Morning Gooners,
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Carl Jenkinson, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey, all five are expected to sign new contracts within days. Theo Walcott’s contract obviously needs sorting out and seeing Wenger finally playing him in a central role against Reading, that could mean all sorts of things. The main one of course is a compromise in negotiations of his position.
Each of the above are British, something we haven’t witnessed for a while and Five are English, even more unheard of for Wenger.
We could actually see Arsene Wenger fielding an Arsenal starting XI in the EPL containing five English players.
That’s right, FIVE… Heady stuff eh?
When did our esteemed manager last have the luxury of so many talented Englishmen to pick from in the Premier League…
A quick check, not scientific you understand, and (I think) the last occasion was during the 2002-03 season. Ten years ago…
The game in question was towards the end of a season that should have seen Arsenal crowned champions.
March 2nd against Charlton Athletic.
Those five Englishmen were:
David Seaman, Sol Campbell, Martin Keown, Razor Parlour and Francis Jeffers.
That season, Arsene used Ten English players in the English Premier League, the others being:
Ashley Cole, Steven Taylor, Jermaine Pennant, Justin Hoyte and the unlucky Ryan Garry.
But if you know better, then don’t be shy, let me know, but remember, Premier League….
I might be mistake or even wildly optimistic, but I think that English clubs are gradually improving the techniques and development of their youngsters. We might not be quite up to the standard in Germany, France, Spain and Holland yet, but the gap is closing a little. Not as quickly as we’d like, but any progress, is in itself, progress…
Over the last few years, Arsene Wenger has not automatically been looking across the English Channel to his homeland and beyond for younger players, instead it seems that he is closely monitoring the Academy products of other English clubs.
It’s well known that Chris Smalling and Phil Jones were both on Arsene’s radar, before the Ogre of Old Toilet snapped them up. Of course, the ‘home-made’ product is preferable, those with Arsenal DNA and there’s a lot of talented and promising English youngsters coming along nicely in our own Academy.
Notwithstanding the five Englishman in the 1st team squad, we have a clutch of promising English youngsters on the brink of the senior squad.
Nico Yennaris is highly rated among Arsenal circle’s, closely followed by Benik Afobe and Chuks Aneke, both showing promise at Bolton Wanderers and Crewe Alexandra respectively. Behind that trio is Jernade Meade, Chuba Akpom and Jordan Wynter, they all have 1st team potential.
Whether of not Theo Walcott stays and keeps the number of English at five remains to be seen of course but many reports suggest that further talks have taken place. Let’s hope for a positive conclusion.
Let’s not forget, our five are all internationals too so those who once suggested Wenger was to blame for the demise of the English side, may just have rewrite their story but with a new twist!
Gossip as the transfer window draws nears:
The Times suggest that Arsenal have begun talks with Schalke over signing Klass-Jan Huntelaar!
The Metro suggest we are ready to swap Andre Santos for a River Plate midfielder Ezequiel Cirigliano, a 20-year-old Argentine who has been compared with Barcelona star Javier Mascherano!
The Daily Express reckon we are after Ajax defender Toby Alderweirel in January and let’s not forget that Zambia’s Stopila Sunza is soon on his way to Arsenal for talks about a move to us!!
Written by Allezkev
Great post Kev.
Morning all.
Plenty on the horizon as far as contracts are concerned….let us ope a few of them come true.
Good morning all… The ugly mood in the gunners camp is lifting? I hope. English players??? Not convinced by any yet but i have reserved my judgement till after the next two seasons. Can somebody tell me the wordings of the song the away fans sang about carzola?
Good morning all… The ugly mood in the gunners camp is lifting? I hope. English players??? Not convinced by any yet but i have reserved my judgement till after the next two seasons. Can somebody tell me the wordings of the song the away fans sang about carzola so i can join in on saturday?
Hi Jeff.
These young guys all have potential……time will tell the story of whether or not they are good enough.
Well,we know Jack is of course 🙂
Why renew Ramsey’s contract? He is not the type we need let him go. He will end up being a waste of fund. mark it.
Morning all…
Thanks Ak for a positively great British post 😉
We need that 6th to sign and soon and I’m starting to think he might…
For you Jeff
I am convinced he will Rico.
He wants to stay.
Yes scott, there are some fantastic young players but time will tell.
I hope so Scott..
I read that Ramsey could be going out on loan to Everton on 1st Jan, prob garbage…
Morning all,
Nice one Sir Kev, As you have pointed out many times that we have some good young players breaking through, i Must say that although i am not against foreign players i do like to see an English league with a few Englishmen in there as well. I can remember reading that Wenger was approached from the FA to see if he could or would consider bringing through a few English players as Englands Team was sadly lacking talent, i read this some time ago whether other clubs were aproached i don’t realy know but i thought at the time about bloody time.
Gotta stay positive mate.
They can have him Rico, and we’ll get Fellaini in return perhaps……
Good post AK, we need more experienced winners in the team imho.
Sp, I quite like the idea of us seeing more English players, I think Jenks, OC, Jack and Gibbs have pretty much proved they are the here and now or the future…
We also have a lot who look like they could be good, but we seem to have been saying that for years about out youth.
Only Jack and Gibbs (who was bought young) have come through our academy, it’s about time a few more did imho…
Be interesting now to see what happens to Frimpong. If we are in for this guy from Gambia, I can see him being let go….
Hi Rico and Lee. Ramsay to Everton on loan?
Nice post Kev. Where do you find the time?
Good morning all,
Kev, in your list of prospective signings you forgot to add on…and Uncle Tom Cobley and all. 😀
Hi Lee, I second that proposition …
Morning Rico, we seem to be in for everybody, it never stops. But we wont have to wait too long to find out who comes, then we can revert back to who’s coming in the summer 🙂
The Dily Mail are running the Huntelaar story now as an exclusive..
Darn cheek….
Thanks rico
We are in for David Villa as well…according to reports lol!?
Hi Steve – that’s made me chuckle 🙂
Sol Campbell is the latest Arsenal ex-player to have his say…
Arsenal cannot afford to let Theo Walcott leave the club, according to ex-Gunners defender Sol Campbell.
“Theo is a big player,” Campbell told BBC Sport. “You don’t want to lose him for the best years of his football.
“For the next five years, I’d pay to keep him. He’s a young lad, a good lad who scores goals, and you need to keep those types of players.”
With Walcott entering the final six months of his deal and the transfer window about to open, Campbell added: “January is very critical. It is a critical moment because if you don’t get it right in January you can just forget the rest of the season.”
Following the departures of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie in recent years, Walcott could become the latest high-profile exit.
“People love him, people hate him – but Theo is a good player, a great player, and he’s growing every year,” said Campbell.
“You can’t lose him because his contract is running out or he wants a little bit more money. You’ve got to keep those type of players. We’ve lost too many over time.
“It used to be losing these players at 30 years old – now they’re losing these players at mid-20s and that’s crazy. You can’t be losing players at mid-20s because of contract situations – it’s crazy now.”
Campbell made 211 appearances in two spells at Arsenal, winning two league titles and two FA Cups, and scoring in the 2006 Champions League final.
Morning all, nice and upbeat Kev, good post.
Is the Ajax fella a left back? We seriously need cover there.
All we can do is what we do every single Christmas and that’s pray to the footballing gods that Arsene get the chequebook out.
Klass, a Yaya type midfielder and a left back. And if he feels like getting Chesney some competition Begovic would be a very good signing.
Hi JW, Big Sol is right….
Morning Bg – from wikki
‘An all-round defender, Alderweireld is mostly known for his long passes and physical strength. He mainly plays as a centre back but can play at right back as well and is usually positioned as a right central defender as he is right-footed’.
Good Morning my Esteemed Fellow Gunners.
Good post.
Regarding Cirigliano I have my doubts. He is only 5ft 7. We already have midget midfield. You might say MAkalele was not tall either. However, he had big fellows around him. Our midfield is not Gangnam style but Frodo Baggins style.
All we need to sign is Snow White up front…
On the other hand Alderweireld is over 6ft.
Snow White would have Lee clamouring for a front side seat with a clear vision of the centreforward role. 😆
Morning devil – With the JD exit rumours, maybe Alderweireld is coming in to challenge Squilli for a place 😉
Also could mean the Sagna rumours have legs..
Hi Ho Hi Ho….
Squilli should be the first name on the team sheet Rico. 🙂
For once Im reading a true Arsenal Blog that is contaminated with unwarranted and meaningless criticism of our players. Good that they are committing to the club, and of course with a few additions we are gonna have depth in the team.
He should indeed Adam, just not ours! 😉
Morning to you…
Sorry guys my editor is out of office, shld read ” not contaminated”.
Welcome JRS, trust me, we have our days….
Very harsh Rico and not in the spirit of Christmas at all. 🙂
Morning all. Good post Kev.
JRS – Think you were right first time….
Rocky. Classic. 🙂
Bah humbug Adam….
Morning rocky, how are the crosswords going?
IT is good to see that we are trying to sign PLAYERS.
But we do need to sign FOOTBALLERS especially with old fashioned LEADERSHIP skills.
Someone of the ilk of PV04, Petit, TA06, Keowm, Bould, Keane, Cantona.
Players who get the others playing.
We do devil, just not sure AW thinks the same….
I’m,sure he believes we have enough….
“You see want you always want to be believe Rico” said Dumbledore.
“If you comprehend that you are seeing a genius that is what you will see.”
That is the problem with AW. He sees some players and thinks they are FOOTBALLERS when they are not. Theo is a good player. Actually a good and fast player. But he is not a footballer. He is a cut above the rest due to two reasons. He has speed. And others either lack speed or are crap. If Podolski and Giroud DO have speed Theo will not be in the position he is today.
And another thing, how many leaders in the AFC are going to pin someone to the wall and take him to task?
I think that’s under selling TW devil, poor old Theo…
Remember Van Nistelrooy Rico? He was a good player and scorer, but not a footballer.
Remember Stapleton? Surely you should. He was a FOOTBALLER who used to play with thought.
We do have a lot of players.
In 2004 we had around 9 footballers on the pitch at the same time. Sadly, now we do not have much.
I am not trying to undersell TW. Actually I like him. But a real footballer should fit in seamlessly anywhere without feeling uncomfortable or wanting to play in one particular position, and still perform to the top of his ability.
Barca coach, Vilanova – had an operation for a tumour a while back, it’s returned and it’s not looking good for him 🙁
Pity. He was turning out to be such a fine coach.
I disagree devil, there are all sorts of footballers, not just the ‘perfect’ one…
Tito is just 4months younger then me.
I do like these young people who come from nowhere and prove themselves to be good. Life has smiled at him at least once. Its a pity that his tumour has relapsed.
Disagree with me Rico???
Goody for you. We are all entitled to our opinion. And that is why we should not be alone in the world. We can see other views.
Far too young to be going through what he is, evil horrid disease… Just hope something can be done for him…
Got to pop off for a while, back later….
That is awful news about Tito. I wish him all the best.
Arsene ‘Coyote’ Wenger VS Theo ‘Beep Beep’ Walcott. Title; End of the road…..
from http://www.eurosport.com
“Local” policy is not Arsenal’s solution.
Arsene Wenger is struggling to hold on to Theo WalcottFor a moment you had to wonder if you had heard him properly. Had Arsene Wenger really just said that?
After victory at Reading on Monday night, the Arsenal manager was asked – for perhaps the 318th time this season – about the progress of Theo Walcott’s contract negotiations. His answer went a bit further than anyone expected.
Unprompted, he revealed that his club’s new strategy when it came to long-term team building was to base the construction around a core of British players. Brought up in the culture of the club, the implication was, they would be more likely to understand its purpose and point, less likely to seek out greener financial grass elsewhere when the time came to sign on the dotted line.
What he was effectively saying was this: British players are more loyal than foreign mercenaries.
After scratching their heads for a moment, the reporters gathered in the Madjeski press room agreed that was exactly what Wenger had said.
The man who – more than any other – opened up the Premier League to overseas talent, the man who first fielded an all-foreign side in the competition (Chelsea’s earlier non-British eleven had been in the Cup), the man who seemed for years to mistrust British players, believing them to be less well educated in the game, had apparently suddenly had a Damascene conversion to the merits of the British player.
Now that was news.
The first thing to be said is that Wenger is an arch pragmatist. He has never been shy of development within the game, embracing change whenever he feels it might assist him.
If he reckons an all-British core is the way forward, then it will surely benefit the game in this country. Building a side around Wilshire, Gibbs, Jenkinson and Oxlade-Chamberlain – while promoting the graduates of the academy – will make Roy Hodgson sleep much easier.
But you have to wonder, is he right in his assumptions? After all, the last time anyone looked, Theo Walcott, the player threatening to be the next to follow the exit route taken by Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy, Alex Song and – gulp – Robin van Persie, is British.
Yet his local ancestry is not stopping him sniffing out a bigger pay cheque. And wasn’t Ashley Cole one of the first out of Arsenal in pursuit of the folding stuff? You know, Ashley Cole that sneaky, greedy foreigner with 99 England caps.
Now there might be something to be said about youngsters brought through the system remaining loyal to the badge they have worn from the age of eight.
But Wenger didn’t say that he just wanted academy graduates. He said he wanted British players at the heart of his team. And of his six first team regulars who are British, only Wilshire and Gibbs fall into the entirely home grown category.
Jenkinson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey and Walcott were all bought in as older players. And presumably, the reason they left previous clubs like Charlton, Cardiff and Southampton was because Arsenal offered them greater prominence, greater opportunity of international recognition and more money than they could have got had they stayed loyal to their origins.
Precisely the same temptations, you imagine, that are being dangled in front of Walcott and his advisers by Chelsea and Manchester City.
Indeed, the more you thought about what Wenger was saying the more you got the feeling it was mere distraction. A good headline, a good way of appealing to the fraught sense of loyalty that is at the heart of the fan experience, a good debating point. But not a way forward.
The truth is Arsenal are in a bizarre position. They run their club properly, to robust financial boundaries. This is an organisation which adheres to Dickensian economic values: spend a penny more than you earn and that way misery lies; spend a penny less and that way can be found happiness.
It is a perfectly legitimate approach in any other business than the modern Premier League, where the unreal economics of Chelsea and Manchester City have completely warped the market.
The distressing fact is, In order to compete with them, Arsenal need to start behaving in a way which totally goes against their prudent instincts.
This is not to do with the nationality of the players, it is not a matter of comparison between the attitudes of the British and the rest (a comparison that in any case does not stand up to close analysis).
It is a simple case of paying what the market now demands. Even if you fundamentally disagree with the way the market conducts itself. And that, as Rafa Benitez would no doubt tell Wenger, is the fact
Afternoon Gooners… Thanks for the positive feedback.
Afternoon Rico. You little tinker. 😉
I had forgotten about that one.
Adam I am too busy mate.
Direct Action Lee…
Ramsey to Everton seems a good move to me.
Take Aaron out of his comfort zone.
Still not 100% convinced about Huntelaar, but i’ll happily eat humble pie if he joins and is successful.
Afternoon Goonerdom worshipers,
Kev I don’t take it lightly how Klaas (and his pal Affelay) mocked the Arsenal after our CL home game. Besides demanding 100K p.w. unproven in the EPL is a bit rich. He’s no resale value either. Rather want Demba Ba for a few quid extra, his pay will be more within our discipline and could be progressive when his performances warrant an contract extension.
Btw great read.
Good day all gunnersphere
https://twitter.com/FutbolFan5/status/281398582198808577
Press are reporting that Wilshere is set to sign an £80,000 a week contract but we will offer Walcott £85,000. That doesn’t make any sense at all. Surely Jack should be the top earner if its down to ability?
Sorry Rico, had some computer issues today… So the crosswords have taken a pounding!
Giroud and Huntelaar are similar players he is off our radar 😉
Bob – Don’t believe what u read in papers. Just take it with a pinch of salt
https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/281415771052191744
https://twitter.com/Established1886/status/281415001997201408
Can someone explain to me what Arron Ramsey has done to deserve a new deal??! Good god..
Give the guy a break ESP. He’s trying hard to overcome adversity. Performances will come.
Wigan this weekend, is going to be a very difficult game to predict.
Wigan are very similar to Arsenal in that both teams are brilliant one game and rubbish the next.
Tnx Emma lovely vid. Future gladiators committing to the cause.
Sorry DG, but i’ve been waiting for a while now… Don’t see what exactly he has done to deserve a new deal. Why not give Arshavin a new deal?
DG – like that vid. Ramsey will come good. We shouldn’t forget he was very good before the leg break and he is just 22. Give this lad 2 more years to overcome his demons and learn from Santi and Rosicky
https://twitter.com/__ArseneWenger/status/281429984982224896
Emma can’t see what you would object to Gervinho signing and yet have no problem with Ramsey. Won’t Gervinho come good?
ESP I feel Rambo is suffering an impasse at this stage, over-thinking on his feet. You’re right his displays hasn’t been cutting edge and adventurous enough to consume us all. My beliefs are he doesn’t fit our slow play of recent. Ramsey thrives in fluid flows and triangle one touch play. Not leadership material but Parlour-esque to team spirit.
I have no problem with keeping Ramsy in the squad, I’m not happy with a new deal for nothing. Has his salary increased? I’m also not to impressed with OX getting a new deal, he signed last year.
I also don’t like the media spectacle which the club has made of it, as if its something the fans can get excited about.
it will be bad news if Theo doesnt stay, for many reasons. talent starts to show as he reaches his prime, and we lose him for almost nothing. its worth raising our offer just to avoid that.. …. not to mention the improvement he has shown.
Afternoon folks…
Cracking news re the contracts…..
Now come on Walcott, may it six!!
ESP
Maybe there’s an international clause in Ox’s contract that forced Arsenal to the table. We don’t know all legal ties our club commit do we. Same goes for Gibbs, Ramsey and Jenks.
The signing stage looked quite sobering imho. No life-size Gunners crest and all. It looked relaxed and not overblown.
nice post kev …
ive never quite understood this fixation on English players,,to me..Arsenal should buy or tie up the best players nomatter if they are Norwegians;)Dutch,Zambians or whatever…its about creating the best team possible,…
but i have to say well done to The Arsenal for finally doing the right thing when it comes to player contracts,i have a sneaky feeling that its a result of us becoming more financial capable and thats good..
about Ramsey..he has been forced to play far to much,,,i believe that he needs more time and im sure he will be a top squad player in time..
bottom line i do believe that the financial situation at The Arsenal are about to change…and the result wont be that we will buy big,but if the result are that we are capable of keeping our best players well thats all good to me…
Theo i would love for us to keep him,and i believe we will..
Huntelaar ?..he could be a super sub..and he does score a few goals…but he is limited..(pace)then again put him together with Theo up front..that would be deadly—
tom, think Huntelaar is reported to be close to signing a new contract with Schalke now, changes every hour 😉
And re Ramsey, Seeing as he’s staying, I’d actually like to see him play in his proper position one day…
He’s not a left sided player, nor is he a right sided player so why he gets played there, goodness only knows….
Rico 🙂
re..re..Ramsey..i totally agree,but wenger seems to do this alot eh..playing players out of position,for Ramsey i hope its only a learning process…
Huntelaar well im not going to get over excited nomatter what happens..could be wengers choice to let walcott try to impose himself as a striker and then tie him up in the summer..not sure..
i think for us its more important to get rid of some players..and slowly keep building our team,,,,it wont be done in a hurry im afraid…but it could be a very interesting summer(oh no not again ;)hehe
just now there’s alot of if’s !!…if rosicky come back as he did last year,if diaby stay fit ??..if there are no more injuries ?if Giroud keeps improving ?..
if all goes well and players keep fit im more than happy to wait untile the summer before improving our squad…lets be honest were not going to win anything this season nomatter what…well if you dont count 4th as a trophy then ;)..im being americanized…satisfied with a 4th finish in the premier after all like Mr.Fox stated..its not all about winning …
lets just hope we’re on the right track and will emerge better and stronger than ever..sometime in the future…
Oh dear, TFL just ruined my Xmas present! :((
I’d like a DM Tom and another striker in Jan…
And if TW is sold off in this window, we sure need another winger…
TFL Hg ??
Yes they have just postponed the game on the 26th for which I got a ticket from my girlfriend 🙁 Bloody strike 🙁
Tito Vilanova is having surgery tomorrow. I know he won’t be reading of course but I truly wish him the best and hope surgery goes well…..
Afternoon Rico
Think Rambo has the legs to appear anywhere on the pitch providing solutions for pass and go situations. Fixing him on either side doesn’t tribute to his technical and stamina assets.
Ah, I see, train stride again…. Annoying!
I’m off to get dinner, back shortly
Sorry about your different circumstances but TFL have put a smile on my wife’s face she can now plan a family christmas without losing her Husband and son for the whole day and not back till late on boxing day.
The reason Ramsey gets played wide is the same one as why Bendtner/ Arshavin was ruined , Wenger buys and produces footballers to play a form of total football instead of buying people to play in the position that they are best suited to. Bit like Podolski really , if you get him in or around the box he has a strange habit of scoring goals.Put him out wide and as him to drop back to cover his fullback and he is less effective.
ASK him to drop back. it should have read.
Hi Potter, it’s annoying about the square pegs in round holes, too many times we have seen it ruin players….
Hi Potter, that is alight unless the mother in law is coming 🙂
😆 Hg
Ramsey supporters are a bit lenient I think. His work rate is high, yes, But he produces very very little. I hoped to see improvement this season but he has stalled. I don’t mind him having a new contract, but I would rather see a youth player given the chance at this point. His quality is step below what we need. I won’t list his shortcomings, but they are consistent enough to convince me that he isn’t quite worthy. As always, I hope with all my heart that he proves me very very wrong.
Evening all..
A super post from Mr Kev as always.
Come on guys please leave Ramsey alone. He is just 21 y.o folks. He is going to be 22 next week and if Theo walcott can now hold Arsenal to ransom in 2012 then Ramsey has the potential to be our Gerard. And stats show that he is more efficient than JW10. Yes I am talking rubbish I know what you are thinking but those are the hard facts.
JW- App 88 goals 5 Assists11
Ramsey- App 124 goals10 Assists16
He does not convert the chances he has but he is the only midfielder who times his runs the best in our team.
My jury is still out on him Will…
Rico. At least with Ramsay we have a genuine winger, 🙂
Good morning all.
The last work day of a very long year.
Still,it has been a good one.
Funny,i just read Holtby is signing a new contract and Huntelaar still heading off,in total contrast to what is posted here……..is there any such thing as news…should be called something else lol
Aaron Ramsey according to AFC.com
starts 73 ;51 sub appearances
JW 61starts; 13sub appearance
I am not saying AR is better than JW10 but he is not as bad as most of you make out he is. Some will say AR’s injury is in the past because JW10 is back and playing better but the difference is just maybe if JW10 injury was an impact injury like AR’s and EF29 injuries were he may not be as good as he is now.
History shows that players such as Cisse, Petruscu to name a few who had such injuries never came back ever. Look at our Abu Dubai as an example who Dan Smith literary sanctioned him to the scrap yards.
Bild are reporting nothing as yet on Klaas. Where is DG or Goonie to give us the low down on rumours in Holland ?
If Ramsey can start to finish off chances,he will be brilliant.
We often complain about the stuff ups from him,but he gets into scoring positions too often to be coincidence.
Yes, i agree it is wasted on someone who buggers the shot,but hopefully that can come.
It is catch 22…….what is the point of creating chances if you can’t finish them,but if you don’t create them you will never score.
Come on Aaron……the club has shown confidence in you,one or two Gooners world wide still have (Hi Ginge), so have it in yourself and prove them all wrong!!
You old toad Adam 😉
Ts – stats made Denilson look good 😉
Ginge, a broken bone, especially under those circumstances, is always going to be tougher to overcome than other major injuries.
Even the mental scarring only needs to affect a player 5% to make a massive difference to performance.
I have never suggested Ramsey is our top player…not even close…but i see enough to wonder why people relentlessly criticise him.
It is easy to see the obvious mistakes and ignore or miss the behind the scenes stuff that helps.
Hi Scott.
Rednose plays Valencia as a RB and Welbeck as a LW for tactical reasons too.
Arsenal fans are always complaining about our players but other top teams most of the time fancy them and when they leave we moan.
I remember 2 years ago when Cesc was still our captain every man and his dog suggested that TV4 should be made the captain. Even the expert pundits who are now complaining that he lacks leadership skills awere originally champions of that idea.Fast forward this year and 2 or 3 bad performances and then we change our tune.
We go on about Kompany brilliance and TV4 being crap but when you watch Belgium who is their best defender?
Rico, how many hits is HH up to now?
Some stats tell the true story 🙂
You get great stats because it is a great site.
😀 I was waiting for that lady Rico…
Vermaelen is sensational,but always has a quiet period each season.
The more he plays,the better he gets though.
Kozzer is the same.
Watch him when he gets back to the first team…he is scratchy and anxious for several games,but after 4-5 in a row, gets back to top form and we wonder where he has been.
Denilson was a very good player for us for 2 years until he injured his back Rico. 😉
He was very highly rated at 18 y.o and was Brazils U-20’s captain at 18. Maybe getting married and doing the deed too many times was the cause for his bad back 😉
One last point on the signings.
Plenty around the world are asking why after Ox signed last year and Ramsey…well,make up your own minds….but have been asking why we let Theos contract run down…….mind you,they have been trying to get Theo to extend for the best part of a year,but do not let the truth get in the way of a good story…same with RVP.
Off to work……will check in during the day.
Have a great night all.
Exactly scott. When Cesc said in summer 2011 that VP will make a decision about his future in 2012 most overlooked that comment.
Have a good day Scott..
Ha ha Scott, headlines are deceiving 😉
Glad I didn’t disappoint Ts 😉
Obviously Cesc and RvP had discussed what was happening at the club.
The one thing these players signings give us is a feeling of stability.
Rico,touche lol.
Back to work.
Have a good day Scott…
I’m actually pleased we have signed them up, just hope not all of them are earning too much….
the chavs have equalised..
Catch you tomorrow folks…
Night night…
Come on leeds 😉
Apart from Ramsey’s impact injury there’s another factor. Media induced obsession with wunderkind syndrome. Every young talent needs to be the next………… (file name here).
I remember a certain Bojan Krikic at Barfa introduced to top flight football at an tender age. What has become of him ever since?
My point is maturity comes with experience. Messi is lucky to have plenty around him.
Tom, re; 4.49.
It’s not so much about a fixation on English players, it’s more to do with an English football club playing in an English league in the capital of England, I could go on…
If Lynn of Oslo was successful in Norway, winning leagues, cups, qualifying for europe, but with a team/squad made up of non-Norwegians and you replicated that across all the teams in Norway, would you or the majority of Norwegians see that as a healthy development.
Or would most Norwegians be asking questions about the lack of indigenous players in your domestic game.
I believe that a core of home-based players is vital, for any club to retain it’s sense of who it is and who it represents.
And that goes for every club across the globe.
I mention English players because that is what I am and where the team I support comes from.
I’m suprised that you seem so suprised tbh…
http://hereisthecity.com/2012/12/18/barcelona-could-sell-alex-song-so-soon-after-leaving-arsenal/?
Morning all….
Moaning…
You are always moaning Lee…
Good Morning or is it good moaning Rico and Lee… 😀
Moaning…without a shadow of a Brussel sprout!
New Post going up….
Morning Ts, Lee and Scott..
I love Sprouts 🙂