Boy am I glad we did……..
I don’t know if anyone else saw the programme on ESPN yesterday about footballing legends, they covered a few players during the day but of course there was only one half hour tribute programme that made me reach for the sky plus remote and press the record button.
Dennis Bergkamp
When Inter Milan decided to buy Dennis Bergkamp 1993 they thought he would solve all their problems up front but to our advantage it just didn’t work out – he was labelled a ‘£7.5 Million Flop’!
Two years later, Arsenal saved him from his agony in Italy and bought him to England where he would go on to enjoy a fantastic career. He was a creative forward, the man who could work magic for others and of course for himself and once he found the net for Arsenal the goals flowed. It took him eleven games to break his duck in England.
One player who was on the pitch that day stood in amazement after both his goals, that player was also known for his magic feet with the ball and could score from anywhere – Matthew Le Tissier, who to this day remains one of my non Arsenal favourites in the game, a man who usually speaks the truth.
During the programme yesterday he said something like,
‘Both goals were superb, in fact I nearly stood and applauded one but thought it wouldn’t be right’.
Bergkamp is often referred to as one of the best overseas players who has ever played in England, for me, he’s certainly the best one to ever play in England and Arsenal – a Dutch Master, a player with so many qualities that I personally feel the game of football will have to wait a long time to see again…
Eleven years he played for us before finally retiring in 2006…
Here’s a trip down memory lane to see just a few of his best and not all in the red and white of Arsenal….
Having watched the tribute programme and then the highlights of our match yesterday, couldn’t we just do with a player like him in our side right now?
It was still very apparent that the defence has learned very little from last seasons gaffs, we still defend too far up the pitch, fall foul to the ball over the top and we are exposed. Had we played a better side yesterday we would have possibly got battered!
Up the other end, it was good to see a few shots going in on goal, they’ll soon start going in but otherwise it was the same old passing game with little ending.
But hey, it’s still pre-season and I’m sure Arsene Wenger is sorting out in his mind his best eleven and where he needs to add players and who maybe he needs to be telling to move on for the sake of their own career.
On yesterdays showing he might be having a worry about how much he needs to spend. 😉
Gazidis, Wenger and the squad are on their way home right now, I hope the afore mention two have a busy week ahead planned….
Have a good one all, I’ll be mainly watching the Golf….. 😉
Morning Rico,
Very fond memories i must admit the man played sublime football, i am hopeing another will come along, we have missed that clinicle finish.
May be Gervinho may have a bit of Bergkamp magic in his boots, i certainly hope so
good post rico…..
certainly db10 was my favorite player and always will be……..
Best player ever to grace the football world. Oh to have one or two players with half the talent now. Fond memories that I don’t think we will ever see again – certainly not unless we change our buying policy.
Silk and steel. The guy was a warrior, yes he was oone of the most skillful players to grace the English league but the guy could battle and roll up his sleeves. How many of the modern team can say that?
Morning Guys, he was something else wasn’t he, thought it might cheer us up after yesterday woes 😉
I bet Milan regretted the day they sold him… Ha Ha
A true Gentleman unlike Mr Clichy who didn’t take long before he had a swipe at his old club….
Boy do we miss our Dennis, perhaps we will never see the like again, he was 1 in a zillion.
1 word. Legend.
Has anyone seen the recent clips of him scoring wonder goals on ajax open training sessions. Still making keepers look like idiots. He’s still got it!!
Morning Rico. Dennis was truly a great player. World-class in an age when the term is thrown around with far too much regularity to describe players who are just very good. After an evening’s reflection on a truly horrible game yesterday I think that Wenger is running out of time. I don’t come here with any preformed, long-term agenda, pro or anti-Wenger. But I do believe the evidence of my own eyes and watching us last season, hearing what he said, prior to the season ticket deadline and then seeing him drop further and further into his odd little shell I am concerned. Why, with the same defense, minus Clichy, things should better I don’t know. Yes Vermaelen is back, but if Arsene’s declarations are to be believed and Gibbs runs true to form, he will be playing at left back next season. Traore anyone? Exactly. If he doesn’t address the defensive situation at the very, very least we will be in for a bumpy ride. After all, it was he who identified our priorities there wasn’t it?
Still got my 9798 DB10 shirt. Cant see anyone else touching him as my fave all time Arsenal player
can anyone pls tell when is our next preseason game…..and with whom…
Tony, sure do….
Rocastle, is that on youtube anywhere, i read he’s still got what it takes 🙂
23 rd af, away to FC Cologne, 2.30 ko uk time…
Hi Adam
Yesterday was indeed dire and like i said yesterday the game reminded me of the last two months of our season….
I can see why you say what you have re the pre ST renewals compared to what he says now… It’s all very different.
I am hanging on to the latter being spin to annoy the media, surely a man with such intelligence cannot ignore how we are so poor at the back….
Boo! Hello, rico. Our defense needs to be sorted and quick.
Oh and Clichy is a major donut. 😡
http://www.caughtoffside.com/2011/07/10/dennis-bergkamp-scores-wonder-goal-during-ajax-training-session-video/
Hello, all. It will bee aaaages yet before another DB10 comes along. 🙁
Borkus, welcome.
DB is def my fav since the days of buying overseas players….
I have a sneaky feeling that in 10/15 years time fans will be talking about Ramsey in a similar way…..
Hi agag,
agree re Clichy, why do it, after all we did for him and put up with so many mistakes. he says he wants to win things, well maybe had he not gifted so many goals to the oppo we would have….
Rico, spot on, if Ramsay hadn’t been shawcrossed I’m pretty sure he would be alot happier to let cesc go now. However Aaron has missed a year of his career. But I am convinced he will be BETTER than cesc.
Somebody should show him a highlight reel of his gaffes. Only there will be more lows than highs there. Haha. 😉 He could have been misquoted though…
Yes, Clichy seems to forget that his continuous mistakes were one of the contributing factors to the team’s lack of success. It is often the way with footballers who seem to have zero sense of collective responsibility. It’s surprising how a few quid turns people into loudmouthed idiots.
No transfer sagas every summer, reduced contracts year after year, but he signed them all.
Absolute Legend !!
What time does jiminez tee off rico?
The sight of him doing his stretches with a fat Cuban cigar hanging out of his gob was pure comedy gold!!
Morning Folks, great post Rico..Aw has been living on past glory to be honest
Hello, Rocastle. Hey, Weeds. Howdy? How’s work? 🙂 You on your way to becoming a billionaire yet? 🙂
I have been saying the same Rocastle, and that i’m not fussed now if Cesc goes, against Manure, he and jack were outstanding…
Howdy Agag, been a while…am getting there bu t at a snail pace. How have you been?
Howdy Erick, glad you like the Bergy post 🙂
Rocastle, thanks for that like, i’m going check it out, need to book onto a different browser first 🙁
The only thing am worried about is Cesc won’t be replaced but agree we can manage even if its the hard way
13.50 UK time Rocastle, you want him to win??
Rico how are you, missed you guys big time 🙂
I don’t think he needs to be replaced like for like Erick, if wenger takes the money and buys a central defender and a LB, i’d be happy…
Very well thanks Erick, i been keeping an eye on you on FB 😉
I think Rambo needs one more season behind Cesc to really push on and remember, if it were not for Rambo’s iinjury, we might not have seen Jack.
We would have seen Jack I’m sure Will, maybe not quite as much but he was always going to be in the mix last season, he’s too good not to have been – and as shown, Jack and Aaron can play in the same team rather than one of the other….
Let the ones who want to leave leave. Why’s our club pandering to their inflated sense of self? (cough *Nasri* cough) And this Cesc nonsense has grown old. 😉 At this point, he’ll be nothing more than a vanity buy for the Catalans. Do they really need him now?? And I can’t stand their self-righteous indignation kidnapping blahblahblah. They missed out on him. End of.
Erick, you’ll get there. Don’t forget your friends though. Ahem. 😀
That’s kind of how I feel too agag, we are a big club and should not be held to ransom by anyone, the great man in todays post never found the need to squabble over a new contract, I don’t think Robin has every done either….
maybe it’s time we fogot the french and spanish and buy dutch again….
Cesc – well, I think Gazidis should call them, tell tyhem in no uncertain terms that either he is not for sale or he is for sale as X amount. Give them two weeks if he is for sale then shut the door on them for this window.
Popping off for an hour, back in a bit….
YOu are right there Rico, I just wonder how many chances he would have had if it had been Cesc and Rambo in the centre all season.
Will my friend hope your good, Rico my guardian angel hope you liked the page already…Agag would never forget where am from and my friends thats what life is about
Great point re Jack Will, but you have to give it to Jack he really took advantage and Diaby is surely behind them all
Enjoy Rico and write on my wall please, works get me so busy
If Frimpong takes advantage and Lansbury as well, I can see Diaby being frozen out which is a shame because he has all teh talent in the world, just not the brain.
Agree will especially Frimpong who makes simple passes and can defend with his heart
I think the two things we need are:
A defensive coach, someone to teach them how to read the ball over the top and cover the deep runs.
A rocket up their arses and made to play a more dynamic game rather than the safe tippy tappy game. We need to get back to the fast counter attacking game we used to play.
Good morning!
how much would a transfer of Bergkamp, now? 50 million? 40? 30?
20?
Cesc can not go to Barcelona and may not want to play for Arsenal. In either case, the career would suffer, because if he does not play, among others, was not invited to the selection of the Spanish and do not forget to Europe years ago (in which Spain is a winner). Not going to Barcelona, also would not be forever waiting for you and find new solutions. which would impair his future employment.
Whats happen with Lansbury? Fripong?
Once had an DB 10 Jersey,then someone broke in to my house and stole it .If he was 22 today Barca and Madrid would be all over him saying he had Barca dna because he is dutch and know Cryuff,tossers.If 22 today he would be the first 100 mil player.
Hey Moreira, Danish gooner DB was the real deal never seen such a player… Will squillaci got to go tbh he is a disaster waiting to happen, we nid a defensive coach bt we also need a great defender Samba /Cahill
Boo, afternoon guys and gals
Erick – I will 🙂
JM, he cost as much as Ronaldo cost Madrid….
DG, that’s rotten 🙁
Le Tiss recently said that he would have paid to watch Bergkamp train.What a complement coming from a great man like Matt.The Ice Man….my favourite player ever!
Eboue could be off to Galatasary according to the papers this morning….
Hi Sue, a great compliment indeed, a big fan here of Tiss, a player who could have moved/played anywhere but wouldn’t leave the club he loved….
Credit to him too….
As for players leaving, i don’t know why everybody’s worrying, Cesc was always leaving, so no surprise there, Nasri if he wants to go let him as long as they pay the right amount.
We have Jack & Rambo, with Song or Frimpong behind, all we need is a more combative midfielder to help them, i reckon it we be Barton, he ticks the boxes, mentality and physically strong, and not a bad player to have on a cold Saturday away to the likes of Stoke etc, he’ll put in a shift unlike a lot of players we have that go missing.
He might be a thug, but i’ll rather have him, over a lot of other players were link too.
As for defence, i’m glad Clichy’s gone made too many mistakes, and had gone stale, as for him bad mouthing, someone should remind him he was part of that non-trophy winning team, plus he played the problem area defence, so he should shut up.
Nice comment batchment, not convinced about Barton – once he donned the red and white he’d get away with far less than he does at newcastle… I’d rather Parker or some big hard nut in the middle
Young Guns report:
Arsenal have agreed a fee with Saprissa for striker Joel Campbell, according to president Juan Carlos Rojas.
Richard Law has been in Costa Rica over the weekend holding talks over the 19-year-old, and a fee of around £930,000 has been agreed. The deal was confirmed by Rojas on ADN Radio last night, before the players father revealed he expected the transfer to go through before Monday.
Humberto Campbell also said his son had agreed on a five year contract, and would wear the number 12 shirt.
Who here wants Jack to kick Clichy into the stands when we first meet them?
So, it’s time to upgrade the left column of the block, with Denilson, Eusebio cup, maybe Campbell from Saprissa of São José de la costa rica, Bendtner, Eboue…
I fear we are just plugging “holes” of players coming out. It is important to do it but what was needed was to improve the quality of the squad, making it most ambitious, strong and dynamic victory.
If Eboue comes out, we need another full back (better, if he could play right and left)
I’d rather Theo waltzed past him on the wing, cut in past him again and scored a winner against them Will…..
Nothing for sure on any of them JM, unitl .com confirm them, i don’t want to get my hopes up 😉
Jenkinson will replace Eboue 😉
i did keep asking where will his signing leave Eboue, now it seems i have my answer…..
Sky report that Everton want Bendtner on loan, can’t we just do a deal with him and Fellaini 🙂
hi peeps, good read as usual….am away on hols so sporadic time on tinternet…will try and keep up!! 🙂
Even better Rico but for a hattrick.
Hi Lee, i was beginning to wonder where you were 🙁 Hope you are having a relaxing time 🙂
Not too much to keep up with, you know Arsene 😉
Will, I said for the winner, Theo would have already scored four 😉
Fair enough but I guess his lack os class is suited for where he is going
One of the most technically gifted player like so many other dutch legends like Rjycaard, Cruyff, Van Basten, Gullit and Van Persie. Remember Marc Overmas was also a flop at Ajax. I think he had a heart condition and fell out of the pecking order there, after that he came to Highbury and became an instant hit.
Why players behave in such a way i will never know, its an insult to fans who have shown support for them for years….
Give it two seasons and he’ll be back in France….
Welcome Johnzinho
Marc Overmars, another dutch wizz – he was great for us, i was surprised when wenger sold him, and petit….
Overmars came to us with his career almost over due to a dodgy knee, it didn’t get any better playing against the English defenders of teh time and he really didn’t set the world alight once he left.
To be honest, I would have Pires ahead of him every time.
But when we had Overmars he was just what we needed at the time, fab player….. I think it was his knee that finished him wasn’t it Will?
Why would Scott Parker entertain going to the Chavs????
Talk about ‘Been there done that and got pooped on’….
Yeah, it was the knee, just busted beyond repair.
Nice to see he’s now back where he is back where he started….
This is all in the distant past now, why do you guys insist on returning to the past all the time. Lets try and focus on today.
mike,
go back to bed and get out the other side grumpy 😉
Rico will be looking out for you :-), apparently I hear we have also signed a Player called Campbell under 21d Campbell under 21
Mike its all chaos at the moment, trying to be positive and the past kinda does that ;-)you
Erick – i just logged on FB 😉
He’s from ‘Costa Rico’ 😆 😆
Not officially signed yet but JS on Young Guns reports we have agreed a deal..
Ha ha ha ha please check the link that I wil post later and like the page 🙂 is he any good Rico
Some say he’s ok Erick, not sure if he’ll get a work permit though?
I will keep an eye on FB
Just watching some youtube vids, I was reminded of the one player I wish Wenger has signed.
Hearing noises from twitter dualcitizenship is the answer….that means we will only sign a defender
Who is that player Will
What a win for Darren Clarke, after all he has been through over the last few years, a true worthy champion, well done Mr C 🙂
Try and guess Erick.
Am sorry Rico the only thing I know abt golf is tiger wood cheated on his wife…the Campbell granddad is Irish
Wesley of inter
Will, quit the games, just spill 😉
😆 Erick..
His initials were PK.
Will here in kenya pk is a chewing gum…end of thinking capacity(etc)
Great post, I love Bergkamp so great to have something about him. We won’t see another like him for a while, if ever again.
Hello by the way, it’s been a while.
Those initials don’t stand out, couldn’t have been that good Will….
G4L – good to see you again, Bergy is and always will be a massive fav of all of ours….
At least we know he’s got a box at the Emirates, so one day he could be back 🙂
Oh, I know –
Peter Kay 🙂
Off for dinner, back in a while….
I’ll remember him for giving Manure the treble in 1999, for his petulant behaviour and bottling out of every 50/50 tackle, for scoring only around 20 goals in his last 6 years when he was bone idly strolling Bendtneresc round the pitch. Give me Henry, Pires, Overmars any day! Did you know he never EVER scored a direct free kick in all his professional career?
Enjoy your dinner Rico, off for the day Arsenal till I die..come on Arsenal
Seems your on ya own with that comment eie……. Very strange but there you go, each to their own…!
Allo and bye Weedman……….. hope your well…!
patrick kluivert
Chat soon Erick 🙂
Hi WATH, busy week ahead for Ivan and Arsene??
EIE, not quite sure i agree on that one but as said, each to there own i guess….
I always like him Will…. He wanted to come to us too if my memory serves me well….
Those days goals use to come easy,now days goals seems to be a lot of hard work!
Yes he did and I really wanted him.
As for the Bergkamp statement, I will go with the Henry statement of Bergkamp being the best player Henry ever played with and that includes Zidane.
Yep as you say busy week for wenger n IG, must be loads more 16yr olds out there waiting to be signed……. Yippee……
Sorry for the delay Colin, first comments go into moderation from now on your straight on…..
colin – they sure did, on a turn left or right, he was in there…..
That one against Newcastle, nice shove on the defender but stunning goal 😉
I’m off for the day guys, catch up tomorrow some time
Have a good one
Nighty
Just a final note, another english club has made an offer for Campbell, looks like we haven’t wrapped this one up…..
Night all….
Night Rico…… chat 2moro…….! Nothing is ever done til you see the fella in an Arsenal shirt on the pitch.
DB10 was not only talented, he has the right attitude. something that is missing more than talent in the current squad.
Dennis had fight, and could put the boot in if needed, over 11 years service there is a loyalty that isn’t shown these days. Clichy’s statement shows how shallow and deluded the modern player can be, to take no responsibility is nothing short of outragous.
That video would be great if it wasn’t for that godawful shit music.
David Dein was to prove the lynchpin upon whom Wenger would rely when he arrived at Highbury. ‘He is the best manager in Europe, as well as the most reliable,’ said Dein. ‘He transformed our club from top to bottom, even with training techniques and diet, which allowed our player to play longer. He made average players good, good players very good, and very good players great. Arsene Wenger also has his authenticity with players.’ ‘They operate as a mutually beneficial duo,’ Alex Flynn said.
Back in the summer of 1995, Dein had recruited Dennis Bergkamp from Inter Milan, the Dutchman costing a then record fee of £7.5 million and becoming the first major foreign star to switch to Highbury. Wenger, at Grampus Eight at the time, had been consulted over his recruitment. Dein and Hill-Wood had sought his advice and the Alsatian had agreed the striker ould be a good signing.
Having worked with Hoddle at Monaco and Stoijkovic in Nagoya, Wenger had learned not to be intimidated by top-quality footballers. His was not blind admiration for their talents or achievements. Rather, he expected them to bring with them all that they had learnt from their careers, but then to continue their education under him.
Yet, when Bergkamp witnessed the sacking of Rioch – who had nominally bought him to the club – and the appointment of Wenegr in his stead, he was initially doubtful. ‘At the beginning I was a bit confused,’ said Bergkamp. ‘I wondered what this meant for me. Arsenal, and Rioch, had bought me the previous summer, and I wondered whether I would fall out of favour with the new boss just as I had done at Inter previously.’ Yet Bergkamp respected the reputation of the man who took up the reins. ‘When I was playing with Ajax, we often compared ourselves to Monaco, in particular the way both teams deployed two strikers. I was up to date with his match philosophy.’
Bergkamp had real pedigree. When he and Wenger met for the first time, they found common ground on which to base their future relationship. ‘I had wanted to come to England, I had always wanted it,’ he said. ‘For me, for a long time, the English supports – from all clubs – have been the best in the world. They sing, each player has his own song, it’s unique.’
‘Here in England, we get the feeling that the fans suffer in silence with their team, but support them vocally,’ added Wenger. ‘That’s the dream, anyway. In other countries, in general, they support in silence and destroy with passion.’ This understanding and empathy with the British fans was one of the keys to explaining why Bergkamp and Wenger hit it off from the outset. They had common goals. The other link between them was born of how they liked the game to be played.
‘As soon as he arrived, I knew that his approach suited me,’ said Bergkamp. ‘The teams of Arsene Wenger play offensive football, aiming as a priority to exploit their strengths. This is perfect for me. I was asked why I had signed for Arsenal during my first season with the club. This, after all, was a team with a certain reputation and at whom opposing supporters would chant ‘boring, boring Arsenal’. They had a reputation for defensive football, for squeezing out 1-0 wins, but I knew that a new Arsenal was being born. At the end of a few weeks, a few months, I realized that it was a unique club. And after that, everything went well, thanks to the arrival of Wenger, of course, who was exactly the manager we needed at that time. Everything changed, and looks where it took us in the end.’
The pair went into battle side by side – one on the pitch, the other in the dressing room. Indeed, they seemed to feed off each other. ‘I was always like this, even at Ajax,’ said the Dutchman. ‘It is important to show that you can fight, for the supporters and the team. And here, in England, it is vital.’
‘You watch matches between Premier League teams, mainly made up of foreign players, who play real English football in terms of the rhythm of the game,’ sad Wenger. ‘That is to say that it is the public and the relationship on the pitch that motivates you.’
In keeping with that, Bergkamp was never afraid of using an elbow or going in with studs showing to play his part for the team, and was sent off numerous times as a result.
‘In my heart, I know what is really important for our sport: winning matches, claiming trophies,’ he said. ‘But it is normal for the public to support players with style and flair rather than those who only have to work at it.’
‘There is always a balance to be found between basic principles,’ added Wenger. ‘For me, football is above all a game with principles of organization but, at the same time, a certain freedom of expression. What attracted me to the game was the fact that players can express themselves. ‘
In his first training sessions with Bergkamp, Wenger insisted the striker work on his strong points – his artistic side – rather than spending time trying to improve areas of his game that were not really in his nature, such as tackling. ‘Working on technique is very important to me,’ said Bergkamp. ‘Arsene would tell me that his idea was to give me a certain liberty, almost a free role, rather than make me play within a rigid system.’ Wenger would later use the same theory to coax the best out of Thierry henry after he was signed in 1999, asking the forward to refine his sprint, his dribbles and shooting, and transform a player who had lost all confidence at Juventus into a world-class striker.
Not that Bergkamp and Wenger always saw eye to eye. Some four years after Wenger’s arrival. Just after Euro 2000, Bergkamp announced his retirement from international football to concentrate his time solely on the Gunners. ‘Yet, when I took this decision, Arsene warned me that he might not be playing me as often in the future,’ recalled Bergkamp. ‘I said to him: “Hang on a minute. I’ve just ended my international career to dedicate myself exclusively to my club, and you’re telling me I can’t play every match?” It was strange to say the least.’
Resentful, Bergkamp, already considered a veteran and with more than 30 goals under his belt for the club, was vocal in questioning his role as luxury substitute. Wenger dodged the complaint by merely doffing his cap to the Dutchman. ‘People say we have more than 27 million fans throughout the world,’ he said at the time. ‘If this is true, it is to a great extent thanks to Dennis, and if anyone symbolizes true team spirit in our game, it is him.’ Placated by this public show of support, Bergkamp remained a bastion of the club during its most successful spell in the modern era.
“Arsene Wenger – The Biography” by Xavier Rivoire (2007)
___________________________________________________________
With disloyal players and ex-players slamming Arsenal FC, they don’t make players like Dennis Bergkamp no more.
WHo in our 2011/12 team will be that lynchpin that Arsene Wenger is building his team to fill “Bergy’s Hole”?
Morning all
New Post up…
Merlin, i am re-posting your comment on todays post so it’s not missed….
WENGER OUT!