Daily Bits and Bobs

First Arsenal January signing already training with his new team-mates?

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

As described in the media, this really would be a ‘Roy of the Rovers story’ if it happens.

Cohen Bramall, who was playing in the eighth-tier of football with Market Drayton last season and is now with Hednesford Town in the Evo-Stik Northern League Premier Division has just spent a couple of days at the club training with the first team. Apparently, he was spotted whilst taking part in a trial game with Sheffield Wednesday when Arsenal scouts were impressed with what they saw and immediately invited him to London Colney to train with the squad.

This all took place last week and now Arsene Wenger is mulling over whether to snap him up having been pleased with what he saw. The youngster had previously been turned down by Crewe and Leek Town during his teenage years and has never played a professional football match in his life, but that could be about to change, big time. If he makes the move, he’ll join up with the under 23’s initially and see where that takes him.

I love stories like this as it’s every sports persons dream to be plucked out of nowhere to be given a chance to make it in the big time, I know I did when hitting a tennis ball around late in the evening on the Tennis Times circuit but back then there were no scouts lurking under the floodlights. Either that or I just wasn’t good enough and it’s more likely to have been the latter.

Yes they’ll be a few who will look at this story and think ‘typical Wenger, what a tight old so and so’ as this lad will probably cost peanuts, or nothing but how many times have we raised the question: ‘What are our bleedin scouts up to?’ It’s quite easy to spot the top top footballers in the game and wish the club would sign them but sometimes there’s a player or two out there who gets left unnoticed only to remain in the lower tiers of the game when perhaps, they should be given a chance at a higher level.

If by any chance a deal is offered to Bramall and he accepts it which there’s little chance he wouldn’t, he’ll join a list of players who have been spotted plying their trade in non-league football to be given a chance to play at a much higher level.

Jamie Vardy, once at Halifax and Fleetwood Town, Chris Smalling from Maidstone Town and Charlie Austin, who played with Hungerford Town and Poole Town are all doing well. Ian Wright was a Sunday League player at 21 years old and we all know what happened with his career. Troy Deeney was about to throw in his footballing towel to become a builder while playing non-league football for Chelmsley Town but Walsall gave him a chance and here is is now in the top league in England.

Les Ferdinand is another, he was at non-league Hayes at the age of 21 before QPR took him off their hands for a mere £15,000 back in 1987 and he turned out to be quite good. As did Kevin Phillips who having been cast aside by Southampton as a kid, was playing for non-league Baldock Town on semi-pro terms in the summer of 1991 when Watford gave him him a lifeline and the rest as they say is history. There’s more but I’m sure by now you get my drift.

Bramall, a left-back/winger and former athlete with Crewe and Nantwich AC (oh no, not another Theo), might just be the next to join that very long list…

Have a good day guys and gals….

rico

84 thoughts on “First Arsenal January signing already training with his new team-mates?”

  4. gnarleygeorge9 says:

    Alladyce has made a successful career out of being ordinary. Get sacked one week, probably with the balance of contract paid out, then gets a gig @ some other PL basket case. Gets the flick, gets a pay out then within 3 months gets a gig @ another club.

  5. Wavy says:

    Morning Rico and all.
    I’m up!
    Bargain buys from non-league? The sales are on!
    Usually you get what you pay for. Will the kid/man be good enough? Unlikely. Arsenal will have played with his head and led him on and dumped him within a year or so and the guy will never be the same again! Or he’ll be Wenger’s last ‘nugget’ and he will claim all the plaudits as he rides down Avenell Road on the back of a horse drawn cart, to the accolades of his adoring fan!
    The new boy may have done good.
    I know he’s playing in different position but he surely couldn’t be worse than Sanogo, another of Wenger’s attempt at turning a sows ear into a silk purse!

    Beautifully sunny here but still white over! Lovely.

  8. allezkev says:

    Morning All

    Morning Rico, thanks for the post, I’ll read it a minute…
    Last day off today, back to work tomorrow then footie on Sunday.
    And before we know, we’ll be back to the old routine….

    Frosty today out here today in Essex…

  9. kelsey says:

    I believe every word Rico he most probably is the natural replacement for Sanchez as Sanogo won’t get a look in.

    Being a journeyman manager like Sam,Warnock, Pardrew ,Moyes et all is very lucrative.If you save the club from relegation or not you invariably get fired with a fat lump sum and on to the next club.A sort of conveyor belt system.

  13. potter says:

    Some of the broads ( water ways ) froze over last night and everything was white this morning, now it’s just cold and wet. I have no problem with recruiting kids from Non league I just hope we don’t train all of their flair out of them. .

  15. potter says:

    It’s where the Spanish system of major clubs having teams in lower leagues reaps benefits . The club gets to see them in competitive football and can move them on should they not quite make the grade.

  22. kelsey says:

    He played pretty well in the Euros but the PL is a different kettle of fish and he has been used sparingly but maybe I am being harsh but I find him completely out of sorts.

  25. VCC says:

    Kelsey. I truly believe Ramsey enjoys playing for Chris Coleman, but not Arsene Wenger. Why else would he shine so bright at the Euros for Wales, and play poorly for Arsenal ?

  26. potter says:

    For Wales he is a big fish in a small pond at The Arsenal however he has to be special to get a regular spot. Hence he tries too hard does the spectacular and in consequence makes mistakes and returns to the bench.

  29. rico says:

    There is plenty of that but I think that’s what Potter is alluding to, he’s trying too hard instead of keeping it simple and doing what he’s does best…

  32. Joaquim Moreira says:

    toots won 2-1… The referee is a The Toot ! How is that possible? I think he wants to thrill for victory.
    As I said at the start of the League: let’s regret not buying Sissoko.

  39. allezkev says:

    I certainly wouldn’t do any business with Liverpool, imo they can feck off, so Oxlade-Chamberlain is a definite no no…

    TBH I wouldn’t sell them anyone, not even Yaya….

  41. allezkev says:

    Jenkinson on loan, maybe a permanent transfer if the offer is suitable, because I don’t think that corporal Jenks is quite at the level we require, and I have a feeling that he probably realises that himself…
    Hence his lack of confidence recently….

  42. allezkev says:

    Debuchy to be sold if there’s a good enough offer, as much to get his wages off of our books…

    Ainsley Maitland-Niles/ Paulista as cover for Hector…

  43. Le Coq Monster says:

    Bloody cold here aswell !……..my tingers and tootsies are freezing as I mucked out the horses stables and the effing water was frozen !

    Off to Plymouth in afternoon to get some bargains and go and watch Rogue One…….may the force be with you……….especially our strikers !

    Sorry though !……………I`d pay them to take Yaya ! 🙂

  44. allezkev says:

    Not sure we’re in desperate need of any additions to our squad, unless Wenger signs one or two young English/British players he may have identified, like a young left-back etc…

    All we desperately need is for the flipping players we already have, to give it 150% from now until the end of the season and try to give Arsene a nice ‘send-off’….

  49. allezkev says:

    Not happy with the rumours of interest in Gibbs, Rico, I want him to stay.
    He’s a good squad man, versatile on the left and unless they go for some young promising left-back, like that Spanish guy we were linked with, from Valencia wasn’t he? Then I’d prefer to see Gibbo remain, he’s never complained and always been a steady performer and as good as any player you’re gonna get to do the understudy job…

  51. allezkev says:

    Ha ha, that would be cool Rico, I don’t care where they come from and how much we pay, or not, as long as they’re good players…

  52. allezkev says:

    Cohen Bramhall, 20 years old, can play left-back/left-wing, that’s the guy isn’t it Rico…?

    Weren’t we linked to the young Celtic left-back and the kid from Hull City?

  56. Le Coq Monster says:

    Very interesting article that BBC one , KeV !

    Although it is a bit inaccurate imo as it says that 23.45% of Arsenal transfer rumours happened, but we all know that we were rumoured to be buying at least a 100 players, but we never bought 23.4 of them !………………………also they say certain medias are the best at the rumours ie Sky Sports and the Guardian……but we all know the best and always correct is ……………….Ornstein ! 🙂

  58. Le Coq Monster says:

    It`s only a “darn” transfer window if we dont buy anyone decent, Rico ! 🙂

    When buying players like Ozil and Alexis I remember feeling a warm glow of joy ! 🙂

    When selling Cesc, Nasri and RVP………..”darn” would have been a too polite word to use about the way I felt ! hahaha

  59. allezkev says:

    I know Rico, it’s so tedious…. ?

    Cocker, yeah it was a good read, with a few surprising results…

    Goal.com is fairly reliable, TalkRubbish is crap – no surprise there…
    I think that the BBC disregard the majority of the click bait sites, and do should we…

    HITC is a big favourite of Adam, so I’m not surprised that it’s rated so highly, Adam being a connoisseur of the transfer jungle…

    The Sun used to be reliable, but now they’re just shite, like the rest of that ‘publication’…

    You just have to take it all with a massive pinch of vape and be choosy about who you click on…

  60. allezkev says:

    Cocker, for me the transfer windows that stick out are when we signed Alan Ball, Malcolm MacDonald, Dennis Bergkamp and David Platt and the the creme de la creme that is Sol Campbell….

    How we laughed…. ?

  61. rico says:

    Plus Lc, as the article said, the ‘lesser’ clubs aren’t linked to as many players as us, so if they sign one after only being linked to one, it makes good reading..

    We however are linked to about 100 players each transfer window… 😉

  62. rico says:

    Isn’t it just Kev…

    I don’t believe any of the rumours I read, however, I recon there’s some truth in the Bramhall one… 😉

  63. allezkev says:

    Hmm, I think you could be onto something Rico, with that Bramhall rumour, even if you do keep going on about it…. ?

    Maybe Rico, you are actually a bit of an ITK..? ?

  64. allezkev says:

    After all, you did have some herbert on ‘ere the other day accusing you of producing a click bait site…

    I mean, how dare he… ?

  71. Le Coq Monster says:

    Some great windows there Kev !…………………………..probably the first one I got really excited about was when we bought Peter Marinello !……….the new George Best ! hahaha

    Biggest eventual disappointment was Lazy Ars….havin !……………….4 against Bindippers and winner against Barca were not enough !…………………………I do love a player who works his socks off, sadly Arshavin prefered thermal ones !

  74. Le Coq Monster says:

    Rogue One was the dogs doo dahs !…………11 out of 10 !…………..I`m no expert, but my missus calls me Darth Bastard !………..well it sure sounds like Darth !.

  78. Marshall says:

    Morning Rico all.
    I see the transfer window is already keeping you awake all night. Hope you are all enjoying your holidays.

    So Ox ‘nonsense’ links to the scums it’s all about a bumper payrise. Same old. Glad to read Mustafi is well on course for return.

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