Jun 26
I know Scotty reads ANR. For those of you who don’t you should check it out, the guy is pretty good although he tends to ramble into personal life & political beliefs a tad much… but that’s usually interesting reading as well despite me disagreeing with most of his political views.
16 Responses to “Interesting reading as ANR usually is…”
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June 26th, 2005 at 8:41 am
Yeah, he certainly likes the sound of his own voice. What makes him think we give a rats arse about his political views, or where he went shopping with his daughter? The whole site seems geared up only to sell his book, which he mentions every other day and he doesn’t seem to have any more insight into Arsenal than your average fan. Actually, I prefer Arseblog, at least it’s funny.
June 26th, 2005 at 9:37 am
Sorry to go off topic Curtisimo,
but hey… when you wake up and read
ARSENAL make bid for ROBINHO!
well, you get a bit excited at the prospect!!
Now this is what I am talking about!
Wenger has said he’ll make 2 “world class” signings and keep ALL his stars. Thats what I want to hear. Robinho to Arsenal. Ummmm… fits the bill doesn’t it? He’s even an Arsene type signing in that he is 21 years old! so he’s young AND a star.
Keeping my fingers and toes crossed… if we can reel this big fish in, we are on our way back to the top!
and another thing.
if as reported, we offered 14 Million for him… and we get him for around there… you can STUFF SWP and any other Brit who commands STUPID transfer fees. We can buy a Brazilian star for 14 Million, and SWP is 18milliion? Is that a sick joke?
Its like Pires going for 3 million and Sylvan Distin for 7million? Ludicrous. Its Bizzaro world!
June 26th, 2005 at 9:58 am
I Think Wenger has correctly identified that despite last season’s statistics indicating the contrary, Arsenal needed strengthing up-front rather than defence. Although another defender would come in handy, maybe a player thats versatile enought to play all four positions; hard to find I know.
If we managed to sign both Hleb and Robinho that would give us attacking thrust just off Henry, an area I thought we were found wanting last season. Despite Pires and Ljungberg’s goals, against top-quality opposition they struggle to impose themselves to the extent of 2001-2002.
With Hleb and Robinho we could fight fire with fire with United in those one-off games and prevail.
June 26th, 2005 at 10:33 am
Stag..
I really like you my friend. I have taken a well deserved break but here is my question.
Which way?
World Class stars I hear Wenger and Stag now talking about. Damn I missed something here.
And Stag your comment about SWP is a bit rich. Whether is ?200.00 or ?200bn no player is worth more than ?5000 but football and reality don’t go together. So let get use to it and move on. Does Reyes worth more than ?1m? Nope if you asked me.
So instead of folks getting into who worth this or that and money which Arsenal don’t have let start looking after our players very well and other will then love to play for us.
June 26th, 2005 at 10:36 am
How is this anything to do with Brit / Brazilian? Com on Stag
June 26th, 2005 at 10:54 am
Stag I agree that, if we can land Robinho for 14 million pounds, then no way is Shaun worth 18 million pounds. But remember that Shaun is not setting his own transfer fee, Man City is. City knows that Shaun is not worth 18 million, but they also know that he is probably their best player. So to defend against the biggest clubs in the league (which includes us) they have to essentially put up a protectionist wall around their star in order to frighten us off, a tactic which looks to have succeeded.
I don’t think his fee has everything to do with Shaun being British par se, but rather Shaun being hyped up by the media as being many things, such as being England’s answer to the left flank problem, and Ian’s son and thus ought to be drawn to the Arsenel by emotion.
But I agree, Shaun is brilliant, but not 18 million pounds brilliant.
June 26th, 2005 at 11:03 am
Ahh love_Gunners, where have you been mate? Missed you. (BTW, if you hadn’t read, my mate hacked my ArseAm account and told everyone I liked Chelsea then slagged people off. But I’m not Chelsea, so don’t get confused. It’s the real Clarkey now.)
No player is worth more than 5 grand? I wish it were so, but it isn’t. But we cannot entirely blame the clubs. We as supporters are to blame as well. We are the ones who pay through the teeth for ever-rising tickets, which includes paying for the right to have tickets sold to us, replica kits both home and away, a wide range of useless tatty that no one needs, and somehow or other we are the ones who pay for television broadcasts. This isn’t a slag towards all fans as I’m just as guilty as the next. Hey, I still claim to have bought those Arsene Wenger(C) prophylactics. But the point is that we supporters are the ones who are arming managers and chairmen with their massive transfer budgets.
June 26th, 2005 at 12:52 pm
Love G…
how ISN’T it?
If Robinho is going for 14 Million
and SWP is going for 18 Million…
What would the reason be? Please, tell me?
Is SWP better than Robinho? Would more teams want SWP? I don’t think so.
It all comes back to British players costing MORE than foreign talent. Its factual. It happens over and over. Thats why we don’t have a team of British players, because Wenger will not overpay for someone based on them being British.
June 26th, 2005 at 1:03 pm
Welcome back from hiatus!
I hear what you are saying, truly.
No, players are not worth what they are sold/bought for… in my opinion. You are 100% correct. But its like art. If someone is willing to pay if for a painting… then thats what it is worth. (to someone buying it)
If Chelsea can afford to pay twice as much for SWP or anyone else, good luck to them. We shouldn’t do the same, and Wenger won’t.
There are BILLIONS of $$$ in the football world today, so the whole “worth” thesis is not relevant. Its true in all sports, actors, music, etc. Its not based in the reality of the every day person.
Now my point on SWP and British talent in general, is that for the most part, they are priced way too high. You don’t get value for the money… compared to a foreign player.
I will liken it to my house. I live 30 miles from Boston. If I tried to buy the equivalent house IN or AROUND Boston, I simply couldn’t. It would be at least twice as much money. So I went away from Boston. More house for the money.
(MORE PLAYER FOR THE MONEY.)
“If Arsenal looked after their players”
I will assume that is directly related with your belief that Arsenal screwed Ashley Cole somehow, and that they pampered PV4… and that has made a mess of things. Well, we have the same team for the most part, and Cole hasn’t actually left just yet, and if we brought in say… Robinho and Hleb… I don’t think there would be too many complaints IN or OUT of the locker room.
I don’t think the Freddie Ljungberg’s could question our ambition if we brought in those two.
Thats just my view. Welcome back Love G…
no excuses come Fall…. we’re meeting up for a few pints in London!
June 26th, 2005 at 1:21 pm
Thats a clear fact that English player costs more Specially if the are moving inside the EPL.
June 26th, 2005 at 1:24 pm
Of course SWP is overpriced, but why are you comparing him with Robinho? They don’t even play in the same position.
In SWP’s favour, he is already acclimatised to the Premiership so you pretty much know what you will get with him. Spending ?14m on Robinho would be a bigger risk, fabulous talent but unproven in this country. Could be ?14m down the drain at the end of the day.
And why are you comparing Distin to Pires??? They have nothing to do with eachother. But as far as the price goes, not only are defenders are at a higher premium than right sided midfielders in world football, but Pires is 32, and has only a year or so left on his contract - that’s obviously why his price is low. It has nothing to do with who the better player is - and even it was how could you gauge who is most important when neither play in the same area of the pitch???.
June 26th, 2005 at 1:37 pm
Whilst I wil be very pleased if we acquire Hleb and Robinho, I still think the defence needs strengthening. One bad injury to Lehmann and the whole season is down the toilet - is it really worth taking that risk?? I’m still not 100% confident of Lehmann anyway, particularly in Europe, which he saves up all his massive errors for.
People are all too soon forgetting that Arsenal’s defence collapsed last season and Lehmann was dropped. We let in as many goals at home last season as Crystal Palace, and they got relegated! What makes you so confident it won’t happen again?
I can’t believe that Cygan is still at the club, he should be got rid of and another central defender brought in to back up Toure.
I still think we can win the Premiership even without defensive changes as long as we have zero injuries at the back, but can’t get my head round why a club like Arsenal is relying on luck, ie no injuries.
June 26th, 2005 at 2:33 pm
I do read ANR whenever I can. And I’m also one of those readers who actually likes how he brings the personal details of his day with his children and friends in at the end. Sometimes they take on a non sequitur vibe, but often they’re woven out of the context of football. Makes him different, and human, and more than just another pundit. To each his own, natch.
Myles Palmer and, I assume, his partner Ian Grant perform separate functions on the site and I think they compliment one another well. And if one reads enough of Palmer’s stuff, you realize he’s rubbed elbows with a lot of greats, and at a lot of landmark moments in football lore. Yeah, he plugs his book, but he took it upon himself to write one about one of the greatest managers the game will ever see and his points, written in that assured, journo stoccato, seem to cut to the quick. Creating addictive reading is not an easy task.
Politically, his arguments hold up even if I don’t always share his view. He’s of a particular age and culture that clearly differs from mine. But I still say he’s one of a number of small examples of how footballing culture is woven into the everyday context of one’s life.
As for Arseblog, I read it everyday. Blogger is gracious to newbies who post and really plugs away at the club without impunity when he sees fit. The Arsers are a treat, too. Don’t know what they make of this yank, as I usually just post the odd (and I mean ODD) comment or two when I’m drinking on the weekends or watching a match along with them. Again, an interesting and thoughtful look into a culture (worldwide, I should add) where football is a permanent and long-standing staple. As an American, I’m not afraid to say that at times I find myself a little envious.
June 26th, 2005 at 3:48 pm
Its fairly simple Danny. You can do this in ANY sport in the world. No, Distin and Pires don’t play the same position. Neither do Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez. But you can compare their value to a team regardless of that fact.
If you can buy Pires for 3 Million versus Distin for 7, I’d think that 90% of the teams in the world would go in for Pires.
Not sure how SWP is a proven commodity. He was injured for a good part of last season, so that means you’re taking a chance on that. Again, ask teams whom they’d rather have at those prices around the world, I’d wager that the vast majority would rather have Robinho & for 4 Million less.
Damn, you could have Robinho for 14 Mill & Pires for 3 Mill. Still less than one SWP. That, does not make any sense at all.
June 26th, 2005 at 10:58 pm
I agree that his personal ramblings make for interesting reading, I just wish he’d do it just a bit less, that’s all.
His political arguments hold up sometimes. Some of the links he’s plugged are way far left politically & use a lot of insinuation & hearsay & faulty evidence which he a lot of times loves to say that we conservatives (American Republicans) do.
He’s just so cynical sometimes, though that seems (no offense intended with this statement just an anecdotal observation) to be an English trait, esp. with the English media & writers.
Anyway, I like his analysis b/c it’s written from a writer’s point of view & he has a way of pointing out things artistically that I wouldn’t always notice about a match, players, etc.
I would be envious of the culture part that football does have in Europe except that I am from Louisiana, attended LSU in Baton Rouge & have full-blooded Cajun relatives & I can guarantee you that LSU football of the American variety is ingrained in the culture in Central Louisiana.
But they’re both similar. They get into your blood, they excite & the thing that always amazes me about both (for Arsenal I’ll have to assume as I’ve never attended a match in person) is that you can attend a game, be surrounded by 1000s of people you don’t know but they’re all your friends & family b/c of the camaraderie of support for the school/club.
Both teams have gotten into my blood & as intense interest as I have in both, I no longer base my happiness on the outcomes of either. Such is true love, I guess. You have to talk the faults with the beauties.
I’ve rambled enough- as you’re fond of saying:
Up the arse, keep the faith, kiss the crest…
(sorry if that’s out of order)
and Geaux Tigers!
June 26th, 2005 at 11:05 pm
“What makes you so confident it won’t happen again? “
B/c Gilberto is currently healthy for one & Senderos’ play late in the season is two & Lehmann’s desire to be the German #1 & his stellar play late in the season is three.
I agree with you though that Cygan should be gone & maybe go with another younger center back for cover but have no idea who would fit or who’d be available & at what price.