Morning all…
What’s all this ice bucket nomination thing all about?
Well, it’s all in aid of a wonderful cause and that’s Macmillan Cancer Support and many many footballers are taking part to raise money. The challenge dares nominated participants to be filmed having a bucket of ice water poured on their heads. A common stipulation is that nominated people have 24 hours to comply or forfeit by way of a charitable financial donation.
Not only footballers are getting involved though, even George Bush has had a bucket of ice cold water thrown over him but as far as I know, no-one has yet had the balls to nominate Arsene Wenger but they should. Saying that, if it means parting with money, he’ll soon allow someone to throw the bucket of water over him….
I wouldn’t, I’d rather opt out and donate….. Actually, I’d do both….
Perhaps we could all join in but we’ll keep it fair and have just one nomination and for those who want to donate to such a fantastic cause, CLICK HERE.
But you must send a photo in to me to prove you have undergone the challenge and if you don’t, then I hope your conscience gets the better of you and you donate….
Well you didn’t expect that did you…
Aaron Ramsey has been talking about his red card on Tuesday:
I think it was a difficult game where a lot of players were going over easily and I think the European refs tend to give those fouls a lot more than they do over here, so that’s something I am going to have to learn.
That’s my first red card for Arsenal and hopefully my last as well. I’ll be a bit more streetwise and not give away free-kicks so cheaply.
I hope it is too because our side misses players like Ramsey who can have so much influence on the way we play and we are going to miss him next week for the second leg. On a perfect pitch and in front of our home fans, hopefully the performance will be a lot better than it was on Tuesday. We need a ‘Napoli at home’ kind of performance and if we can produce somewhere near to that level, we’ll be fine.
Ramsey also said that it’s vital we pick up points away from home against the so-called better clubs and he’s right. No doubt he is referring to the maulings we took at Liverpool, Chelsea and City. Everton was a fluke in my opinion and we’ll show that tomorrow.
Transfer gossip:
Well there a crazy story doing the rounds which suggests we are going to offer Olivier Giroud and ÂŁ35 million for PSG striker Edinson Cavani. Someone on Twitter last night even had the cheek to suggest whatever offer we have made for the player, it has been accepted.
Dream on I say, why on earth would PSG want a cup-tied striker? Maybe PSG would like Campbell or Sanogo… lol
The Times link us to West Ham defender Winston Reid which is a new one in the media. His name has cropped up here on HH but I don’t think I’ve seen this story in the newspapers before.
Sami Khedira, well I think the football journalists are keeping their jobs because of this man, well him, Angel Di Maria and Marco Reus. Only ten more days to find out where they all end up. Same with William Carvalho and Kostas Manolas. Fingers crossed two at least end up in an Arsenal shirt. Guillem Balague believes Sami Khedira has a âpersonal agreementâ with Arsenal but we all know how unreliable he is don’t we….
That’s it for today, have a good one.
1st….
yayyyyyyy
I nominate Kev for the Ice bucket. photo taken at Trafalgar square would be great. đ
Podolski will nominate Wenger if he doesn’t get enough game time lol
Nice post Rico,
Morning all you lot, TGIF
Top post Rico. But I doubt Cavani would be bought.
Reus will be more realistic. but dont hold your breath.
Imo…..it will be Manolas/Reid+Rabiot+Remy
and that will be that
Thanks Nickie, đ re Podolski, he’d be the one though eh..
I knew you would Devil…. lol
I nominate Wath…
Thanks Devil. Tbh, I can’t see a striker coming in, if AW really wanted one, ÂŁ16 million for Balotelli would have been the one…
I see nothing but close games with us losing by the odd goal unless Arsene has the guts to play Chambers just in front of our defence to break down opposition moves. He will not be shouldered out the way like the Diddy men we have and that is the BIG difference between us and the other top four teams. Its time to show that we do not intend to just play pretty stuff when playing oop north but are willing to fight for 90 mins.
Hola – I think that if this fanciful Cavani rumour is true, Giroud wouldn’t be cup-tied.
I guess the “better deals” transfer fee wise also works with player contracts wanting out of their club. Khedira deadline day = desperate to get out means cheaper contract…Maybe the same with Remy because his fee wouldn’t drop but maybe Wenger is waiting for him to drop demands because he’s desperate to go?
Gud post
i wouldn’t like to take this ice bucket challenge but I nominate Rico and Nickie
Ok – I am wrong – it is only if Arsenal are eliminated and he played in the qualifiers
pete, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Chambers in midfield once Per is back and we sign a defender. Although personally, I hope we sign a HM and DM.
Ten days and we’ll all be put out of our misery…
Thanks McR, you can only nominate one…
PSG didn’t see anyone buh our super model OG12.? can’t stop laughing.
Federico, are you saying that the pre-group matches don’t count so Giroud wouldn’t be cup-tied?
I’m not sure that’s the case…
Lewis Hamilton has just done the ice-bucket challenge… đ
Morning all from Cyprus.
It appears that there’s some guts in the Falcao story from over in France with reports that Arsenal have sounded out Monaco..
Morning all,
As much I don’t want poldi to leave,all I can see now is him leaving before â ĚĽŃĆş end of â ĚĽŃĆş transfer window.What a shame as we all know â ĚĽŃĆş player he can be.Well,on our recent performance,What â ĚĽŃĆş hell is Wenger smoking player Ramsey,wilshere and Santi together?Wilshere won’t let Santi and Rambo play â ĚĽŃĆş game,he hold â ĚĽŃĆş ball too much and Rambo is trying too much this days.That red card is a result of him trying too much where simply pass would have bailed him out.We need ozil back,30% fit Ozil is better than 90% fit JW10.Alexie too is another problem or is Wenger â ĚĽŃĆş problem by asking him to join â ĚĽŃĆş midfield instead of looking for spaces and running into them.Our attack is toothless.We need ozil back more than ever.
Interesting Syg…
I think if Wenger play CC21 as a DM and he play well,then gone is our hope of buying a DM.PM04 will be back this weekend and Wenger don’t like dropping performing players so he may play CC21 in DM.I think flamini should leave now,Le coq is better in âĆ opinion.
lol! why me McR
Morning rico. is cavani that fantastic? We need a top top striker and if he is not in that category then we shouldnt even be going in for him.
Rico – If we are eliminated and Giroud is transferred to say Real Madrid (yeah, right), then he would be eligible because he only played in the qualifiers and we are out. If we went through, then he would not be eligible. That is my understanding now, so yep he isn’t eligible, but we all know that the story is bollocks anyway.
lovely post and that’s an entertaining challenge going towards a great course………….Edison Cavani I don’t want him…..Morning Chipmunks and Munchkins like the coach will say………….lol
now its Wellbeck’s turn to be linked.
lol
Luznic……that is copyrighted.
morning to you mate
I’m thinking u can’t take the challenge Nickie
Thanks Federico, like you say, the story is probably rubbish anyway…
Morning bondex, I’m not sold on him but to be fair, I haven’t seen him play much…
Thanks Luznic..
Welbeck again, oh dear… lol
I nominate my beers for the ice bucket, and I hope it chills them to the core.
Morning all.
Scott – after drinking the beer, will the ice bucket looks slightly more appealing đ
It won’t feel as cold hahahahaha
đ Scott…
Scott i hope they refuse and choose to pay .. lol
Bonded, they’re paying right now đ đ
Sorry Bondex…..
Giroud
early sale ,early good.
we need DM,goal machine.
we have about 10 days.
i see this season
Man.city and Chelsea fight for first place
Our arsenal,Liverpool and Man.u fight for 3and 4 places
i think ,our arsenal good enough for 4th place
hahaha….
Someone asked if Cavani is any good
For Napoli
2010/11 26 goals in 32 starts
2011/12 23 in 32
2012/13 29 in 33
For PSG last year
16 in 25 (often not playing centrally because of Zlat)
Id say he those stats show he is reliably lethal…
Now at 27 years of age he should have a few excellent seasons left in him. On paper he would be an excellent, powerful addition. Of course I say on paper because everyone has to prove themselves in the PL.
(see whoscored)
Arsenal will not make it in top4 this season if the didn’t sign top striker
Pretty clinical in front of goal then roger..
Bit like Giroud.. đ
Podolki is far better than Giroud, in fact Giroud should be shown the door. I wonder why a good coach like Wenger go on selecting Giroud in his starting x1 who always squanders other payers effort upfront. Please do something Professor Wenger.
someone say per mertesacker is number 6 player and that he is not a 4 player.and a defending midfielder is a number 4 and not a number 6.please mk someone teach dis man help me
I am not convinced about Cavani when I wath him play, when you see his stats yes its ok but he is equally as wasteful as our le quiff……imo
Watch* not you wath……lol
Sunday, AW has signed a striker, Alexis..
Not even close Rico!
The numbers far favour Cavani over Giroud in their national leagues. Cavanis worst recent year is better than Girouds best. (both are 27)
Cavani:
Year Goals Starts %
2010/11 26 32 81%
2011/12 23 32 72%
2012/13 29 33 88%
2013/14 16 25 64%
Giroud:
Year Goals Starts %
2010/11 12 33 36%
2011/12 21 36 58%
2012/13 11 24 46%
2013/14 16 36 44%
I should add, that traditionally the Italian league sees far fewer goals scored than the PL, making Cavanis stats when at Napoli even more impressive.
Another point is that Cavanis injury record seems quite ok, with both him and Giroud starting approximately the same number of league games in that time.
Cavani didnt look that good at the world cup.
roger, I was being ironic..
I didn’t think he did either bondex.
I thought Mou would nominate Wenger. I guess the ice chilled his brain.
Le boss won’t partake unless the ice is top top qua-li-dee and the bucket must be exceptional.
Good morning all, great post rico.
Roger, Cavani would be a dream signing, but its pointless trying to convince fans that the player is WC and would improve the team.
Henry has now Jeff, look forward to seeing the photos….
Thanks Gdna…
Cavani, Falcao would both improve the squad, of course they would, any top class striker or player would….
Never mind a bucket of ice over wengers head,
what about a few cubes down his Y/fronts,
that should wake him up a bit.
I would go with this team for the weekend.
Chez
Deb Per Kos Mon
Chambo
Ramsey
Ozil
TR AS
Ox
Bench – Ospina, Coq, JW, LP, OG, JC, Bellerin.
Ox up front Gdna? Interesting choice
Nickie, yes, at least we would be playing with 11 players, it also show how much we need a CF.
If we’re getting crazy i’d play
—–Cazorla—–
Ozil-Sanc-Gir-Rosi
—–Camp-Sano–
Monr—-Deb—Mert
——–Kos——–
https://twitter.com/GunnersTown/status/502773434045460481
Just to confirm that @yorkshiregunner isn’t me – He’s a kid called Andy from Leeds
there we go….AW has been nominated.
http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/social/robert-pires-picks-arsenal-legends-arsene-wenger-thierry-henry-to-have-icy-showers-instagram/?
Paul Scholes urges Man United to sign Real Madridâs Sami Khedira for his energy and his experience.
Khedira is our panic buy!….
Gdna I was mucking about but i’d also like to see Ox tried up front. If Walcott can do it, with Ox’s pace, power and shot he’d be a real handful
Ox and carzola up front?You guys are great comedians.lol
is AW playing us when he said no striker in again? the Cavani and Falcao rumor seems interesting although its Falcao for me as Cavani is no beauty to watch on the eye, I think Khedira is done as Ancelotti said yesterday Di maria ask to leave but Khedira who has a year didnt ask to leave and wont sign a new contract which means they will sell him anyway and the Chavs wont buy him that I am sure of as Matic is their man and Khedira wont play second fiddle to anyone and the only reason Wenger is yet to buy a dmf is just because of Arteta, its 10 days to go and i believe that we will see two signings definitely and probably 3
Sukky. Where did we say Cazorla upfront? lol
Sukky……Nickie suggested Cazorla in goal
Looks like my research cam back with the wrong results.
The ice bucket challenge is for ALS Disease. I apologise if my error has caused any offence…
That’s correct Rico. Macmillan were accused of hijacking donations
That’s sad then Nickie. Both are super causes though and MacMillan do a fantastic job…
We donate monthly to Macmillan ourselves. With the ALS nominations, it does wind me up that some people mainly facebook friends do it for their own vanity
DNA must be following me on Twitter, as I’ve been saying for 12 months Ox is a striker, IMO.
I knew you’d come around to my way of thinking hahahahahaha.
Morning all.
You’re up early Scott.. đ
There’s folk like that everywhere Nickie…
Back in a bit…
Quiet old day on HH today, the calm before the storm… đ
Booo, rico!
Balo´ joining the dippers…
AW got to do something asap…
Hi Agag.. how´s it going?
King Abou is back and coming in for Arteta…
Boo to you agag… đ
That’s “cheap” for Balo. I’m beginning to think something is wrong when he goes for that “low”.
Hiya, Ginge. Busy bee-ing again. đ I wonder what I got myself into with my new job. đ đ Howdy?
Ryo is back too…
A few gooners here in Toledo…
it always amazes me how highly AFC is valued overseas…
Diaby for Arteta? Oh dear oh dear….
Cavani staying at least one more year. PSG have just 2 strikers (including an injured Ibra) and are refusing to listen to offers (L’Equipe)
rico, you were complaining about the low decibel levels, I really should have said BOOO in caps, eh?
You all knocking Giroud again. đ Well, without Theo, he’s the best option we have for goals, and he really isn’t that bad. đ
The media disinfo that Giroud should be scoring more than 22 goals last season cos of our midfield creativity is a myth. We were 7th in EPL in chances created.
Also unfortunately for fans talking about signing a player to score 30+ EPL goals. Arguably only 5/6 players in the world can do that and have done that over the last 2 seasons but none available.
That’s because it is agag… lol
Ryo fit, good! Sell him…
ha ha ha Rico… re Ryo.
you got me hook even on holiday I pay big bucks to get wi’fi to post stats… lol
Afternoon all…
Nice post, rico…
Cavani for Giroud? AFC has to sack Wenger first for that to happen this TW .
For whatever it is worth, Wenger should rest Chambers tomorrow … not start Wilshere too. Start both behind Rosicky or Carzola against Besiktas. Flamini is fast becoming a risk…a potential sending-off candidate at any turf.
Hello Ts…you weren’t much here yesterday…and believe it or not, I do miss you when you you weren’t…
What are you doing in Toledo? What is in Toledo? In Asia, Liverpool is the sentimental favorite, yuuuuuckkkkkk.
Manchester United is big in SoKor, for obvious reasons.
I think we are popular in Japan, and because our club visited Vietnam, there, too. My friend who lives in Malaysia says the traffic jam when we played in KL was impossible. An hour long drive took my friend four hours. đ đ To think that the stadium in Malaysia is already in the outskirts of the city. I was happily surprised myself.
đ agag, I certainly wouldn’t swap Giroud, but another striker as well as him – well that would be good…
Hey tai… lol bruv.. misss you all too…
I am on a short vacation in Madrid after some work quick work in Ayios Nikolaos earlier this week.
Sarcasm rico?! Whats that mean without a winky smiley face đ
I damn hope wenger is being subtly sarcastic…
Just saying what I think Ts, Ryo isn’t for the PL imo…
Thanks Tai. Can’t see Chambers being rested, not Jack… But, who knows eh…
Agag, its just north of spain… just taking in the odd culture as they say…
I think you would like it if you travel to Spain one day…
http://www.tripadvisor.es/Tourism-g187489-Toledo_Province_of_Toledo_Castile_La_Mancha-Vacations.html
I agree with you on Ryo, Rico.
One trick pony who will need more time me think…
rico, I appreciate that you’re being “gentle” with Giroud. I think my support for Theo has helped, yeah? đ But seriously, I do not understand the criticism. He grafts, is hardly injured, nets some decent goals. It’s not as if he has been a poor investment. He did not cost heaven and earth either.
Irony roger, not sarcasm… đ
Ok, later HH Familia… catch up later. Stay safe.
Great Ts. Don’t tell me you’re doing an 007 on Khedira.lol.
One match we must win is Besiktas…that or …
Ginge, The way things look, I’ll probably visit Barcelona before I do London. Eeeeeekkkkkkkk! đ I wanna see the South of Spain and Morocco. Next year, I hope.
agag – I don’t think Giroud is that bad. Yes he had a shocker on Tuesday but he’s not fit yet according to AW. He has a part to play in certain games as he grafts.
But he’s not the pacey, ruthless and clinical striker we need. Perhaps Alexis will turn out to be though…
Hi, Tai and rog. đ
Agag, you’re not alone on Giroud…he’s not half as bad as fans make out. He could be annoying but he’s very useful in the team. Rating Giroud based just on goals is very unfair. He may miss a lot but some of his other qualities are great…but when you rate him on chances converted alone, he’s terrible!
It hasn’t “happened” yet for Alexis, but I love that he always seems so eager and full of running and he is unafraid of the ball. I think when the genius of Ozil is finally at work, we will see some pretty special things, rico.
Doesn’t a striker always get judged by his strike rate?
Giroud is not a clinical striker and never will be because he’s not quick enough or intelligent enough to get in the right place. But, in certain games he is ideal.
Eto’O undergoes Liverpool medical…what’s going on at Anfield?
Tai, he does need to become more clinical, I agree. For what he cost, he’s been preety darned good. Now Arsene really needs to sort out that world class striker, whoever he may be. đ I wish we had Torres. Mou has almost completely ruined him.
And he should be less concerned about his pretty boy looks. Almost the entire team says he spends too long looking at himself in the mirror. đ đ
Agag, very early Arsenal days for Alexis but my goodness, he’s a worker. Once he gets used to his team-mates, he’ll show his class. As will Ozil imo, finally he will have a player on his wavelength..
Liverpool will do a Totnum. Sooo many new players, so little balance. But then again their little star, Lallana is injured, Rodgers is trying to make up for it…
Tai, it’s called ‘ambition’ re Liverpool. You may not be too familiar with that because you follow Arsenal…
I’m not so sure Agag re the dippers, I hate to say it but they’ve had a very good transfer window… Not all are big names, but if they graft, they’ll do well… imo of course..
There are other strikers who work for the team…Giroud is not a clinical striker. With Theo and Sanchez either side of him, his sins may be forgiven.
You will have to ask why Wenger bought a pacy attacker like Theo ? He’s interested in benefiting from Giroud’s strengths – knocking on Szczesny’s aerial balls onto the paths of these two, then holding up play and laying on for either. For one thing, Giroud is a great wall passer…Wilshere, Ramsey Walcott, Podolski have all benefited…and certainly Sanchez would…quite plentifully.
Agag…you’re spot on…Liverpool are heading the way of Spurs…if they get in Balo and Eto’O…my only happiness is that both hate Mourinho with passion and will truly pay him back!
For me … as long as it’s not Arsenal winning, it should never be Chelsea!
rico, we’ll see about the Dippers; last year the press were falling all over themselves with Totnum’s “astute” signings; see where it got them… nowhere. And I think they will be made to pay cause it looks like they are rushing Lallana back. Rodgers is trying to compensate for the loss of Suarez by buying all the pretty shiny things of recent months…
We will agag đ
The daft thing is though, we wouldn’t be even talking about them if AW finally grew a pair and signed a few more top class players because we really have the base of a PL winning side.
It just lacks in seriously key positions.
All quiet here so I’m off for the day.
Night folks….
I believe Giroud will thrive playing with a partner,FA Cup final alongside Sanogo showed promises.I will take Negredo on loan to partner him. Well,My preferred first team will alwz feature Ozil,Theo,Alexis partnership upfront.
I am here Rico
Danny Welbeck, a possible signing as he is English and would therefore help with the balance of the 25 man squad.
Would ManUre sell him to Arsenal, even if Wenger wanted him, following Arsenals stance over Thomas Vermaelen…?
Very unlikely imo.
Alex Song for ÂŁ10 million…?
A quick fix following the injury to Arteta?
Signing that useless tosser would finish me off for the season…
A definate backwards step and would confirm my misgivings over Wenger…
Sign Song and kiss goodbye to any chance of Arsenal being competitive…
They have already said that he can go but not to a team they perceive as a rival . So how far down the league does that go ? have they given him a list of relegation candidates and said take your pick of the ones that might have the money ? Or would they sell to us and admit that their rivals are further down the league.For that matter would we want him ? another prospect for Wenger to play as and when and where he wants to.
As for Song if we did go back for him , in his delusional brain he would probably see it as an admission that Wenger realised that he could not live without him and demand wages of a superstar rather than a barrel dreg that is hanging on to a top flight career.
Song return? Never imo, if AW didn’t see a way to forgive Fabregas, can’t see him opening his arms to welcome Song…
Morning all…
Massive game on weds night, fuck that up and it’ll be more difficult to sign top players!
Btw I think we will beat the captain kirks!
I wonder if we have any players lined up ready to sign if we win? I hope so!
I think so on both Lee..
Or am I just hoping too much….
Lukaku might be out….
No Barkley…..
The window is not shut and we’ve still got the second leg so we have time!!
Morning Rico and all…
Morning all,
They looked good last week without those 2 in the game last week. They will be hard tackling and pressing. Need good movement today with some better finishing.
Why we donât sign every player some think we need
By Tony Attwood
Of course, whether we need more players or not is a matter for debate. I look at Giroudâs 40 goals for Arsenal and think that signing up a new player to replace him would be silly, given that it takes players a year or so to bed in â especially if they come from abroad.
Others disagree â and weâve debated that before. So letâs try and think of some other reasons why we donât necessarily buy everyone cited in the press.
1. Good players want to play not be squad players
One of the first things a playerâs agent will ask during the preliminary enquiries is, âare you seeing him as a regular first team player?â And if it is clear that the player is being seen as a squad player he wonât come.
Now that has an implication for players as they move along their contract. If you say to X and his agent, âyes you are to be a regular first team player,â and then you want to move him to being a squad player, or worse as just a back up to another new player, he will want to leave.
It might be argued that this ok because heâs not as good as the next man â but let it happen too much and you lose your squad players. But squad players are important with four competitions to play in, and the inevitable injuries.
Thus a club that develops a reputation among agents for bringing in players with promises about first team selection that are then broken, finds recruitment hard. Players look for club integrity. Agents donât want their clients on their backs complaining all day long.
2. The youth system is beneficial
Young players donât always work out, but we need a youth system in order to keep bringing young players through. Thatâs a truism⌠but worth saying because without a youth system we would be at the eternal mercy of the market place in buying in new players. And when you are at the mercy of the marketplace, the market will screw you.
Just look at the players we have developed from scratch, or brought in, in their teens. From Brady to Bellerin. Buying and buying means the squad is packed and even brilliant youngsters donât make it in because they are not quite ready.
3. It is easy to make mistakes, then the money is gone
A year or two back I was asking people to name me some of the flop transfers of other big clubs, and most found it hard. Yes some supporters could tell me all the flops that Tottenham have bought, but found it harder to do the same with Chelsea Man C and Man U. They quickly get forgotten.
A lot of fans tend to remember our clubâs errors and then think Arsenalâs mistakes are unique. Indeed we see a top player go to another club, and ask why Arsenal didnât buy him. And some of course make it. But many others then fade away and never become top players. So they drop out of the news and we forget about them.
Chelsea and Man C, until the advent of FFP, were able to keep doing this â buying as a gamble and not worrying, but I think that will slow down now. Some clubs are continuing to spend âcreativelyâ as if FFP doesnât exist, but not too many, and like Man C before them, I think they will get a surprise.
4. Clubs donât always want to sell
Most clubs want to hang on to their players â Southampton is one of the few exceptions in recent years, it seems, and even they seem to have woken up. It is utterly obvious, but you do need a club that is willing to sell as well as one willing to buy. Of course the player can edge it towards selling, by making it clear he wonât sign a new contract, but early on, the club has to take a view.
I was told that when Ozil was reported to have been taken off at half time in the Champs League game there were immediately clubs sniffing around in the view that Wenger had fallen out with Ozil. In fact Ozil was injured, but that didnât stop clubs snooping. Arsenal said no of course, but it just shows the speed of imagination.
5. Development over time is important.
Clubs can buy success with short term actions, but then suffer the consequences. So the purchases and arrangement of the team is done not just for this week, not in response to one defeat (or in Arsenalâs case a couple of Wembley wins, a league win and a Champs League away draw).
A perfect example of no long term planning is Man Uâs last Ferguson season. Ferguson was revealed to have lied to RVP when he bought him, promising he would not resign. There was no long term consideration of the squad because Ferguson was off, and in a way didnât mind if he successor failed â all the more credibility to him if that happened. Because of the lie to RVP there could be no early announcement of retirement, and so no proper search for a replacement manager. The squad was not refreshed. All for the vanity of one man.
Clubs like Arsenal do plan â they look to do as well as possible not just this season but next too. So they donât buy a player in January, just for a short term fix. For not only is it wasteful of resources, it also alienates other players. And players who might come in the future.
Why are Man U having difficulties recruiting? Because they have lost some of their credibility.
6. The cost is not just the transfer fee but also the salary â if the player is no good we just have to keep paying
Liverpool have been lucky with the vampire. Although he has had spells out of the team for his own problematic behaviour he delivered big time last season. And then Barcelona was there to buy him. But that was only because Barcelona put in an appeal to Fifa to have their transfer ban suspended. That was a ploy â for the appeal was based on the same moral stance as Man Câs appeal against their FFP infringements â âlook at all the good work we doâ. It doesnât win in court.
Fifa rightly threw out the appeal, but not in time to stop the signing of the vampire. Had Barca not been there he would have been unsellable. Had Barce not been faced with a year long transfer ban they would never have paid that much. Had Qatar not starting funding the club, the bank would never have cleared the cheque.
7. FFP is reducing clubs desire to keep changing players around
The reasons is simple: the fear of being stuck with an over priced luxury that no one wants when they need to balance the FFP books
We are still seeing the implications of FFP, but it is clear that it is slowing down much of the market, as clubs are less willing to take risks and so get a player that they donât want on their books, unable to move him on. We see the big money transfers, but not the slowing down of the smaller but still important transfers.
8. Some players do flop â and just because Man C or Chelsea buy a player does not mean heâs going to work out
Not every transfer is a success but the AAA have been very successful, with their allies in the print media, in putting around the story that only Arsenal buy duds. Follow the fortunes of other big clubs and you will see mistakes. Iâd say at a greater level than errors Arsenal has made.
9. Wenger is too mean
This is an AAA favourite jibe. But in the end there is no evidence of this at all. It is just a throw away statement. If we had this list of ten reasons for a failure to buy a transfer that we were supposed to see through, generally half a dozen of the above have more chance of being true than this, on simple logic alone. It is just a libel along with the accusations that Arsenalâs buying organisation is no good. It is hard to argue either of these in relation to Alexis or Ozil and in the face of the greater likelihood of all the other reasons for non-buying.
10. 99.999% of the transfer chatter is made up.
Iâve written a lot about phantom transfers and vapour transfers â both of which are related to the clubs involved, although are not real transfers. But most of the stories that appear in the blogs and papers like the Express, Star, Metro and Standard are pure inventions coming from the befuddled minds of fevered journalists.
But they still leave some saying at the end of the transfer window â âwhy didnât we see that through?â when there was no transfer ever possible. Itâs just fairy stories.
.
Morning Lee, no Lukaku? That would be great news…
My least favourite site. Everyone else is wrong if not worshiping Wenger.
A weekly insight on ref biasism. We know it, everyone hates us but they need to get over it and move on.
lastly, Arsenal flops are on our books forever and even play where other teams get rid of theirs. Plus we here could name 100s of other team’s flops, they must have blinkered supporters on that sight.
Who were they playing Bradster?
Leichester but we sucked against CP and United lost to the Swans. Their movement, pressing and finishing looked good.
Morning All…
Morning Rico…
Morning Lee…
Interesting points, some debatable ones.
BFG to start today?
Chambers in midfield?
Ozil and Podolski on the bench?
Sanogo or Giroud?
But I bet Leicester didn’t park the bus like Palace did. Everton won’t today either and we need to be ready..
Morning Kev.
Nothing will happen in the TW before Wednesday…
That’ll leave five days to complete any last minute business…
Morning all.
Unless verbal agreements are in place Kev with a couple of players, then it should only take a day – as long as we win of course.. đ
Morning Scott..
Are we confident today?
I am, but I always am đ
I heard that Podolski didn’t travel , but I haven’t seen anything official yet . But then again I haven’t looked.
Yes Scott.
Potter, I read that too. Think he’s off if he doesn’t travel today…
New post up now..