Tittle tattle...
Carlos Puyol has become the 617th Barca player to come out and openly beg for Cesc's release from the prison cell that is his multi-million pound lifestyle, saying: "He is having to stay at a club where he no longer wants to be. I wonder how intelligent it is keeping a player who doesn't want to be there." I wonder how intelligent it is signing a six-year contract if your dream is somewhere else..? Perhaps Puyol should have been a bit more outspoken then. Or maybe a shorter deal wouldn't have been as lucrative? Either way, what's it got to do with him anyway? He needs to concentrate less on Cesc and more on his 'just been raped in the prison showers' haircut.
In 1990, while watching World Cup Italia, Harry Redknapp had a car accident which left him with no sense of smell or tatse. The second, of course, is evident.
Only three players have won post-war league titles with two different clubs. Henning Berg (Blackburn and the Mancs) is one. Who are the others, including one Gooner?
[There is a lot of false information on the internet and I will not be including quiz questions in the blog again. Nicholas Anelka, Ray Kennedy, Eric Cantona, Henning Berg have all won league titles with more than one club. The one you were looking for, however, and didn't get, was John Lukic. Lesson learned.]
SkyBet are offering 5/6 for Emile Heskey to score four or more league goals during the entire 2010/11 season. Sound like a good bet? Last year, he scored three!
Friday 30 July 2010
Wednesday 28 July 2010
Making an ass of himself
Leading on nicely from yesterday's blog, there really is nothing Harry Redknapp won't do for a bit of publicity. If he's not openly tapping up other teams' players in the press, he's on the phone to Sky Sports News or jabbering away on TalkSport. Standing in the choir on the Venables-singing advert for The Sun was a low point. Today's effort in the Sun eclipses all others though. I'm still unsure as to whether this is a joke or not. It's so ridiculous that even The Sun isn’t running it on its own website.
The best bits are:
"Donkeys, horses, foxes and birds - I'm passionate about caring for them in the right way." Foxes? Really?
"[Redknapp] is known as the Birdman of White Hart Lane by players because he throws bread to birds during training sessions." That's not true.
Sadly, they didn’t run the quote where he says: "It's a great donkey and any manager would want him. I'm no different. But he's someone else's donkey. If he became available then of course I'd be interested. Anyone would." [See yesterday's blog].
On a serious note, would you ever see Arsene Wenger do a piece like this? No. Class is the difference.
Tuesday 27 July 2010
Twitching and tapping...
Having seen many Arsenal players tapped up over the years, I always appreciate clubs taking a strong stance against it...
Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy, 18 July 2008:
"Public comments by Manchester United's manager, announcing that he has made an offer for Dimitar [Berbatov] and is confident that the deal will go through, is a blatant example of interference with one of our players.
"Our position has been severely compromised by the club making contact with the player and his agent, without the club's permission. This has shown Manchester United to be in breach of Premier League rules. As a result, we have today made an official complaint."
Although if you do take such a strong stance, you should probably practice what you preach...
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp:
On Robbie Keane: “Robbie Keane is a fantastic player but he belongs to Liverpool. I wouldn't say I wouldn't like him at the football club, but he belongs to Liverpool so it is not an option. As a player and a person I have a lot of time for Robbie. I think he is fantastic.”
On Jermain Defoe: "If the price is right and if Tony and Peter Storrie want to sell him and it's what we consider at our valuation and theirs, then fine, he is a good player.”
On Luis Fabiano: "Yes, I like him. He's a fabulous player and would be a brilliant addition to any team. I am not unhappy with the squad I have, but of course if a special player came along I would look at it, and Fabiano is a special player all right. For sure, he is a class act.”
On Ruud Van Nistelrooy: "He's an interesting player. He was fantastic in England and a great goalscorer. If he was available it could be of interest. It's not impossible... if it was right we could be interested."
On Sandro. “He can play. I'd like to go and have a look myself and, if we do decide to do anything, it'll be up to the chairman to push it on from there."
On Joe Cole: “I'm not saying if he hadn't agreed a deal with someone and he was available and didn't stay at Chelsea that we wouldn't be interested. I'm a big fan of Joe's.”
On Klaas-Jan Huntelaar: “The lad is a very good goalscorer and I'm still interested in him. I know of Stuttgart's involvement but I'm hoping we will still be able to do something. There's a lot of talk about who I may or may not be after but Huntelaar is the one I like."
On Patrick Vieira: “I'm still interested in Patrick and he wants to play here."
On David Beckham: “If the opportunity was there to sign him any club would have to think about it. David Beckham is a fantastic player, but he is also a terrific role model and a terrific professional. I'm not saying I would sign him and I wouldn't want to be disrespectful to him and say I wouldn't sign him. But it's a million to one shot – he'd bring something to the football club.”
My personal favourite...
Tapping up the entire Uruguayan nation: "I like all the Uruguayan players. They’re all good. I think Forlan would have another two or three good years in the Premier League, but his wages could be a problem."
Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy, 18 July 2008:
"Public comments by Manchester United's manager, announcing that he has made an offer for Dimitar [Berbatov] and is confident that the deal will go through, is a blatant example of interference with one of our players.
"Our position has been severely compromised by the club making contact with the player and his agent, without the club's permission. This has shown Manchester United to be in breach of Premier League rules. As a result, we have today made an official complaint."
Although if you do take such a strong stance, you should probably practice what you preach...
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp:
On Robbie Keane: “Robbie Keane is a fantastic player but he belongs to Liverpool. I wouldn't say I wouldn't like him at the football club, but he belongs to Liverpool so it is not an option. As a player and a person I have a lot of time for Robbie. I think he is fantastic.”
On Jermain Defoe: "If the price is right and if Tony and Peter Storrie want to sell him and it's what we consider at our valuation and theirs, then fine, he is a good player.”
On Luis Fabiano: "Yes, I like him. He's a fabulous player and would be a brilliant addition to any team. I am not unhappy with the squad I have, but of course if a special player came along I would look at it, and Fabiano is a special player all right. For sure, he is a class act.”
On Ruud Van Nistelrooy: "He's an interesting player. He was fantastic in England and a great goalscorer. If he was available it could be of interest. It's not impossible... if it was right we could be interested."
On Sandro. “He can play. I'd like to go and have a look myself and, if we do decide to do anything, it'll be up to the chairman to push it on from there."
On Joe Cole: “I'm not saying if he hadn't agreed a deal with someone and he was available and didn't stay at Chelsea that we wouldn't be interested. I'm a big fan of Joe's.”
On Klaas-Jan Huntelaar: “The lad is a very good goalscorer and I'm still interested in him. I know of Stuttgart's involvement but I'm hoping we will still be able to do something. There's a lot of talk about who I may or may not be after but Huntelaar is the one I like."
On Patrick Vieira: “I'm still interested in Patrick and he wants to play here."
On David Beckham: “If the opportunity was there to sign him any club would have to think about it. David Beckham is a fantastic player, but he is also a terrific role model and a terrific professional. I'm not saying I would sign him and I wouldn't want to be disrespectful to him and say I wouldn't sign him. But it's a million to one shot – he'd bring something to the football club.”
My personal favourite...
Tapping up the entire Uruguayan nation: "I like all the Uruguayan players. They’re all good. I think Forlan would have another two or three good years in the Premier League, but his wages could be a problem."
Friday 23 July 2010
People in glass houses
I love that all footballers have short memories.
Richard Dunne: "I didn't see [France's world cup exit] but I did laugh. Henry admitted afterwards he handled it, but it doesn't make me feel any better. We were cheated."
Strong words. It's a good job he's never handballed it himself:
At Ewood Park, Richard Dunne… deliberately handled in the box in a huge turning point in Aston Villa's defeat to Blackburn.
Daily Mail, 30 September 2009
Referee Alan Wiley seemed to lose control somewhat as tempers flared and Everton were left incensed on several occasions, including when former player Richard Dunne handled a Leighton Baines cross in the area but no penalty was awarded.
Liverpool Echo, 27 April 2009
From Radostin Kishishev's free-kick, Walton ruled that Richard Dunne had handled the ball and awarded a penalty.
Manchester City fans’ website, 10 January 2004
Richard Dunne: "I didn't see [France's world cup exit] but I did laugh. Henry admitted afterwards he handled it, but it doesn't make me feel any better. We were cheated."
Strong words. It's a good job he's never handballed it himself:
At Ewood Park, Richard Dunne… deliberately handled in the box in a huge turning point in Aston Villa's defeat to Blackburn.
Daily Mail, 30 September 2009
Referee Alan Wiley seemed to lose control somewhat as tempers flared and Everton were left incensed on several occasions, including when former player Richard Dunne handled a Leighton Baines cross in the area but no penalty was awarded.
Liverpool Echo, 27 April 2009
From Radostin Kishishev's free-kick, Walton ruled that Richard Dunne had handled the ball and awarded a penalty.
Manchester City fans’ website, 10 January 2004
Wednesday 21 July 2010
Too many cooks?
Football when I was a kid: A hotdog, packet of roasted peanuts (30 pence a bag), 22 players, a referee, two linesmen and a ball. For more than 100 years it was enough, and football was the biggest game in the world.
But the mentalists at FIFA can't leave it alone. Next season, the Champions League will be home to the ridiculous experiment of six referees in a game.
It seems that it was such a roaring success in the Europa League last season that they want to try it out on the biggest stage of all. Except it wasn't. Anyone who saw the farcical last few minutes of Fulham vs Roma, when the referee tried to send off 9ft 12in(ish) blonde Brede Hangeland for a foul committed in the box by 4ft 5in(ish) brown-haired Michael Brown, will know the extra officials merely caused masses of confusion, a 10-minute delay and made a joke out of a competition which, let's face it, really didn't need any help.
Why can't they just leave the game as it is? Controversial decisions and human error are part of what makes football so appealing. I'm the first to get mildly irritated (!) when we're robbed of a Champions League semi-final place by the scousers thanks to two terrible penalty decisions over two games (still bitter). But we've benefitted from a few bad decisions ourselves in the past, and you shouldn't want to change football's controversies for all the virgins in Steven Gerrard's address book.
And I'll tell you why: it's these things that fuel the talking points after games, get the arguments going among colleagues and friends, give the pundits and the phone-in shows a reason for being. It's also these incidents which give you an 'out' for your team's shite performance. How many times have Arsenal had a total shocker but the only talking point in the boozer has been how we were robbed by a corner that wasn't, a linesman's flag or a sending off? I bet there was many a game where Phillipe Senderos longed for a bit of controversy to take the focus off his game.
More than this, though, it's the current refereeing set-up that gives me those few nano-seconds of hope, that briefest chance of salvation, that glimmer that all is not lost when the opposition pops one into the goal down below me. Just as it hits the net but before the faint sound of the opposing fans' celebrations reaches the North Bank, I always catch myself glancing to the linesman for that signal that he's seen an offside or a handball that just wasn't there - thereby ruling out the goal and preserving our title credentials. It's like a second chance at the lottery... you know it's incredibly unlikely, but all hope is not lost. You still check in hope.
I wish they would stop looking for ways to take that away from us, and leave the beautiful game as it. If you take all the controversy out of football, you might just be left with something that's not very interesting at all. Then people will lose the passion for it, the people at home will stop watching, and Sky might take its money elsewhere. Then where will we be?
If they have to clamp down on something, forget about the one 'goal' a season that did or didn't cross the line, and instead clamp down on Rooney swearing his face off down the camera through which kids are watching, or the players who break other players' legs because they don't have the ability to beat them fairly?
That's a cause much more worth fighting for.
Monday 19 July 2010
Would you buy a second-hand car from this man?
If, as rumblings suggest, Fabregas might stay, it will be a big victory for Wenger. Every summer one of our players is tapped up by a European club with too much money, few morals and no class. This year has been no exception.
The difference is, in the past, I think Wenger was ready to let every one of them go. And, a look back at some of the deals he cut for his star men reveal he's not the sort of bloke I'd ever buy a second-hand motor from...
Henry: Obviously one of the best players ever to don the white sleeves, in truth it was a wonder we kept TH14 as long as we did. In the end, a combination of Barca's persistence and a bit of trouble with the old lady drove him abroad. Having banked Arsenal's goals record, Wenger sold for a profit of £6m. Barca had great success in the Henry years, but despite a release clause of €125million, he watched much of it from the bench, making only 80 appearances before quitting football to join an American team. That works out at £200,000 a game. In truth, we may have got one more good year from TH14... but by that time he'd have been worth half what we sold him for. Wenger win.
Vieira: Vieira was courted every summer for 916 years before moving to Juve and then on to Inter. Wenger's defences held strong for 279 games, but he caved in when Inter delivered a cheque for 20m eurobobs. Four back-to-back Serie A titles and two cups came his way at Inter... but just 67 appearances (working out at £238,805 a game) show what a bit-part he was to that success. This would be a Wenger win... if only he'd bought a defensive midfielder to replace PV4. We're still waiting, Arsene.
Hleb: Hleb is married to Anastasia Kosenkova, an ex-singer of the Belarusian pop group 'Topless'. But that wasn't enough to stop him having his head turned by Barcelona. He believed his own hype, but Wenger didn't, so when they offered Wenger more than he'd paid for him, he let him go. He played 19 games. That's just shy of €1m per game. Wenger win.
Ljungberg: My favourite players to fail when they move on are the ones that really mouth off. Freddie was signed for £3m at the age of 21, scored vital and memorable goals, got ink poisoning from a tattoo that everyone thought was Aids and was sold to West Ham for £3m. Upon his departure, he said: "When I signed my last contract two years ago we talked about the future, building a new stadium and bringing in top players, but it didn't really happen. I am coming here to build a great team. Eggert Magnusson wants to take West Ham to the top of the country." 25 games later Ljungberg left and West Ham effectively went bust. They are yet to reach "the top of the country". Wenger win.
Overmars: Overmars signed for ₤5.5m in 2000. He also joined Barcelona (see a pattern here, can't you), and his ₤25m price tag made him the most expensive Dutch player of all time. However, his 95 games came at a cost of £252,525 a game before injury ended it all too early. He didn't win a single trophy at Barca. Wenger win.
Petit: If Overmars was a dodgy, patched-up second-hand motor, Petit was the free seat covers thrown in as part of the deal. Yet another player to be drawn to the bright lights of the Nou Camp, he only stood under them 23 times before leaving for pre-Abramovich Chelsea. He said in his autobiography that coach Llorenç Serra Ferrer didn't even know what position he played. I didn't know "the bench" was an official position. Wenger win.
Toure: Kolo's sale was one of my favourites because if you look at the facts it's ridiculous. Bought for £150k as a right winger, Wenger turned him into a centreback after allegedly waking one night with a vision of Kolo in the number 5 shirt. For several years we had one of the best centre backs in the country. Then he turned crap and had a dreadful season and a half. Manchester City received an open chequebook from ArabbanksRus, so Wenger phoned them up, told them they could have for £16m and done the deal. Would you rather have Toure or Thomas Vermaelen plus £6m? Wenger win.
Anelka: Nasty Nic - the man who started it all off. As with Fabregas, I think AW really wanted to keep Anelka. However, his brothers are his agents and only get paid a commission when he moves clubs - hence Anelka has played for Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Lyon, Manchester City, Fenerbahçe, Paris Saint-Germain (twice) and, er, Bolton - and is still only 31. With a terrible temperament, Wenger sold the Incredible Sulk for 46 times what he paid for him, banked £13.5m and spent £10m on Thierry Henry. Wenger win.
Cesc Fabregas: 'Stolen' from Barca on a free. TBC...
The difference is, in the past, I think Wenger was ready to let every one of them go. And, a look back at some of the deals he cut for his star men reveal he's not the sort of bloke I'd ever buy a second-hand motor from...
Henry: Obviously one of the best players ever to don the white sleeves, in truth it was a wonder we kept TH14 as long as we did. In the end, a combination of Barca's persistence and a bit of trouble with the old lady drove him abroad. Having banked Arsenal's goals record, Wenger sold for a profit of £6m. Barca had great success in the Henry years, but despite a release clause of €125million, he watched much of it from the bench, making only 80 appearances before quitting football to join an American team. That works out at £200,000 a game. In truth, we may have got one more good year from TH14... but by that time he'd have been worth half what we sold him for. Wenger win.
Vieira: Vieira was courted every summer for 916 years before moving to Juve and then on to Inter. Wenger's defences held strong for 279 games, but he caved in when Inter delivered a cheque for 20m eurobobs. Four back-to-back Serie A titles and two cups came his way at Inter... but just 67 appearances (working out at £238,805 a game) show what a bit-part he was to that success. This would be a Wenger win... if only he'd bought a defensive midfielder to replace PV4. We're still waiting, Arsene.
Hleb: Hleb is married to Anastasia Kosenkova, an ex-singer of the Belarusian pop group 'Topless'. But that wasn't enough to stop him having his head turned by Barcelona. He believed his own hype, but Wenger didn't, so when they offered Wenger more than he'd paid for him, he let him go. He played 19 games. That's just shy of €1m per game. Wenger win.
Ljungberg: My favourite players to fail when they move on are the ones that really mouth off. Freddie was signed for £3m at the age of 21, scored vital and memorable goals, got ink poisoning from a tattoo that everyone thought was Aids and was sold to West Ham for £3m. Upon his departure, he said: "When I signed my last contract two years ago we talked about the future, building a new stadium and bringing in top players, but it didn't really happen. I am coming here to build a great team. Eggert Magnusson wants to take West Ham to the top of the country." 25 games later Ljungberg left and West Ham effectively went bust. They are yet to reach "the top of the country". Wenger win.
Overmars: Overmars signed for ₤5.5m in 2000. He also joined Barcelona (see a pattern here, can't you), and his ₤25m price tag made him the most expensive Dutch player of all time. However, his 95 games came at a cost of £252,525 a game before injury ended it all too early. He didn't win a single trophy at Barca. Wenger win.
Petit: If Overmars was a dodgy, patched-up second-hand motor, Petit was the free seat covers thrown in as part of the deal. Yet another player to be drawn to the bright lights of the Nou Camp, he only stood under them 23 times before leaving for pre-Abramovich Chelsea. He said in his autobiography that coach Llorenç Serra Ferrer didn't even know what position he played. I didn't know "the bench" was an official position. Wenger win.
Toure: Kolo's sale was one of my favourites because if you look at the facts it's ridiculous. Bought for £150k as a right winger, Wenger turned him into a centreback after allegedly waking one night with a vision of Kolo in the number 5 shirt. For several years we had one of the best centre backs in the country. Then he turned crap and had a dreadful season and a half. Manchester City received an open chequebook from ArabbanksRus, so Wenger phoned them up, told them they could have for £16m and done the deal. Would you rather have Toure or Thomas Vermaelen plus £6m? Wenger win.
Anelka: Nasty Nic - the man who started it all off. As with Fabregas, I think AW really wanted to keep Anelka. However, his brothers are his agents and only get paid a commission when he moves clubs - hence Anelka has played for Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Lyon, Manchester City, Fenerbahçe, Paris Saint-Germain (twice) and, er, Bolton - and is still only 31. With a terrible temperament, Wenger sold the Incredible Sulk for 46 times what he paid for him, banked £13.5m and spent £10m on Thierry Henry. Wenger win.
Cesc Fabregas: 'Stolen' from Barca on a free. TBC...
Friday 16 July 2010
Fragile midget midfielders
Any day now Joe Cole will cash in on being a free agent. Expect we'll see Redknapp whoring Spurs across Sky Sports News, Talkshite and his column in the Sun every five minutes. Paddy Power have Spurs as 13/8 to snap him up, followed by us at 9/4, with Liverpool 7/2.
While I can see why AW might fancy a slice of a free agent the quality of Joe Cole, we do already have about 28 fragile midget midfielders who look good going forward one game in three but go missing regularly, do little in the way of tracking back and get injured 14 times in a game.
What's more, I'd much rather we brought in a genuinely defensive midfielder - to replace the ones signed on the basis that they look a bit like Patrick Vieira but play like Patrick Swayze (a la Abu Diaby).
More than that, though, I just hope any negotiations with Cole are done the George Graham way.
Having been offered a deal by The Arsenal, Andy Sinton wanted to hear what Sheffield Wednesday could also offer him. He returned to say Weds had made a better offer - and asked if The Arsenal would match it. George told him the offer no longer stood on the basis that you sign for Arsenal because you want to play for Arsenal - and that's it.
Sinton's punishment: three years at Sheffield Wednesday followed by three long years at Spurs. Take note, Joe Cole.
While I can see why AW might fancy a slice of a free agent the quality of Joe Cole, we do already have about 28 fragile midget midfielders who look good going forward one game in three but go missing regularly, do little in the way of tracking back and get injured 14 times in a game.
What's more, I'd much rather we brought in a genuinely defensive midfielder - to replace the ones signed on the basis that they look a bit like Patrick Vieira but play like Patrick Swayze (a la Abu Diaby).
More than that, though, I just hope any negotiations with Cole are done the George Graham way.
Having been offered a deal by The Arsenal, Andy Sinton wanted to hear what Sheffield Wednesday could also offer him. He returned to say Weds had made a better offer - and asked if The Arsenal would match it. George told him the offer no longer stood on the basis that you sign for Arsenal because you want to play for Arsenal - and that's it.
Sinton's punishment: three years at Sheffield Wednesday followed by three long years at Spurs. Take note, Joe Cole.
Thursday 15 July 2010
This left a bad taste
This video clip and 'Shirt-gate' left me wondering what Bertie Mee might have made of it all. He sent the following orders to his players:
"Always remember who you are, and what you represent - The Arsenal Football Club."
Seems like the Spanish team have got a bit above themselves, and it's become more than a bit tiring hearing them come out one by one to court Cesc to Barca - even if they don't play for Barca (Pepe Reina!). Cesc wasn't to blame for the Barca shirt incident, but maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing if we see him wearing one every week next season - albeit on the Camp Nou bench.
"Always remember who you are, and what you represent - The Arsenal Football Club."
Seems like the Spanish team have got a bit above themselves, and it's become more than a bit tiring hearing them come out one by one to court Cesc to Barca - even if they don't play for Barca (Pepe Reina!). Cesc wasn't to blame for the Barca shirt incident, but maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing if we see him wearing one every week next season - albeit on the Camp Nou bench.
What's this all about?
Why am I writing a blog? Partly because I'm an opinionated Gooner. But I'm also doing this because in recent years the opinions held by me and the friends with whom I've followed The Arsenal for more than two decades have become increasingly disconnected from the bulk of Arsenal fans and the media.
I don't have the energy to argue with those who read the back pages of the red tops and buy their sensationalist anti-Arsenal drivel about how Arsene Wenger has single-handedly ruined the national team. And I'm not going to give Adrian Durham and Stan Collymore the satisfaction of rising to their deliberate baiting when they call for Eduardo to be banned for ten games. This will be my outlet for what I think.
So what do I think? I'm a traditionalist (see next blog). I grew up through the George Graham years where discipline and 'no one player is bigger than The Arsenal' ruled. It is these qualities that have formed my football 'likes and dislikes'...
Likes:
The Arsenal's history and traditions; The Arsenal's class; our refusal to jeopardise our future by spending what we don't have; total and exciting football.
Dislikes:
Over-meddling governing bodies always changing football in search of the 'perfect and clean game', removing the passion and the drama in the process; greedy modern-day footballers who just don't care; goal-line technology; fickle referees; diving; travelling to games.
These are some of the things which will stir blogs from me. Hopefully you'll find some of it interesting.
I don't have the energy to argue with those who read the back pages of the red tops and buy their sensationalist anti-Arsenal drivel about how Arsene Wenger has single-handedly ruined the national team. And I'm not going to give Adrian Durham and Stan Collymore the satisfaction of rising to their deliberate baiting when they call for Eduardo to be banned for ten games. This will be my outlet for what I think.
So what do I think? I'm a traditionalist (see next blog). I grew up through the George Graham years where discipline and 'no one player is bigger than The Arsenal' ruled. It is these qualities that have formed my football 'likes and dislikes'...
Likes:
The Arsenal's history and traditions; The Arsenal's class; our refusal to jeopardise our future by spending what we don't have; total and exciting football.
Dislikes:
Over-meddling governing bodies always changing football in search of the 'perfect and clean game', removing the passion and the drama in the process; greedy modern-day footballers who just don't care; goal-line technology; fickle referees; diving; travelling to games.
These are some of the things which will stir blogs from me. Hopefully you'll find some of it interesting.
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