The draw for the Champions League has just been made and we'll be facing Fk Ekranias from Lithuania or Dinamo Zagreb from Croatia. It's highly likely that Zagreb will beat Ekranias [given that they're 4-1 up], so it looks like we'll be having a trip to Croatia before we hope to get to the group stages. A tough tie I would say, not as bad as things could have been, but not as good either. Although if we can't beat the likes of Zagreb, you would have to say we don't have any chance in the competition this year. The first leg isn't far away - 8/9 August, and I should imagine Arsene is contemplating who's acutally going to play in it. I should imagine that Thierry will be rested, and obviously big Phil will be injured. Will we see Rosicky in action one wonders? Will Ashley still be at the club? Will we have any other new signings available? Also, does anyone fancy a trip to Croatia?
Qui sait? Arsene. Pourquoi? Parce-que Arsene sait tout.
I should imagine that Tel will be rested, and Adebayor/Van Persie/ Aliadiere will be relied on to get our goals. Not sure whether to be too optimistic about that.
Elsewhere, we've shipped out half the youth-team. Well, 3 of them. Ryan Smith's attempt to prove himself in the first team has not lasted long, and he's already been sold to Derby. A good deal for them no doubt, but a disappointing end to his Arsenal career. Muamba and Seb Larsson have also been put out for a loan in Brummie-ville. Hopefully this will actually just be a case of getting experience, and not a lengthy denouement to their careers at the club like most loans seem to be. I was impressed by Larsson last year - especially at his willingness/ability to do jobs around the park, and Muamba is apparently quite the prospect.
No news of any incoming transfers, and the speculation regarding Ashley's transfer has also slipped under the radar. So for some light entertainment, voir ici. It's chocolate coloured. ok?
Finally, a quick word about the comments section. My last two posts have racked up a rather staggering 170+ comments. Much of this seems to have been caused by rather inflammatory debate in the comments section - rather than my own statements - which has descended to a rather banal level of name calling. Now, I don't really have many options with the comments section. I can either turn it off (don't want to), make it for members or signed up people only ( a little elitist), or leave it as it is now (anarchy). I'm tempted to leave it as it is for now, in the hope that those who come to the blog can choose not to read the comments, or skip/past ignore comments they don't like. I'd really like to make this a blog for everyone, so all i'm asking is for some mutual respect in the comments. And if you do start seeing your comments deleted you've done something pretty wrong: racism, extremely offensive comments, or, and most often, Spuds fans just leaving abuse [you'd be surprised how often this happens].
So let's all try and make a nice Gb.
UPDATE: Cashley, Arsenal, and Chel£ea are in talks at present over Cole's future. Only informal talks mind. Perhaps they met at a London hotel for a coffee...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
46 comments:
I'd rather have a more testing tie to get us going than an easy walkover which doesn't tell us anything. Hopefully we can hit the ground running. I've got a feeling that this is gonna be Van Persie's season.
I think VP needs to really come through this year, otherwise Arsene may consider getting a new young striker in.
If Cole goes, we need to buy some one (let the rat go anyways)..that a lot of experience that will leave arsenal in one season..with the retirement of DB10, i am anyhow feeling low..
I have full faith in wenger and am pretty sure that he will pull something out of the bag..
Even without Henry and Ljungberg in Zagreb we should be able to rely on Adebayor and Van the man to nick an away goal. Lets be honest, these 2 players would probably walk into most starting 11's.
you aint got no english players now cole is leaving that is a disgrace
I think we'll get tested soon enough, not to mention that Zagreb is probably one of the tougher teams we could have drawn. Oh, and players coming back to fitness as deise said and also a fair bunch (Freddie, Phil, Lauren, Diaby, Clichy) missing through injury.
Well, at least one of the young strikers has to step up and cement a partnership with Henry. A little variety is good and all, but this partner-by-committee just won't do the business.
If our last few English players are an example of how they behave then I dont want any more either.
Back up your view with your suggestions on which English players have the temperament, quality, and value for money for a club like ours and we may consider your objection.
yer i am a spurs fan and i understand how u say cole has behaved coz that is disgraceful but surly u have to admit if ure in the english league then u shud have a certain amount of english players........ saying that u have got walcott but i cant see him breaking into your first team this season
last time i checked theo was english.
Look at the way Carrick has behaved.
Spurs took a gamble on him and have turned him into a pretty good holding midfielder, 15m quid???????
If he was French (for example Diarra) you are probably looking at nearer 5m.
As you Spuds are always pointing out we dont have the funds to pay 15m on a pretty good holding midfielder, English or otherwise. So Carrick and his disloyalty and the problems with Cashley Hole are 2 fine examples of why we haven't been able to buy English players.
yes i did say about theo but i cant see him breaking into ure first team just yet and being a spurs fan im not going to lie we do have some good english talent in defoe lennon its a shame carrick is going but we still have huddlestone to take his place, that is all i am saying to play in the english league there shud be a rule about how many foriegn players are aloud
bolton are just as bad
Pennat as a player was ok and i even liked him. but the attitude problem had to be put into context. as a coach you would not want a player you feel will disrupt your team or not tow the line. and have to admit have not seen much of muamba but going on loan is not necessarily a disadvantage. (is he a physical player, shield the ball etc?)
Gelbs, don't you think times have changed since the likes of Ray Parlour??. Manchester Utd. tried many times to buy Tony Adams in the early 90's and he chose to stay. The difference now is that the game is so money orientated that many English players don't seem to have any scruples. The fact that SWP sits on the bench at Stamford Bridge collecting his 70-80 k a week proves that.
yes i did start this off but atleast to all of ures credit u are having a positive debait about this not talking aload of rubbish and some of u are even agreeing with me so it cant be that bad of a comment i made
Gazzap - I do have the power to remove comments, but I only tend to remove racist, bigoted, or extremely offensive ones.
I was just hoping to maintain the decent level of debate we have on here, instead of it perhaps falling into abusive name calling. But I'm fairly confident that won't happen anyway.
And Gelbs - Pennant wasn't that bad? He played with police tracking device on his ankle. OK player, but played too much off the field for Arsene's liking. Myles on ANR was right the other day about Bergy's testimonial being an example to all aspiring Arsenal players: you have to be family men, and dedicated to football. This is why I Arsene is, on balance, willing to let Ashley go.
Whilst I would agree that Lennon and Defoe are good players I think 7-8m for JJ is a joke. At best he is a very average player. There is talk that Defoe is angling for a move and who says that if Man.Utd. or Chavs come in with 15m for Lennon he isn't going to do the Frank Boff.
yes i do agree about 7 million for jj was a joke but to defoes credit he has come out and sed that he does no want to leave and is happy so if he stays least he has stayed loyal and lennon signed a really long contract not so long ago so i think he will stay its just carrick but if he wants to go and be disloyal to us exactly like cole is doing to you then let him we will se next season wont we
From what I heard Gerrard only changed his mind because of intimidation and threats to his family.
I guess we will spud.
It is refreshing to have an articulate and sensible debate without all the childish sillyness.
Well done.
thanks east at the grove it sounds silly but im only 16 but i thought i wud raise the point with you gooners just to see your sensible views on the point and to be fair you have reacted in a good way by answering sensibly well done to you to
would any of those players get into the england team tho? to be fair
People often forget (or are unaware of) a piece of FA legislation that is prohibitive to english youngsters. English clubs can only sign English players for their academies who live within a fifteen mile radius of the training ground. So we don't have the pick of England at all, we only have North London and Hertfordshire. These restrictions do not apply in Europe, so any club with a serious youth policy has to have a predominantly foreign base. This legislation was brought in because 30 years ago people were horrified if players turned out for their teams who weren't locals, it sounds pretty stupid to us now that 30 years ago United wouldn't have stood for a scouser (Rooney) in their team. 30 years on we're having the same arguments, but with a different geographical boundary. Which really proves how pre historic all this "you must have English players" etc debate is. In 30 years, my children/grandchildren will find it amazing that we even debated this kind of thing, as it is a regressive small minded way of thinking.
I might be biased but I think most of our players could get into the England team (had they been English of course). With the exeption of centre halfs, but that is more to do with England's strength in that department than our weaknesses. In saying that Toure for me is one of the best players in the world currently.
in the eng team, i think senderos is more than capable to replace Rio, Hleb for Becks any day, Freddie runs more than Fat Lamps, who in England can score more than Rosicky???...
Goonerboy, a thought that had occured to me whilst busy at work, ahem!!
What would be your thoughts on Kolo playing as a holding midfielder if we bought another good central defender and Senderos was fit??
I think that he has been magnificest the last 2 seasons and now with his experience of playing in the Premiership he would make a great midfield player.
Look at the attributes he has and tell me differently.
Pace : In abundance
Tackling: Superb
Shooting: Best I can say is powerful.
Attitude: Second to none.
So I ask you the jury, if we cant get this holding midfielder we have been looking for since Paddy left why not go for our Kolo.
Obviosly we'd need to buy a very good centre defender to replace him though.
I think Kolo could do a good job in midfield, bit I think at the moment he is definitely one of the top 3 defenders in the world and is indespensible there. It's unfortunate that people outside Goonerdom don't seem to mention Kolo in the esteem he deserves. But I guess that's what you get for not being a tireless self promoter (Owen, Ronaldinho, Gerrard) with a million product endorsement deals. I have a suspicion that Lauren might revert to midfield this season with Hoyte as back up to Eboue.
latest news is that Chavs and Arsenal are now negotiating a transfer for Cashly...if we can get Gallas in exchange, put Kolo in midfield with Cesc, and Senderos can partner Gallas...world class...
Is Lauren due back soon??
Last I heard was that the injury was far more serious that originally diagnosed and his career could be in doubt?
I must admit I'm still not sold on Eboue's defending capabilities.
For a holding midfielder, Pace, Tackling, Shooting and Attitude are indeed fantastic qualities.
But your ball winner, by definition, has the ball a lot, either taking it from the opponent or getting it from defense.
So he also needs a lot of intelligence on the ball.
I'm not saying Kolo doesn't have it, just that it is not the first thing you would say about him, and I think it's one of the first things you should be able to say about your holding midfielder
gelbs, what are you on about Pennant, mate? Wenger was about to offer him a new contract, but Pennant got drunk and crashed his car. That was the last straw. If you haven't noticed, his old club, the one with Upson in it, just got relegated. I don't see any clubs beating a path to sign him. And if you recall, Wenger wanted to keep him. Upson just didn't want to wait another season. He had to play NOW! Just as Bentley had to play NOW! You see a pattern here?
In contrast, most of these foreigners are grateful to be playing at a club like Arsenal. Kanu was happy to sit on the bench for most of two seasons. Lauren gave up international football to concentrate solely on his Arsenal duties. You never hear a peep out of Gilberto. Or Flamini. Or Larsson. May have something to do with the greater wages they earn than just about anywhere else, but it then just goes back to the point that most English players are overpriced and overpaid.
Aaagh. Reckon Titi will go, but won't play the full 90. Unfortunately it's looking more and more likely to be Toure-Cygan in the centre.
Almunia
Eboue-Toure-Cygan-Flamini
Hleb-Gilberto-Song-Reyes
Cesc
Henry
Rosicky to replace Reyes.
With Diaby, Freddie, Clichy, Phil, and Lauren out, our options are significantly limited.
I wonder if Arsene is holding out on Davis to see if we can get Gallas.
I think Gallas would be a fantastic signing even for the short term to help bed in some of the youngsters. I think Gelbs mentioned yesterday some of the experience we have lost this season and I think it paramount that we have some older, wiser heads in the first team.
Goonermtl, I think that Kolo has the intelligence on the ball. You only have to see the way he drives out of defence. Also, that is a quality that would come with the experience of playing in that position.
Cygan's first game was fucking magic. I think it was an away game in Europe (Auxerre or PSV perhaps) and he had a blinder.
Gone downhill from there slightly however.
Senderos' awareness worries me. Perhaps it will come with age. Another concern is the amount of injuries he gets. For a big, young lad like that to get so many knocks is concerning. His arse has flattened more grass than Jordan's, and that is some feat.
Cygan was player of the year in France the year before he came.
East at the Grove: Kolo would make an excellent midfielder, but he wants to play centre back. That's why the club gave him no.5. I think Arsene may have thought about playing him there but Kolo only wants to play cb; I don't think he even wants to play r-b as was mooted when him Campbell and Phil were jostling for the two centre back positions.
We should leave him at cb as he is top class there; he should be made vice-capitano also. I think Arsene will buy another cb before the end of the window.
I would make Kolo vice-captain too. In fairness he'd probably make a fucking good captain, but AW wouldn't want Thierry chucking the toys out of the pram.
Any team I ever played for had a defensive player as captain because they could generally see the whole pitch and I would concur that it is the best theory.
Wenger owes England fuck all!!! He is paid by Arsenal and his duty lies with us. Most proper Arsenal fans would say that he has been a revolutionary for this country's football and they should give him an award for bringing English football into the 21st century even before we reached 2000.
The man is a fucking legend to Arsenal and only 20-30-40 years down the line when Arsenal are still a self-financing machine will some recognise the great man's work.
How long did it take to acknowledge Herbert Chapman's services to the club???????
Arsene extended the careers of Arsenal's back four which benefited England, he also bought training methods and dietary regimes out of the dark ages. AW owes England fuck all. And I'm sorry, he always buys expensive players? 500k for Lehamnn, Nothing for Cesc, 200k for Kolo, 200k for Senderos, £3m for van Persie, £3m for Vieira, £7m for Henry (surely the bargain of the century with Kolo), 200k for Clichy, £3m for Petit?
I think you forgot Anelka's 22.5m profit anon 1.49. Petit and Overmars collectively 20m odd profit. What price Fabregas now??
Wenger makes the odd gamble with an unknown which doesn't pay off but I think if anyone sat down and weighed up all of his dabblings in the transfer market would be hard pressed to be critical.
Yes odhis the board are mean. They have just moved us into a beautiful new studium to keep us competing with the world's best in the future whilst holding on to the best player in the world and keeping pretty much the whole team that got us to the C.L final last season. On top of that my season ticket cost far less than a mate of mine that has one at Upton Park and another at W.H.L.
We are so hard done by it is unreal.
I take it that you think Carrick is worth 15m the odhis. I wonder if you would be so bullish if it was your money. Do we have to keep going over the same thing?? Carrick is not worth 15m quid end of. Do any of you actually think about what nationality a player is when you are there watching a game?? Does anyone celebrate a great tackle by Toure or a wonder goal by Henry any less than you would if the tackle was made by Tony Adams or the goal scored by Ian Wright. For fuck's sake, once any player has that red and white shirt on they are a gooner and that is the only thing we need worry about.
We're not bidding for Carrick because he's grossly over rated/paid. In one sentence odhis, you complain about the lack of English players, in the next you're saying Kolo should earn as much as Henry. But odhis, not only is Toure not English, but, gulp, HE'S AFRICAN. I've posted much on this stupid subject about English players and I can't be bothered to repeat them. So I suggest you read my comments above at 1.49 and 12.23, if you can find a SENSIBLE answer to the questions posed other than your xenophobic tabloid bullshit I suggest you don't post without at least qualifying your statements.
Davies has extended his contract with the Baggies. Nice move by Robson. It makes him all the more expensive in wages and transfer fee. But of course, the downside is that if he turns out to be an overrated pile of poo then they're stuck with him.
If Djourou gets fit we are looking at:
Almunia
Eboue Toure Djourou Flamini
as our starting back four against Zagreb (probably).
If Cygan plays I will groan. The only way I'd want him in an Arsenal side is if we are forced to, and then I'd play him as a sweeper. He might not be so exposed in that position.
But then again we don't know about Mexes....
Not to mention any of the other hundreds of players AW has no doubt got his eyes on.
As for anyone bemoaning Pennant, Liverpool are mad to buy him. Destined for another spell in nick if you ask me.
I think the problem is that Wenger is starting to believe his own reputation. He's probably aware of hundred of players who can do a job for us, but he doesn't buy.
He's resisted padding out the squad with battlers, and only buys cheap superstars (Rosicky)or wunderkinds (Walcott, Reyes, Fab).
It could still end in tears.
You're all bullish now, but you weren't such happy chappies six months ago.
most of arsenal fans are not english. arsenal has a huge following in africa(nigeria particularly) and internationally trail only man utd and liverpool in popularity. i should know as i travel the football mad africa on a regular basis in my job
Excuse me? But who are you to say how I was feeling six months ago? I felt then the same way then as I do now, that we have an extremely talented young side that is really going to blossom into something special. I still feel that now, only I think the Champions League will accelerate the development and I am even more excited about the team. These glory hunters do my nut in!
Nice to find another Arsenal blogger on Blogspot.
www.themee.blogspot.com
Post a Comment