Here we go then, first summer signing deal has been done and it’s a centre half.
Woopee we all shout but hang fire…
Firstly the story is from Sky Sports who ‘understand’ we have agreed a deal to sign highly rated Charlton youngster Carl Jenkinson.
According to them we beat a whole host of Premier League sides to get his signature.
Well, like I said yesterday, Old red Nose paid £10 Million for a similar aged Chris Smalling and he’s doing pretty well for them, if this is true and he turns out as good then for once Wenger has bought a good young player and he’s not so young to need bottle feeding every four hours!!
And guess what else is good about him?
He’s English!!!
Ok, he may have chosen to play for Finland because of his Mother but, he’s already played for England at youth level so for me, he’s English 🙂
It’s quite spooky really that this news broke today, a day when Arsenal and Arsene Wenger have taken a bit of a battering from a couple of old boys – old boys that we all loved and probably still do today:
Patrick Vieira has had this to say:
I follow Arsenal as a fan. I am frustrated because the team plays very well, the best game in England, I love to see the team play, but there is nothing in the end.
Arsenal players are in the ‘truth’, but they need something, they need to add some physical strength. In my period, there were Winterburn, Adams, Parlour, who had less qualities on the technical side but were strong physically and they put their head where everybody won’t make with their feet!
Arsenal has not got the killer mentality of Manchester [United]. They often need three or four goals to win a game. The problem is that the biggest players, Fabregas and Van Persie, will start to think that they cannot win anything with Arsenal.”
Emmanuel Petit has had this to say:
I tell him (Wenger) that it’s been more than 10 years since he’s been with Arsenal and he’s built the majority of his successes on the experience of the players he had in his possession.
There was Steve Bould, Adams, Keown, Winterburn, Dixon, Seaman, just English players. We had 60-65 percent English players but we were all between 27 and 32 years of age.
He then banked everything on youth to format them in the image he wants to make of a team.
I think there’s also a big problem within this squad because to reach your objectives you need a competitive spirit. What does that mean?
It means that in the good and the bad times you have to be able to get back up, so that you don’t crumble.
In the sprint finish, they’ve collapsed a bit. I think that, before the elimination against Barcelona, the Carling Cup final against Birmingham was where the real rupture happened, where they really gave this final away on a plate.
Although they have made a lot of progress this team when you see the youth on display.
With an average age of 23, compared to practically 27, 28 for Barcelona, you realise that they’re the only team in Europe which has such a low average age and still gets pretty impressive results — even if there’s no trophy at the end of it.
Do I really need to ask if any of us here on Highbury House disagree with either of two Old Boy’s?? I didn’t think so!
Arsene – You don’t listen to many people in football but if we could choose two for you to listen to, right now I would choose the two above.
Please please, take on board what they both say and make amends this summer.
Do that and you’ll get quite a few fans back on your side….
That’s it folks, have a good one – The Dippers are in town tomorrow….
Morning all….
Forgot to mention the Ladies, Good Luck for 3pm, 3-0 victory would be good….
Morning all.good read ricolicious.its damn impressive what that young squad has achieved so far but we need more.Wenger has said he won’t alter his policy despite Kroenke’s takeover but we probably did not need him as we have money in the bank.spend it Arsene.
Morning KT, thanks
I’m not going to believe what Wenger says right now, i think deep down he has lost patience with some of them. He can’t say anything detremental about the squad at the moment, we still have the league to fight for…
I think we could see a few changes in the summer…
I trust all the doubters will apologise WHEN the trophies come. Arsene is the best, get back to trusting his decisions.
Great post
Evo, how you doing?? Long time so hear from 🙁
john – right now he is not the best, not by a long stretch….
I have a problem with past players saying stuff like this in public. How does it affect team confidence? Do people realise the season is not over yet? Is it beyond us to win 7 games on the trot? If Vierra can say fine football with nothing at the end and nothing means our league position at the moment then the Sheikh should be very disappointed in Man City. How much bonuses will Vierra and his team mates earn if they achieve what our ‘under achieving’ team achieves.
As for Petit, he sort of answered himself. TALK HAS ALWAYS BEEN CHEAP.
when the tropies come?
thats just speculating and when and if it happens it wont be for a few years so the average age will be higher than what it is now so the point of having experience will be proven..
you’ll prbably tell me we will win the title this year so i will have to eat my words but the fact is that the league is out of our hands even if we win all or games and if we end up winning it the reasons will be cos manu threw it away..
and the chances of that are about the same as diaby putting a 5 match run of fitness together..
good post rico…
Micky, no-one can stop them talking and to be fair they are both not far off the mark – we do need a few brits in our side and we do seem to lack the killer instinct, the CC proved that.
Wenger needs to try and use the comments to the positive, get the squad wound up and let them prove they have what it takes to string seven wins together and push the mancs all the way..
Apart from Fabianski, every player is training, finally we could have a fully fit squad available…
morning jj, who do you reckon wenger will go for tomorrow, Song or Diaby??
petit and vieira won trophies
our current crop have won jack shit..
the talk is cheap phrase needs to be directed at the ones who dont win anything rather than the ones who have dont you think
we were good back in those days jj, bloody good….
song
no contest…
been one of the best midfeilders in the league for past two seasons.. he pisses on essien..hes been out of sorts last few months due to his knee and hes had to keep playing cos denilsons rubibish and diabys a crock but if hes fit he plays for me…
we are good now..
we just lack a few parlours…
technically we are brilliant but we lack workhorses our energy levels let us down so many times..
id rather have a parlour in this team than a vieira..
I have a feeling he will go with Diaby and keep Song fit for the little game on Wednesday..
How long have we been saying we need a Ray Parlour? Lansbury could be that player in the next few years
We are good when the real first team are available and all playing well, but sadly that hasn’t happened recently, when di we last have our first eleven all fit at the same time….
Hope JD is available tomorrow….
Hi jj.earlier this week Ancelotti restored his favourite christmas tree shape to chelsea but it looks like his season is over before Easter…
chelsea have fallen apart abit this season..
a number of things havent worked
they should have never have sacked ray..he gelled the team together
they should never have signed torres..drogba and anelka and malouda have all gone to pot trying to fit him in…
if those two things dont happen chelsea stroll the league
Morning Peeps,
Good Post Rico.
I don’t suppose anyone remembers, but I have always banged on about us having wonderful skillful diddy men but that we needed more ‘Song’ types.
You referred to Paddy Viera, Rico, and he said in his interview that he was disappointed we just do not have enough of a ‘physical’ presence in the team.
And it only cost me a fiver to get him to say it! 🙂
this is the problem with a sugar daddy
they get too involved with running the club and they dont know what they are doing..
roman has shot himself in the foot more times than not with his intereference…
signing schevchenko, pissing off jose, sacking jose..
Ancelotti will be gone in the summer….
Hi RA.we nearly sent a search team led by denilson to look for you.good to see you and yes i remember you saying we need more ‘Song types’.
id play song in both..
diabys a liability..
blackpool game perfect eg..
good first half, stupid booking then asleep in the second half, scared to make a tackle blackpool run us ragged and would have got a leveller if the ref wasnt on our side…
ancelotti will be gone but everyone knows its romans fault..
but ancelottis the fall guy..
JJ thats why i think kroenke will be good for us as he’ll leave football to the technical team while he deals with the non-technical issues such as the commercial deals.
i would play song in both too jj but we are talking wenger here 😉
glad we have chesney back, and if jd plays, a bit of height against carroll….
exactley ktr
usmanov just wants to play toy soldiers with roman.. anyone who wants usmanov in charge dont know what they are saying..
the club would be run like a circus..
chances are diaby will have a hernia getting out of bed so song will have to play both..
ches and jd are important for tomorrow..and the rest of the season..
im more worried about kuyt v clichy..
forget suarez and carrol we can deal with them if they get no supply but kuyts gonna have a field day against clichy and thats where pools chances will come from
I’m worried about all of them 🙁
Off for a bit, dog walkie time 🙂
Hello all, nice read Rico I do agree with Vieira & Petit and probably anyone will, but (there is always a but 😆 ) it is not the Wengerian way he wants every player to do everything and he will not change this.
However more physical presence doesn’t mean our way of play to be ruined, the difficult part is to find a strong and technical player who will cost two pennies, but after Stan takeover (if it happens) there will be possibly more money available and we can be finally the team we could’ve been long time ago.
no1’s here, so c ya l8r then.
Exactly jj.i remember jose wanted Mccarthy but RA brought in shevchenko.stan knows naff all about football so he’ll let Wenger deal with that.Usmanov on the other hand attends games and if he took over he’d want to buy stars to brag with which may not exactly help out the team.he would go above Wenger’s head and it would cause disharmony within the camp.
AA is really a puzzle.how can he look so poor yet have 10 goals and 18 assists to his name?
Methinks Arshy’s stats speak for themselves, and i hope he plays 90 mins against Liverpool tomorrow. Anyone wanting rid of him is a fool IMHO 😉
Hi all
Thanks Stef, bit of steel in with the wenger way and we will be sorted…
Kt, AA and Diaby are so similar – on their day they can be impressive, but sadly one can’t stay fit, the other can’t stay interested…..
KT there is nothing wrong with buying expensive players as long as Wenger chooses who goes in and who out.
Rico I don’t agree that AA and Diaby are similar in any way and Diaby has more issues then just staying fit.
😆 Stef, all i meant was that both can’t cut it week in week out – and for that reason i would sell them both …
if i had to keep one, it would be AA ….
The ‘Pat Rice Retiring’ story is going around again, rumoured to be Bould or Dragan Stojkovic taking over….
Popping off again, laters…
jon jon-ref on our side?are u sure?that’s a first if that’s the case!he must have genuinely missed the pen incident because we’re talking lee mason here & he’s right up there with the other arsenal “lovers” like mike riley,fat phil dowd,howard webb,mike dean etc etc etc!!!cos trust me,if he’d seen a second of it we’d be f***d!!!
JonJon says:
April 16, 2011 at 10:50 am
exactley ktr
usmanov just wants to play toy soldiers with roman.. anyone who wants usmanov in charge dont know what they are saying..
the club would be run like a circus..
Thank you.
I quite like the idea of Usamanov and Stan working together – one has the money, one has the global advertising…
🙂
Good day for me, Reading won and stay in the play-offs 🙂
Not so good for the Ladies, knocked out of CL 5-2 on aggregate 🙁
Chavs just one point behind us now…..
We have to win tomorrow.
The way the cameras are focussing on rooney you’d think he is playing.
Not only tomorrow Kt, the next 7 games we need to win………..
Good one, rico. Paddy and Petit speak the truth though. 🙁
Can’t believe the Chavs are now just one point behind us!!! I blame Diaby. 😉 Haha.
It mystifies me no end why the cam is focusing on Rooney. Whyyyy? Eyesore, IMHO.
Hi gorgeous.hope all is well.
No point looking back with regrets, I suppose, but we should have played better against Manu, because if we had got thru’ we would have taken Citeh to the cleaners.
Oh well! 🙁
Nani is really is odious.
Its El Grand Classico today.messi hasn’t scored against a mourinho team in 8 attempts.Ronaldo hasn’t scored against barca in 6 attempts.can’t wait.
All is well, KT. 🙂 How are you? Can’t wait to beat Liverpoo. The players owe us a smashing performance.
Real/Barca has got to be better than the dire stuff served up by the Red and the Blue Mancs!
Hello, RA. Where have you been?
Agag you’ll be glad to know clichy is the best passer of the ball in the league among defenders.he also has 91 interceptions which is 3rd best behind ekotto and Alcaraz.
You’ve got to feel for the city fans.they had to travel all the way from manchester while the mancs live just around the corner from Wembley.the mancs must be feeling right at home you’d think they are the home team.
Really??? Ahaha. Goooodie! I’m sure he also has the greatest number of donut moments, but I really like those stats, KT. 😀
RA lets hope the El classico serves us some delicious footy.
Good one, Carrick, VDS. 😀
oh well indeed RA … 🙁
VDS has showed it happens to even the best of them.the next time szczesny/fabby makes a blunder keep it into perspective.
Hi Rico, KT, Agag, 🙂
I’ve been around, usuually pop on to look at what you guys are saying.
Short hospital thingy, but all is well …. sort of! 🙂 Hope you are all good.
How’s Oliver? His NY Mets are not going as well as I had expected, but my Yankees are good, so far. 🙂
Excellent that Citeh have scored. Still think the Red Nosed one’s team will win tho’. Hope not.
Scholes is off.
You nshould come and leave a comment more often RA 😉 Your health better now??
Hi, rico. 🙂 Enjoying (well, maybe that’s a stretch…) the match?
RA, you should blog more often. A daily dose of HH should aid your recovery. 😉 I hope you are better.
Get in city.
Boo agag, i’m not watching, not interested one bit 😉
i’m off to cut the lawn, rain on its way tomorrow 🙁
Silva and Toure were immense today.
rico, I must admit, I looove watching the red Mancs lose…
I wonder what Balotelli told Ferdinand. Ferdinand was livid.
I enjoy watching Manure lose sooooo much.
Off to celebrate. 🙂
Kompany has to be the best defender in the league.
If we had lost that game it would’ve been us lacking leaders,mental strength,weak players…but just wait and see the excuses being rolled out for them.
See ya, RA. Have fun.
KT, Kompany has been very solid. I think Vidic gets away with murder and is overrated.
Well, it’s already started, KT. The commentator earlier mentioned that the red Mancs must be tired from their last few big games. Yadda yadda.
We have had to put up with talks of the manc treble,red nose finest hour,chicharito buy of the century…all week.talk about an anticlimax.
We all love to see fergies lot lose but, we needed them in all three comps – then they will have to rotate…
now they will be more focused on the league…..
They could well go on a losing streak, rico. 😉
I’m off for the day all, we need a win tomorrow, keep the league in sight and the chavs off our butt…
til tomorrow, night all….
we do need some leaders, why did he let Gilberto go,
Denilson, Diaby and a whole list of other will never be leaders as long as I have a hole in my arse.
We need Subotic, Vertonghen, or Cahill and in Midfield M’vila , or Inler.
We should have never got rid of Gilberto…….
Petit said it all.
How to you explained?
Cruising 2-0 at home, with S*CUMS chasing shadow and we lost 3-2 at home?
Cruising 4-0 at St. Jams Park and then that dumb French poodle got red-carded and the team promptly colapsed with that hypocritical snake-oil salesman twiddling hsi thumbs and done f**ked-all, ending suckling his thumb with a 4-4?
5 points lost which meant that we top the table if – and a big IF – we beat Liveprool today?
What frustrated moi the most is that this season was the best chance we have to win the title since 16-Feb-2008 with ManU and CHelski flopping with inconstinencies and unable to pull away fromt eh chasing pack.
Arsenal loses the next 2 game, and we are fighting for 4th spot with S*CUMS like 2005/06 season.
ManU loses 2 games, CITEH, Arsenal and Chelski maintaining their winning runs, then it is a 4-Horse Race where like 1988/89 with a single goal scored deciding the title-winner.
This is how closed the title-race will be if our bunch of french poodles and pretty boys ccan dig deep within themselves to find that “ENglish Grits” and win the next 7 games.
PS:
This is that kind of my posting that sparked off civil war at Arsenal Times where I was immediately branded a “Wenger Hater” and I decided to leave Arsenal Times permanently. It sitll hurts to leave AT as it had been home to moi for 8 years since 2003.
“It is because I love you that I have to leave you”
I don’t deny that I started to detest Arsene Wenger this season as he had gone mad like Brian CLough in his last few years at Nottinghma Forest living in his own delusion.
Peruse what Petit had written which mirrored my thoughts of what went wrong with Arsene Wenger since Feb 2007/08.
Hope I don’t sparked off another “Arsenal civil war” here Rico and got to leave another “Arsenal Forum” again!!!
There was Steve Bould, Adams, Keown, Winterburn, Dixon, Seaman, just English players. We had 60-65 percent English players but we were all between 27 and 32 years of age.
He then banked everything on youth to format them in the image he wants to make of a team.
___________________________________________________
AFter 2003/04 season, Arsene Wenger thought he was “God” and in his delusion, he embarked on a journey to filful hsi dream of building Arsenal’s 3rd and greatest team modeled on Rinus Michels “Ajax Model of team Building”.
[A good book by David WInner ‘Orange Obsession” will give excellent insight on Ajax Team Building]
The fundamental philosophy is to grow a team of youngsters, starting from Academy-level such that they are friends on-and-off-the-pitch, playing harmoniously together and has leaders such as Johan Cryuff and Johnny Neeskens…..
But since 2004/05, Wenegr had ne4ver grown up a bunch of youngsters from Academy level to Senior Team; only 1 02 2 and most of them are foreign-buys which NEVER demonstrated loyalty tot eh Badge sicne the retirement of Adam, Keown, Boulds, PArlour, WInterburn, Dixon, Seaman, Bergy.
That lack of loyalty is none better than epitomised by the likes of Flamini, Hleb, Gallas, Adebayor, Bendtner, Fabregas,…adn yes, even Kolo Toure “Arsenal in my blood” who f**ked off to CITEH over an “disagreement” with Gallas.
WHat Arsene Wenger in his delusion that no IWWT and “Wenegr Knows’ Brigade will akcnowledge that since 2004/05, Arsene Wenger had destroyed the “SOul” of Arsenal where ‘LOyalty tot eh BAdge” defiens a football club where fans can identify with and not a bunch of foreign mercenaries who think that Arsenal is their “2nd Home” and they will always love to “play for their foreign hometoen team one day”, e.g.
– you know that SPanish puta making “cow eyes” at Barca and not at hsi best this season?
– that Danish poof admitting he loves to play for Bayern, Milan, etc..
– that gay “New Vieira’ admititgn he loves to play for Barca or Real…
– now that French COntingency wnated to play for big clubs in EUrope to win “medals and trophies”…
And really, this hypocriticla snake-oil salesman really sold us Arsenal fans a dummy saying he beleives in “Youth development and wanting to grow form within..” blah..blah…
But look at his previous actions and counted how many of those “youngsters” he bought outisde his Academy?
– Theo Walcott
– Vela
– Myaichi
– Wellington
– Miquel, Angha, Harjovic
– Botelho, Coquelin
And where is that “Ajax Model of Team Building” within hsi Academy where liek AJax with itsa Dutch COre and Arsenal “English Core”?
– Benik Afobe, Aneke, Lansbury, JET, Cruise, Frimpong, COnor Henderson (English but play for Ireland), Bartley, Boateng.
– Walcott, WIlshere, Gibbs, Ramsey (Welsh)
Perhaps I am wrong, maybe, just maybe in 2013/14 season, we will see an “English Core” where his 3rd and greatest Arsenal team is a reality???
But I doubt it as this season clearly demonstrated that Arsene Wenger is just a fraud and got lucky with George Graham’s Fab-4, inherited Bergy from Bruce Rioch and was the “right peron, right place and time” to exploit the GOlden Decade of French Football with astute buys like Anelka, Vieira, Petit, Henry, Pires, Wiltord…and a lucky “Bosman” Sol to cross-over…..
How else can you say why Arsene Wenger did not build on that solid foundation provided by George Graham’s Fab-4, French SPine 1997/98, and followed by The Invincibles 2003/04…….and ended up with present bunch of spineless “SIck Notes”, Spanish puta, french poodles and pretty boys?
Fabregas?
Forget him.
Sell him for 45-mil to Barca and start a rebuilding process around youths who will die for the badge with Arsenal as their hometown team. We do not wnat 2011/12 season to be another “wil he or will he not” f**K-off to barca saga again.
Youc an clearly see hsi ehart is no more with Arsenal and he is just going thru’ the motion of being “professional”, winning or losing does not matter to him no more…like 2008/09, 2009/10 season where we saw a snarling and obsessed Fabregas driving hsi team to win.
Rebuild the team around Walcott, Wilshere, RAmsey, Lansbury, Frimpong, Aneke, Henderson and yes, Nasri if he wanted to stay on and sign that contract extension.
Time to rebuild a team with players who love “Arsenal as their hometown team”….not building around a Spanish puta who just wanted to return to his howntown team.
Morning all, sorry for the delay crispy, all first comments go into moderation…
Merlin,
Why would get hoofed off?
It’s your view and your pretty much spot on too, Wenger inherited a great defence but one by one they were allowed to leave without being replaced.
Campbell was a great ‘buy’, TV and Gallas are quality defenders but the latter had an ego problem and i didn’t agree with the deal with Cole to get him.
New Post up folks
lot of good points made by Merlin , but its not where that matters , a lot of it is attitude. Put it this way , look at the way Evra / Pak/ Fabio/Rooney etc . get stuck in, I mean they really get stuck right in plus on top of that they have a top top goalkeeper ,who they got cheap , qustion why dont our players get stuck right in like Uniteds do ,do our pitty patty showponies frown on getting stuck in , when we get a red card , usually for something stupid like kicking the ball away after the whistle , if we got stuck in to the level of united and had a goalie of Van Der Sar quality ,the premier league title would be heading to the emirates.
hec, attitude is an extra bit of what we lack but there is a lot to be said about not building on our british core, with british….
Rico,
if I remained at Arsenal Times, a civil war will dsirupt all the good works that Padre Pio, K16 and Celine Dion had done over there as a hot war had been declared by a stalwart – “Eduardo” – over there and immediately branded mio as a “Wenger Hater”.
Rather than indulged in continuous mudslingings, bile and rants, I prefer to leave instead of on the defensive over there to continuously defending my views on what ails Arsenal with the smoking gun held by all to see except those IWWT Brigade.
They confused my detestation of Arsene Wenger – when that Tatar affair broke out – with hatred, which is a too strong a word.
And yesterday match borne out what is worng with Arsene Wenger:
He si liivng in delusion that he can transformed thsoe French swine ears into English SIlk purse without that commitment, that feirce determinaitona dn grits to fight on even when t4eh chipsa nd down, and even when they are down, they go down swinging, that fearless to go in to win balls liek what Liverpool youngsters did, that hunger adn fire in teh belly of a winner’s mentality and not like that Spanish puta again putting in a “professional performance”, a French poodles and pretty boys making fancy patterns on the pitch, 70% possessionc alled Crab Football with no penetration and with no end products; and none of the senior players going in snarling with his heart on their sleeve to win, to fight to win anywhere he can.
Our panicky defence?
Can’t even cleared the ball out of the box.
A desperate lunge by SOng which gave away that freekick.
Eboue?
The buck stopped at Wenger’s table as on Feb 16, 2008.