Thanks to new boy Alexander Hleb, and 18 year old Arturo Lupoli, Arsenal ran out 1-0 winners over hosts Ajax at their opening match of the Amsterdam Tournament today.
It took 87 minutes of waiting before the goal, but it was worth it just to see Hleb juke the Ajax defense and send a pin-point through ball to Lupoli who drove it home.
A nice win, as it puts the Gunners in a postion to win the tournament when they face Porto on Sunday. Porto beat Boca Juniors 2-0 in the early match tonight.
GolTV will most likely be showing the Ajax v Arsenal match again at 9PM ET tonight, as it currently leads the Viewers Choice voting. However, regardless of whether they show it at 9PM, it willl definitely be aired again at 2 AM ET.
If you don’t have GolTV, make sure you at the very least catch the highlights somewhere, if only to see Hleb’s setup.
58 Responses to “Ajax 0 - 1 Arsenal”
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July 29th, 2005 at 5:53 pm
This was the first time I saw Hleb in action. I heard folks like Scotty mentioned he was a very creative player. I must say: it looks like he really is! The assist he dished out to Lupoli was a clam and intelligent pass, in a Bergkamp/Pires mould. Lupoli took the goal very well too, sharp and decisive.
I’m very impressive with the young right back Eboue. Ajax’s left winger had been giving Lauren a hard time all match long, until Eboue came on to plug the gap. This kid is quicker than Lauren, decisive on his tackling, looks very much a real deal.
Must add one last thing: the way we lost our possessions is alarming. Hopefully it’s because of the players haven’t got themselves into full fitness yet. One thing Vieira did well and hadn’t got mentioned much was his compouse (along with his physical strength) to keep hold of the ball, thus dictated the tempo. We are not a team good on running all day chasing the ball, so keeping the possession is a must.
July 29th, 2005 at 6:40 pm
Lauren is reaching retirement, time to start easing Eboue in it seems, like Wenger did so well with Kolo or has Cesc. I’ll watch the game tonite. Alex Hleb (I understand it is pronounced Gleb) seems to be another astute signing by Wenger.
July 29th, 2005 at 7:38 pm
I read it was pronounced Gleb, but Sky were pronouncing his name with an H.
The game was a mixture of good and bad, so I’ll try and not read too much into it.
The bad was once again the trio at the back, Toure, Lehmann and Lauren. Lehmann can’t stop himself doing stupid things in every other match that come close to costing us goals, and he did it again tonight. Lauren got skinned the entire time he was on the pitch by 18 year old Babel. Toure was all over the place positionally, and made lots of mistimed challenges, Senderos looked average at best and made 2 or 3 silly errors.
The other concern is central midfield. Wenger played Pires and Flamini together, and whilst Flamini works hard and breaks up play, I don’t think he will be up to playing the whole season. Pires was completely anonymous and bottled out of several tackles, he couldn’t even be arsed to track back half the time. Wenger brought on Hleb in the second half, but kept Pires in the middle??? Baffling.
Reyes was poor again. He can’t seem to get past his man and wasted posession far too easily, his tracking back leaves alot to be desired.
Plus points? Cole had a good game. Henry was excellent, as was Ljungberg. Hleb looked ok, good assist. Eboue looked very good, he pretty much stopped Babel running riot down the left. I thought Bentley was excellent when he came on and Lupoli poached a nice goal.
Yes it’s pre-season - but it’s also 30th July. It all kicks off in 2 weeks.
This was a good result against a talented Ajax team.
But lets not be fooled. The defence looks shaky and central midfield is a problem. Henry still needs a dangerous strike partner.
Wenger had better be bluffing, because with the team set up the way it is now, we haven’t a cat in hells chance of winning anything this season. Anyone can see that, it’s obvious.
Maybe we need to throw this season and bed in the kids. But also, we have a few players who simply aren’t good enough - when all is said and done - Toure, Lauren, Lehmann will probably cost us the lot this year.
And to see Cygan on the pitch still proves to me that Wenger is losing the plot. This dork should have
been got rid of 2 years ago.
July 29th, 2005 at 7:45 pm
This was a nice win. Clearly Wenger is trying some things (Pires at CM) but that doesn’t disguise the fact that we need a physical possession MF(? Mahamadou Diarra). Hleb is the real deal. Ryan Babel wore out Lauren and Eboue was inserted to mop up that kid and Mitea. Lauren had better have “track” spikes when Robben comes to town. Reyes did little today. Senderos had an early errant pass and got beat by De Jong for a dangerous chance. Toure also got beat for Ajax first real chance. Lehmann was solid. We were steady on set play defense. Cole got a yellow card because he got caught up field. Overall a decent measured performance in sweltering conditions.
July 29th, 2005 at 7:48 pm
Right on!
July 29th, 2005 at 8:59 pm
Well I’ll guess we’ll see the game soon enough. Pre-seaon is time for experimentation, hence Pires in the middle. No need to stick a foot in for some lousy tournament. Besides Gil and Ceec will only make things better. Whatever you say it’s not a competetive match, and the players know it.
As for Alex, it’s Gleb, but I think we all like the challenge of saying Hleb
July 29th, 2005 at 11:03 pm
I dunno what to post anymore, all my thoughts on how to improve the team seem a waste of time as Wenger obviously is on a different course! “Captain Wenger, we`re heading towards a storm and no ones at the helm, what should we do?” ….”Captain….Captain….Captain….
July 30th, 2005 at 3:00 am
This was my first glimpse of our new side. I have to question Arsene’s decision to make Henry Captain. Ok, yea… he is the greatest striker on Earth and 9 other planets but, is he THE leader. In the past Sol and Dennis both led.
July 30th, 2005 at 5:03 am
I too am a bit disappointed on our possession play (keeping it), but let’s take it easy on the lads, this is a preseason game afterall, the players are understandably a little rusty.
AW was probably trying to see if we can play Pires at CM, but another factor is Cesc and Gilberto didnt travel with the team.
despite all these, we still managed to a win, the first (over Ajax) since 1970 would u believe?!
July 30th, 2005 at 5:50 am
Try getty images in future if you’re stuck for a more appropriate photo, they’re bang up to date with a few of Lupoli from the game last night…
July 30th, 2005 at 7:11 am
So much for any hope of Henry getting any rest this year. I think he’s played every minute of every pre-season game so far…
July 30th, 2005 at 7:26 am
Great assist by Hleb, but to be honest it was a rather listless match, lacked the intensity of a competitive game. I don’t think there’s anything to read into it. Bentley looked good coming on though, so did Eboue and Hleb.
July 30th, 2005 at 9:04 am
I haven’t seen the match and plan on watching it at a 1 PM replay, but from what I’m reading, it sounds interesting.
All I’m going to say to the positive side of things right now is that, while we didn’t play perfect games (show me a club who has this summer) we got another clean sheet. And we haven’t lost a game in preseason. In fact, we’ve won them all. We accomplished all of these things trying out our admittedly young depth and playing out of position at times. Both of those factors are more than I can say for United and Madrid. Different traveling circumstances throws in a few more variables, but losing 3 nil is losing 3 nil (Real/Verdy). And we don’t have anyone fighting (Keane, Rio), or complaining about the schedule (Becks) either.
Also, no one can tell me that these clubs getting all the TV time and playing in their high-profile markets like The U.S. and Asia are not trying to win every match. There are plenty of cards and lots and lots of action and pace. The MLS teams have represented well against arguably two of the best clubs in the world. The Chelsea match versus DC United saw them come from behind, but it wasn’t easy. The Milan/Fire match was one of the most thrilling I’ve seen in a preseason fixture and a very unfair scoreline. Very little in the way of “experimenting” is going on here. I kept thinking about the wage differences in these ties, as the figures are staggering. I don’t think the entire DC United squad is paid what some Chlesea reserves are. These matches, for all intents and purposes and arrogance, should be a walk in the park and they were anything but.
That being said, everyone and the Queen mum knows we need cover down the spine. I’d hate to see us struggle without it, but as I’ve said before, you can’t just materialize players and you can’t make a man who wants his Spanish citizenship and to play in the World Cup give up both of those things to play in the The Premiership. Its not like we didn’t try. Maybe in January. Till then, I hope Wenger is dealing for whatever talent might be available, but I’m not going to get angry with him if he doesn’t pull any from up his sleeve.
July 30th, 2005 at 10:54 am
Positives, well 1-0 win. Nice goal by Lupoli. Hleb made some nice passes. Theirry played hard. The away kits are nice.
It was a preseason match, shouldn’t get too excited or down about the outcome. Apparently this is the team. And I agree with Danny. If this is it, we aren’t winning anything this season.
BAPTISTA is gone to Real Madrid. So we wasted all Summer chasing him and Robinho, and both went to Real. They do to us, what we do to the Totts. We are nothing compared to Real Madrid, in the eyes of young talent from Brazil. We let Edu go, and sold our captain. Does that show ambition to the likes of Baptista or Robinho? I don’t think their decision was very difficult.
So we are left with some talented young players, and a lack of depth. I think the season will be an interesting one. It will be exciting at times, because some of these youngsters are going to have great performances. But it will be difficult for them to be consistent… and maintain it over the course of a season. It will be a choppy season, where we can BEAT anyone, and be beaten by anyone. Thats the way I see it.
The thing that bothers me most… is that we allegedly had money to spend in last January’s transfer window. We allegedly chose NOT to spend it. We allegedly had a war chest to bring in 2 or 3 players of high caliber this Summer. We didn’t use it. We sold Patrick Vieira for 14 Million, and that money went right into the pockets of AFC. It did not help us at all. We didn’t use it. We kept it. That makes us a SELLING CLUB. Thats how it reads to potential players looking in. You can disagree, and not like it, but thats how it is.
If Vieira had broken his leg gardening this Summer and were out 6 months… and we had NOT sold him… would all you Vieira haters be so optimistic about the season? I think not. We’ve lost PV4, Edu, 2 young keepers and Ali. In, Hleb. No way around it. If Wenger invested the money in the Vieira deal on Song, and other trialiasts, say 4 or so… and put them in the reserves, I would say FINE. We are stocking and restocking the farm system… and the kids are gonna play this year. Somehow, I see the regulars playing till they drop. Henry will be lucky to come off the pitch at all the entire season. If he gets injured. DONE. Put a fork in the season.
That to me is sad. We appear to have slammed shut the window on immediate ambition to win every title and conquer the world. Opportunity missed. Maybe in a few years time, when the kids mature… (cause an 18 yr. old in midfield isn’t leading us to a title by himself)… we can make another run at the world. But by that time, I fear we will be Arsenal… as opposed to THE ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB. It becomes harder to attract world class talent when you lack ambition. (or even if you are just viewed that way). Freddie Adu wants to play for Chelsea, not Arsenal or Utd. That says alot.
July 30th, 2005 at 10:59 am
Over reaction. Eboue got beaten and fouled the player about 2 feet outside the box. Its time for the wing to help out defensively if the defender is having a tough time. Nobody is being bought. So its Lauren at LB. Lauren got run into the ground in the FA CUP as well. Cesc watched it happen and did ZERO to help him. If our winger watches, while this happens, then we’ll concede goals. The wingers have to track back when the defense is having trouble… because Arsenal aren’t buying big name players to come in.
July 30th, 2005 at 11:03 am
We don’t appear to have much chance of winning titles this season Danny. We are currently a selling club (or viewed that way). We sell our captain for 14 Mill. and don’t spend the money. Thats a tell-tale sign. Unless we buy a few players in the next few weeks, I am afraid its not going to be a trophy filled season. WORSE, we will be viewed quite differently by potential incoming players.
July 30th, 2005 at 1:44 pm
OK Owens available right now, lets not !!!! around! Buy him before the Mancs do or we`re looking at a dog fight for third place!!!!!
July 30th, 2005 at 3:09 pm
Real Madrid has signed the Beast and Robinho. They are probably the most BRAINLESS club i ever seen.
They got an aging midfield general (Zidane), a washed up winger (Figo), a shaky defence with a 13 million pound central half who played zero game for them last season (Woodgate)… the last position they needed to add strength was probably their striking department, with already 3 top class strikers in place (Ronaldo, Raul, Owen)… what did they do? Bought another two strikers!!
All that simply because their president was living his promise to fans when he was elected - buy a superstar every year. Buying for buying’s sake. Good luck to them.
July 30th, 2005 at 3:09 pm
Is there an ArseAm league this season?
July 30th, 2005 at 3:23 pm
Stag, funny thing is a year or two ago, I remember reading an interview - back then Freddy Adu claimed he DREAMED of playing for Manchester United one day….
He may be young, but he’s not dumb for sure, he knows where the money are!
July 30th, 2005 at 3:53 pm
and he knows where the chances in winning titles are too… they are with Chelsea, along with alot of cash…
July 30th, 2005 at 3:56 pm
Pick any 11 teams from the English Professional Divisions, total points gained from those 11 selected teams is your total, most points wins. Anyone out there interested? (with 11 teams you will never have a duplicate entry)
July 30th, 2005 at 3:57 pm
Andez, at least Real Madrid TRY to get better. They have money, they are not afraid to spend it, and Robinho and Baptista are both YOUNG and TALENTED. They don’t have to play every match, and likely won’t DEMAND to play like Figo / Zidane. They are the future faces of Real Madrid. I think thats a pretty damned solid future, if you ask me. Figo will go to Inter in the next week, Owen will probably go to Manchester United, and they will have swapped an older Figo and Owen for… Baptista and Robinho. Not too shabby in my eyes. Brainless, to me… is doing nothing, and believing that somehow things will be better. That makes zero sense. As optimistic as I normally am about this club and these players, I am not buying that spin story. I am not buying the crap that we are better than last season. Wenger has 2 weeks to improve the team, otherwise we’re in for a season of change, transition and rebuilding.
July 30th, 2005 at 4:45 pm
atleast so sez this article. http://www.anr.uk.com/articles/m-2005-07-30-09-13-39.html
though i find it hard to swallow and wudnt like it…is probable. maybe he does really think the only way to tackle chelski is to get the brightest and best of the youngsters the stars of tommorrow rather than today..and is willing to sacrifice short term success for longer term planning? cud tht be the case?
July 30th, 2005 at 5:48 pm
To me, it certainly appears this way. We don’t seem to be trying to win titles this season. We have sacrificed today … for tomorrow. We have less chance of winning this year, than in previous seasons, but our kids look great, and will get playing time. If he just SAID THAT, I’d accept it. We took the cash for Paddy and did nothing with it. That is not acceptable. Did they lower ticket prices? I don’t think so.
July 30th, 2005 at 6:30 pm
We’ll be okay. Vieira and Edu made no great contribution last season. We’ve got Hleb and Bentley is back. It’s not as dire as it looks, but we’ll have to be a bit lucky with injuries I must admit. They’re really not that many exceptional players out there, and the teams that have ain’t selling. Even Chelsea haven’t had much cheer with all their billions. This is a pre-world cup year and I think nobody wants to rock the boat and jeopardize their chances. However, if Owen is there for say 5 mil I say we take him. We need a proven goal scorer, and if Owens isn’t, I don’t know who is.
July 30th, 2005 at 6:53 pm
Owens still only in his mid twentys! He was brilliant early on in his career, good in his last few years at `Pool concidering the injuries and looked better last year as the season progressed. A fully fit Owen has to be worth 10 million surely, anything less is a bonus, we absolutely MUST SIGN OWEN.
July 30th, 2005 at 7:07 pm
I thoiught this was an absolutely brutal performance by us. I literally fell asleep in the second half because it was that bad of a game. Freddie should have had us up 2-0 in the first half but showed ridiculously bad finishing. We also played kick and run and did not control anything in the midfeld. Our defenders were slow and kept on giving away balls. We created nothing the whole game. If this is the best 11 for us then we might as well just give up the season. That performance looks good for 4th place this year.
July 30th, 2005 at 7:47 pm
Who’s interested in being OK?
I’m not. I want to win titles. We haven’t even tried to sign players, in my opinion. We sold and kept the cash. Going with the kids. No hope of winning titles. The midfield is lightweight. We might be fast, but we certainly lack muscle, thats for sure.
I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for us to sign Owen. United can outbid us. We took that 14 million and put it in the bank. He’s not going anywhere for 5 million, thats a joke.
July 30th, 2005 at 7:48 pm
Shibby, I also dozed off in the second half for a few minutes. We gave the ball away easily, and our finishing was brutal. This wasn’t our best 11, but hey, its not going to be much better. If we don’t make signings in the next 2 weeks, we are in going to be in a dogfight to finish in the top 4.
July 30th, 2005 at 7:57 pm
I`m not interested in being O.K! Never have, never will. Only 1st counts, everyone else is 2nd best. Arsenal should always strive to be the best or die trying. As for Owen….I feel he is a brilliant forward, a great finisher, a leader, a winner and someone who will hugely benifit our team. His injuries are in the past, Arsenal should be in his future.
July 30th, 2005 at 8:30 pm
Old ‘Red Nose’ was lucky when he took over United because he already had Beckham, Scholes, Butt, the Neville sisters and Giggs in the youth set up and they went on to dominate for a few years. Wenger has assembled his crop of young stars, well done mate, but is the plan now to sit back and hope they rise up and dominate too?
July 30th, 2005 at 9:29 pm
Wenger hasn’t bought anybody other than Hleb (heard it was ‘Kleb’).
Baptista said numerous times he wanted to stay in Spain to obtain his EU passport, so I can’t really fault Wenger on that too much. People seem to act like in today’s transfer market it’s as simple as saying who you like & buying them. Nowadays with agents & larger clubs that can come poach with an inflated fee, it’s not as simple as 2+2 anymore.
Plus, take into consideration that a club can jack up a transfer fee a few million just b/c a succesful English club come calling & all of a sudden it makes it a bit harder to actually get players w/o paying over-priced fees.
It seems like a lot of people on this website have never been a manager or have never taken finance or run a business. It’s not as simple as just buying things when you have money. You can grow too fast & overspend your base & when you hit a soft patch in income (or in soccer, results, as well as income), crashing down comes the finances, a la Leeds, Fiorentina, Lazio, etc.
But by all means, the doom & gloomers, doom & gloom on as it is your choice, but let’s give the events a chance to play out 1st…
July 30th, 2005 at 9:30 pm
And it’s usually a cakewalk to finish in the top 4?
July 30th, 2005 at 9:43 pm
brilliantly put.
especially the last line.
July 30th, 2005 at 10:13 pm
But……….Arsenal are financially stable, they do have funds set aside for incoming talent…….and to maintain their healthy financial status they must remain competitive in the market. So it should be expected by their competitors that Arsenal will sign additional players of the highest quality before the transfer deadline and if they fail in this endeavour to keep pace or forge ahead in the market, it will be seen as a weakness and accepting defeat by the market leaders.
July 31st, 2005 at 12:13 am
Thanks for the injection of cautious optimism, A-G. There is reason to be so. It’s harder to do, because you’ve got something to lose, but its what I, personally, believe.
I haven’t seen any indication whatsoever that we’re in such deep trouble. The complexion of the side has been drastically changed without our lanky Frenchman, but that will be more of a mental challenge than one of leadership and skill on the pitch.
We scored against Ajak for the first time in 5 years or something. Haven’t beaten them in over 30 years, I think. Last year we finished dead LAST in this “worthless” tournament. Seems to some it means nothing when we win, but everything when someone makes a mistake or we lose. This is crazy.
I can’t see Owens coming to London, but I would welcome him if he did. If for no other reason than to join the rest of the lads in a season where everyone is counting us out (AGAIN) just to prove the the naybobs wrong. He’s been there a few times in his career.
July 31st, 2005 at 12:18 am
Sure, Freddie Adu wanting to play for Chelsea says alot. He wanted to play for ManU a few years ago, and chances are he’ll want to play for whomever is the team with the trophy and all the cash in seasons to come. He’s 16 and not growing. If I were him, I would take a long hard look at Landon Donovan cause he may be taking career cues from him in the years to come.
July 31st, 2005 at 12:20 am
Very good points, Curtisimo.
July 31st, 2005 at 12:26 am
Why do we keep calling him “Owens”? His name is Michael Owen. Or we can call him by his proper title, Saint Michael the Kraut Slayer
July 31st, 2005 at 12:29 am
Do you realize that last season we finished dead last in the group? I may be wrong, but this is by far the best start we’ve ever had in this tournament and against Ajax. And no Vieira. Go figure.
Might as well call ourselves, Wirall Doomed FC.
July 31st, 2005 at 12:36 am
Or……..others will see how wonky the transfer market is and sit back and marvel at our young players and consider it a privilege to play for a club that plays like we do. IF they can hack it. Hleb must be misguided, huh?
July 31st, 2005 at 2:07 am
Half full or half empty?
July 31st, 2005 at 4:55 am
Definitely agree with u Curt. Just submitted a post yesterday, but u have basically spoken out all my points here already!
July 31st, 2005 at 9:21 am
Exactly. ;^)
July 31st, 2005 at 9:25 am
What am I thinking? At least I get our players’ names right. Expecially that new Irish sensation Quincy O’wusuabeyie.
July 31st, 2005 at 9:37 am
Scotty, if you saw the yaaaaawn, match against Ajax, then… you really can’t take alot from it. We didn’t play well. What you want to see in preseason, meaningless, friendles, is good play. We didn’t have that. We won. Yahoo. Yipee. Means nothing. If we lost, I’d say the same. But there were not too many bright spots.
Just don’t see us competing for titles this season, with this current crop of players. We’re not better. I’ll keep saying until they prove me wrong. I’d be thrilled to see it… so we could stuff Chelsea and all their cash. But I doubt it, I really don’t see it.
July 31st, 2005 at 9:41 am
yes, and this is such an important tournament… and a great barometer…??
World Cup, European Champs, ECL, Amsterdam Tourney? Is that the pecking order?
Scotty, this tourney is so freaking meaningless. If it IS a barometer of how we’ll play, we are REALLY in trouble.
July 31st, 2005 at 9:43 am
So you’d trade Vieira, Edu, Ali, & two young keepers for Hleb? Are you kidding me? or what?
July 31st, 2005 at 10:11 am
Well, I did finally see the match yesterday and, after reading the comments on here, honestly believe there was more good to take from it than most. Perhaps I was expecting shite. Sometimes the lower the expectation, the better. But without even trying the match was in hand. I was looking for Lauren’s trouble from Babel, and saw it. But I also saw him win the ball back time and time again after getting turned. We got beat down the right and no one scored. Someone did something right.
The pace was purposely deliberate, which is not our strength, and we were missing a few huge players. Reyes had a weak game, but there were bright moments elsewhere. Yes, Sendy had a weird bounce go over his head, but he also showed a lot of relaxed potency. Freddie had lots of penetration, too. His finishing was “eh”, but he looks healthy and tough to get off the ball. Remember all the things he did at the end of last season? Bentley looked surprisingly like the finished article, mostly with his accurate cross field passes (hope he stays on) and, of course, Helb is having the time of his life out there. That, for me, is what we need our club to feel to really compete. Luckily, its as catchy as its reverse.
It was a run out in a real tournament, and we beat the hosts on a packed ground for the first time in a coon’s age (and I don’t even know how old coons get). No, not a major trophy, but Ajax are there to win it. They parade around the grounds like peacocks prior to their kick off. This is for real, not some friendly kickabout. My point on winning it is, where was the doom prognosticating last season when we hadn’t bought anyone and we finished dead last? Tied up in a false sense of security, is my posit.
And we’re doing better than others in these useless games. Why does that not count for at least a tempering of the gloom?
Stag, I’m not sure why you’ve joined the dark side. I suspect you’re still in mourning. Having Vieira made all of us feel better, but how did we feel last November? He’d done as much to hurt our spirit as help it. It was time. That doesn’t make us a selling team. It means we were able to part as friends with someone who, in large part, had his own interests in mind before the club and letting him FINALLY go takes something no one gives Wenger much credit for: guts. I think prospects understand that. If they don’t, well…there’s always Madrid and their underachieving in a League that gives you acres of more space.
I said it before, the little we have to go on other than losing Edu and Vieira doesn’t tell us a lot. Maybe we’ll fold without them, I don’t know. But for me, evidence suggests that we have reason for cautious optimism. This was not a transfer market designed for much participation from us….and Lupoli scored from a clever piece of football from Hleb after a setup from Bentley. I take that as yet another sign of a club prepared to compete against waves of unearned cash with astute signings, not one of doom.
July 31st, 2005 at 10:13 am
Read my other reply, Stag.
July 31st, 2005 at 10:24 am
First of all, Ali’s on loan, right? And we got rid of two young keepers who haven’t broken into the first team. I’m going to defer to Wenger’s judgment on them as I’m not on the training ground day in and out.
And I’m not saying I’d trade any of the above for Hleb. You make it sound like we could have kept Vieira and had him be happy. Same with Edu. These guys made their own beds, and Wenger finally shut off the light. The horses may have been at water, but…can I use any more cliches? Probably. ;^)
My comment about Hleb was that he was courted by Chelsea and chose our club for our style of football. He didn’t go for the big payout and to sit on the bench, only to be run out now and again to play robo-ball. He saw he could express himself at our club. THAT is an integrity that we must hold onto in order to compete with clubs that can easily out-bid us, or offer a brand of football that allows for more time on the ball and sunny weather.
Its in the details, Stag. We didn’t “sell Vieira and now we’re a selling team”. There were individual circumstances that need to be explored. Edu’s situation was the same. You have a couple of players that aren’t on the same page, and one of them?the captain?makes us wait until the 11th hour five summers in a row before he honors us with another year stuck on half-motivation, and at some point you have to respect the other players who want to be here. Yes, there was our need to get something for him before it was too late, but that in itself should tell you something.
I just don’t see what you want Wenger to do unless its something he’s not able to do.
July 31st, 2005 at 10:36 am
Don’t take the tone of my post to be… angry or sarcastic or anything mean-spirited like that, Scotty. I wouldn’t give a toss if we were talking about some guy from, say, the Bundesliga and people were mangling his name. I just have a tremendous respect for Michael Owen, is all.
July 31st, 2005 at 10:47 am
I didn’t take it mean-spirited at all, actually. Sorry if it came off that way. I just wanted to use my Quincy joke. ;^)
I like Owen, as well. The guy finds the net. And he’s proven that he’s still a hot commodity even when most were counting him out. If he wanted to bring a little of that resolve to our club, he’s more than welcome in my book.
July 31st, 2005 at 10:58 am
Hey Clarkey, don’t know if you saw this yet:
http://tinyurl.com/ck2vy
Even though they used the world talismanic, it’s pretty interesting and something I’ve been trying to say in regards to little Mickey.
July 31st, 2005 at 4:54 pm
No, not in mourning any longer over Vieira, honestly. But we haven’t done anything with that money. We put it in the pockets of the board.
I’m not down for that, sorry.
its pretty simple, we haven’t improved our team, and Chelsea smoked us last year… I’m pissed off about it. We were supposed to bring in 2-3 players and add depth, we didn’t. That SUCKS. I am not happy about it. The midfield is lightweight. No two ways around it. I am not happy about it.
So we’ve put our eggs in basket with Cesc, who is 18, and could easily have the sophmore jinx that Toure did. Its common. Flamini… Senderos… played a 1/2 season, and he is expected to be GOD. Those expectations to ME, are totally unrealistic. I see a gaping hole in midfield. Pires was playing the middle against Ajax?! Come on.
Doom? Gloom? nope, not really. Just reality. We are going with kids and the expectations for me are nil. We’ll get some great performances from young players, and we’ll get some mistakes that cost us games. It will be very interesting. But it won’t be trophy filled. Thats all.
July 31st, 2005 at 4:58 pm
well… I hope today’s 2nd half performance against Porto carries over… but its still preseason.
Haven’t seen Sol, where was Cesc?, Gilberto wasn’t playing.
Cygan actually played well.
Senderos was at fault on the goal.
So who’s this years whipping boy now that Vieira is gone. Cygan? Toure? Lauren? Who will the minions hate? Whose fault will it be. So far, Cygan has actually looked pretty good.
July 31st, 2005 at 5:01 pm
How you are viewed is extremely important.
When you sell one of your best players for cash, and keep the money, its seen as a SELLING team’s move. (Everton with Rooney & Gravesen for example)
If you don’t bring in players, you appear to not be going for the gold. The decision for a young stud like Robinho or Baptista is soooooo easy. Because Arsenal sold their captain. Thats how its viewed by some. Barcelona or Madrid don’t sell their best players for any amount. Its just not done.
Perception.