the narrative, even when it patently doesn’t, until the narrative has served its purpose.
Arsenal may not exactly be facing the forces of Nazism, but we are facing a propaganda onslaught orchestrated by Fleet Street and other media outlets like TalkSport.
At the start of last season the embryonic idea took form that Arsenal were headed for continuing failure under Arsene Wenger (not least because he allegedly hates to spend money on quality players). As the season wore on this form solidified and became accepted wisdom.
The fact that Arsenal’s transfer activity was severely curtailed for five years because of the cost of the new stadium (and that the manager miraculously kept us competitive in that time while making a net profit on transfers) was gradually written out of the story.
Instead the ‘facts’ became that Arsene was a skinflint; that he was scared of buying established stars in case he couldn’t control them; that he persisted with bringing through young players not because of financial constraints but because he was ‘obsessed’ with ‘project youth’.
There may even have been grains of truth in some elements of this (certainly Arsene has seemed attracted to the idea of creating a squad of young players who grow up together playing a particular brand of football). But essentially a position that was easily explained by the circumstances (lack of money due to building a new stadium) was reframed as being about something else – namely the supposed character flaws of the manager.
The team’s implosion in last season’s run-in added further fuel to this narrative, which is why we have arrived at the point today where our summer transfer activity has been written off by the press before it has even begun.
Barely a week into the transfer window (and with more than two and a half months still to run), the Fleet Street concensus is that we’ve blown it. They tell us that because we haven’t gone out and hurled 15, 17, 20 million quid at whichever over-rated English player the journalists have decided is this week’s great big hope, we are dead in the water.
Let’s not bother turning up next season because these professional reporters have already decided that we’re heading for mid table.
Here’s just one small example of the reporting. I don’t mean to single out Rob Draper from the Mail, but it happens to be the most recent one I’ve read:
“Equally, should Fabregas eventually move, Wenger’s tactics in the transfer market will again come under the microscope. While Manchester United and Liverpool were swiftly into their squad-strengthening stride and Chelsea are poised to pick up the pace, Wenger risks being left standing in the stalls again as the big names head elsewhere.”
The bit that makes me laugh the most is “…and Chelsea are poised to pick up the pace…”
This illustrates exactly the issue of fitting the facts to suit your preconceived narrative. Despite Chelsea winning nothing and despite their manager having been sacked and despite them spending 50 million pounds in January on a striker who can’t score and despite the fact that they have done less than us in the market so far this summer, there is no suggestion that they risk “being left standing in the stalls again.” Oh no. They are “poised to pick up the pace.”
Make the facts fit the narrative. There is no anti-Chelsea narrative at the moment so their transfer inactivity can be overlooked.
Frankly it’s just lazy. As was all the triumphalism over Man Utd beating us to Phil Jones’s signature and supposedly proving that promising young players would rather go to Old Trafford than the Emirates… oh, wait a minute… that deal is not even done. Top quality reporting there, lads.
Unlike many Gooners, I don’t believe that most of the sports hacks have an agenda against Arsenal (although some surely have). It’s just that the media move like a school of anchovies. When they change direction they do so as one and it happens in an instant. Pack mentality, if you like (apologies for the mixed metaphor).
But the result is the same: we, the supporters, are being misled by what these journalists write.
So what conclusions can we draw? Well, for me it’s a simple one: let’s not swallow this slapdash, thoughtless reporting and regurgitate it in our own forums. Even when it’s incorrect it can still cause damage and there is a real danger of the narrative becoming real if it’s hammered home hard enough and if enough people fall for it. That is the aim of propaganda.
And finally, I would ask those reporters who find themselves in the privileged position of being able to write about our national sport for a living to remember the ideals with which they entered their profession.
Don’t give in to the laziness; don’t just follow the pack.
Stand up and say: “I am not an anchovy.”
RockyLives
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
brilliant article mate……FACT
er…this has always been the case , dont buy anti arsenal red tops, simple….
Arsenal’s main rivals, by contrast, are acting decisively and boldly.
—————————————————————————————–
hello fellow gooners,after reading this article,i feel you are now seeing the points that am seeing.
Personally, we need a new manager..people will criticize but i don’t care any more.wenger won’t sign any quality players this coming season.all the lies stories gazidis told the AST,is to make them feel safe but most gooners have heard this before.
with Mighty Arsenal FC,it is always the same story,we are trying to sign ,him or her, ? we had a bid of 17 m pounds acepted for jones? we are in for gervinho,? we are close to getting samba and cahill? arsenal staff have flown to argentina to get ricky alvarez ??
I feel ,wenger won’t sign any body ,we have been here before for the last 6 yrs and we can’t be fooled anymore. then we have 6.5% increase from fans ,but then my question to gazidis ,wenger and the board is;;
IF THE CLUB IS CHARGING 6.5% MORE FROM FANS.WHAT DO WE THE FANS GET IN RETURN.??
Nice article highlighting a massive issue affecting Arsenal FC at the moment.
Spurious, vague, rash media articles loosely based on no fact whatsoever are stirring up a hornets nest of frustration, fear and anger directed at Arsenal FC, Arsene Wenger and the players like Nasri, RvP and Cesc.
It annoys me greatly because I prefer to read reason and I just cannot find that in any newspaper because sensationalism breeds sales. Until people stop buying the newspapers will never change.
That’s why I’d rather trust what I read on the net, written by people who do it without thought of profit or fame.
I do however choose my sources wisely.
WG
Morning Rocky , great piece of defensive journalism , but I suspect it will fall on deaf ears. Many years ago I used to work for one of the main groups of newspapers in the UK, the set up is simple.
Many journo’s start their careers at small provincial papers moving on to the bigger nationals astheir careers progress. As with most industries it is very incestuous with journo’s moving from paper to paper for a variety of reasons. There is a strong element sheep following the shepherd with regards to stories, and it really is all about who can publish first rather be original. As far as publishing the truth is concerned, that is often dictated by the difference in how much they can earn via increased circulation/ advertising against the potential libel/out of court settlement, because remember newspapers are a business
Magnificent Rocky well done. Like many anchovies some of these guys are well canned before they start writing.
Brilliant great article i have always thought this and they have already had gooners fall for it
@ GoonerBeGood
Whilst the transfer market isn’t a supermarket, Arsene has already shown his hand by shopping in the Butchers section…he went for a bit of young english beef called Phil Jones, but lost out because the player decided he wanted to stay in the north of England. Had the player chose Arsenal, we could have already signed 5 players this summer.
WG
Brilliant article. I wish I’d written it myself. I’m glad not everyone is pulled in by the crap they read in the papers.
Brilliant exposé by a top journalist Rocky. As you are well aware, it’s all down to money. The trash that is written helps sell papers or buy hits on websites that carry advertising. It does seem that Arsenal are an easy target as we do not do business in the traditional way in terms of football clubs.
Maybe not having a manager in place might be why Chelsea haven’t bought yet?? Just a a thought.
It would be simple to stop these headlines – spend a decent (not excessive, just the sort of money say Villa or Sunderland might for example) on a decent experienced player (not a one season wonder – well not even that – like Gervinho for example).
Easy.
Time to win the league and shut the bastards up.
Great post Rocky.
Hi Rocky, 🙂
A beautifully written and passionate exposition of what has become a national past-time of kicking Arsenal and Wenger.
I thought tho’ we had actually arrived at a moment when thee and me had parted ways with our often very close beliefs in Arsenal and footie in general.
I think much of what you wrote in the first part is absolutely true and also fuels some of the ill informed opinions expressed by some Arsenal fans.
But I do not believe the Meedja are ganging up en masse to disembowel Arsenal and Arsene.
There are some Gooner journalists out there and they often, within the restraints of the journo world they inhabit, try to be objective about us, and the second part of your wonderful Post reflects this.
I commented a short while ago about the confusing messages coming out about our so called ‘crisis’ and I am copying below, to show that even die hard Gooners, on the blogs, are identifying and disagreeing among themselves as to what the problems are, and therefore how to solve them.
{From earlier this morning};
I have never professed to being anything but a fan; no technical knowledge; no inside info; nothing but observations over many years.
So what, you may ask? Well this morning I have had a quick look around various sites, including AA, and so far I have garnered the following from more able bloggers, and have been left totally bemused.
– It’s all the media’s fault. Obviously.
– No, it’s the fault of the coaching staff.
– No, no, Arsenal don’t go in for much coaching, or it’s poor quality. (Tony Adams, allegedly).
– Nope, it’s definitely not the fault of the coaches, it’s the inability of the players to put their coaching lessons into practice.
– No, no, no, it’s because our defenders are too short.
– Nope, our defenders are not too short, it’s because they are not properly organised. (back to coaching above).
– And so on and so forth.
I am actually quite glad not to be a technical whizz, the whole thing seems too subjective and immune to logic. Everyone thinks they are right and everyone else is wrong.
But it makes for a hell of a good read on the bloggs, and long may it continue. Just take a large pinch of salt with the Eureka ‘I know what is wrong’ moment!
Excellent stuff, Rocky. As usual.
It is a source of constant irritation (but no surprise) that journalists fail to take resources into account in reporting on football. I know many interpret it as carping but it is (to adopt the term of the moment) a fact that Chelsea and now City have unlimited resources, and United, Real, Barca and most of our other top-table rivals have (at least until May last year) had far, far greater funding than we have ever had.
That makes a difference. And without Wenger, it would have made a huge difference.
The failure to put our performances in context, and more importantly, those of our rivals, reduces to irrelevant and banal almost all “journalism” around the game. So, Mr and Ms Journo: “Are you an anchovy?”
Goonerbegood …… Did you get past the first bit in quote marks? I am not sure you do see what Rocky sees.
Great post Rocky quite simply as always I wait for the news to be confirmed by the club or uttered by someone from the club “on record”. Until then I treat anything in the press without quotes to be opinion and that opinion has been slowly weakened by constant rubbish.
When reading press reports I always consider Richard Peppiatt and his open letter to Richard Desmond (owner of the star)
http://fleetstreetblues.blogspot.com/2011/03/i-made-it-up-staring-blank-page-i.html
If that happens in the sensitive area of race relations how must it be in the relatively half hearted world of football?
@Andy Moore: “Maybe not having a manager in place might be why Chelsea haven’t bought yet??” That assumes whichever manager Chelsea have on any particular day (it does seem to vary a lot) has any say in transfers. He seems to have about as much influence as the tea lady at Cobham.
Top of the morning 26, 🙂
I cannot claim to be an anchovy, but I do like them, providing they are succulent and mixed with other things. Bit like the newspapers really. 🙂
Half hearted should have been light hearted
Morning 26 and Andy, doesnt their failure to have a new manager in place yet also mean they are a club in crisis?
I mean Fulham got Jol how long after losing Hughes? Chelsea are relatively slow in comparison?
I appreciate the irony of basing a comment on what is circulating in the press given Rocky’s headline post (hypocrite, moi?), but assuming these noises about Gervinho and Samba yield something, it’s worth bearing in mind that the African Cup of Nations takes place from 21 Jan to 12 Feb in the coming season. If we signed those two (and I’d be delighted if we did), by my counting, we could lose as many as six players for the ACN.
GiE
I think Chelski are having to negotiate a 12m compensation package with the Turkish FA to get Hiddink..
At least…thats what the red-tops say 😛
WG
Hey Rocky, what a great post. Don’t be an anchovy, be a salmon: go against the stream!
I think you are absolutely right: we are being cornered into a narrative, and if we are not careful we start believing it. Your post puts it all into perspective again. Well done mate.
p.s. hope you are enjoying the Rockies.
all this speculation from journos is for two things…to fill up blank spaces and thus justify their jobs and…to fill up a small space in a couple of months time proclaiming “we told you first”. Why do we never see “we told you but we were miles wide of the mark”???
Great post. I disagree about them all having high ideals at the beginning though. Some of them are just lazy scum. I don’t think they all trained at journo school either. I’ve met lots of journos (not in sport) and most of them started as work experience. Now we have the web anyone can be a journo and look at some of the trash on newsnow.
I love anchovies by the way. Are they high in cholesterol? I’ve been told to get mine down.
GM,
Snap! 🙂 The anchovies I mean.
In times like these, it’s better to read some proper stuff, like books. Here’s a quote from Rebels for the cause, by Jon Spurling:
‘The grotesque vision of the factory, belching out noxious compounds, meant that a thick mist and rancid smell hung in the air. The sewer pipe provided opportunists with a chance to watch the team for free, though occasional leaks of raw effluent meant that Arsenal games often stank, literally and metaphorically…. Horrified southern rivals watched in disgust as this bunch of nomads – the bastard offspring of a munitions factory side – rose to become the South’s most powerful footballing outfit’.
NOW THAT IS JOURNALISM
RA @ 10.13 (or is that Irish??): 🙂
Illybongani: The grubby truth of transfer gossip stuff is fans lap it up. We’re all so addicted to the game, we can’t stop ourselves (ok, Dandan is an exception here). But you’re right of course, in an ideal world, the 99% of lying rubbish that is circulated (often of course to serve the Machiavellian interests of agents and their clients) should be followed by apologies….
GM: The age of the tinternet has shown up a lot of footy journalism: the quality of writing that is available from amateurs outstrips the work of many journalists paid a good wage to produce their stuff.
Morning 26 Thanks for the mention, thought you guys might like this quote from the News pages of todays Times.
“The simple reality is that Vodafone’s 3G network in London is about as reliable as Ryan Giggs at a family reunion”.
Oh dear how the mighty are fallen.
There seems to be a concerted British campaign to discredit and demonise the Arsenal. If it is that Arsene Wenger does not want to pay GBP20m for the English players like Phil Jones and Jordan Henderson, then I’m all for Wenger’s indecision! Sunday’s Spain U21 v. England showed us why spending 20m on Henderson is farcicle. Retired Scholes confirmed what Wenger has been saying all these years ie. Very difficult to find value in English players.
This articles hit the weathering hieghts, i like it, because
it’s to the point. the response are fantastic too. iam with
THE GOONERBEGOOD who says : wenger won’t buy. GAZIDAS & WENGER are creeps. they don’t have any sense of urgency. they always treated the fans as babies. they don’t adress the issue as per required & slow to react.. players who are dilly dally their contarcts, are
waiting for the classy players to come.then every one will see
the Nasir’s,fabrigas & rest,, will diffinitely commit to continue in ARSENAL.
the media are not to blame for the greedy board members and i do think if wenger was backed financially this summer we would have our hands on a trophy next summer…however i feel that wenger has too much power at the club….the last man to challenge him was david dein and that was seasons ago….gasidaz is a puppet who will not force wenger to buy english or to break his precious wage structure… it all has to change upstairs and kronke hasn’t the financial power to back wenger this summer……keep nasri this summer and sign one of samba or cahill and we will be fine next year but will not win the league or champions league until wenger is given an appropiate transfer kitty and a new wage structure and until then our best players heads will be turned by higher pay and more trophies unfortunatley…but chins up gunners wenger will keep us in top 4…..
11 a.m. , Spot on, Hashgun. 🙂
Rocky- a brilliant article- you’ve often spoken about simplistic media narratives in the comments and this post was begging to be written. I am personally in thrall to the idea that all humans really understand their world in terms of narratives- it seems to be the main processing capability we all share.
The consequence of this is that narratives which start off as tentative pigeon-holing can develop into “truths” as they gather momentum and with hindsight can appear to be almost fatalistic in their self-fulfilling prophesizing!
So I agree that we need to swim counter-current in an attempt to dispute and change the narrative but I also believe that Wenger has an almighty job on his hands in trying to escape the “inevitability” of the current narrative…
I’m infuriatingly busy at the moment and unable to be here long enough to chat. Hopefully be back later this afternoon!
Hi Danda, 🙂
Your 10.53, That quote is a sad reflection on society generally.
Am off for a while until 26, Rocky or Charyb etc return to argue, I do not have the energy to debate some of the stuff on here this morning.
No cheering at the back! 🙂
Carlito11 @11.36: first paragraph WOW: beautifully summarised! What do you for a living: do you do a lot of writing?
Cheers HashGun. I thought it was very interesting hearing Scholes’s comments: that the technical level in English football is way behind Spain’s and that the “get stuck in and get in their faces” philosophy is bound to fail. Here is a player as English and traditional as they come, and he has no trouble seeing what so many of the dorks who appear on Sky Sports and in the tabs struggle to accept. They prefer to indulge their xenophobic, luddite and deluded desire to preserve something that should be allowed to die, the anti-skill game of yore.
As for the prices paid for Jones and Henderson (both of whom have some talent), absolutely ridiculous, just confirms the lunacy of the market in relation to English players. I can accept some premium but £20m for a player like Henderson is plain nuts.
TA- I’m a Communications and Sociology graduate- I loved studying semiotics and myth structures as a way of understanding the world we construct around us. Sadly 12 years ago now, but the things I studied back then still provide a useful frame of reference for sifting through so many of the perplexing and contradictory positions that society and the meeja seem to throw up!
Incidentally- the Spurling book is a quality read isn’t it? Sharkey lent it me and I loved every word, even when it was a touch disparaging of our beloved club! I knew nothing of Wilf Copping until I read it- wish we had a player like that now…
C11 – my background is similar. I have had the Spurling book for years, but never bothered reading it. However, with the likes of DanDan and Herb in our midst, I feel I should read a bit about the Arsenal as it was before I became fully engrossed in them. So I know what they are going on about when talking about the ‘Iron Man’, ‘Big Willie’ or ‘The King of Highbury’. It is a better use of my time than reading the papers re potential transfers, that’s for certain!
Excellent article. Even better from RedArse.
26,
I want to know why you did not attend the AST meeting with Gazidis last night?
I rely on you for honest, cogent summaries! 🙂
Now I will just have to be a sardine after all and read the ‘orrible red tops!
Although the article is correct to dismiss 90% of reporting, I do think that the rumour that we are attempting to buy Gervinho has legs. The mooted £12m price tag is about what we expect to get for Bendy and so it makes sense.
Thanks Rocky for a great read. It’s not just the written press though, I still cringe thinking of last year’s world cup and how the MOTD regulars compared to the likes of Klinsmann & Seedorf.
RA
How do you know I didn’t attend? Are you having me followed again?
OK, I wasn’t there, but I did stay up till about 3am watching the webcast posted on arsenal.com. Was interesting, to an extent (i.e., for saddos). Gazidis gives more information than fans at most clubs could hope to get but there is undoubtedly some glossing over of some issues (e.g., whether Kroenke would ever take a dividend from the club, or the real size of transfer resources). But he took on the chin a lot of the bitterness about the lack of apparent engagement between the current group of players and the fans.
Discussions about prices were interesting: Gazidis defended them on the basis there had been little increase since the stadium move (what about the huge increases in the few years before though?). He also referred to increasing costs (player wgaes, utility costs spiralling etc), and acknowledged the concern that the Fair Play Regs might cause clubs to try to squeeze fans for more (though he said Arsenal wouldn’t do that).
Plenty of discussions around Wenger, the players and the coaching staff. I thought most of the questions were well informed and pretty balanced. Gazidis defended Wenger’s record and made it clear he has complete support from within the club, but also accepted that the absence of silverware and the end of season collapse means there are doubts.
If I get a mo (and if no-one else gets there first) I may tap out a post on the Q&A.
RL. Super post. As you know I agree entirely.
Carlito. In my previous incarnation I was very interested in narrative and often used it to explain complex therapeutic analysis. p.s. The Jump ??
Thanks 26, I knew you would not let us down! 🙂
I look forward to an interesting Post with your take on what may be underlying the responses to questions.
You will know what I mean from your professional background. More is often revealed by what is not said, than a bland response to a possibly difficult question.
I shall shut up now.
Shooy, 🙂 Thanks for your comment at 12:09.
Rocky’s Post was indeed excellent, and I admit to being pleased (and slightly embarrassed) by your kind comment too.
(My stuff is routinely ignored, by the great and the good, altho’ in fairness, it is often not disagreed with either.) 🙂
26 May, That quote of Scholes is double interesting, given the way he came on like the exterminator for the last ten minutes against Barca, if he truly believes what he is quoted as saying, what possessed him to do that? Surely the words of Fergie would not have made him risk being sent off in his goodbye performance for the club. or is that quote another misquote? 🙂
His benefit to come doesn’t count.
DD. Let us hope that he donates his testimonial money to charity like Niall Quinn.
A testimonial for these multi-millionaires is an anachronism.
n.b. I am assuming this is a reference to a testimonial (blush)
Fabulous article
Carlito and TA ..Wilf Copping was a fine player and a hard man. It may surprise you that Michael Parkingson in his early days was a football reporter, besides Opening the Batting for Barnsley along with with Boycott and Dickie Bird the umpire. He ended up in Fleet Street writting for the times.
Just prior to the launch of his TV career he was a sketch writer for the Sunday times and his writing was knowledgeable and often hilarious, do some research and find his explanation of closet wingers believe me it will be worth the effort.
But he also wrote of a Guy call Skinner Normington who played for Barnsley , who he compared with Will Copping who had also started at Barnsley, if he is to believed it was a good job that these two didnt meet on the pitch or the stands would have fallen down when they did, apparently they would have made Roy Keane look like Boy George.
His early books are worth a read
Rocky;
A superb article and beautifully written
I’ve never really come to grips with the amount of anti Arsenal dialogue and debate that takes place in the media. We are most definitely the whipping boys of English football. The diatribe is now so deeply rooted in folks consciousness that they now believe the anti Arsenal theories to be fact. .
With me, it’s even got to the point that when I’m watching games on TV I mute the sound and listen to the game commentary on Arsenal TV.
Even more annoying then reading and listening to their mumbo jumbo is that the nonsense gets constantly debated on blogs. Just how people can read, believe, and then hold a debate over articles than are written to attract attention and sell media is beyond belief.
They are the Star (ing) – mindless minnows – of the Mail and Mirror.
While I wait, in a nervous funk, for AW to do something to shut them up I will never either debate or believe anything until I read it on Arsenal.com.
I still remember, with fondness, the days when our family would crowd around the radio listening to the results on a Saturday evening and then wait with anticipation for the Sunday papers to arrive so we could read the reports.
Boy how things have changed……………………
Skinner Norrington. They don’t make names like that anymore dandan.
Dandan,
Scholes was never a dirty player just clumsy, right — RIGHT???
Gooner mike have a look here,
http://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10309~1431673,00.html
Thank god. An Arsenal blogger who actually UNDERSTANDS the bullshit machine laughably referred to as “journalism”. Great read. Cheers.
BR- I’ve left a few comments re- the jump. A video should be available by the weekend and as soon as I’ve got it and uploaded it I’ll put together a wee post on the shakinswedens blog and link it here. Suffice to say it was terrifying and I doubt my reactions caught on camera have a shred of dignity!
Carlito,
Will we see liquid emminating from your trouser bottoms?
Thanks for that dandan. That is a great read. I’m embarrassed I got his name wromg! Footbal really has changed so much. Some of the “hard” players now would last 5 minutes in the 60s
Rocky,
The beauty of having you writing here is that it allows the odd resident to post absolute drivel and yet the mean standard of the site remains exceedingly high. So its a massive thank you from Micky.
Most Journos cannot write, otherwise they would be authors and they are not. Most of them are snakes.
Irony for me is that so far no player has been transfered that I would actually want, other than Jenkinson who is a Gooner, and we got him. So there, Journos!
Why you hev it inn fer me Micky?
you tink I am no good wrotten journo becuz I cnnot spel tipe or string meaninful sentence togther maybe?
You tink i no nuzzink? I tell you I no fu*K all.
Bugger me, your spelling is still better than mine even when you try not to spell proply.
Way too many pink panthers around these parts.
Back later.
Micky- No liquid, just expletives emanating from me! I did wear my Arsenal Scarf though!
Carlito. Wearing the scarf, you were safe.
BR only if the tandemjumper was not a Spud, I would have asked that question before getting strapped in wearing the red and white 😀
I thought I was joking earlier when commenting on Chelsea not needing a manager in order to make their summer signings, but someone called Ron Gourlay (who claims to be Chelsea’s CEO) said “Hopefully in the next week or two, we’ll be in a position to announce our new coach. There may also be an introduction of two or three players. We’ve identified key players we’d like to bring in.” Roman must have got his Match Attax cards out.
I was speaking to a West Ham fan this morning his exact words about last season were “you’ll never experience it but it’s like dying a slow, painful death. You know whats happening but you can’t do anything about it. You want it to end but it goes on and on” He said it was like that from the first game against Villa.
26,
Rumour has it, (Yep, bloggs and red tops) 🙂 that the Chavs are well ahead with acquiring Lukuku and Be Bruyn, as well as Neymar.
One of the best things about being a Chelsea manager is that a 3 year contract at £6m per annum is still £18m gross, however you slice it, whether they get rid of you, or not, after 1 season.
Nice if you can get it. Weird …. but an enriching experience! 🙂
Hi GM
I don’t usually have a lot of time for west ham fans but that was heart felt.
If Wenger wasn’t such a tight wad we could sign those three players. I wonder if I left that sentence up here on its own whether someone would come on and agree with it?
GM,
I feel for the Wham fan, but an alien, watching from a passing asteroid, must think it is much worse for Gooners, if he witnessed all the blog wailing, crying and metaphorical self flagellation because Arsenal finished among the CL qualifiers.
All that’s now missing is a little self immolation, he must think! 🙂
London
He actually likes Arsene Wenger and said “people don’t always realise what they have til it’s gone”. He said Charlton fans were calling upo talk sport when they were 10th in the prem saying Curbishley had taken the as far as he could. Now look at them.
It looks like we are getting Gervinho. Has anyone seen him play? I confess I haven’t. He’s got a very Brazilian name for an African. I think I’ll go and lok at some you tube clips.
GM, that point about Curbishley and Charlton is an excellent one. We’re bigger than Charlton of course, but we’re certainly not too big to fail. Despite supping at the top table for the past ten years, I continue to think of Arsenal alongsde Newcastle, Spurs, Villa and Everton. And perhaps if we ditched Arsene Wenger at this stage, we’d end up back in that group.
GM, I think Gervinho is his nickname, hence the Brazilian-ness.
I don’t know much about him, beyond that he’s in one of Africa’s top national sides and has been a key player in the side that just won the French double. Plus I think he spent some time at Beveren, our ex-feeder club in Belgium.
And he looks like he has the weirdest hairstyle since Jason “Pineapple” Lee.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UJdC27uQKk
He looks Ok though. Strong and doesn’t mind having a shot. Can he play on the right 😉
Looks to me that he likes to play in the middle, but he can definitely shoot with both feet.
I’m joking Rasp. He looks ok, he can head the ball too.
He has better close control than Bendtner
Looks like ‘Sow Moussa’ is Lille’s main striker, scoring 1 goal every two games and Gervinho plays on the wing / supports Moussa. Gervinho is small for a striker at 1.79 meters, but manages to score 1 in 3 games. Not bad either.
http://www.losc.fr/?r=0,1,0,1,1,1,2464,0,0,0
I thought his hair made him look a bit like a water buffalo. That aside I think you are right Rasp this story does seem to have legs. The thing that gives it just that little more credence is that Lille or his agent has tried to get City involved. It didn’t fly, the reason being I suspect is that what with all Adebayor’s antics City are not that interested in any more African forwards at the moment.
I suppose the other thing going for it as a deal is that it makes more sense to have secured the desired player before we sell one (Bendtner). If it were the other way around we would be dealing with a club that would be certain that we had to buy him and as a consequence the price would rise.
All in all, what with him coming from the French League, born in Côte d’Ivoire and a negotiation that is dragging its feet this all gives me the impression that this one will go through.
He plays down both flanks. One of our Total Three!!
Agreed London. He looks like an Arsene-type player. Quick, quite clever and attacks the ball in the box – but if he plays second striker to RvP, where does that leave Chamakh?
Sorry Rasp, but he does not play as a striker. Does swapsies with Hazard. I would be one happy cat if it went through.
Sorry, and Bonjour Rasp, long time no Bonjour.
Don’t worry, Rasp, both Chamakh and (if he joins) Gervinho will be MIA when the African Nations rocks around….
But still playing 26 🙂
Rumour has it Chelsea’s new coach will be Hughes with Hiddink as Technical Director…..what happened to Arnesen?
And thankfully TalkSport have moved on and are having a ball with Aston Villa today apparently it’s a tragedy and a sleight on their fans that they are not announcing who the new manager is or no news from within the club!!
Rasp, looks to me he could play on one of the wings. He seems to have a decent first touch, good ball control and likes to take on defenders, penetrating the box whenever he can and loves to score.
Jeepers, I cannot wait for the first game. We are really going to show ’em
Hi Micky, 26m,
You two trying to cheeer me up again? 😦 I did think that the ACN could be a problem.
Micky, you should know by now we don’t sign strikers just attacking mids/No. 10’s
Total, he is right up your street (and mine) as he can play anywhere across the front. He has two feet, unlike Jake.
Yes TA, those youtube clips can be misleading, but he can obvious play anywhere across the front.
There aren’t any clips of him smashing it into the back of the net from distance, it would be good to have a player that could do that once in a while.
Bring it on Rasp. The more the merrier. I am now a 4-3-3 man with my elasticated front boys. Gervinho is exactly the type of player I was alluding to in my dribble the other day.
Tooling off now. Too excited.
Not to give any negative vibes (man) but this has a nightmare scenario all over it. (ACN) Chocolate Legs will be out for 3 months around Xmas, Theo will have done his shoulder again, Nik will be banging them in for some German side, Vela will be flourishing in Spain, and Arshavin will be forced to play CF again !!
Haha Micky, it’s far from a done deal, but Gervinho for Bendtner would defiitely be a positive move (much as I love Nik’s brashness)
I think Walcott’s place would be far more under threat than Chamakh’s
M89 – looks like you are right. It is just good to see a player again who takes on defenders in tight spaces. Nasri did it a lot at first half of season, but then seem to stop being able to do it.
We will probably not get him, but looks like the sort of player we need.
Oi Raddy, I thought I was the resident doom-monger. I presume the club take the ACN into consideration when buying a player, but your scenario does have a familiar ring to it……
Nothing negative there BR lol
Just pulling your leg, the exact same thought with Arshavin up front crossed my mind too.
Where would Chamakh play London if we have Nasri, RvP and Gervinho on the pitch? – assuming that Cesc, Song and Wilshere make up the rest of the midfield.
Rasp: Arshavin/Nasri and Gervinho on wings. Chamakh or Walcott the striker, RvP in the hole –> booming them in from well outside the box..BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM, and then I woke up.
I view Walcott as more of a must start kind of player than Chamakh so it is from this angle I am coming from when I say that Walcott has more to loose.
😛 TA
The thing is that Chamakh and Bendtner are too similar so if one of them goes and is replaced by someone who brings something slightly different to the table then the squad will have improved which is a good thing…..no?
The Gervinho story is just that, at the mo’ anyway.
Blog info? Red Top? TalkBollox? what happened to all the ‘I won’t believe it until I see it on the official Arsenal web site’?
None of us can resist a ‘positive’ rumour.
At approx 5′ 10″ he would be perfect for playing the CB role, as a matched set with TV, maybe he is Arsene’s retort to missing out on Jones? 🙂 🙂
Could be legs in this after all!
Oh Rocky, what a fantastic blog!!! Sincere congrats xx
Where’s our man Rocky, today?
Not the same without him, is it? 🙂
Total – sweet dreams, you lucky boy. I usually have nightmares and scum are winning
Exile, Arnesen quit the Chavs for Hamburg.
Having raised the spectre of the ACN, I’d like to do my best “Calm down” routine. Yes, subject to current transfer busiuness and qualification, we could see as many as six players go out on duty (two defenders: Samba and Eboue; two midfielders: Song and Frimpong; and two forwards: Chamakh and Gervinho). But the tournament only lasts three weeks max, so the impact may not be as bad as we might fear…..
OK, it would be a worry.
Evonne. Poor you.
Hi all
Sorry, I’ve been missing, thank you to everyone that has sent a post in and apologies for not having responded to any emails. I will in a while ………..
Evonne, all will be well and Szczesny will one day not only keep a fantastic clean sheet (stopping four penalties), but also score a hattrick just for you. Sweet dreams.
RA, Rocky is at a conference in the R Mountains today. He obviously would love to be blogging with us right now, but instead he is listening to inspirational speakers, stuffing himself with food and drink, and networking his red arse off.
Hello fellow AA-ers
Sorry for the late appearance – it’s tough being out here in the Rockies.
Dandan – I had dinner at the Magpie and Stump last night. Exactly as you said – excellent Tex-Mex food and drinks served in jam jars. They still remember you there – what on earth did you do?
Redders – I ran into a grizzly bear. He said he had a terrifying experience some years back when he was minding his own business and suddenly came face to face to with a wild Red Arse. He feels he was lucky to escape with his hide intact. Haven’t found your elk girlfriend yet (although with enough Margeritas tonight anything’s possible).
What’s with the Gervinho story?
Why is everyone giving this more credence than all the other names we’re currently linked with.
For example, solely on the CURRENT Newsnow Arsenal page we are being linked with the following:
Drogba
Honda
Milosovic
Samba
Willian
Bougherra
Dann
Gervinho
M’Vila
Hazard
Riviere
Eriksen
Rocky, some of us believe there is more substance to this story, for example the BBC is also reporting on talks being held. But of course, nobody really believes it yet. I guess it is just a bit of fun. He just looks like the sort of player that would fit us very well.
Hi ya Rocky, 🙂
Great that you could pop in!
Unfortunatement I have to depart; din dins pour moi, my first official trip out, and I even feel hungry for once! 🙂 It seems I was a bit optimistic about my weight and my claimed 17 stone was actually nearer 19; but the last few months have had a beneficial weight effect as I am no longer telling porkies …. I am 17 stone! YaaaY 🙂 That could change tonight!
See you tomorrow if you are around. Just to say, again, your article today was absolutely stunningly written. What a man!! 🙂
TA, 🙂
Sorry to have missed you today, as well. Hopefully be around tomorrow!
Night now.
Thanks Redders
So glad to hear you’re on an official trip out. Have a fantastic night.
Micky will be expecting a full culinary report tomorrow.
Bon appetite Cul Rouge! Tomorrow we must swap poems and other literary gems again.
OK, maybe there is something to the Gervinho thing as Lille seem to have confirmed the talks.
Fair do’s.
Interesting discussion as to where he might play. With Arsene’s track record I like Redders’ suggestion of CB 🙂
Why not RL, if TV can score goals, Gervinho should be able to defend like Tony A! LOL. TotalFootball.
Why am I continuing to miss great stuff like this, day after day. I must re-prioritise my workload to fit my work in and around my reading of AA.
Excellent post Rocky.
TotalA. Yep thats a cracking book alright. I loaned it to Carliito when a few of us met up at the Blackburn game back in …..Mar (?)
Off out on family taxi duties…back later..??
TA 🙂
I see there’s a growing trend on here towards favouring the fluid front three.
I’m going to stick to my guns and hope for a return to 4-4-2 (although I don’t expect Arsene to listen to me).
Hi Rocky,
We’ve missed you. The Gervinho story has substance for several reasons. We tried to buy him in 2006/7; he plays in France; he’s affordable; he’s said he’d like to play for us; Lille have said they have entered into preliminary negotiations with us; Arsenal have said nothing and the process is likely to be long and drawn out; no other club is showing great interest in him and lastly, he’s an AW-type player = not a out and out goalscorer 😦
Hi Rasp
That YouTube compilation is pretty impressive, but I doubt the quality of French Ligue 1 defending matches that of the EPL.
He seems a bit like Nasri in his style of play, perhaps with a bit more a striker’s instinct.
He may be another AW gem… or not.
Rocky, I like the fact that he’s pacey, direct and aggressive in his play, he must be a nightmare for defenders.
If we’re rating the veracity of rumours, I think that surprisingly, there may be some truth to the Samba story. I’d be very surprised because of the personnel we already have, and what we’d do with them if he joined, but I do think we are looking at him.
I know Samba’s a bit of a divider, but I would take him in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t play him against the Man Utds and Barcelonas, but I’d put him in against the likes of Stoke, Blackburn, Wolves etc.
Having been freed from the shackles of the office firewall, I’ve now been able to look at the YouTube compilation on Gervinho. Of course, those compilations can be very misleading but as well as the features Rasp identifies, I like the way in many of his goals, Gervinho holds onto the ball and puts the keeper on the ground before shooting. Suggests good technique and a cool head.
Signing Gervinho and selling Bendtner signals that it is business as usual in Arsene’s world but if he adds Samba without selling anyone…….well, that would be a sea change in his approach. He would have one more defender than he has ever had at anyone time before. No bad thing but I still can’t see it happening.
Pacey, direct and aggresive………my three favorite attributes required of a striker.
http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/kickoff/blog/2011-06-14/shepherd-gazidis-gave-100-backing-arsene-wenger
This is one of my clients. I think she did really well
London
I’ll add one more… clinical!
Samba was MOTM last time we faced him. Maybe he was playing for a contract.
I agree London, but it looks like we are seriously considering Samba. Yesterday Gazidis said we were going to be very active this summer and supporters won’t be disappointed.
On that note Sagna has given an interview where he acted as Cecs’s mouthpiece and reiterated that he wants to leave this sumer. I don’t think Barca will offer enough money so Cesc is going to be left in limbo, for which he should blame Barca not Arsenal.
Rasp. The Sagna story is pure spin. He just re-iterates what Cesc has stated in the past.
Samba? Only if Squillaci leaves and we cannot get a ball playing CB. Though he is a proper leader on the field and would be a fine addition for squad rotation.
Just watched film of Ryo Myachi at Feyenoord. AW appears to have uncovered another gem and a left winger to boot. 2 more years for Arshavin and then Ryo will take the PL by storm (possibly).
Hi Raddy,
Although I bow to your authoritative tone,Sagna said what was reported, which as you say, was just repeating what Cesc has said in the past = his mouthpiece.
I don’t know how you can be so sure that Samba is not being considered, although I agree there is no definitive evidence on either side and I suspect Blackburn are hoping that a bidding war will develop. Either way, I think Samba will leave Blackburn.
Rocky, pure quality just pure quality…………
As you highlighted the bit about chelsea picking up the pace is classic, such poor journo’s……..Its all the time and to be honest just pathetic……
I hope we do get samba, its what we need, he is my preferred CB to come in, as Rocky pointed out, pick and chose who we play him against……
Hey RL, re 4-4-2: I said before in a post that away from home 4-2-3-1 works very well for us (with right set of players), and also during home games against the bigger teams this formation makes us both solid and deadly because we get the necessary space by the likes of MU, Chelsea, Barca, Liverpool, etc. However, against the lesser teams at home we should be more agressive upfront and use two strikers, possibly in a 4-4-2 or even a 4-2-4.
Great post Rocky.
To some extent, I think the lazy journos simply ingest, masticate and regurgitate the garbage they read on the Arsenal blogs.
Technically Samba might not be good enough for Arsenal, but mentally he’s certainly tough enough.
He might just be exactly what we need.
I’d still rather have Keown back as a defensive coach ahead of ANY new defensive signings. I could almost remove the word defensive from that last sentence.
Keown instilled something special into our ramshackle back four in 2006, and the whole team seemed to benefit. Fair do’s, a DM like Gilberto really helped, but we need someone who will instill a greater sense of defensive responsibility in to each and every member if our squad, be it Keown or someone else.
Good defending can never solely be about the quality (and cost) of each individual in your back five. Every Arsenal fan has to already know that right..??
Sagna’s quotes re Cesc look straight up to me. They also accord with various quotes from other players in recent weeks (Djourou, Arshavin, van Persie). None of them has openly stated that Fabregas wants to go the way Sagna has, but they have all intimated that he could be out. With Barca having not a lot to spend this summer (says something when €45m isn’t much) he may well end up staying with us reluctantly (not good of course) but I do think the pressure is on Barca to go for a decent player-plus-cash deal.
Whether it’s Samba or not, given Wenger’s end of season comments, I think we are bound to be signing a tall CB this summer.
Re the idea of a defensive coach, we do have Steve Bould on the staff already.
MickyDidIt89 says:
June 14, 2011 at 1:52 pm
Rocky,
The beauty of having you writing here is that it allows the odd resident to post absolute drivel and yet the mean standard of the site remains exceedingly high. So its a massive thank you from Micky.
Brilliant !!
Night all
If as reported the Jones to Man U deal has been done how much are we going to have to pay Blackburn for their other first choice Centre Back? If it’s any more than £10million think we will not see him at Arsenal.
And I’m not at all bothered by that scenario. I want to see a centre back but I’d also take a right back (Jenkinson perhaps) with the ageing Sagna moved central. I’d also take Song covering or taking up the role full time with a new defensive midfielder or Ramsey Cesc And Wilshere triumvirate. Or Ramsey Wilshere Nasri.
If Cesc goes we are going to see a player come the other way for sure so who are we going to cherry pick? I still expect Cesc to stay, as much a he may want to win trophies and return to his spiritual home surely he realises that a winners medal from the bench at club level is not as satisfying as a winners medal in the thick of it. Is anyone else going to laugh out loud when Michael Owen shows you his Premier league winners medal?
Agreed 2*13m. But Bould is not working with the first team in any capacity….to my knowledge anyway.
I know we’d have no one to blame everything on if Pat Rice had retired, but I still feel that we need some fresh inout somewhere, so I was a little disappointed that he’s staying on.
Why didn;t he just say back in Dec or whenever that he had bo intention of retiring. Why drag it out so long.
I actually like the guy, but we need some things to change.
Night all (again)
Hi Exile
Xavi is 31 now, looks to me like Fabregas might have a good chance of being prepared to inherit the partnership with Iniesta.
As for who we might want to nab from Barca, if I could control these things, and assuming all the stellar names are out of the equation, I’d love to have Mascherano come our way.
Sharkey re your 9.33 (and Micky) I am extremely appreciative of the complimentary comments but I do feel I should point out that the quality of writing on AA as a whole is second to none.
The regular contributors – both of you included – have distinctive voices and styles but every post is written with heart, passion, honesty and intelligence.
Throw in some humour, some eccentricity and some panache and you have everything the discerning Arsenal supporter could ever need.
I genuinely feel humbled to be part of this fraternity.
Whoops, sorry Peaches, Evonne and Irish, I meant sorority.
Just a thought before I head off to get some kip: no-one seems to have mentioned it, but I wonder if Fabregas would be eligible for buying out his contract under FIFA regs. If he is, and if he really does want to go to Barca, and if he has the cojones to take on the club and the fans, we could find ourselves under much more intense pressure to allow him to go, since the formula for a player to buy out his contract yields much less money than the market price. It would be the nuclear option for Fabregas but we shouldn’t be too complacent about being able to play hardball with Barca.
Night night.
Blimey 26
That’s a cheery thought to leave us with… not.
Actually, I don’t think Cesc would ever do that, although what do I know?
Re: Sagna. I believe he is repeating exactly what we would say if asked whether Cesc wants to go to Barca. The answer is Yes, it is the club of his childhood etc etc. If one was to ask Sagna,” WILL he go this summer?” His answer would also be the same as ours – “possibly but I hope not”
Re: Samba. I don’t think I made myself clear. With his power, height and fighting spirit, he would be a fine addition to the squad, plus as a native Parisian he will quickly feel at home. However, unless Squllaci or JD leaves I cannot see us signing yet another CB.
BR
I just read Sagna’s actual quotes and your take on them is spot on.
Sadly the “Sagna says Cesc wants to leave” story is yet another example of what I was talking about in yesterday’s post.
Morning 26, clearly Xavi is now the wrong side of 30 but I do believe he remains the heartbeat for that Barca side as much as Messi gets most of the glory.
Here’s a question ….. Is Cesc fit enough to play in Barcas first team? Could he adapt to the win ball back work ethic that every Barca player requires?
Mascherano…..he’s a little small isn’t he? 🙂 Actually I’d quite like Puyol or Abidal…..out of the two Abidal is probably the one we could/would get.
The final Sagna quote:
“At the moment, however, he is still Arsenal’s captain.”
Also Cesc still has 4 years left on contract (I guess if we take up the extension option) so we are not in a rush to sell yet.
GIE. I agree about Xavi and expect Barca to buy Cesc next summer (though they can surely give a large deposit and defer final payment).
BR – morning and thanks for your sympathy 🙂
Cesc must go, the longer he stays the lower his price, plus the team are not going to benefit from a player and captain, whose heart is elsewhere. Cesc is a young man of integrity, but can he really give his 100% if he is forced to stay?
Evonne with one indifferent season under his belt (through injury and fatigue IMO) and if your prediction of more of the same if he stays what is to say Barca will still be interested. Therefore it’s in his best interests to keep giving 100%
Last summer I think they were massively keen and a lot of the noise came from them but mainly due to presidential elections. I don’t think we are hearing the same noises this year and most of the unsettling is being done by our press.
There are three people who realistically know what the situation is Wenger, Guardiola and Cesc himself. Until we hear Guardiola say he wants him (quoted on the record) Cesc say he wants to go (quoted on the record) Arsene say he is happy for him to leave (quoted on record) there is nothing else to talk about. I’m afraid we will just have to put up with the press chit chat.
Until then Arsenal should put fine any player that answers a question about Cesc and Barca…..time we got a little cuter/nastier in the PR department when it comes to player interviews.
Morning all,
Interestingly, Arseblog today covers the topics we were discussing last night (Samba and Sagna’s untimely interview). He thinks we’re interested in either Samba or Cahill. With the already proven over-inflated prices for English players, I cannot see us paying the price for Cahill and personally I’d rather have Samba, but Raddy may be correct and that will only happen of one of our CB’s leaves.
Howdo everyone!
I think I’d rather have Cahill than Samba, I think he’s a bit more of an Arsenal player. He’s a bit more mobile than Samba and I think we have a really good relationship with Bolton in terms of player deals so at least we have a foot in the door.
Fingers crossed!!
WG
Morning all
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