Morning all.
Well, after all the pre match build up of hope, England were beaten by Spain in last night’s Euros final. The ‘boys did us proud’ is all over the internet this morning, something I don’t wholeheartedly agree with. Considering the team Gareth Southgate selected throughout the tournament, they did well to get to the final but I can’t help thinking what might have been had Watkins and Palmer had more time on the pitch. Not only them either as the squad was deep with talented footballers but just like a lot of football managers, Southgate stuck with his favourites.
Gareth Southgate told ITV:
Physically, it’s been a tough period for Harry [Kane]. He came in short of games and didn’t quite get up to the level we’d all hope.
One has to wonder why the England manager continued to select him because it was obvious he wasn’t at the races at any stage of the competition.
Anyway, well done to Spain because there’s no doubt over the whole tournament, they were by far the best team. Hoofing the ball up the pitch certainly wasn’t their style.
Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale can go off on their holidays now and rest before joining up with their teammates for pre season. David Raya too although like Ramsdale, he’s not played much.
With the Euros done and dusted, the transfer window might start moving a bit more. Or at least that’s my hope as far as Arsenal are concerned, especially if we’re really interested in Mikel Merino or Martin Zubimendi..
The Riccardo Calafiori rumours continue to spread. Apparently Chelsea are interested in the player too but according to Sky Sports Italy journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, he’s only interested in Arsenal. The clubs are yet to agree on a transfer fee but Di Marzio expects the deal to go through eventually.
According to The Sun, Southampton have joined the race to sign Ramsdale. Southampton might seem an unlikely destination for our keeper because of his wages but it’s not like the club will be short of pennies having earned promotion to the Premier League last season.
Nico Williams is a name linked to Arsenal this summer and I for one would be thrilled if he made the move. I know one good tournament, which let’s be honest Williams has just had, isn’t something to judge a player on but boy has he got tricky feet. Plus, I just love his hair…
Short one today just to refresh the site..
Catch up in the comments.
Wrote this as the new post went up .
England have a good mix of players but their organisation was terrible. We were dysfunctional ,with no cohesion between front and back and for all the good saves at the end Pickford lumping it forward to an ineffective Kane just gave the ball away time and time again. This was because as a unit Spain were pressing our defence and midfield and without movement there was no-one to pass to.
We didn’t press as a team in the first half Foden must have run past Kane half a dozen times and then had the ball passed to the player that Kane should have been closing. Their first goal came because both Saka and Mainoo didnt get back to get a two man defence with Walker . He cut inside and did something similar to that of Saka against the Swiss . Incidently notice how Williams was back everytime we got it wide to Saka . Spain had a plan to negate him knowing that he was their main threat and they did it.
Spain knew their job and did it to perfection , they were the better team and got the result they deserved. By comparison it was Man City against Middlesborough.
Move on !
The constant lumping the ball up front only to see it come back again was frustrating. Agree too re Williams, Spain knew Saka could cause problems so simply doubled, sometimes tripped up on him. England however gave Williams far too much space.
My reply.. lol
Morning Rico and Coming Homers…
Yes Williams has fantastic hair, I can just imagine a few of my friends with hair like that.
Just over a year ago Aaron Ramsdale had just finished an impressive season at Arsenal and was among the top goalkeepers in the Prem. You don’t lose that talent during a year of inactivity. I reckon whoever signs him will end up with a top top goalkeeper and Arteta/Arsenal will be reminded of that fact every time he plays and especially when Raya makes a mistake, as he obviously will, next season.
Or worse when Raya gets injured! Probably the week after Ramsdale has been moved on.
I feel he has been treated appallingly. Still if it’s what the club wants, so be it. But I think they’ll regret treating him in such an unprofessional fashion they and we will rue the day he was allowed to leave.
Happy days.
Morning all
Morning Kev, Wavy.
I too think whoever signs Ramsdale will get a great keeper.. I also think we’ll regret selling him should he go.
Morning Rico and all,
I still feel that we could have kept both players happy by playing Raya at all away matches and Ramsdale at all home matches
Morning Geoff, I don’t think that would work as the defence as a unit needs to be settled.
Time for the amateurs to get back to their sofas and the professionals to return to talking guff about real football. Roll on August!
On England: Southgate’s tactics were woeful. 11 behind the ball, with little possession, is lower league stuff. He had the players to be dynamic and aggressive, but chose to be negative, defensive and reactive.
Expect the FA to give him a 10 year contract! 😂
Ramsdale’s cause wasnt help by getting West Ham away in the Efl and then Liverpool in the F A cup . Had we had good cup runs he would have had more time .
Nothing would surprise me re Southgate Pete.
Agree Potter, same applies to the fringe/younger players who might have earned more time on the pitch with a better run in the cups. Seems we take them all seriously these days. Like City do.
Good Afternoon Rico and everyone
Will we regret Ramsdale? you can bet your bottom dollar that we will. Remember Martinez. He plays out of his skin against us. And as much as we might not like it he cost us 6 fekking points. Just a win at home would have done the trick and won us the EPL.
Ramsdale will come back to haunt us. Especially if he joins a good team with a good coach who has a good defence.
I always loved Ramsdale, especially his attitude. I wish him well wherever he goes and feel that he will do that since he is a very good keeper. As Kev pointed out…..you dont lose your skill overnight.
Rico, I think that Aaron, Cups or not, should have got more game time even in the EPL . I agree with you with regards the fringe/younger players who might have earned more time, however with Aaron we would have taken the game seriously as well. Just how much is Raya better than Ramsdale?? Weren’t there constant moments when deep down we thought, “Ramsdale would have saved that” whenever we conceded.
Anyway, I have both Ramsdale and Raya on Football Manager and both play half a season each. And that is stability and gives them a settled defence as well.
Afternoon Devil. I just don’t understand what Ramsdale did wrong. Perhaps it’s more to do with his personality than his keeping skills. Just guessing though.
Agree re Martinez, great keeper who’ve I’ve learned to dislike but had he stayed, who knows, we might have won the league by now.
Neither cup matches were going to be easy and in the West Ham game we played Kiwior, Zinny, Vieira , jorginho , Nelson , Nketiah , as well as Ramsdale . Only White, Gabriel , Havertz and Trossard finished the season as regular starters and Havertz was playing midfield.
Against Liverpool it was stronger but still Kiwior , Jorginho and Nelson started. I don’t think Ramsdale had a lot of support especially away to West Ham.
With regards Southgate, the thing is he inherited a shambles and stabilized the ship. he has had more successes than disappointments.
His fault is his persistence with Mr Winno Thing. Cant he see that this no 9 is a has been (if he had ever been) with regards cups?? I mean he won nothing at all, went to a club in a one horse race league and managed to finish 2nd after the said club had won 11 Bundesliga titles in a row. YEsterday someone said that England had a donkey up front. Please, kindly do not use the donkey as a reference since I have the utmost respect for donkeys and I dont think such a kind animal should be downgraded. Its immoral. hehe
I hadn’t seen much of him until last night, when he came on as a sub, but Zubimenda looked a natural midfield partner for Rice.
Is it credible that Southgate did not know that Kane was carrying an injury before he selected him for the squad? Luke Shaw was named despite not having played since February and we were only spared having to watch the hopeless lump Maguire due to late injury which ruled him out.
The T A A in midfield experiment failed miserably. As did shoehorning both Bellingham and Foden in to the same side around Kane.
If the F A have the guts, they should terminate Southgate’s term as manager and immediately start the search for his replacement.
There are plenty of golf courses where Southgate, Kane, Walker, Maguire et al can get together and bemoan their collective lack of success in international football.
Too many changes in cups etc can be detrimental because regardless of who much they train together, only playing actual games helps them learn to understand each others game imo. That’s why I feel for Kiwior in many ways, he’s a central defender or midfielder yet the bulk of his playing time was at left back, a position unfamiliar to him. I don’t think he’s ever really been forgiven for the early mistakes he made as a central defender.
Rumour is Graham Potter is being lined up to replace Southgate.
Agree re Zubimendi Cicero, he’d be a good addition imo.
Just repeating what I said the other day, rumour is Southampton are looking at Ramsdale. the thing is should we sell Ramsdale or loan him out for 12 month with the new club given 1st and last choice if we decide to sell him.
It depends Geoff, if the club wants to sell to balance the money, or just loan him for a season and then decide. Obviously Arteta and Edu already know what they want to do, which we don’t bdw, but I keep on thinking that Arteta prefers Joan Garcia and Raya. It is highly probable that Arteta will prefer working with two Spanish keepers and I feel that Bentley is being signed just for the reason he is homegrown as well plus he wouldnt cost much and is experienced. If we have Raya and Garcia you can be pretty sure that Bentley will just warm the bench for the whole season. And I presume that Garcia will get more gametime than Ramsdale did last season.
Rico, Ramsdale has done nothing wrong. and personally I think that his personality shouldnt be a cause for him to be judged on, because its all harmless imo. That is his character. and his character is what has endeared him to the fans and even his team mates. If Arteta doesnt like him because of his character than its a shame because Ramsdale is such a top keeper.
We can’t get the Italian over the line because we keep prevaricating and offering them players but they want the money, and who can blame them as they have to stump up a lot of the fee because there is a sell on clause which they have to meet. Furthermore they want5 a sell on fee should we sell which doesn’t make it look so good on paper.
I may be wrong, but I don’t think Arteta has an issue with Ramsdale, the problem I beleive is with Ramsdale father for complaining and criticizing Arteta selection of Raya over his son.
the way we going, the only players we will bring are goal keepers.😁
Agree re Ramsdale Devil.
Still, he’s still with us at the moment.
I don’t blame them for wanting money either. It’s their player so they can do as they wish.
Can someone please tell me why Raya is better than Ramsdale .Neither are great but on their day good.
Raya has had a better defence than Ramsdale had the season before .
Are Rice and Saka going on The States tour and when is it please.
It’s all on Arsenal.com..
Arsenal reject Fulham, Palace bids for Smith Rowe
Latest from Sky Sports News’ Dharmesh Sheth:
Arsenal have rejected bids from Fulham and Crystal Palace for forward Emile Smith Rowe.
Discussions are ongoing internally at both clubs over whether to go back in with an improved offer.
It’s understood Smith Rowe wants to assess all his options – regular first team football is his primary motivation.
He has two years left on his Arsenal contract.
Arsenal announce Lokonga, Tavares loan exits
Arsenal have announced the loan exits of Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares.
Lokonga joins Sevilla on an initial loan with an option to buy for around €12m (£10m). Arsenal have inserted 25% sell-on clause and Lokonga is into the final 2 years of his contract.
Tavares, meanwhile, joins Lazio on a loan with an obligation to buy for €5m (£4.3m).
Raya is simply better for our style of play, and I liked Ramsdale a lot.
The defenders are specifically better playing with Raya.
They are calmer and more confident to play their best game and take more chances which helps our attack.
Raya distribution is better. Stats show it, and the eye test confirms it all.
Raya is the best at claiming crosses and high balls in all of Europe. 50% better than the next best at it.
— 50% BETTER at it than Emi Martinez who everyone considers a monster at commanding his box. Rambo was average at it, even though he’s taller.
Raya sweeps better and higher up, helping our players push up, PRESS, and aid our attacks, throttling opposing teams. He sometimes stands in a LCB position which Ramsdale said publicly that he was not confortable doing as Arteta was requesting. People wonder why Mikel wanted to upgrade.
But Ramsdale is funny and his outspoken dad wears cute hats.
That’s it then. That’s the reason why Ramsdale is 2nd choice. Its the dad’s cute hats. haha
I think if Ramsdale had played behind a settled back four and a stronger midfield including Rice, he too would have improved his stats considerably. However, for much of the previous season, we had no Partey, Rice or for half of it, Jorginho I think.
Stats alone don’t tell the whole picture.
If football didnt come home and summer never arrives you might as well put the Christmas tree up now lol
I must be missing all the clubs climbing over each other to buy Ramsdale for 50 million, or 40 m? Or 30m? .., after all, some gooners online think he should rightfully be the starting keeper for one of the best clubs in the world- this current Arsenal.
They know he’s available, unhappy on the bench, years left on his contract, (not too high salary).. where’s the big offers??
Somebody tell me. Latest I heard is Southampton is interested.
Not exactly Man United, Chelsea, 2 big teams that currently have shitty keepers.
Re ESR I may have mentioned this before but my daughter teaches English to Spanish,Portugese and some South American footballers at a number of PL clubs as well at one time Edu’s wife and being under contract she nor I can divulge many things at the club for confidentiality reasons but she gets to hear first hand certain things about players .
Now ESR is being offered for sale it is pretty clear he has no future at the club regardless of ability perhapd compared to others in the squad .
He like Pepe before him constantly broke club rules by going out clubbing the night before a match and Arteta warned him as he is a disciplarian but ESR took no notice and when fit after injury he was an unused sub in 8 consecutive matches nearing the end of the season then had two short cameo roles and in the final match had a reasonable run out .That’s why he is for sale no other reason believe me or not .
Ramsdale is on £100k to £130K a week and again many players will be hard to shift because of their wages.
Partey I hear is going to Saudi then a few days later staying to run his final year contract down despite the fact he is injury prone but who knows .
I think most top clubs already have good keepers. Liverpool, Utd, Chelsea, City – even Villa and Totts and Newcastle are watching their pennies I read so they can’t afford Ramsdale. Ramsdale said he wants first team football so his move if he makes it, will be about playing.
Kelsey, I didn’t have Smith Rowe down as a party goer.. certainly not read anything to suggest he is.
Rico
You probably didn’t read about Pepe who was the worst and a very expensive flop.He threw peanuts at his dog when having English lessons and took no notice to try and learn the language . He went out clubbing regularly with a cousin or some relation in London and was never seriously injured .That didn’t get in the papers and people have this misconception that ESR is sweet and charming and if what I have said isn’t believed why is Arteta trying to sell him.
Not saying I don’t believe you Kelsey, just that I’d not read anything about him..
Not doubting your comments but I can’t help thinking that were ESR continually clubbing it would have made the scandal sheets . The papers are famous for printing anything and everything they can to the detriment of Arsenal , a player on the town the night before a match would be meat and drink for them.
My thoughts too..
From what I have heard ESR wasn’t doing it on a regular basis but even once was bad enough and MA won’t stand for it and probably a clash of personalities might be also a reason but I don’t know. Potter yes you are right in your assumption but anyway I am sorry to bring this up but I am certain Cana got MA to get Raya,jobs for the Spanish northern boys.
My last bit of info and then I will go back to the now. When Emery left one very high profile manager was interviewed face to face with Edu for the job and then a second interview face to face with Josh Kroenke via video link. This manager walked out of the negotiations because of financial restrictions on him and spending and only then was Arteta approached for the job.
Well, there’s been few financial restrictions for Mikel Arteta…
New post up now..