All I read throughout all websites pertaining to the EPL and/or Arsenal FC is doom and gloom scenarios. Correct me if I am wrong, but Arsenal did finish 4th in the table despite some pretty serious injury concerns and inconsistent play from our younger players.
Understandably, in recent years Arsenal fans have come to expect better results than those produced the past two seasons. However this is obviously a team in transition and so it is understandable. When you have as great of a run as they did over a stretch of time, you have to turn over those players. Failure to turn over those players and bring in youth, leads you to the mediocrity that we fear (see the NY Yankees), players who don’t produce as they once did, but maintain large salaries and are impossible to move out of the club.
But we can’t deny that the kids can play. There are areas for which improvement is needed, but who doesn’t have an area in which they need to improve? Arsenal played extended stretches last season relying strictly on the kids and the football that was produced looked pretty damn good…minus some suspect finishing (the improvement thing).
I read all the time from some of you that you can’t assume that these kids will get better next year, but that just seems like paranoia. How can the majority of them not get better? Cesc made the leap over the past 2 years, and I don’t think that he’s done. Adebayor, Van Persie, Clichy, Walcott etc. all showed some level of improvement over the past year. Why would they not continue improving to some degree? The only reason I can see that they wouldn’t improve is Wenger.
Progression as in athletics is no different than progression in education. Proper teaching and experience will lead to improved performance. From all accounts it appears that Wenger and his henchmen seem to be reasonably successful at nurturing these kids into the players that they can be…he’s got some what of a positve track record here.
When you hear “nurture” get thrown out there, you can’t help but think of the “nature” side of the equation could be the problem? However, you can again look back at Arsene’s track record and think that he has a tendency to find players who have a high ceiling for growth. Sure there have been misses over the years with young talent, but with the large number of young players currently making up the roster, you would think there are more hits than misses there.
Great coaching and experience. The keys to development for these young players, isn’t that what Arsenal are currently doing. This is a great time to buy into the Arsenal stock (the team, not the actual stock). The price is down right now, but one has to think that the pieces are in place for a luctrative future. Young and talented players, Wenger and a great coaching staff, a brand new stadium for a large and passionate fan base, and what looks to be increased funds available to the team down the road. Yet everyone acts as though the sky is falling?
This post does bring out what I feel is the one true concern for Arsenal…the future of Arsene Wenger. Without Arsene there is an absolute reason for everyone to be concerned…to me, that is the only reason for doom and gloom!
92 Responses to “Why all the doom and gloom?”
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July 5th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
The fact that Spurs seem to be throwing the cash around seems a reason for doom and gloom to me, as are Man Utd and Liverpool. The fact that we sometimes seem broke in comparison can be a bit tough to take.
Wenger speculation is also adding to the impending worries, is he learning Castillian Spanish?
July 5th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Even if Wenger left I don’t see great reason for concern - Arsenal have always been a massive English club and always will be. People forget that George Graham won almost as much as Arsene Wenger and created the back 5 for which Wenger can be very thankful. How many trophies would Wenger have won without that back 5? Also, you have to admit that Wenger’s record in Europe is pretty shabby - tactically he is not the best, look at what Benitez has achieved with Liverpool.
The biggest loss to Arsenal would be the style of football Wenger has created, for me, as a football purist, that’s something that will be dearly missed when Wenger leaves and I hope that at some point he moves upstairs long-term so he can oversee things. Having this stadium is so so important, it means that Wenger does go, one day Arsenal will have the financial muscle to buy the best and compete with the best. Might take a while to see the benefits of that, but when you’ve supported the club nearly 30 years what’s another 5?
July 5th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Throwing money around guarantees nothing. This is not a rotisserie league and if you follow baseball you need look no further than the NY Yankees to see how much spending like a drunken sailor gets you. . . . sub .500 team full of “stars” (i.e. names).
Sp*dz are constantly retooling only to finish 5th again. The only thing that changes is the path they take to get there. Now they have 4 “name” strikers. Congratualitons. Have fun keeping them all happy unless Jol is going to play 4 up front.
“Pool just spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 26.5 million pounds (maybe 22.5 net) for someone who scores 15-17 goals a year in a league w/ lighter defending than Torres is used to (IMO).
Speculation is all the English Gutter Press are good at. Everyday the make news out of no news.
Look at the headlines and have a laugh, don’t fret.
I think we got one of the big pieces we were missing last year and I don’t think Wenger is done yet. Stay tuned.
July 5th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
It’s easy to get sucked into the silly season shite, and this site has not been immune to it.
My view is that the club is in a strong position because it plans to get from where it is now (remember, we are in the Champions League with a young talented side full of potential) to where it wants to be (more silverware) in a financially responsible way.
This may take a while (2 to 4 seasons?), but we’re not bound for mid-table land. Instead, I firmly believe we will remain in the top 4 because no matter that we lose TH14 (an opportunity in my book), and even if we lose Wenger after one more season, we will be in the position to attract top quality replacements.
My biggest concern is a sudden influx of massive amounts of money (Kroenke) that results in irresponsible spending with less-than-stellar results.
If I were a Chelsea fan, I’m sure I would enjoy the recent flood of silverware, but I would be very afraid of future meltdown considering their paradigm of ‘building’ a football club. No thanks.
The future looks so bright that I gotta wear shades…
July 6th, 2007 at 3:41 am
Overally speaking, folks at this site has been pretty positive. The media, pundits, ex-players, or fans from our rivals may have made a meal out of Henry’s departure, and suggesting a dark cloud is hanging over the sky of Emirates. But that’s the way it is - the game is almost like an one-dimension to them. 1+1=2. 2-1=1.
Fortunately, I haven’t seen too many ppl on this site get sucked into this mentality though.
Spurs may have spent lot of money, but they always did anyway. As I said two seasons ago when they couldn’t even beat us to 4th place after we had lost 9 or 11 games all season, they probably wouldn’t be able to do it in the near future, at least not with Martin Jol in charge.
I have a strong feeling this will be the last season of Martin Jol’s reign in Spurs. He had spent more than many previous Spurs’ managers, yet the result never change. The last time they WON anything was actually by George Graham, that sure enough to p*ss them off.
July 6th, 2007 at 4:20 am
Much of the doom and gloom is a result of our lack of spending. Everyone seems to forget that spending doesn’t automatically mean success. It takes time to integrate new players into a new system and even more time for them to adapt to the league if they’re coming from abroad. Sure there are a few exceptions but for the most part everyone needs time.
I remember a few short seasons ago, Everton finished fourth in the league and were able to attract many big players from abroad that wanted to play in Europe. With these new big players Everton failed to qualify for the CL and the UEFA Cup at the first hurdle, and were fighting relegation at Christmas. The same thing has happened at Newcastle. You simply can’t depend on these new players to have an immediate impact and many fail to have any impact.
I’m a bit dissapointed that we no longer have the best player in the world in our team but if he wants to leave what are you going to do? We’ve all watched Wenger bring in small players and make them big names. I’ve admired many of the players he brought in before they actually came so I trust when he buys someone I’ve never heard of.
Fans can’t just jump on the buy bandwagon. For instance, six million for Babel, for what? Exactly what can he do that Aliadiere couldn’t? I’ve seen Babel and I for one rate Ali higher. So why spend the six million? Aliadiere knows the Arsenal system, the Premiere League, and he wouldn’t cost us anything. Wenger just got rid of Ali for a third of what they’re rating Babel at so why buy Babel? It’s nonsense. Who actually believes Babel is three times better than Aliadiere?
No reason for doom and gloom boys. Wenger knows and isn’t pushing the panic buy button.
July 6th, 2007 at 6:16 am
Hey Mike, the new Fantasy Premier League game has started. Would you create an ArsenalAmerica league again?
BTW, I finished 2nd the last season in our league with the same points as the 1st. Maybe he had a better goal difference :))))))))))))
July 6th, 2007 at 6:32 am
“with the same points” - normally I meant level on points :))))
July 6th, 2007 at 6:53 am
Read an interesting piece from BBC - Arsenal may stop their hunt of a new full back as Flamini claimed he’s happy to play at right back now.
I know not too many Flamini fans here. I too am not impressed with his playing as CM neither. But I did like what i see when he played as emergency full backs (both right and left) two seasons ago.
Funny thing is, the back 4 of Eboue, Toure, Senderos and Flamini actually did better than our back 4 last season during the 2nd half of 2005-6 season. They also went on to break the CL’s clean-sheet record with 8 or 9 in a row. And they achieved that up against big teams like Real Madrid, Juve.
Flamini got a solid skills, and good pace as well to be a full back. Most significantly, he has that ability to charge forward down the flank from full back position to cross the ball into middle. Something Justin Hoyte can’t.
Clichy got the pace, and improved a lot last season, but one of his weaknesses so far is his lack of accuracy with his cross.
I think keeping Flamini, and if he’s willing to, then we would have a good alternative or at least a solid backup in both right and left back positions.
July 6th, 2007 at 7:22 am
Even if Flamini is willing to play either RB or LB, I think we still could use another defensive signing. Preferably someone who is strong in the air. Nothing against Flamini, I think he can be useful on the backline, and his midfield instincts are a plus when he pushes forward.
July 6th, 2007 at 7:28 am
I’m surprised no-one has come in for him, he’s a decent prospect for a mid-table team. There’s no point him staying at Arsenal, he’s way back in the midfield queue and Clichy is no 1 left back, Gallas can play there and it would be more sensible to blood Traore. You wouldn’t have Flamini on the bench just in case Clichy gets injured.
July 6th, 2007 at 7:41 am
if flamini is really willing to play as backup for the LB and RB spots then i say KEEP HIM!!! he is a decent LB and i think he will back up clichy quite well.
he can also contest for 5th choice CM spot with Song. Great!!!
he can be our utility player! am happy he is finally coming to his senses.
with that settled its now time to ship out Ljunberg, Almunia and Senderos while bringing in TWO wingers! Come on Wenger!
July 6th, 2007 at 7:42 am
Hey guys, check out this interesting statistic of arsenals play last season:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml;jsessionid=AHELPEAX2JJQLQFIQMGSFFOAVCBQWIV0?menuId=35&menuItemId=155&view=PICHEADLINESUMMARY&grid=F17&targetRule=5&team=3&teamname=Arsenal
July 6th, 2007 at 7:58 am
look down on that page and see the showing the “shots”, “passing” and “tackling” stats of all our team members. some startling and not so startling results are revealed!
passing:
Fabregas attempts the most. and has by far the most assists. not shocking.
Adebayor is the striker who attempts the most passes.
tackling:
clichy attempts by far the most tackles and has the highest success rate. he also has the highest interception rate in the team. this guy is gonna be a monster soon!!!
eboue on the other hand tackles far less, has a lower success rate when he does….and has just a third of clichys interceptions!
Song had a 100% tackle success rate!!! though he made only 4 tackles and no interceptions.
Hleb despite what i thought about him actually has a high tackle attempt number plus a very good success rate. he also has the highest interception rate in our midfield.
But the most shocking is that Fabregas attempts more tackles than Gilberto. Fabregas also has a much higher tackle success rate !!!! And he makes almost the same number of interceptions as Gilberto.
Infact Gilberto is quite woeful in this field in this field….and it is supposed to be his strong point!!! What exactly is Gilberto doing?????
It seems that Hleb, Fabregas, Toure and Clichy can do a far BETTER job than Gilberto!!!! Or maybe he has been taking time out to score more goals !!!! :-)))
Yeah, I know stats dont tell the who story….but in Gilbertos case his tackling success and interception rate are not super!! And he played A LOT of games!! Am quite dissappointed.
Clichy is really looking very, very good though. And maybe Hleb can finally have his breakout season!
Stats, stats, stats!
July 6th, 2007 at 9:20 am
Statistics such as this are very very misleading. Passing accuracy for example, it depends on where on the pitch you are trying to make passes from - if the keeper rolls it out to a defender he might make a simple 5 yard pass to his left or right to a midfielder, and that is classed as successful pass, whereas a midfielder has to be more incisive and creative with his passing under greater pressure. Some players are closed down quicker than others etc. so I wouldn’t read anything into statistics as they are mostly meaningless.
As for Gilberto, he has never been a tackler - I’m surprised you haven’t noticed. He diverts play, he harries people, makes people pass backwards, sideways or make the wrong pass, and he intercepts passes as defensive back up. He’s an invisible shield really - great at helping defences out, especially in the box. At home I wouldn’t play him - don’t need him for most games.
July 6th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Its funny my two favorite sports are soccer and baseball. I love examining baseball stats cuz i know what they mean. Soccer is a much different animal i think. so much goes on with out the ball. But i very much liked the link Fred. i didnt know those stats were available. Cool.
July 6th, 2007 at 9:38 am
Morning fellas.
I just finished putting together my latest fantasy team, and this year I have also started a private league as well, and I’m inviting all the Gooners here on the forum to join…
It’s free, and I had a blast with it the past couple seasons (which, now that I’m a dad, is cool since it’s one of the few bits of leisure I get!)
Log on at the official EPL site:
http://www.premierleague.com/fapl.rac?command=forwardOnly&nextPage=homepage&tab=fixtures
Click on the link at the lower left hand side where it says ‘Fantasy League’, and the rest is all explained for you… and you can join multiple leagues, so don’t feel as though you can’t make a commitment.
League Name: Arsenal America
Access Code (to join the private league): 15843-5346
Cheers!
July 6th, 2007 at 10:00 am
ryecatcher773, are you Jim Oliver and your team is N5 Powderkeg FC, or that is some other guy?
July 6th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Sheed… I could tell you, but, see, but I’m on a secret mission…
(yeah. that’s the right league… now, if I disappear in Eastern Europe, the blood is on your hands)
;-))
July 6th, 2007 at 10:39 am
Danny, yeah, i always knew he wasnt a tackler but not only does Fabregas out-tackle him….he actually wins less of the tackles he makes than Fabregas (who plays in around the same area as him!)
In my view, I see no reason why Fabregas and Hleb should intercept more than him! Clichy has 3 times more intercepts but let me put that to a different position. So I am only comparing him to his fellow midfielders now.
If his main strength is harrying the opposition into a mistake then he is just an upgrade on Flamini. The guy should really improve on his interceptions at least.
With only this quality he is a decidedly inferior player to Mascherano who tackles/intercepts and can also markout a player of Kaka`s stature.
Would be happy if he can contribute another 10 goals this next season though!
But seriously, players like Toure, Gallas, Gilberto and Lehmann really, really, really have to step up and start playing like monsters.
July 6th, 2007 at 10:45 am
in on the EPL fantasy league
July 6th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Cool. BTW, if you guys know anyone else who wants to play they are welcome. It isn’t necessary that they are regulars here… or that they post at all. Just so long as they want to play, that’s good enough… just do me a favor and don’t invite any Chelsea fans — if you know any!
July 6th, 2007 at 11:27 am
They (Chelsea fans) won’t join unless there is an unlimited budget to be allocated for them!! ; )
July 6th, 2007 at 11:49 am
Yeah, doom and gloom should not be here. Just look at last year’s UEFA Cup contenders (and lower)- playing for a draw against us. I opt for cautious optimism.
Flamini staying is good news if true. He works hard and I remember him scoring a goal or two from runs in the box. With the small # of subs allowed in the EPL having a versatile player on the bench is important and allows us more attacking options.
I’d rather see Senderos go then loan out Djourou as some press has reported- UNLESS the plan is to get him a full season of playing so next year he can start or be the automatic 3rd choice. I like his size, he improved 2nd half on heading the ball away, and again, nice versatility as a CB or CDM option off the bench.
Don’t think we should sell Almunia. Ljunberg- maybe but don’t think it will happen. I think we’ll get one more 1st team signing. Hope it’s enough..
July 6th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Oh, as for the fear of losing Wenger. I share the fear but am also concerned about perceptions that Arsene IS Arsenal and that we’d be lost without him. The rumors of a 2-3 year extension are reassuring and I think important at this time but Arsenal is my team. I didn’t grow up in North London and have only had the pleasure to watch for the past 2 seasons but 40 years from now it will still be my club. I think while Wenger is still here we need to strengthen the image of continuity, progress, etc. and that our coach embodies the Arsenal principles rather than vice-versa. The latter would be transient and wrong.
July 6th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
In on the EPL fantasy league, though it is hard to pick some players because of their team. I did manage to keep some small piece of dignity, and not select any Chelski players (mainly cause I couldn’t afford them).
July 6th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
As far as Wenger goes, I know that when he does decide to leave the club, that he will not be leaving the cubbard bare. The amount of talent we have (though mostly young) will give anyone who comes here to manage a chance of competing for silverware.
The “Doom and Gloom” from some of the media is something I actually enjoy seeing from them. It makes winning and competing for titles so much sweeter when few expect it. It also may be a factor that may of the media who predict our demise do so because we don’t have what they consider a “sexy” or “superstar” player since Henry left. Liverpool have Gerrard and now Torres, ManU has Rooney and CR7, and Chelsea has a team of “superstars”. Personally, I look forward to us proving them wrong.
July 6th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
I think Flamini staying is positive, he looks like a hard working player. I would still like a couple more players though.
I was feeling gloomy until I spoke to a Liverpool supporting pal who has literally conceded the title to ManUtd. I guess money does not buy optimism…
July 6th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
I spoke to a co worker of mine who is a ManU guy, and he doesn’t like the Tevez signing, he thinks it will bring the team down because there will be too many players who have to have the ball. He thinks they would have been better off signing some defensive cover then more attack minded signings. I guess no matter the team, there will always be fans second guessing the manager.
July 6th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Okay, I always believe that your eyes and common sense say more than stats can…but those stats are fascinating!
So, being bored at work - I played with the stats and from a STATS ONLY perspective, I was able to rank the players…of course, this is subjective and just for fun.
Defenders:
1. (tie) Gallas, Hoyte (personally, I thought Gallas gets the edge here)
3. Clichy (this actually makes sense)
4. Eboue (ehhh?)
5. (tie) Toure, Djourou (Djourou just didn’t do much, while Toure had a bad year - often caught out of position, no?)
7. Senderos (didn’t factor enough statistically to rank any higher - in other words he was a ghost often when on the pitch)
Midfielders
1. Fabregas (obvious - his sheer number of passes gave him the edge)
2. Hleb (this shocked me)
3. Gilberto (third mainly because of penalty conversions)
4. Ljungberg (tackles - when healthy he did a good job)
5. Rosicky (mainly got this on a few excellent shots on goal)
6. (tie) everyone else (mostly due to each person’s limited time on pitch)
I left Baptista out of here…haha. I thought he played awful all season other than one match at Anfield.
Forwards
1. (tie) Henry, Adebayor, RvP (TH because he was efficient on goal, Ade because he was out there the most, RvP would have won this had he not been hurt so much)
4. Walcott (tackling & passing - the kid was pretty decent)
5. Alidiere (just didn’t play enough to factor…Middlesbrough is getting a good deal, I think)
What do y’all think?
July 6th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
by the way, what I did was calculate the mean average for each category by position…then I looked at the ranking and asterisked any player who fell approx. 25% below that median average. Then I assigned 3 points for being #1, 2 points for #2, 1 point for #3, and zero points for being 4 or worse…asterisked players could not be ranked in the top 3. Then, add each players total up and then you re-rank the players. Not entirely accurate and totally subjective, but at least those players who were on the pitch don’t get a super high ranking for one good game or being in the match late when the score was settled.
Now from a common sense, my eyes only as a fan, perspective:
Defenders:
1. Gallas
2. Toure
3. Clichy
4. Hoyte
5. Senderos
6. Eboue
7. Djourou
Midfielders
1. Fabergas
2. Gilberto
3. Rosicky
4. Hleb
5. Diaby
6. Flamini
7. Denilson
8. Ljungberg
9. Baptista
10. Song
Forwards
1. RvP
2. Henry
3. Adebayor
4. Walcott
5. Alidiere
July 6th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
You’d think after 7 years people would be able to spell Aliadiere. The fact people can’t says a lot more than any statistic. Poor Middlesbrough - I bet in 5 years their fans won’t be able to spell Aliadiere either.
July 6th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Jeez, man…sorry. So, I left out an A. Hahaha - football fans are so uptight.
(I’m kidding, DannyT)
July 6th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
and this article: http://www.sportingo.com/football/irrational_exuberance_that_augurs_ill/1001,3904
I assume many of you have seen it, but I think sums up a lot of our feelings about the Arsenal versus the other clubs.
July 6th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Interesting manipulation of data. The fact that Hleb, by the numbers, is rated higher then most fans would have placed him, shows that maybe we don’t always notice the little things a player does to help the team. Nice work for a Friday BoLiles.
July 7th, 2007 at 1:26 am
We have 7 so far, and still plenty of room left… for those who scroll down the page and didn’t see the open invite to play fantasy EPL, I’ve cut and pasted the info here… and yes, it’s free! (what else you gonna do on a Saturday?)
Log on at the official EPL site:
http://www.premierleague.com/fapl.rac?command=forwardOnly&nextPage=homepage&tab=fixtures
Click on the link at the lower left hand side where it says ‘Fantasy League’, and the rest is all explained for you… and you can join multiple leagues, so don’t feel as though you can’t make a commitment.
League Name: Arsenal America
Access Code (to join the private league): 15843-5346
July 7th, 2007 at 4:40 am
Hi emonaha,
Skipping stats and fanasy league and going back to your post - I could not agree more with what you said. I strongly believe that AW knows what he is doing and I do care if spurs are throwing money around. Really, why would I be?
July 7th, 2007 at 7:39 am
Interesting statistics actually…looking at the Defenders tackles attempted column. I just came up with a logical theory IMO.
The reason Clichy makes so many tackles and so many interceptions is because he bombs up the left wing so many times and is invariably somewhere near the half line trying to start something. Now if you look at Hoyte and Eboue together they have still made 21 tackles less than Clichy and have 26 interceptions less than Clichy. So that effectively means that our left is far more dynamic than our right as of now.
Toure for a CB in comparison to the other CB’s makes a lot more tackles. A simple reason could be ..he’s played more games. But i still think again that its the number of runs he makes upfield and the need to track back faster that cause more tackles to be made.
Gallas has far lesser tackles as does Sendy and while they have both played much lesser than Kolo it does show to a degree that they are both “positional” players who are not exactly ever going to bomb forward with pace but are going to try and read the game to be effective.
As for the Gilberto bit I guess thats the reason he is called the invisible wall..gets the job done without the fancy stuff (Robbie Savage style). I’d actually be very interested to compare Gilberto with Claude Makelele last year(he wasnt regular last year) and see how he stacks up coz Makelele is a similar kind of player.
Does this make sense or am I overanalyzing stuff?
July 7th, 2007 at 7:41 am
sorry i meant compare with Makelele the year before last. 2005-06 but that season Gilberto had an absolute nightmare for most of it
so a comparison would be flawed??
July 7th, 2007 at 8:41 am
The best news is the reports that Real are ready to take Reyes and talks are on. If that works out, expect Wenger to quickly sign a replacement winger.
July 7th, 2007 at 8:50 am
With the new numbers in for next season, our presen team for next season stands at:
GK: Lehmann, Fabianski, Almunia
RB: Eboue, Hoyte
CB: Toure, Gallas, Senderos, Djorou
LB: Clichy, Flamini
RM: Hleb, Walcott
CM: Fabregas, Gilberto, Diaby, Denilson, Song
LM: Rosicky, Ljunberg
ST: Van Persie, Eduardo, Adebayor, Bendtner
That is 24 players.
Surely, Ljunberg needs to be moved on for a speedy left winger AT LEAST. Or else we wouldnt have solved our lack-of-width problem.
July 7th, 2007 at 9:07 am
Fred, that would be a left winger for Reyes, not Ljunberg.
July 7th, 2007 at 9:35 am
yeah, but reyes wasnt even at the club last season, so i never reckon him in my thinking really.
personally, if we are going to buy only one winger then i guess it is OK to keep Ljunberg as well. But he earns 70k per week the second highest in the team…and he pretty much contributes zilch (compare him to Fabregas who is our 3rd highest earner on 50k per week!!!)
I think Walcott is more likely to offer more in the coming season than Ljunberg.
I say we should bring in 2 new wingers and get rid of Ljunberg.
I wonder if Almunia is OK with being 3rd choice keeper! If he is that would be great!!!
July 7th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Fred, do you seriously think Wenger will sign two wingers? Even if Ljunberg is moved on.
A CB is more priority than a second winger. But that is also unlikely.
I think Wenger will stop after getting a replacement for Reyes. But I would love to be wrong.
July 7th, 2007 at 10:05 am
Notice Wenger’s modus operandi.
Muamba out for 2M, Fabianski in for 2M.
Aliadiere out for 1.5M, Norveidt in for 2M.
Henry out for 16.5M, Eduardo in for 8/9M.
Reyes out, new winger in.
Arsenal fans are happy with new signings. Arsenal board is happy with a net profit (yet again) in the transfer market.
Is the team stronger with the new signings? Hard to argue that is. I guess that’s the point Mazza was trying to make.
But I do feel that with the right winger, the balance of the team will improve. Eduardo is the kind of out and out striker Arsenal need to convert those numerous chances we create, especially in Henry’s absence.
The biggest void I see in the team now is match winners. With Henry no more, only RvP fits the bill, unless Cesc steps up on the goal scoring front (which I think he will, but only time will tell).
July 7th, 2007 at 10:11 am
nipuna, when i talk about 2 wingers i am not talking about babel, malouda, etc.
i am talking of wingers who are around 19 or 20, from anywhere in the world who are very fast but rather unknown. (basically in the mold of the denilson purchase last summer).
so i am not necessarily talking of two massive wingers.
i honestly think wenger can get a fairly known winger like Silva at Valencia or Quaresma PLUS a totally unknown cheap winger for the sum of about 10 million pounds!!
OK, OK, i admit Wenger will probably only get one winger (the cheap-winger option too). But i still think we should get rid of Ljunberg regardless.
If you take out Gallas and Ljunberg, the wage ceiling is actually Fabregas (at 50k per week). I can understand the wages for Gallas as that is the only reason he will come to Arsenal from Chelsea….but 70k for Ljunberg is an absolute waste of money for somebody who is NOT creative and doesnt score ANY goals PLUS who is alwaaaaaays injured.
Whatever permutations we just need to get rid of him.
The wages saved can then be used on the new winger and center back.
July 7th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Fred, tell me again why we need a 19-20 year old winger when we have Walcott? Agreed, he is not a true winger, but that is where he will play as we have four strikers. You want a 5th choice winger behind Rosicky, Hleb, new winger and Walcott?
I think Wenger will move on Ljunberg if he finds any takers for his 70K wages. But tell me, which right minded club will pay that? That’s why we see him linked only to clubs like Newcastle, Portsmouth and Inter Milan.
July 7th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Nipuna,
You say “the biggest void I see in the team now is match winners”
I would have to say that right now the biggest void is a CB that would strike fear in the opposition’s forwards….without that signing we will still concede goals and put ourselves in a precarious position week after week. We HAVE TO sort out our defensive frailties before the start of the season and we have to start strong.
It seems Wenger believes we have a match winner in DaSilva, but we all know only time will tell and surely he will need to adjust.
We MUST NOT leak in silly goals to give ourselves a chance…..
Defense needs to be sorted out……I personally believe Gallas/Toure combination is not fit for EPL. They have a height disadvantage in the middle of our box…… We need a tall/strong CB to deal with the likes of Drogba, Nolan and Crouch. Senderos, I hope, AW has recognized, is NOT the person to do that job.
True, we can also use a winger…….but that’s a different subject.
July 7th, 2007 at 11:15 am
Not sure if Sagna is the answer…..we need someone in the mold of Tony Adams, Rio, JT, Campbell…….
Who do you think will fit the bill? Curtis Davies? Ledley King? (Too Expensive)
If anyone, it’ll again be some little known/unknown person. That is IF Arsene believes that this area is one of our deficiencies……we shall see…..
July 7th, 2007 at 11:50 am
@ nipuna, to be honest i see Walcott more as a striker.
and as for the centre back problem: the CB that can solve our problem will have to be a first choice.
so the only way we can really strengthen in that area is if we sell Gallas!!!
so that is a VERY tricky situation!
plus how many really good center backs are out there that you would risk buying in place of Gallas? I really cant think of any that can come in and do a job immediately.
Maybe if we could trade Gallas for Ledley King….but ofcourse that will only happen in a dream. They will never give King to us.
All in all, Gallas has to be moved on for us to really do what you guys want.
July 7th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
I am all for a CB. My choice is Micah Richards. He is good and young. He doesn’t have to be 1st choice now, but he (and Djourou) will future proof us if Gallas does a Henry next season. Only problem is the price.
July 7th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
A fairly complex situation…..it’ll need to be sorted out though…..
July 7th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
I mentioned a CB that I saw playing for the France U-21’s last month. This guy would have fit the bill but Spurs just signed him. They paid 8 million for him and he may prove to be worth it. He really impressed me in the Toulon tournament this year. I believe Spurs just signed the best young CB in the world.
Another thing to consider about a CB is they’ll need certain qualities to play for Arsenal. They’ll need pace, good skills, and good in 1v1’s. Kolo and Gallas can do that. John Terry and even Tony Adams would struggle as they lack the pace required for a CB in this current Arsenal set up. We play with a very high line and slow CB’s would be destroyed.
Sidebar; with all the Torres talk going on, Liverpool have krept Andriy Voronin through the back door from Leverkusen for free. This guy’s is better than Torres and will win games for Liverpool. He’s an absolute nightmare to have to deal with. Last month he gave France a torrid time in a qualification match. Once again, I’m unhappy that our opposition has signed a Wenger-type player before Wenger. If he gets to play, he will make an impact.
July 7th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Liverpool had signed a pre-contract agreement with Voronin in January itself.
July 7th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
errr nipuna, Richards is the same height as Gallas so how exactly does he help out with our problem in the air???
July 8th, 2007 at 4:47 am
“Another thing to consider about a CB is they’ll need certain qualities to play for Arsenal. They’ll need pace, good skills, and good in 1v1’s. Kolo and Gallas can do that. John Terry and even Tony Adams would struggle as they lack the pace required for a CB in this current Arsenal set up. We play with a very high line and slow CB’s would be destroyed.”
Good points.
July 8th, 2007 at 6:35 am
Height is useful but not everything, look at Senderos - he has height but half the time the ball goes over his head because his positioning is all wrong. The players need to be coached better, where to stand, who to mark, and there needs to be better communication.
When defending a corner the attacking player has a running jump, so no matter how tall you are (unless you are a giant), the opposition will have an advantage over the defender who is in a standing position. So it’s more to do with positioning and intelligence, as long as you are not a midget.
Carvalho and Terry, in my opinion the best defensive partnership in Europe, are 6.0 and 6.1 whereas Gallas is 5.11 and Toure 6.0 - so not much difference really.
July 8th, 2007 at 7:16 am
but u have to admit our style of play is a nightmare for the traditional big, strong yet slow type of English central defenders.
Kolo Toure is by no mean an all around central half. But his athletcism suits our play perfectly with his pace to track back when our off-side trap was broken.
If we were a team who defends deep, Toure’s weakness will get found out. I guess it’s part of the reason we are so poor defending set-pieces. I found myself always holding my breathe whenever the opponents had a corner or free kick.
Of course, the ability to read the game will help. But imagine with today’s Arsenal style of play, with both full backs tend to push up, a cental defending pair like Bould and Adams would face a big problem when opposing teams start a counter attack and break clear from the middle.
July 8th, 2007 at 7:17 am
Dannyt, yeah I agree with you….but I dont think selling of Gallas to bring in Richards is an answer on any level - either skillwise, practically, experience-wise or realistically. so (nipuna) saying we need to handle balls in the air better and then talking about Richards is rather an unwise.
i am quite resigned to us not “strengthening” our defense…we can only hope that each member of our team improves a little in the air, and in our ability to prevent crosses being thrown in.
Infact I think the defense just needs to concede 5 goals fewer and our attack/midfield score 15 goals more and we will be in serious, serious business.
I think this team with a relatively injury-free season can do this.
July 8th, 2007 at 7:23 am
During the past one or two seasons, I noticed one thing, when we had one full back push up, and another stay back, our formation shifted to a 3-5-2.
Say, a starting back 4 with Eboue-Toure-Gallas-Clichy, if Clichy push forward, then Gallas would move to left, Toure stay in the middle, Eboue right.
When Eboue push forward, Toure would move to the right, Gallas middle, Clichy left.
In other words, i don’t think we would have a strong big central half anymore. AW probably wants his central defenders be able to play as emergency full backs in order to protect us from a counter attack.
July 8th, 2007 at 7:33 am
so our defense without too much injury at least 5 goals fewer…i believe they have the ability to do that.
now, hopefully Eduardo can at least replace the 13 goals Henry and Baptista scored last season.
Now, Van Persie should be able to get at least 5 more than he did last season. And I believe Adebayor can do the same. That is an extra 10 goals.
Can Bendtner and Walcott produce 5 goals between themselves? I dont see why not! So that is an extra 15 goals.
Last season, Rosicky, Hleb and Fabregas scored 3, 2, 2 goals respectively. That is abysmal. I think each of them as the ability to reach 5 goals at the very least. So that is an extra 22 goals.
So in a relatively injury season we should be able to concede 5 goals less and score 22 goals more. Giving us a goaldifference improvement of +27. And if the goals are well spread out (ie. not expended on a single thrashing of say Derby County!) then that is easily an extra 18 to 20 points!
And then suddenly we are in action.
July 8th, 2007 at 7:56 am
There will be more goals simply because Henry and Van Persie both missed four months of the season. I think Rosicky will score more because he also spent a lot of time out of the team - but there’s no reason to suggest this won’t happen again. Arsenal need to prepare for injuries better and need a much stronger bench.
There were a lot of reasons for our demise last season, but I can definitely see a lot more goals flying in this year. Problem for me is that it all starts at the back, Gallas needs to stay fit and show us what he can do, Eboue needs to improve massively otherwise he should not be guaranteed a place - I hope Sagna pushes him all the way - it looks a done deal. I think Clichy will improve a lot more this season and become more reliable.
There is improvement to come all over the pitch - at the moment we are not title contenders but with a top centre back and a winger I would not rule Arsenal out of anything - they would definitely compete at the very least.
July 8th, 2007 at 8:48 am
Fred, you forgot to mention that Gilberto will score less than last year, but yes, we will have a better goal difference.
And about Richards… have you seen him play? The kid can jump really high, the height doesn’t matter. Remember Spud Webb, or the new little man in the NBA Nate Robinson? They are both short but jump very high, so although Richards is short I believe he can ‘out-jump’ any player in the world.
July 8th, 2007 at 10:23 am
Check the Soccernet’s latest headline….. U gotta love those Spanish giants. First, Anelka, then Overmars/Petit, then Vieira, then Henry…. they just never STOP!
It seems like the Barcelona or Real Madrid wants who and who from Arsenal has become an annual affair. I bet the Fabregas set for Real Madrid or Barcelona rumors will drag on until the day he really leaves.
July 8th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Funny thing is why on earth nobody is linking to Steven Gerrard or Wayne Rooney anymore? Dont tell me they can’t afford them if they want them.
July 8th, 2007 at 11:10 am
sheed, again, the incoming CB would have to be a first choice to impact our results. that means one of our CBs (Gallas) would have to leave.
are u seriously saying Richards is better than Gallas????? Please!
Or you want Richards for 15 million as backup???
Be realistic.
July 8th, 2007 at 11:35 am
You guys have delved into the complexity of this CB situation…..I am not saying Gallas should leave. I just feel that the Gallas/Toure Central defense partnership is not perfectly suited for the EPL. You are right in that Sendy has poor positioning…he is also somewhat awkward on the ball and doesn’t give me peaceful feeling when he has the ball.
Danny, even though the height difference may not be but an inch or two at the most, we still have an aerial disadvantage over Carvalho and JT; over Rio and Vidic…….is it jumping ability? Is it anticipation and positioning? I am not sure….
It might be tactics: we have always employed a “zonal marking” system in defending corners and free kicks as opposed to a “man marking” system, which I think is a disadvantage when dealing with the Drogbas of this league.
Of course this is a tactical and philosophical issue which AW will not change…..As I have said before, I would love to see Tony Adams coming in and helping with our defensive coaching. It would also give him a platform to take over the job when Wenger decides to vacate……just a thought
I don’t think AW will go in for Micah. He is too expensive….of course so is Ledley, whom I rate highly……
Don’t know of this U21 French CB you speak of JoshuaD…..what’s his name?
Off topic: Have we signed this 21 year old kid Yoan Gouffran form Caen? His moves are eerily Thierry-like…….scary………
Also: very glad Gilberto said something to shut Drogba up…..
July 8th, 2007 at 11:38 am
I would like to see a strong, tall, athletic, mean, smart, good positional sense CB come in and have Kolo in RB and move Eboue to R wing….
Not gonna happen……
July 8th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Steve Bould does defensive coaching, I shouldn’t think Adams would be much better at it than him.
As for Fabregas, players leave Arsenal when Wenger wants them to leave - and only when Wenger wants them to leave.
July 8th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
I am betting for the following things to occur this season:
Eduardo - I think he will be good for about 8 goals. The jump to the EPL is difficult, but he will score off of penalties and the like.
RvP - thanks to the playmaking ability of our midfield, I think he will score 15 goals.
Adebayor - will not improve much and will be absent in midseason. About 8 goals.
Bendter (spelling?) - 1 goal…I think he is this year’s Walcott, no?
Walcott - claims he is gunning for 10 but I think 4 is realistic for the youngster.
Fabregas - I think his late season scoring jump will continue - 7 goals
Rosicky - I like him a lot, and I think he will punch in 6 goals
Diaby - why is he so underrated on our squad? 4 goals possibly
Gilberto - 4 goals as Eduardo and RvP will take a lot of the penalties
Hleb - 3 Goals, as he is not a scorer imo
Denilson - 1 goal
Ljungberg - I think Freddy proves some of us wrong and scores 3 goals and has a decent season if he is not sold on the cheap.
Gallas - off of set pieces I believe will get 2 goals
Hoyte/Eboue/Clichy/Djourou/Song/Flamini/Senderous/Toure - a collective 4 goals from this group.
Now that is a 9-10 goal jump in the league, yes? If we sure up our defence, conceding less goals on set pieces, and add a winger capable of scoring…I think we are in the hunt for the top 4. I HATE to admit but ManU is looking strong, espc. if they get Tevez…I think Liverpool will be better, but I think Torres will take shots on goal from Crouch…their moves are not much improvement. So, I don’t think they will contend for the title. Chelsea - what can I say? I think they decline a little. I don’t think their moves are on par with United. I think their manager is dramatic and that drama is not always a good thing. I really think United is first, but I think second is a wide open race between Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool. Newcastle doesn’t have a chance with the ugly football Big Sam brings…it will always undo them. Spurs - I hate them but they will fight for 4th position. However, I think they are more dangerous in 08/09 than this year. it takes a year for things to gel.
One last thing. If Henry had left after a 20+ goal season, I would be extremely worried about us dropping out of the top 4. But he only scored 10. Henry is a world beater and an Arsenal legend, but this year we basically tied with Liverpool with him out of the lineup A LOT. I think, with some luck in the health dept, we place third if Wenger signs two more players who can contribute now.
July 8th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Tony is a very proud man, the only way I can see him returning is when somehow Arsenal decides to hire him as manager (very unlikely) OR when Wenger leaves.
Despite being a great captain for AW, he doesn’t seem like agreeing with AW’s method after he retired. From what he has said over the years, he appeared not too happy with the number of English players in the Arsenal side; and he disagreed with AW for playing a too attacking minded midfield.
Adams felt one of our wide players has to be a bit defensive oriented in order to seek for a balance. As this had always been the case for Arsenal at the past (e.g. Parlour to complment Overmars; Rocastle to compliment Limpar / Marwood in early days)
Also, i feel Adams has too much a pride to want to be a coach. He wants to be a leader, to take charge. It’s ok when he’s with Feyenood, but at Arsenal, he had always be the MAN. Being a coach is very much a nobody, the only way he will be back is to be the manager.
July 8th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Oh man Bolies, i had just submitted a post with the exact same subject, now u beat me to this!!
July 8th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Fred, I didn’t say that I want Gallas to be sold, I was just trying to explain that it doesn’t matter how tall you are with your ability to jump high. But I would like to see Richards as an Arsenal player, and he is a Gunner in his heart too.
July 8th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Adams will be an utter disaster as an Arsenal coach. We cant hire an arrogant guy who disagrees with Wengers style of play.
He will practically undo all the work of the last 3 years - sell off most of our youngsters and flood the team with trash because they are english. We would drop from Wengerball to longball in an instant. Am sure a lot of Arsenal fans might become suicidal watching that.
In my opinion, I think the best, cheapest and safest successor to Wenger is PAT RICE. Yes, yes, he is no tactical genius (apparently) but he has been there from the very beginning of Wengerball so he must be convinced by it. And he probably thinks a lot like Wenger as well.
With Rice around we will keep our top-4 place because he will need to settling in time, he knows all the players inside out. He will be very familiar with the financial constraints at Arsenal.
The only difference I would imagine is that he will probably speed up the promotion of some of our English youngsters like Randall, Conolly and Jay Simpson. And I have no problem with that.
Dennis Bergkamp can then be assistant manager.
July 8th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Interesting takes…….I was unaware of all that you say about Adams…..
Not quite sure how you guys can predict the number of goals by each player though…..
July 8th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Talking about new generation of managers, I’ll be watching Roy Keane’s progress with interest.
When he first took charge of Sunderland last season, i remember the BlackCats had in fact started their season losing 5 in a row. Credited to their chairman Niall Quinn, who promptly sacked himself and put aside his personal difference with Keane since WC2002, then grabbed his service immediately after the latter’s retirement from his playing career.
Sunderland in the end won the promotion. What made it more impressive is, not only they are promoted, they in fact won the Championship despite such a poor start.
For Keane, it’s one hell of a debut season as a manager. If he would go on to lead Sunderland to a top half finish, soon he’ll be among the hottest target for the Premiership clubs.
The media love to hype up the young managers just as much as they do with the players. Stuart Pearce for instance, was among the one to be named as England boss, simply because one ok season with City.
Come to think of it, there are many managers today had some soft of link with Man Utd - Bryan Robson, Steve McClaren, Steve Bruce, Paul Ince, Mark Hughes… now Roy Keane.
July 8th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Andez, I defer to your wisdom and wit, man. I am a newbie - so post away!
July 8th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Andez, I don’t know why Gerrard is not mentioned for transfers. Rooney on the other hand is overrated. He is a very good player with a ton of heart but he is just not a world beater like most english fans seem to think. No team wants to spend 30-40 mil on a player that averages 15 goals in the league.
Arsenal players are constantly being linked to transfers abroad cuz the media are idiots. AW develops a ton of young talent and then sends them on if they don’t cut it here. He keeps the cream of the crop. He won’t sell until he feels the time is right as he did with Viera and Henry and Anelka. The thing is, the reasons for all three were different.
July 8th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
one also as to keep in mind when considering possible transfer targets that Wenger would never buy a player with who drinks.
Basically nobody in our entire first team (I doubt about Bendtner though!) drinks. Toure, Gallas, Gilberto, Lehmann, Eboue, Adebayor, RvP, Hleb, Rosicky all dont. Infact that last Arsenal player who did that was Cashley. Figures.
Was just reading in the News of the World that Lampard, SWP, Bridge and Glenn Johnson were in Las Vegas gambling and drinking away, while chasing birds…even though they all got one at home. LOL.
No Arsenal player can dare do that.
July 8th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Adams has a helluva lot to prove before he can coach any Premiership side let alone Arsenal. Maybe in 10 years if he excels as a manager elsewhere. This is Arsenal, not Middlesbrough or some other crummy club with no future.
July 8th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Also: Rick Parry was saying that the capture of Torres means that Benitez will stay! WTF? So Benitez demanded cant work without throwing a sh-tload on players??
Makes one appreciate further what we have in Wenger.
PS: I see Aliadiere has been talking up a storm saying “Wenger never gave him a chance”. I thought the guy was an OK lad…but for him to now be mouthing off now is incredible!!!
This is the same thick guy who had a MASSIVE chance to make a starting spot his own during all those injuries in the second half of last season. Instead we got a light-weight nobody striker who missed numerous one-on-ones and scored zero PL goals. The punk!
July 8th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Rafa is not alone. Sven wouldn’t have joined City had he not being promised cash to throw.
Like i said previously, it’s crazy folks been accusing AW for NOT BUYING. Who on earth with a right mind would not want load of money to spend? Only difference is AW had been relatively quietly over the years on this issue (that the board did not give him much to spend). Yet it led to some ppl started suggesting AW only wants to buy unknown or kids so that if they turn into stars it would satisify AW’s ego that he has discovered another star.
It’s such a crazy and illogical theory, ‘cos at the end of the day, ppl only judge a manager on how many TROPHIES he won.
like Fred said, we got a manager who’s willing to bite the bullet and keeps doing his job despite working with a tight budget, it’s yet another quality we should APPRECIATE.
July 8th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
i wonder what rafa will do when liverpool starts building their new stadium and the purse gets tightened. LOL!
he will surely bolt out of there.
July 8th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
I see Chelsea have bought Malouda, which surely means goodbye Robben. Mourinho is turning into George Graham, slowly but surely selling the flair players until all he has is a functional, but brilliant, defensive unit with Drogba scoring all the goals. In those tight games that Chelsea were struggling to win Robben would come on and cause havoc to tired legs - not anymore. Maybe Arsenal should buy him.
July 8th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
yeah, robben will fit arsenal like a glove….he even has a significant injury record for good measure!!! :-))
seriously though, his technique and style of play is something we need.
but chelsea wont sell him to us so no point discussing it. its not like we have another cole to exchange with….. except chelsea would be interested in a senderos or ljunberg!
lol.
July 8th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Arsenal players don’t drink? C’mon. Rosicky definitely does. Van Persie does. Freddie definitely does.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=417390&cc=5901
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2005/06/15/story207175.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/low/sports_talk/1969497.stm
July 8th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
ah yeah THAT rosicky story!!! totally forgot about it!!
….but apart from that your links dont say much.
July 8th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
u know have been cracking my brain trying to think of a leftwinger we could get…but cant really think of any.
first of all no one should mention babel or malouda or robben. we just wont get them. no one should mention queresma either, he is right-footed. silva has signed an extension at valencia. drenthe seems to be headed chelsea`s way.
that leaves us with who?
July 8th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
I know those links were a stretch. But apart from the Muslim guys like Toure, I bet most of the Arsenal players drink. Definitely not in the Tony Adams, Paul Gascoine, George Best sort of mold, but they drink. And probably just as much as any other average premiership players. But it is all neither here nor there.
I hope we sign a defender soon. I think defensive partnerships take some time to develop properly. I hope that the potential Sagna signing (or whomever Arsene is lining up) gets done soon so that they have time to train together before the season starts. I think signing a defender is a much higher priority than a winger at this point for two reasons. First, I think that the Eboue/Toure absence for the ACN will leave us seriously short handed otherwise. Second, I think that Walcott can add a new dimension as a wide player this year. I wouldn’t mind seeing us sign a winger sooner or later but I think we need a defender now. I have a feeling the Sagna deal will get done soon. But my pipe dream is still Micah Richards even though I realize that won’t happen. If not Sagna then I think it is time we pony up and try to sign Curtis Davies.
July 9th, 2007 at 2:12 am
Hey, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we play Rosicky at left mid?
Man listen, everyone knows Wenger won’t sign players who can only play in wide positions. He want’s guys that can create chances or score goals in the midfield. He’ll use fullbacks to provide width in the attack. Like Andez was saying, everyone just kind of shifts when one of the fullbacks bombs forward. Even Gilberto can play the CB role if he’s caught in that position which leads me to believe that Djourou will be his long term replacement.
In the last game against Chelsea, Mourinho’s tactics were spot on. He played with three up front which prevented our fullbacks getting forward, which meant little or no width, which meant we had to battle in the middle of the park with their big strong midfielders and weren’t allowed to spread the play. This has always been the smart way to play against Arsenal but most managers simply haven’t got the balls to do it.
Queresma is the only player I would like to see Arsenal bring in that we might be able to get. There’s no way in hades Valencia will let Silva go. Actually, I believe Aliadiere could have done a very descent job in that position.
Biggun, I can not remember that France U-21 CB’s name. If I were to see his face I would recognize him. It’s like I remembered Drenthe when I saw him playing for Holland U-21’s, but couldn’t remember his name before then. (I watch too much soccer.) The one good thing is that he’s NOT the guy that spuds just signed. I got that wrong. Hopefully Wenger’s tracking him becuase the kid was very impressive.
BTW, I’m a huge fan of Micah Richards. Regardless of his heght, this kid’s a winner. I rate him higher than Eboue and he can double-up as a CB if necessary. I’d love to see him in our Red and White.
July 9th, 2007 at 2:56 am
I’m re-posting this from ryecatcher773
“Morning fellas.
I just finished putting together my latest fantasy team, and this year I have also started a private league as well, and I’m inviting all the Gooners here on the forum to join…
It’s free, and I had a blast with it the past couple seasons (which, now that I’m a dad, is cool since it’s one of the few bits of leisure I get!)
Log on at the official EPL site:
http://www.premierleague.com/fapl.rac?command=forwardOnly&nextPage=homepage&tab=fixtures
Click on the link at the lower left hand side where it says ‘Fantasy League’, and the rest is all explained for you… and you can join multiple leagues, so don’t feel as though you can’t make a commitment.
League Name: Arsenal America
Access Code (to join the private league): 15843-5346
Cheers!”
July 9th, 2007 at 6:32 am
Richards is good in the air. He has the potential to be a very good CB. He can be backup for Gallas now and replace him when Gallas leaves (which could be this summer unless he shuts up). Till then, he can play RB instead of Eboue. I have clearly said that the price is the only issue.
Every champion team has had atleast one English CB - Adams, Campbell, Ferdinand, Terry. The last team not to have one was ManU with Stam, who is quite close to an English style CB. We have struggled in the air since Campbell left.
Why are Gerrard and Rooney not linked to Spain? Simple, because they are British and everyone knows they will not leave their country. Those that did struggled - McManaman and Owen spring to mind.