Another three-fer here as InvincibleHenry, JoeJaws and RichardE share their thoughts on recent goings on at Highbury…
invinciblehenry writes
Trust no one, especially our no. 1!
as a former viewer of the x-files, i fear that a conspiracy is afoot. the football gods, in their ultimte jest, have conspired to bring us two of the wobbliest, judgement-deficient keepers in the game. almunia lost his place to lehmann with a poor display against the mancs, and i thought a corner had been turned. but when old jensy nearly let in that own-goal on monday, i nearly fell out of my hammock! what is the deal? does he lack depth perception? too many pills to calm his nerves? palace only scored one off a penalty, but thank god they didn’t put more shots on! it’s a good thing we are capable of scoring 5 a game, we may want to do that against bayern so as to have a proper cushion…
what does lehmann have in common with a bedwetting 6 year-old? clean sheets are a rarity…
joejaws writes
Dennis may be offered extension
Story on Dennis’ continued service for the Gunners is at this site:The Guardian
Personally I’d sign him up now because, as Arsene states, there are no players of his quality coming up now.
RichardE
In Praise of Cygan
It is about time we recognised Pascal Cygan’s contribution since Toure’s suspension and Campbell’s injury. OK, he may be as slow as a carthorse but he is thunderous and accurate in the air and I would guess his pass rate is above 90% accurate. He looks confident bringing the ball out of defense, even more so than Sol at times.
And did anyone notice that it was Campbell who seemed most uneasy with Alumnia in goal? When Campbell was not playing Almunia did OK and, in fact, condeded very few goals. As soon as Sol returned, his confidence seemed to dip and there were glares between the two. Tough to judge from this distance but it was just something that caught my eye.
35 Responses to “Three posts for the price of one”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
February 17th, 2005 at 8:15 am
Absolutely SPOT ON.
February 17th, 2005 at 8:59 am
Quality, Rick. Well-researched, and dead-on in tone. Submit it to UEFA.
Its almost extortion, isn’t it? Demanding that people change their policies and the profile of their livlihood just so a select few players can name their price is ludicrous. Its biased, insulting, irresponsible, and just plain bass-ackwards and I can’t believe they have the gall.
The fact that AFC is the scapegoat supports what I’ve said all along about our club and manager: we’re outsiders and therefore perceived as a threat. And its not just the natural origins of our players, but the way we play. And that’s one of the reasons I’ll be a Gooner forever.
February 17th, 2005 at 9:02 am
Good point Rick. I believe when AW putting in his team sheet, he did not has the nationality of the players in mind. He simply played the best he got and available. Same as the fans, I don’t think too many of the fans would keep in mind which players are from where when they are watching a football match. Don’t remember they are from France or Brazil, they are black or white, all we had in mind were 11 players in the red and white who are playing for Arsenal Football Club.
February 17th, 2005 at 9:09 am
Tradition must be a “local” term for “more money than God”:
http://www.worldfootballers.com/news.php?id=2791
February 17th, 2005 at 9:14 am
Two of our CORE players, are in fact English.
Cole and Campbell. Both are key figures on the National Team. They were both unavailable. So we would normally ALWAYS have those 2 in the team.
You simply can’t play a “lesser” team to meet a quota. Next we will be giving extra points to teams who field British players…
Wasn’t this an issue in the past the OTHER way. Teams would ONLY field natural born players. Would NEVER field a Protestant or Catholic, depending on the team… apparently, we are going the other way now.
English football is one of the BEST leagues in the world BECAUSE of ALL the different types of players from all over the world. PERIOD.
February 17th, 2005 at 10:13 am
Amen to that!
February 17th, 2005 at 11:13 am
Brilliant! You have captured, in your diatribe, all the arguments & posturing I tried vainly to espouse in a pub discussion last evening. Excellently & eloquently penned.
Cheers.
February 17th, 2005 at 12:59 pm
Right on Rick!
It is simply retarded to expect Club Football to fulfill a Nationalistic dream, when club football is a business. Nike or Umbro or whom ever the sponsor maybe they doe not look at how many National team players are on a team ? they look at the success of the business and how sponsoring such a team will benefit their overall sales of the products that have that teams logo emblazoned on their product. It is Emirates Stadium and not for any other reason than they feel such an investment is a prudent one based on the Arsenals overall business success.
Now ironically no one is saying we must only have National sponsorship quotas. On yet another tact, the issue becomes more complex, what about ownership, and foreign nationals owning professional English teams? No one asserts that too many foreigners are watching the British game and that EPL soccer is quickly becoming one of the most viewed sports in the world. The Arsenal is competing on a world market and thus bringing recognition to British Football and the EPL as these financial numbers prove:
Deloitte Football Money League (2002-03 position in brackets):
1 (1) Manchester United - ?171.5 million
2 (4) Real Madrid - ?156.3 million
3 (3) AC Milan - ?147.2 million
4 (10) Chelsea - ?143.7 million
5 (2) Juventus - ?142.4 million
6 (7) Arsenal - ?115.0 million
7 (13) Barcelona - ?112.0 million
8 (6) Inter Milan - ?110.3 million
9 (5) Bayern Munich - ?110.1 million
10 (8) Liverpool - ?92.3 million
11 (9) Newcastle United - ?90.5 million
12 (11) Roma - ?72.0 million
13 (18) Celtic - ?69.0 million
14 (16) Tottenham - ?66.3 million
15 (15) Lazio - ?65.8 million
16 (-) Manchester City - ?61.9 million
17 (14) Schalke - ?60.5 million
18 (-) Marseille - ?58.3 million
19 (-) Rangers - ?57.1 million
20 (-) Aston Villa - ?55.9 million
The whole argument is poxy and I find it rather peculiar in as much as no one argues that is its Russian ? rubbles buying players. They don?t give a shite just keep the money coming. What would they say if for example countries put quotas on EPL jerseys sold in they are respective country? The whole argument is plainly driven by a romantic notion of National Pride and as far as I can see the last time such arguments of National Superiority existed, we went to war. Don?t fool yourself that war was also initially driven by commerce as most are.
Arsenal is a World Club and business ? they?ve made prudent business decisions, which any CEO would be proud to proclaim a success in terms of cost analysis and financial returns. Therefore, what is next for these NAY Sayers: only English sports manufacturers or National citizens can own or sign team contracts? Not bloody well likely!
Nationalism of any kind only ends up breeding resent and notions of superiority for which I thought we long ago put aside. Imagine them saying too many Jews in banking it?s a hate based statement and rings the same to me.
Bitter as it is to some, this is the new Europe and England can continue to fight it but it is part of that new Europe. Euros or Sterling it matters not Arsenal is just the face of Football as a business and a very successful one at that.
More reasons to love the Gunners ? great soccer and excellent financial management ? a team even my accountant could love.
Gerard Pas
February 17th, 2005 at 1:01 pm
I don’t remember all this fuss when back in 1999 Chelsea were first to field a team of 11 foreigners.
In England the debate has been taken off the sports pages and written inside in some newspapers. Ludicrous.
I want the best 11 players Arsenal can put out and those 11 to play with the passion and commitment that has been the lifeblood of every Arsenal team over the years.
I still don’t think the recommendations will become the rule. It’s against European law, just cast your mind back to Bosman.
February 17th, 2005 at 1:30 pm
Some interesting stuff, Gerard. The hypocrisy is rampant and you go far to prove it. Well done.
February 17th, 2005 at 1:41 pm
Thanks ScottyUS. In the end it’s about the beautiful game and Arsenal brings me to that everytime.
Sure I care and I’d love to see a strong Canadian Squad but in the end it always comes down to the beautiful game.
When the Arsenal are hot no other club can compare. Somewhere in the formula someone forgot to point out that Arsenal do just that - bring glory to the EPL. Now that’s something to be proud of.
February 17th, 2005 at 1:55 pm
Sorry to double post but I think that this article speaks to the issues and is well worth the read in understanding both history and Arrsenal part in it:
http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/news/story.jsp?story=611433
February 17th, 2005 at 2:50 pm
You can’t help but notice that, since this story broke, English players who have flopped at the bigger clubs are pouring out their bottled-up resentment. Take Steve Sidwell, for instance. Our former midfielder complained that “…the English youngsters couldn’t even get a game in the reserves.” To his credit, Sidwell did point out that “…there are plenty more foreigners who never make the grade.” But though he’s trying to sound fair, you still get that hint that he thinks that English youth are being hard-done by at Highbury…
But at what price the loyalty for the Arsenal? Or for any other club for that matter.
Jermaine Pennant wrapped his car around a pole - good job there Jermaine. That will really endear you to the boss. He might be good, but that’s not the kind of player Wenger wants, and frankly I can’t say that I blame him. Jeffers just pure didn’t make the grade. Why should we bother with players like this if they simply cannot hack it, either in terms of personality or in ability.
Sure you could point to letting Upson go in favour of keeping Cygan, and to letting Stuart Taylor go on loan when we sorely needed someone different in goal, as “evidence” of Wenger’s “anti-English” bias. But how many actually saw Cygan kick a ball before he came to England? Maybe he looked brilliant, and so Wenger signed him. And, if memory serves, he did start out well. But you cannot jump down Wenger’s throat for making a few mistakes, given what he’s given us in return. (You can criticize, but there are reasonable limits.) You could argue that the likes of Tony Adams, Ray Parlour, and Martin Keown may never have emerged under Arsene Wenger. That may be true. But would George Graham have signed Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, or Jose Reyes? Unlikely.
Ah but then there is the argument that English players are more often “loyal” to their club than are foreigners. Let’s review…
-Jermain Defoe tried to jump ship 24 hours after West Ham were relegated. This was refused, so he turned into a petulant child, threw all the toys out the pram and collected a series of needless red cards. Others who jumped ship from West Ham: Trevor Sinclair, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Lee Bowyer, and Frank Lampard. It was also nice that Cole and Lampard left for Chelsea.
-Alan Smith, the badge-kisser extraordinaire, abandoned Leeds for Man Yoo, claiming that since they were now longer in the same division, they were no longer rivals. I take it the guy I saw on eBay selling Leeds shirts with JUDAS on the back with Smithy’s number disagrees. Ditto Rio Ferdinand.
-Scott Parker left Charlton the moment Chelsea were interested. What’re the roaring cheers of “Ooh aah Scott Pah’kah’” next to some extra ducats anyway?
Now, you tell me this… who is more loyal so far, Thierry Henry, or any of the above? Why is the onus on the club to build up these players simply because they are English, only to have them on a whim later on? What’s the difference between a foreign mercenary and a domestic one?
February 17th, 2005 at 4:05 pm
Kelvin nice one,
As you said the debate had been taken off the sports pages and written inside in some papers Editorial papers.
But let me asked you one question? Who was the first Manager to complained when chelsea under RG filled the first 11 non English. Mr Wenger so what had change.
February 17th, 2005 at 4:43 pm
Sad but should I say some Arsenal fans are too hypocrites like their manager. As I asked Kelvin who was the first manager to complained about Chelsea fielding an all 11 non English side. That was Mr Wenger saying it was not good for english football so what change now?
I don’t care how many english players that play for English or any EPL team but anyone who is using a bit of common sense knows is not good for the game and will kill the grass root off. Asked the Italians what happen about 10 yrs ago before the tops clubs found out that they are killing off their own game. Now they doing something top English clubs will be force to do sooner or later. You kill off the grass root of the game and what will you have afterwards.
This is common sense and nothing to do with foreigners.
Pls. Some of the foreigners players had been good to the game with their skills and football but British football is the best not because of foreigners but Sky sports and you can asked any football chairman or D Dein the difference Sky Sports had made to the game. Changing from the old Divsion to the EPL. A lot of people wanna talk about football but don’t understand football. Every is black and white to some.
And Pls before you folks start jumping up and down about the media selling newspapers, do we remember what happen when Chelsea did the same. And I guess those of us who watched the Uefa cups games on Channel 5 heard what Merson said instead of what the papers said. If that is not common sense then I don’t know what else.
Is about the future of the game not about England.
February 17th, 2005 at 4:50 pm
Don’t agree with you on this one.
Merson should have ZERO to say…. straighten out yourself first Paul…
You play your best team. PERIOD.
Good Football has NOTHING to do with SkySports. The style of play in the EPL has everything to do with the players in the league and the managers, who influence the style of play. There has been a major influx of foreign talent in recent years. It has catapulted Chelsea… Arsenal… and United especially, because we can buy the best players.
Please, tell me how playing LESSER players that are English is better for the team that does so…
thats filling quotas… best man for the job.
Or do you prefer a cop / teacher / firefighter with a certain nationality … to get a job over someone more qualified for the job?
February 17th, 2005 at 5:18 pm
Stag,
You don’t have to agree with me but as I said I dont care who players for Arsenal whether English or not but is a fact, football will go to the dogs soon if we kill off the grass root. Not to cut you short just listen to what Peter Hill said. He support Arsenal and but at the same time thinks if all clubs go that way football will be done.
Next as I said maybe you have to wait till later on if foxsports will report what Merson said about the whole saga live on TV tonight not what the papers said. So it was ok for Wenger to be against Chelsea then but ok now.
Yes English football would have been like the French or Dutch football if not because of the money Sky sports put into the games before the old Division one to the EPL. The money was used by clubs to buy players or foreign players.
As I black man with a good job not because I’m black but for working hard and will hate for someone to give me a job based on my color or nationality but let talk about football and stop being naive like things will be ok.
February 17th, 2005 at 5:30 pm
What is the answer Love G?
Should we let Dennis go at season’s end because after all… he is not British. He is keeping Bentley out of the team… is he not?
Should we look to ship Cesc out NOW… he is only 17 …. better than Roy Keane…. but he is Spanish… he has to go to make way for whom? Some British player?
Freddie. Runs his ass off for the Arsenal ALL GAME LONG. He is in Pennant’s position though. We should have shuttled out Ljungberg and let Pennant get his spot, because he is British?
I am not sure how you plan to rectify the situation where Arsenal have fantastic foreign players and there are folks that want British players in the team. How do you make those decisions about who goes and who stays? If you are doing it based on talent… then there are not enough British players to compete…. thats FACT.
How do you implement this program of “have to have BRITS in the team. Then you’d have an even BIGGER discrepancy in talent. The RICH teams would buy the few GREAT British players. The rest would be stuck with mediocrity.
Sky Sports might have plunked down alot of money into the game… that infused talent into the Premiership from foreign players… AND? That ruined the British game?
If folks want to watch mostly British players… watch lower division matches.
If folks want to watch mostly Catholic players… go watch Celtic…
The argument to me is ridiculous. It smacks of implementing quotas… there is no place for it.
February 17th, 2005 at 5:33 pm
Can’t sign Dennis to another season….
he’s not BRITISH. He is taking Bentley’s spot. Gotta preserve the game… on your bike Dennis.
February 17th, 2005 at 5:35 pm
Dude, you made me almost spit out my beer! Very funny!
February 17th, 2005 at 6:38 pm
That’s rally sweet stag133,
We should sell Berkamp and buy a world class defender. Personnaly I’d buy Titus Bramble. The guys is world class as he’s english. By the way I would send Henry to loan somewhere and bring back Jeffers. We must forget and forgive everything and bring Pennant back. He’s far more better than Freedy. He’s the best player of the team. He’s the only player who always make decent crosses while there’s anybody to meet them!
We should sell all foreigners and let Chelsea and Manure buy peacefully what England has to offer. Mourihino and Roman have planned to build England squad from Chelsea. That’s why Cole’s goind there before the insane Arsene wastes him like h did with Pennant, Jeffers or others world class english player. They have the strong backing of UEFA, FIFA, and above all Poutine.
We should go before the courts to fight against UEFA illegal and illegitime ruling on “home-based” players. I would agree with or 10 club trains but what I don’t understand is about th others 4 players you have to buy in your country. This really is insane and will help Chelsea a lot.
Wenger gives the world best left-back Cole to England and now people think he’s working against England’s national success!
TOTAL NONSENSE
Without Wenger I don’t think the Premier Lague would be so popular and so competitive.
February 17th, 2005 at 8:24 pm
Actually, I heard he will apply for citizenship to accomodate everyone who had a problem with the ANTI-ENGLISH side we fielded vs CP. He’s even volunteered to change his name.
How does DENNIS BERGKINGHAM sound?
February 17th, 2005 at 10:48 pm
I do hope you realize that my comment was COMPLETE sarcasm. I don’t care if we have ZERO Brits in the team.
February 17th, 2005 at 11:50 pm
lots of good points here, rick and everyone else.
my brother and i talk often about how things have changed from when we were kids. we grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, did not have playstations or cable tv, no computers or dvd’s. so we went out and kicked the ball around. that’s how we passed our time. we got better practicing on our own so our interest in the game grew (though i must say that we were lucky my father had spent a couple of his high school years in brasil and therefore was a fanatic for the beautiful game. he also had an old 8mm film called Giants of Brasil. all lovers of the beautiful game should own this. we watched it with no sound over and over…). back then, we practiced (or practised!) with the team 2 or 3 times a week but we played EVERY day of the week.
things have changed…
talk of the game being killed off at the grass roots level misses some points. surely there are other societal factors that have also greatly contributed to its slow death. it can’t just be bosman and cheap foreign labor…
the FA and UEFA need to identify and examine these issues more closely, though i don’t know that the trend can be easily reversed. but knee-jerk reactions and commentary without exhaustive investigation and a measure of perspective cannot help at all. sadly the FA often open mouth and insert adidas…
are the kids as interested in footy as they once were? do they have the desire, drive, and commitment? do they have the coaching?
the jury is still out…
February 18th, 2005 at 12:27 am
Nah…..
Dennis is too foreign.
Nigel Berkingham is nice. And he better like sheppard’s pie & yorkshire pudding, and call people “w_nker” every now & then.
February 18th, 2005 at 8:33 am
Great post.
I also think its interesting that Mourinho is tooting his homegrown horn this morning, saying that he understands the importance of fielding English players so that’s why he does it. What a prat. He hasn’t had to consider the price tag, has he? For MY money, he needs to shut up about pretty much everything, cause his headaches and Wenger’s?and the rest of the league for that matter?just aren’t the same as long as his blank checks keep coming. And on the heels of allegations of tapping up one of our English stars, this is clearly flaunting his bulletproof position and borderline baiting.
February 18th, 2005 at 8:49 am
I agree with you, Stag. What next, tell a player he can’t play overseas if they offer him more money?
L_G is making a logical statement about the game suffering by killing the grass roots, but that’s not for a quota to fix. That’s for the players and their agents to adjust to NEW and emerging market pressures.
Gerard said earlier something to the effect (and I hope I get this right) that you can’t address market inequality on one end, and not the other. TV rights paid by foreign coin aren’t being rejected. If you want to limit the amount of foreigners you have, you’re going to have to realize that its affecting other areas where money is coming in.
One must make themselves desirable in the market by responding to changes, if those changes are what the league wanted in the first place. If a young Brit footballer, potential international or not, wants to play with the big boys, he’s going to have to look around at where other’s with his skill level are being priced, or risk limiting his chances of coming out of the youth program.
Can’t have it both ways.
February 18th, 2005 at 9:16 am
I totally agree, Scotty. In fact, who was the last Englishman signed by Mourinho? By my reckoning every one of them at Chelsea either came up through the youth ranks or were signed by Claudio Ranieri (how I miss him, for a number of reasons.)
Also, yes Chelsea does have more English players than we, but does that count when a number of them never get a start? Maybe the earth really is flat - Scott Parker sure seems to have fallen off the face of the planet. Wayne Bridge will soon be gonzo, likewise Glen Johnsen. Chelsea are collecting some players like others collect vintage toys; pay a huge price for them only to put them on the shelf and never take them out of their packaging.
February 18th, 2005 at 9:20 am
I think I know who you are alluding to, stag, when you say some teams would never sign Protestants or Catholics. But in defence of one these teams, it was never their policy to not sign Protestants; only the other side had a sectarian hiring policy.
Your point still stands though.
February 18th, 2005 at 9:23 am
love_Gunners,
Good point, what is with Wenger’s change of heart? Sometimes I think these managers just like taking shots at one another, always trying to win a psychological edge.
February 18th, 2005 at 9:25 am
Love the sarcasm in the replies!
Isn’t it great when someone like Henry gives everything to an English club, helps generate popularity for the Premier League and with it, incredible wealth, while at the same time professes and PRACTICES loyalty which has lately been at debt, and what does he get for it?
Indirect insult and criticism for not being English and a slew of racist attacks.
So what does he do? Takes time out of his busy schedule so that he can put together a campaign against racism for everyone, English or not, who has suffered from it. And scores more goals. And conducts himself with class. And stands behind his team and manager. And says not a word about being slighted for awards he should have won ten times over, all the while becoming the favorite and most feared player of the winners.
For me, this recent bit about foreign influx may be another symptom of rampant xenophobia. Much of it I can understand, as many supporters are being squeezed out of their participation by “fans” with ticket prices, glory hunters and such. But let’s call it what it is and stop hurting those that are doing their job, and MORE than their job, with dignity. Stop pointing fingers, and start reacting in a way that will fairly increase native footballer careers-starting with taking agents by the scruff. No guarantees often breeds incredible skill. The opposite breeds the opposite.
As to the other points, I believe both Lehmann and Almunia will contribute to knocking us out of the CL, and probably the FA. When they do, the media will get off Wenger’s back for his foreign 11, and back on it for his failure to pick a keeper. At least we can thank them for that.
Cygan has been solid against weak teams, but solid nonetheless.
And let’s hear it for another year with Denny Boy.
February 18th, 2005 at 9:29 am
Well said. I always though Ranieri did a third of Jose’s work for him, Roman did a third, and Jose just didn’t screw up the last third. I must say, though, that his attitude is a winning one as much as its repulsive, but it continually transfers to his players. And as far as I’m concerned, John Terry could be the greatest LEADER in the game today, and alone deserves to lift the trophy.
February 18th, 2005 at 10:34 am
There are almost a hundred teams in england if the english players are not talented enough to play for the top few teams it is not like there is no other team to play for. The big teams still have a strong youth setup the difference is it is harder to get into the first team at these places. If the players are not good enough to play for the Arsenal then at some point, pretty early in their career they will go to another team that they are good enough for. This does not stop their development. Besides does England want a bunch of mediocre players in the national team or do they want only the best players. The players they want are the ones who are good enough to get through at any club ie..ashley cole.
February 18th, 2005 at 10:39 am
Sarcasm at its best!
February 19th, 2005 at 5:54 am
Absolutely. Pennant could play Freddie off the pitch, even drunk, from his prison cell.